4p tent?

[littlemsdisaster]

Hi all, I'm new here! Looking to set us up for hiking as a family, two adults + two young children (so two adults will be carrying all the gear). We currently have an old MSR Hubba Hubba and are looking for something that will house four of us - we've thought about another 2p tent, but I'd rather have us all under one roof if we can. So far I've been thinking about the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL 4, Exped Carina IV or Marmot Tungsten 4 - I know there's some other options but they don't seem readily available online. The Big Agnes is by far the lightest and the most expensive, I've wondered whether it would be tough enough for kids? Are there other options I should be looking at? Many thanks!!

[bobcrusader]

It's rarefied air in the lightweight 4p space. I have a spreadsheet with 180 tents on it, and only 2 4P (Marmot Tungsten and BA CS) and 1 5P (MountainSmith Conifer 5+, now unavailable). I might suggest including 6P options, as 4 people and their gear need more space then just the room needed for 4 sleeping mats, which is pretty much how they calculate the capacity. Also look for double doors and large vestibules to keep your gear and shoes. The Big Agnes is a big investment, but if you plan on doing a lot of family trips, it might be worth it. The Marmot has less space and weighs 1kg more, but can be found $350 cheaper...

[Moondog55]

Plenty of 4P tents around at the higher end.
Helsport and Hilleberg to start with, but they have a weight and dollar penalty and you might need to import from O/S
http://www.bogong.com.au/tents-3/hiking ... -tent.html
https://hilleberg.com/eng/tent/red-labe ... itum-4-gt/
https://hilleberg.com/eng/tent/red-labe ... allo-4-gt/
https://www.helsport.com/en/tents/basec ... 9981041393
https://www.helsport.com/en/tents/basec ... 9981040778
With little kids an extended vestibule or an additional tarp pay big dividends in comfort and with little-uns you won't be walking very far or in bad weather.
Way back when tho I used 2 smaller 2 man tents with a tarp stretched between them, Mum slept with the youngest and I had the other wrigglebum in with me

[Tino B]

Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid 4. Heaps of headroom if you are all tent bound for a day in bad weather. Bad news is that inner and fly will set you back about AUD 2k.

A heavier but much cheaper option is the Tarptent Hogback:

https://www.tarptent.com/product/hogback/

The best and most flexible option is another 2p tent.

[Ms_Mudd]

The best and most flexible option is another 2p tent.

I tend to agree and seeing as you have a nice 'neat' number of participants, it could really work well. One parent and kid to a tent and due to the kids being smaller, should be plenty of room for gear.

I have two kids who walk with me, but a husband who does not. The kids are too young to want to sleep in their own tent (unless they have a friend along) so the 2x 2p (or 1p x 1 and 2p x 1) does not work for me yet, but that is the way I will be going when they are older for sure. the 2p solution could also be used by either your husband or yourself when out solo or together, sans kids.

I was recently lucky to get a BD Megamid (aka megalight) second hand here on the forum and am so happy with it, it is huuuuge and only 1kg. With the inner that I bought for from Aliexpress for it, it will be 1.88kg, not bad for a 4p tent. I did look into the Big Agnes Copper Spur 4p as it was onsale when I was tent searching as the weight was where I was happy with it, but I was unsure re:longevity and the thing does not pack down compactly either.

[littlemsdisaster]

Thank you all! This is immensely helpful, as you're all echoing what I've already concluded both in terms of what's available and the cost (definitely not looking at 1K+ at this stage!). I've been trying to avoid 2 x 2p tents as I had hoped to have us all in the one space, but I guess it will just be like our usual sleeping arrangements at home!

Ms Mudd I have the same concerns about the BA, I wondered how robust it would be. Does anyone have any experience with it? I know the 2p is popular but I'm assuming there can also be some significant differences between 2p and 4p in the same series.

[Lizzy]

We have a Sierra Designs Lightning 4 person tent that we have used for years with the kids- probably not available anymore but is a good tent & we have had no problems except kids growing too large now!

[Neo]

I'm sure one of the known brands has a purpose built joiner for connecting two dome tents as one extended shelter. Maybe it was MSR or Vango... That way you can have separate tents when they get a bit bigger if you want or just take one if you're not all going.

Tonight I am sleeping in a pyramid, the MSR Front Range which is 2.7x2.7m ($450) and using a One Planet 4midable half inner ($200).

Total 1.5kg plus pegs and pole.

MSR do make a full sized inner. The Front Range is a similar size to the BD Megalight and is 20D fabric, a foot smaller than the OP 4midable at 3x3m and 15D fabric.

Edit, bought mine from here
https://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk ... ter-p12891

[slparker]

I have the BA CS 3p and it's great for what it is. I use it as a capacious 2 person tent but 3 adults would be squeezy. If the 4p is similarly proportioned I imagine it could be squeezy for 4 + gear.

That said, vertical walls make for good use of space and they are very easy to setup. I have no concerns about durability but the BAs are UL so you need some care.

[Franco]

Some comments on the Tarptent Hogback suggested above.
It has the smallest footprint for a tent that can hold 4 long mats (so four adults)
Fast and pretty simple all in one set up (the inner does not get wet setting up in the rain)
30D silnylon for fly and floor . kind of minimalistic years ago but a lot beefier than some these days (mind you now it has a 3000mm waterhead)
Very small vestibules, just enogh for a pack in each but with two short mats inside you will have some good spare floor space. Unlike with the pyramid tents, all of the floor space is usable.
You can chose between mesh and solid inner. (some get both)
Lots of space inside to play games on a rainy day (no pole in the middle)
Photo taken from the Net

https://www.tarptent.com/product/hogback/
Not as light as the DCF mids but less expensive (but not exactly cheap...)

[mikeRsyd]

Maybe a naturehike opulas, it's pretty cheap. And looks big. I never saw this in person by my friend has one and likes it.

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[commando]

Looks like naturlike opulas will do the job
you can see it here in detail.

viewtopic.php?f=63&t=28852

[littlemsdisaster]

Thank you all, these looks like great options for me to look into!

[Franco]

BTW, those last two tents in particular are rather easy to have a usable floor space simulation. Get the floor dimensions of the inner and with some string replicate that on your yard to get an idea how you four would fit inside.
If measuring a pyramid floor isnstead, you then need to subtract about a foot all around because of the slope on the walls. (that is why they need to be much larger) and you need to account for the pole in the middle (your mat can fit under the pole...)

[mikeRsyd]

If your going to be hiking in nice weather you could try a big tarp. It would be the lightest option by far

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[johnrs]

Or a large mid tent
from 3 FUL gear
https://www.3fultralight.com/product/3f ... ing-tents/
or Luxe Outdoors
http://www.luxeoutdoor.com/eng/catalog- ... selfid=173
John

[Franco]

You are not going to fit 4 mats (two std and two small) inside that 3f mid .
Pyramids can be a light fully enclosed tarp but when you add the inner (if by any chance you like bug protection) they gain a lot of weight.

[Ms_Mudd]

You are not going to fit 4 mats (two std and two small) inside that 3f mid .

I purchased the 3FUl mid for my own family use and can confirm that Franco is correct. I can fit 2x full length mats and 1x short in an 'around the pole' configuration, you wouldn't fit another mat in. If you had a small kid as the 4th person, they could fit on a bit of ccf or something similar between one of the big mats and the centre pole, but not optimal by any means. Much better options for 4 p.

[Moondog55]

I did find this tent a while ago

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3304104 ... c62aUO9kyw
A clone of the Mountain Hardwear Hoopster

[Franco]

That is a very big tent for under 2 kg , if the specs are correct.
However it covers about 9 square metres (the size of a bedroom) so depending where it will be used it could have a rather large footprint.

[Moondog55]

That is a very big tent for under 2 kg , if the specs are correct.
However it covers about 9 square metres (the size of a bedroom) so depending where it will be used it could have a rather large footprint.

It gets heavy when the floor and inner are added tho.
I've always thought that Mountain Hardwear made a mistake when the Hoop series was dropped, the steep walls increase living space dramatically

[Franco]

I suspect that the top hoop design suffers greatly in the wind and of course snow, particularly wet snow.
Circus tents have used that kind of structure but they have 4 poles keeping the hoop level .

thumb_720_450_circus-big-top-tent-shutterstock_16038412.jpg (143.09 KiB) Viewed 10550 times

This review suggests otherwise...
https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/reviews/ ... r-hoopster
That was on the 6 person version.
Thinking about it, I think MH had some problems with the hoop pole, possibly hard or fiddly to insert into the sleeve.
Maybe because it needs to work when the fabric is cold so it could become hard as the fabric shrinks in hot weather.
(I could not find comments on this but I see that Ryan Jordan at BPL commented they were not stable in the wind)

[Moondog55]

I have a mate who owns and uses one as a "hot tent" he has stabilised the ring easily enough with 3 cords from ring to centre pole, something I did with that monstrosity I bought at Rays years ago; but wet snow is a real problem. As a means of enclosing a large volume of usable floorspace I always thought they were a mass effective solution.