The Kelty Wireless 6 is a spacious tent that is easy to pitch, and it offers solid weather protection and durability for a reasonable price. Like the Mineral King 3, it has a simple, dome-style design that maximizes livability and minimize headaches. With 87 square feet of interior space, plus 28 square feet of vestibule space, the polyester tent fits four adults comfortably, or two adults with two or three children, with plenty of room to store gear and muddy boots. (As its name indicates, it’s meant to house six people, but we wouldn’t recommend that.) The Wireless 6 has two large doors and a full rain fly. Like our couples’ tent pick, the Wireless 6 is a dome-shaped tent with a tried and true two-pole design.
I’ve pummeled both SUPs against sharp river rocks, downed logs, and other debris to prove the point. After just a few weeks of use, the Explorer 2 has already suffered some visible damage. That means it’s 3 pounds lighter than the ISLE Pioneer Pro (plus or minus accessories) while still supporting more weight.
Coupled with a health-conscious PP plastic lid that ensures a 100% airtight seal with its quarter-turn technology, spills and leaks are things of the past. Whether it’s for Grandpa, Grandma, Mom, Dad, your sister, or your bestie, this tumbler encapsulates joy, love, and sweet affection, making every sip a reminder of your gratitude and warm wishes. A full rain cover, two vestibules, and an extra-sturdy pole structure make this the best choice for families who want to get outside in any weather. The most popular product in their line is the 10×10 Instant Slant Leg Tent with a blue canopy top. It is made with a steel construction frame and polyester material for the canopy, which is in line with just about every shade tent on the market today.
This baby has an impressive 475-pound weight capacity — the highest of any one-person ISLE board. Even laden with 50 pounds of camping gear and my 145-pound body, the combined ozark trail shower tent weight doesn’t reach even half of what the Switch Pro is capable of. It can accommodate both my parents, who joyously paddled on it together on nearby Lake Lanier.
Marmot uses color coding smartly to help you position the tent as well as set it up. Both of the doors zip open to the side that’s color-coded blue, as opposed to zipping open to opposite sides. In other words, one partner—or one partner’s gear—is always going to get a dose of weather when they head out. Like the Mineral King 3, the Tungsten 4 has a mesh canopy, though the opaque polyester part of its walls go higher, and provide more privacy, than the Mineral King’s.
Unfortunately, you have to buy a separate groundsheet for the Wawona 6 and for most other tents its size as well. Both Base Camp tents have two doors and lots of mesh in the main tent body. But unlike the Mineral King 3 and the Tungsten 4, the mesh on each Base Camp tent starts high on the walls—more than 4 feet from the ground. This design is a big plus for people who regularly camp in crowded campgrounds and don’t like to get naked in front of strangers.
The tent weighs just 16 pounds, less than any other family tent we tested for this guide. The separate fly, which covers the upper half of the tent, uses a third, shorter “brow” pole to form protective peaks over the door and the back window. In our tests, an experienced camper took only about six minutes on the first try to set up the tent body alone and stake it out. Getting the fly placed and staked properly took about five more minutes.
An avid hiker, camper, and long-haul road-tripper, Claire Wilcox has slept in (and occasionally improvised) tents in 11 states. She covers outdoor gear for Wirecutter and worked on the most recent update of this guide, testing couples’ tents and family tents. You can also set up the tent without the fly while retaining some ozark trail canopy tent privacy, since the tent body has a high polyester wall on one side. Even with an understanding of the various types of tent issues, it can be difficult to tell when to call it quits with a damaged or faulty tent. After all, some issues are purely aesthetic, while others may hinder a tent’s performance only slightly.
The Switch Pro backpack is larger and fits more gear, with a more rigid design and wheels on the bottom (not the lightest or best for portages). About an hour later, I was just chilling in the river at the same exit when an elderly fisherman lost his footing and suddenly found himself swept away by the current. In the space of probably 10 seconds, I told him to throw me his rod, then I hopped off my 11-foot board and pushed it out to him, which he ozark trail canopy tent managed to grab just in time for me to pull him back to shore. But when I decided to go river camping with a friend, I didn’t have camping gear for two people (I do most things solo). So I bought a $90, 6-pound Kelty Tanglewood 2, an $18 Ozark Trail sleeping bag from Walmart, and some cheap sleeping pads. The Switch Pro’s advantages over comparable options quickly became clear when I capped off my testing with a camping trip down the Etowah River.
Inflating this beast with the hand pump is the most exhausting part of the day. (ISLE does offer a $145 Custom Electric Pump.) And rolling it back up can sometimes get a little frustrating. My buddy Diego used my Explorer 2 while I carried most of the gear on my Switch Pro. As we zipped past kayaks, canoes, inner tubes, and fishing boats, I never once wanted anyone else’s rig.