Pinnacle Tents (pop-up tent) - opinions?

[Spirituallifetime]

Caseyc, what did you not like about the pinnacle tent?

 

[caseyc]

2 things about that pop-up&nbsp;tent that drove me nuts. First is that while it pops up pretty easily, the bottom of the tent does NOT lay flat to the ground. Instead one side will curl up in the air off the ground by 15 inches. I tried everything to flatten down the bottom but to no avail. It turns out that stakes must be used to keep the bottom of the tent flat to the ground. The product description on the website does not mention that stakes are required to make the floor of the tent lay flat to the ground, so I thought that was very deceiving.&nbsp; <br><br>Second major problem is that it took me literally dozens and dozens of attempts to fold down the tent despite reading their lame written instructions and watching YouTube how-to videos on folding the tent.&nbsp; Their website claims the tent will fold down in seconds. NOT!!&nbsp; &nbsp;I almost wanted to rip this tent to shreds out of frustration! After about the 30th attempt, I finally somehow got the tent folded down and back into the box, but just barely. I then shipped it off for a refund.<br><br>I'm now considering getting a different type of tent with a different type of setup design that is supposed to be easy to setup. Here's the other tent that I'm considering getting. I wrote to the reseller at Amazon and they told me this other tent will lay flat to the ground even without stakes attached.<br><br>Amazon link here - check out the video contained within the Amazon page for how to setup and folddown.<br><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Three-Person-Camping-Dome-Tent-Touch/dp/B002PHW6I0/ref=pd_sim_sbs_auto_6" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Three-Person-Camping-Dome-Tent-Touch/dp/B002PHW6I0/ref=pd_sim_sbs_auto_6</a>

 

[Spirituallifetime]

This looks like a nice tent. I had one of a similar design years ago the only problem I had with it is that the&nbsp;poles had hinges in the middle and in high winds the wind would&nbsp;cause the hinges to fold&nbsp;down! There were a few times I used this tent without stakes (because of hard ground and rocks)&nbsp;but this can be annoying because a little breeze will cause the tent to shift and you can here the ends of the poles scraping the ground so I would use the stakes when possible and they help keep the tent tight so it will hold up in the wind and shed the rain of better.

 

[RJCooper]

Casey, everything looks ok on that last tent you linked to but one thing, that pop up hub.&nbsp; That will break in no time.&nbsp; The bathtub floor is great and something you will want in any tent.&nbsp; The fly is of a good design for nice weather use. In heavy rains, it will drip water into the screens though.&nbsp; I would stake it heavy in the wind too.&nbsp; You will get good cross breeze ventilation with that design, but it would parachute in the wind.&nbsp; <br><br>Hope this helps.

 

[caseyc]

Thanks for the input.&nbsp; Actually, I'm just wanting an easy setup/folddown tent for fair-weather outdoor camping for say a group camping event.&nbsp; I will not be doing any foul weather tent camping...ever! <img class="emoticon bbc_img" src="/images/boards/smilies/biggrin.gif">&nbsp; That's what the comfy van is for...foul weather, haha! I didn't know it was going to be an effort to find a tent that's easy to use. It's not even about the cost even. I'd gladly pay a couple hundred dollars or more for a reliable and easy to use tent.&nbsp; I just can't stand setting up those crazy metal rods like my last tent.&nbsp; I need to be a little more careful about which one to choose, especially if buying online.&nbsp; That's because the $27 shipping fee for the tent they sent me is non-refundable.&nbsp; I then had to also pay another $27 shipping fee to send back the tent for a refund.&nbsp; So that's already over $50 in shipping fee that I had to pay that's non-refundable.&nbsp; I don't mind paying for a decent product, but I don't like paying for <a href="mailto:cr@ppy" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">cr@ppy</a> stuff and further paying for non-refundable shipping fees in both directions. <img class="emoticon bbc_img" src="/images/boards/smilies/mad.gif">

 

[RJCooper]

Remember these three words, good, fast and cheap.&nbsp; Pick any two you want in combo, but you can't have all three.&nbsp; Get and REI, good and cheap.&nbsp; As for fast a ten year old can set it up and 5 minutes.&nbsp; I have timed them.&nbsp; Two shock corded poles and some hooks, so simple a caveman could do it. lol

 

[caseyc]

Thanks, but I'm not as smart as a caveman <img class="emoticon bbc_img" src="/images/boards/smilies/eek.gif">&nbsp; I agree that the REI tents are much better quality.&nbsp; I shop at REI all the time, good stuff there!

 

[Spirituallifetime]

I just found this on amazon, looks like a real easy set up. Not sure how easy the rain fly is to put on the video didn't show that. I might consider this for myself, price is higher than I&nbsp;usually pay for a tent.&nbsp;<br><br><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Uinta-quick-s...r=1-44&amp;keywords=easy+up+tents+for+camping" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Uinta-quick-s...r=1-44&amp;keywords=easy+up+tents+for+camping</a>

 

[RJCooper]

That tent looks good.&nbsp; But keep the fly on it.&nbsp; The front door with the screen rolled down like it shows in the image will leak.&nbsp; The tub floor looks good.

 

[caseyc]

SpirtualLifeTime,<br><br>That tent product description looks confusing. The tent appears to be a 2 person tent maybe, per the&nbsp;video? But the product description says 4 person tent?<br>Also, I wonder what the size dimensions are folded down, as I wasn't sure based on the product description. Amazon does a poor job at listing detailed size dimensions in my opinion.<br><br>Casey

 

[Spirituallifetime]

I found this one on Amazon I'm thinking about getting it.&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...le_1?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...le_1?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER</a>&nbsp;From the reviews it holds up well in the wind and the poles seem to lock in place so they won't fold down in the wind. It is a six person tent but I'm starting to realize when it says 6 you need to subtract 2 to be realistic.&nbsp;

 

[caseyc]

That Coleman tent looks interesting. I also found the smaller version for a 4 person tent, per link below.&nbsp; After reading some reviews, it appears many users are reporting that the Coleman tent is a lie regarding its waterproof properties.&nbsp; It also appears Coleman sells a separate rainfly for the 4 person tent, and I am inclined to believe a rainfly is needed to really keep out the rain.&nbsp; However, that said, I won't be doing any tent camping in rainy weather, period. Only fair weather tent camping for me! The same reviews also say the tent is in fact easy to set up, so that sounds hopeful to me.&nbsp; I'm still looking for an easy to setup/tear-down tent.<br><br>See links here.<br><br><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006GJ8NX0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006GJ8NX0</a><br><br><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-20000...t-Tent/dp/B004E4AVY8/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-20000...t-Tent/dp/B004E4AVY8/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top</a>

 

[Spirituallifetime]

I like the 6 person tent because I can stand up in it, the 4 person tent I would be bent over and not sure my back would be able to take that any more. I also like that it has large screen windows on all 4 sides, kind of like a screen shade canopy when all of them are open. I don't worry too much about the reviews on rain leaking in, most tent will have some leakage. And this can also be that the guy ropes were not staked out and/or the roof vents were not open to help with condensation. One review I read on this tent said that the roof vents&nbsp;have a&nbsp;zipper to open and close them and a support brace that has to be in place for them to stay open.

 

[caseyc]

True, standing up is always a good thing!&nbsp; But I'm also&nbsp;concerned that the larger 6 person tent comes in an even larger container box.&nbsp; I'm already strapped for additional room for my van.&nbsp; I'm even having a hard time trying to figure out where I would store the 4 person tent, let alone the 6 person tent.&nbsp; I watched a couple YouTube videos on the 4 person tent, and the boxed container looks rather sizeable.&nbsp;The 6 person tent appears to be about 10" taller than the 4 person tent, so that means I would be able to stand upright at my height of nearly 5'10". Hmmmmm. Choices......

 

[cygvan]

interesting thread.<br><br>look forward to learning more. ive spent plenty of time in tents but never owned one myself.<br><br>i like room. otherwise i feel like a burrito. space may fly in the face of ease and speed of setup in genreal correct?

 

[Spirituallifetime]

My current dome tent is on the large size when packed up, but it is nice to have a little more room when in one location for a while.&nbsp;The Coleman 6 person tent is&nbsp;not much&nbsp;bigger than my dome tent, I can put a cot&nbsp;a chair and&nbsp;small table in it.&nbsp;Although this tent is smaller and easier to pack than another tent I&nbsp;would like to have: &nbsp;<a href="http://www.shelter-systems.com/solor-dome.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.shelter-systems.com/solor-dome.html</a>&nbsp; I like the 18 foot dome.

 

[caseyc]

That YurtDome tent link looks rather slick. But the website says it takes about 30 minutes to set up the tent. I'm looking for something that takes 3 seconds, haha!

 

[Spirituallifetime]

That's one of the reasons I haven't bought one yet! If I were going to be in one spot for a few months at a time or more&nbsp;then it wouldn't be a bad deal. I did order the Coleman tent, have to replace the old one its getting raged. And hate to deal with the poles getting hung in the tent when feeding them through the sleeves, I don't know about 30 minutes for the yurt dome it seems it takes me that long to put up my little dome tent so I think a big yurt dome might be an hour.

 

[caseyc]

So you ordered one of those Coleman instant tents? Which one, the 4, 6, 8 person tent?&nbsp; Please update again when you receive the tent.&nbsp; I'd like to know your impression.&nbsp; If you can also take measurements of the tent when folded down in its box container, that would be great.

 

[Spirituallifetime]

The 6 person instant tent is what I ordered. I can get the measurements when it&nbsp;comes in that will be a week or more I opted for the free shipping offer.&nbsp;