Regatta Bell Tent

Was just thinking this. With the size requirement they are obviously not backpacking and canvas may be the way to go. I'm partial to White Duck tents. They seem pricey, but if taken care of they may be the last tent you buy. https://whiteduckoutdoors.com/

I’ve got a 16’ White Duck regatta bell tent and it’s great. We’ve used it at deer camp the last few years (less maintenance than a camper) and it’ll sleep 6 pretty comfortably. Running a Camp Chef Alpine stove- have to stoke it 1-2 times through the night depending on wood quality and whatnot. With the stove running, you could get away with a fleece blanket through the night. Downside: it’s heavy. Unless you’re putting it on a sled and snowshoeing the thing somewhere, you’re not getting far from the truck with it. It’s a basecamp. There are some lighter options out there which I haven’t played with, but if you wanna wander with a hot tent you could check out Argali or Seek Outside. Springbar makes some cool products too- but they’re another heavy option. Would totally recommend a hot tent. It’s a fun way to get out camping regardless of the weather.

Even a nylon tent should get aired out and packed when fully dry. Pack a spray bottle with a vinegar and water solution and a scrub brush. That will kill/neutralize any spots that show up. Also, while you are at the rental properties, you could set the tent up in the driveway to air it out properly, if it is damp. Use the driveway or deck rather than their yard. I have a Regatta Bell tent and have never had an issue with mold or mildew. I have cleaned mold off of fabric with the water/vinegar and it works great.

We recently bought a White Duck 13' Regatta Bell. We already have a Nemo 6 person tent that's perfectly good for warm weather camping, but we were looking for something that with a stove jack that would hold up well for a spring/fall snowstorm or two in the mountains. It's not yet the season for it, but we had it up in the backyard for seasoning and we were impressed with the quality of the materials, stitching, zippers, guy lines, etc. IMO it goes up easily. There was plenty of room inside for a stove and our two cots and it has good height. We are going to replace some of the stakes. Half of them are heavy duty, but the other half are the typical cheap, crappy, easily bent stakes. It fits well in the bag, but be warned, it's darned heavy and bulky. My husband loves the entrance pole that gives us something to hang onto while we're taking off our shoes at the doorway. It's much harder getting in and out of our Nemo. The White Duck is such a pleasure in comparison.

Our White Duck Regatta Bell tent does great in wind and snow. It's high, but it's got steeply slanted sides that direct the weather around and the pole is inside where it's protected. You want to stake it out well all around.

My husband and I love our White Duck 13' Regatta Bell with water and fireproofed canvas. We use a Green Stove Hori 5 pellet stove. Unlike a wood stove which needs tending during the night, you can fill the hopper before bed, damp it down, and it will burn till morning. It sits on a large iron grill on top of a fire mat for safety. For 3 adults, I might look at a 16.5' tent. In the 13' tent, the stove takes the space that a third cot would want. It can be tough to find a large enough tent site; you're never going to fit into one of those groomed 8x8 - 10x10 spots delineated with landscape timbers. Man, I hate seeing those! The steep slope of the roof shrugs off snow, rain and wind. The bell tent is easy to set up IMO. You've got one tall pole in the middle, another pole in the door and it needs to be guyed out all around. It can take a little while, but it's so simple. My son and his girlfriend have been borrowing our tent and stove over the winter. They're camping out for many days at a time on Colorado's eastern plains while helping friends with their homestead. They're younger than we are, but they've been fine through some storms and cold. We always line the inside floor with old moving blankets for padding and warmth and we have high R value 4.5" inflatable air & foam sleeping pads on top of our cots. Sleeping pads with good insulation are really important IMO. We also both have winter sleeping bags.

We originally had a Marmot 4 person dome tent. It was a good tent, but my husband and I are getting older and it was too hard to climb in and out of. We replaced the Marmot with a 6 person Nemo Aurora Highrise. We loved being able to stand up inside and having two vestibules. We use the back vestibule for our nighttime pee bucket--very convenient. It's still a bit difficult to enter and leave the tent. The door has a bathtub lip that wants to trip you up and there isn't really anything to grab to steady yourself for the step over. Once we decided we wanted to do more late fall and early spring camping, we added a White Duck 13' Regatta Bell and a Green Stove Hori 5 pellet stove. This combo is awesome, but it's going to be a LOT more than a beginner camper needs. The bell tent has a great entryway that unzips to the ground and there's a nice center pole to steady yourself when stepping in or out. It's very friendly for an older couple who only need to carry a heavy tent a few feet from the car. Plenty of headroom, easy to set up, comfortable as all get out, the only problem is finding a tent site large enough to handle the 4 meter diameter.

My husband and I have a White Duck 13' Regatta Bell canvas tent. It's heavy and expensive, but awesome and the highly sloped sides make it stand up to wind, snow and rain like a champ. At 70+ lbs carrying it from the car to the site is a bear, but setup is dead simple: put up the center pole, the door pole and guy it out all around. My son and his gf are currently using it out on the eastern Colorado plains over the winter. (We may have to purchase a second one for ourselves.) We also have a Nemo Aurora Highrise 6p tent that we had used for summer camping. It goes up fairly easily, with lots of headroom and has vestibules in front and back. Vestibules are wonderful! I second the idea of looking at 6 person tents for your family. Four man tents are roomy for 2 people, but cramped for more IMO and your child is just going to get bigger.

Agreed. Canvas tents are big and heavy, but they spoil you for other tents! Our White Duck 13' Regatta Bell weighs 70+ lbs. My husband and I work together to haul it to the tent sites. Complete set up takes as long or longer than our Nemo Aurora highrise did, but initial set up is simple and fast, if that makes any sense. One tall middle pole and one door pole gets you to the point where you start going around guying it out. Easy-peasy versus the Nemo with its two long fiberglass poles threaded to crisscross forming the dome structure and its two short poles threaded to support the side windows before you can start guying it out. For older people like us it's nice to have a simple set up and a big door that gives us a pole to hold and doesn't trip us with a bathtub threshold to step over. (The stove jack for cold weather and the bell style to shrug off high winds are sweet too) The Nemo was a nice tent but the canvas White Duck is just an enormous step up IMO.

The canvas Regatta Bell is a master at handling wind, rain and snow. The tepee shape of the top causes most of the wind to just flow around it. However, if you're ever going to have more than one small person inside I wouldn't consider the 8'. My husband and I have a 13' and we would feel cramped in a 10'. (However, complete disclosure, we use it as a hot tent and have full size cots and a stove inside the tent and we like having room to stand up and move around.)

I would consider a 6 person to give them plenty of room. Since they're older, I would look for tents with 1) room to stand up inside and 2) no need to step up over the bottom of the door -or- to duck under the edge of the door to go inside. My husband and I like our 6 person Nemo Aurora Highrise BUT it doesn't follow rule 2. We have to step over the bottom of the door frame and duck when entering. It gives my husband a lot of grief. Our new White Duck 13' canvas bell tent lets us just walk in which is awesome. However, canvas takes some extra care and it was pricey so I wouldn't recommend that for their new boat target. :-D

Wow! Your White Duck tent weighs a ton!

Since you mentioned Kodiak Canvas, I’ll throw another canvas option out there. We’re a canvas tent and camping gear brand called White Duck Outdoors. Something like our Avalon or Regatta bell tents are nice for longer trips because you get way more living space and bell shaped tents handle wind and weather really well. We actually have people who refer to our tents as a second home since they can stay up for months (or years) without needing to be taken down so just what you're looking for with the "home" idea. With the budget you mentioned our two person Prota Springbar tent or our two person Rover Wall Cabin style tent would also be perfect and easy to set up and take down for a two person cross country journey! Some of our tents are at REI stores, however if you're strict with your budget, we do occasionally sell our Prota tents used exclusively on our website (usually from a photoshoot so only set up for pictures) for under $500. They’re not "instant" tents, but once you set them up two times, it gets pretty quick, especially if you’re mostly car camping. I would love to try and help with any questions, set-up ideas, or recommendations!

Hey! Saw the bell tents and our name mentioned so thought we would join in! If wind is a big conversation topic when camping, I would HIGHLY consider looking into a bell tent. I would consider our regatta bell tent line cause as mentioned, wall tents are not gonna be your friend when trying to set up or take down in windy environments. We have videos of our Regatta taking 65+ mph winds like a champ on our socials so if you would love to see the proof for yourself I would check it out! For the amount of people you have, two adults, one baby, one dog and possibly just running solo occasionally, I would recommend the 10' regatta. It's large enough for your group and the biggest size that is easy enough to set up solo if needed. If you have anymore info about set up like cots or amount of gear you plan on bringing I would love to try and answer more questions or narrow down options!

Don't know how you feel about canvas but we make four person canvas tents that are good enough to not even need a rainfly! A ton of our tents have that glamping look too and enough room for multiple people to stand up in. Our Regatta line is probably the best for you if you plan for up to 4 and want to use cot plus bring a dog along. It’s full canvas so it handles storms way better than most of those partial fly dome tents. It does dry out and does not mold if you let it dry before storing again. The weight is slightly heavier than most thin poly tents, but if you just plan on car camping and want something durable, canvas is the way to go for sure. The Regatta tent line are bell shaped tents so if wind/storms are also a concern, then the bell shape is better aerodynamically than cabin styles. We do offer rain flys that cover the exact shape of each tents roofs, but I would only ever recommend those if you plan on having tons and tons of weather hit the roof enough for wanting a second layer of protection. Definitely check us out on our socials (whiteduck\_outdoors) if you have any questions or want recs, I would love to try and help!

Hey! Thought we'd offer some suggestions since we have some tents in your range that you're describing! We make canvas tents that would be perfect for your wind concern since our bell tents have a roof built for wind resistance. I’d honestly say take a look at our White Duck 8' Mini Regatta Bell Tent if you’re open to canvas and you're not backpacking. For a solo setup, it's can be put up by just one person. It handles wind and quick rain way better than most starter tents and the canvas is a lot more breathable, which is going to be nice in humid weather like Tennessee. It is a bit on the cozier side with a twin air mattress and your gear but still totally doable for one person. Setup is pretty straightforward once you’ve done it once or twice. Around 15 minutes to set up. Also you can sometimes find it through Costco for cheaper than buying direct. It goes in and out of stock but should be getting restocked soon so it’s worth keeping an eye on if your budget is strict!

Since you mentioned Kodiak Canvas, I’ll throw another canvas option out there. We’re a canvas tent and camping gear brand called White Duck Outdoors. If you’re looking for something in a 2–5 person range that you can actually set up solo, our Regatta bell tents are a solid fit. The setup is three steps- stake it down, center pole, and then finish staking it out. You can stand up fully in them and plenty of room for a couple cots without feeling cramped. We’ve got videos on our socials showing one person setting them up if you want to see it in real time (whiteduck\_outdoors). We also have a spring bar line called the Prota that is easy enough to set up alone and, again, fits 2-5 depending on sleeping bag size and how much storage you plan on bringing. You can sometimes find our select models through Costco, and in general we offer pricing and discounts that are make them a bit more approachable if you’re just getting back into camping. I would highly recommend you check us out and if you have any questions I would love to try and help answer them here.

Don't know how you feel about canvas but we make four person canvas tents that come in black canvas which would be perfect if you really want a blackout space. Our bell tents (The Regatta Series) have enough room for multiple people to stand up in and the bell shape is great for wind resistance since the shape itself is aerodynamic. Our Regatta 10' is probably the best for you if you plan for up to 4 and want to use cot plus bring a dog along. Floor is sewn in on the regatta line as well. Prices are a little over budget but we do carry some of our tents for great discounts through Costco and we have our Memorial day sale coming up so it would be great time to consider us! Our canvas is not the old heavy canvas that weighs hundreds, which is a pretty common misconception. It's heavier than Colemans poly for sure, but since you're not hiking and weight is not an issue, than I would consider a more durable material that would last you 20+ years like canvas! The regatta tents only need one person to set up. We also offer rain flys that cover the exact shape of each tents roofs, but I would only ever recommend those if you plan on having tons and tons of weather hit the roof enough for wanting a second layer of protection. Definitely check us out on our socials (whiteduck\_outdoors) if you have any questions or want recs, I would love to try and help!

Don't know how you feel about canvas but we make four person canvas tents that are perfect for families and especially car camping outings. Our bell tents (The Regatta Series) have enough room for multiple people to stand up in and the bell shape is great for wind resistance since the shape itself is aerodynamic. Our Regatta Bell Tent in the 13' size is probably the best for you if you plan for up to 4 and want to use cots or bring along additional gear. Floor is sewn in on the regatta line as well. We do carry some of our tents for great discounts through Costco and we have our Memorial day sale going on now so it would be great time to consider us! Our canvas is not the old heavy canvas that weighs hundreds, which is a pretty common misconception. It's heavier than Colemans poly for sure, but since you're not hiking and weight is not an issue, than I would consider a more durable material that would last you 20+ years like canvas! The regatta tents only need one person to set up so super easy for a busy family. For your four legged friend we also have great weatherproof dog beds that are made of the same canvas as the tents and those are on sale too so just a suggestion to help out the entire family! We also offer rain flys that cover the exact shape of each tents roofs, but I would only ever recommend those if you plan on having tons and tons of weather hit the roof enough for wanting a second layer of protection. Definitely check us out on our socials (whiteduck\_outdoors) if you have any questions or want recs, I would love to try and help!

Hey there! Wyoming weather is no joke so I get why you’re done with nylon lol Canvas is a solid move. One thing I’d really call out is how well bell tents handle wind. The shape stays low and doesn’t catch gusts the same way other tents do. We actually have a video on our Instagram of the Regatta handling 65+ mph winds, which is pretty close to what you’re probably dealing with out there. Between those two, the Mini Regatta is going to feel more solid in wind than the Flex-Bow. It is on the smaller side though, so great for one person, two might feel tight with gear. I would size up to a 10' possibly. Also, for bugs, a cot helps more than you’d think. Getting off the ground does make a difference, and canvas tents tend to seal up better too once they’re set up, especially with our sewn-in flooring. For a month long trip like that, I’d go bell tent just for peace of mind in rough weather. Happy to help if you want tips on setup or just an general questions about our gear! 👍

If you're a Costco member, you can buy white duck tents through Costco. I got the 13' bell tent for like 20% off msrp.