The Wawona 6’s side-walls are high and straight, but the structure stays very stable in wind thanks to a final pole that wraps around the front and sides—and thanks to the absence of any acute angles in the poles. We were skeptical about the vestibule’s ability to handle ozark trail chairs wind, since it’s big and supported by a single pole, but it stood fast in 30 mph oceanside gusts and 15 mph hilltop winds. But it’s one of the least expensive tents we found that had no significant drawbacks and will truly cover your bases for three-season camping.
The tent also comes with its own footprint, a groundsheet that protects the tent from abrasion, which we recommend that you have. We also wanted self-standing tents, which can stay up on their own. Even so, you should, ideally, stake down each corner securely; in some crowded campgrounds, however, finding a flat spot with soil soft enough to do that can be difficult. A tent that requires staking to stand up—especially a larger, six-person tent—is unwieldy, and it’ll be impossible to set up on a hard surface such as blacktop or on raised wooden tent decks. A senior staff writer at Wirecutter, Kit Dillon has written about everything from backpacks and cooking gear to luggage and road-tripping. It is oddly relevant work for testing aluminum tent poles.
Wish me luck putting it up at the wedding. This is one of those products where the instructions are basically a complete fantasy. They make one false unstated assumption after another.
I called to get a replacement and the customer service person I talked to was awesome! She guided me through until I was able to find the correct serial number for the part and sent it to me right away. This product from the list of stuff that I wish I never had bought it would in the top two.
Now unable to get all the parts I need to make it worth repairing. It seems like I am the second person to review this product, and the second one to give it a 1 Star rating. Goes together well, but as soon as we got a little shower…. Total collapse, hubs (2) shattered and two sets of poles completely destroyed. Not sure if I should order replacement parts or not, maybe I should just consider this a waste of money, and cut my losses while I can.