Thursday, November 17th, 2011 at 8:21 pm
Wenzel Klondike Eight-Person Family Cabin Dome Tent Review

Wenzel Klondike 16 X 11-Feet Eight-Person Family Cabin Dome Tent Rain fly
The Wenzel Klondike Eight Person Family Cabin Dome Tent is room enough to live up to its title and put up eight people for the night. Although it will be a tight fit, unless some of the campers are children. Measuring sixteen feet by eleven feet there is even space to store your accessories and luggage. The ceiling height is six and a half feet in the center and being a dome tent the height tapers towards the edges but is still near six feet on the edge. Most people will be able to walk around the Wenzel Klondike without bending or bumping your head. There is over 158 square feet of floor space including the sun room. The sun rooms mesh walls can close giving you more space. At 27 pounds the Klondike is too heavy for hiking and backpacking, which is expected for family camping tents.
Raising the Klondike took less than twenty minutes the first time. We now are able to get it up in around fifteen minutes. Setting it up does require two people due to the large size. The rain fly reminds me of a baseball cap the way it fits over the dome and then gets flat. It was easy to put on as well, but also took two people to get it right. The poles are shock corded which makes assembly go a little smoother.

Wenzel Klondike Eight-Person Family Cabin Dome Tent w/o rain fly
The Wenzel Klondike has all the weather features we’ve come to expect in modern tent and then some. The Weather Armor polyester fabric repels water. It hasa polyurethane coating that not only helps keep rain out but it helps keep in the warm air if you have all the screened areas closed up. the seams are double stitches for extra water protection. The tent is designed with power corners that help keep it upright during heavy winds. The dome tent shape also helps with the wind. With the rain fly removed the roof is all mesh not only giving you great views of the night sky but allowing for extra air flow on hot nights. There is a rear vent near the floor that allows a ground breeze so staying cool should never be a problem.
The Wenzel Klondike comes with a screen room in the front is a great place to get some shade. We like eating our meals here to keep the flys off of our food. the screens close allowing for extra sleeping space, storage area, or just a place to kick off your shoes before entering the main tent. there are two pockets that hang to give you some extra storage space, and we all need that.
The Wenzel Klondike 16 X 11-Feet Eight-Person Family Cabin Dome Tent is currently 27% off at Amazon, click to order yours now!
Free shipping is also currently available.
Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 at 8:09 pm
Swiss Gear St. Alban Family Dome Tent Review


Swiss Gear St. Alban Family Dome Tent with rain fly
St. Alban Tent Size
The Swiss Gear St. Alban is a family sized tent that is large enough for most families. Measuring fourteen feet by eleven feet the St. Alban tent is designed to accommodate eight people comfortably. With 176 square feet there is more than plenty of room to move about. The middle height of the tent is 76 inches and if did my math correctly that is about six feet and four inches, so it should be tall enough for the majority of us to stand erect while inside without bumping our heads. If your are camping with less than eight people then you will have plenty of room for all your camping accessories or whatever else you might need storage room for. With the rain fly on you even get a little outdoor space that is shaded from the sun.
Swiss Gear St. Alban Set Up
The first time we set up the Swiss Gear St. Alban it took us about twenty minutes. we were able to shave some minutes off our time after a few experiences setting it up. we are now coming in under fifteen minutes, which is pretty quick. I am also now able to set it up solo, but the rain fly almost certainly requires a helping hand. The pin and ring system, and the eave hubs speed up the assembly process. Taking this Swiss Gear down is easy as well. I didn’t have a problem fitting it back in the storage bag which is rare with tents lately.
St. Alban Weather Features

Swiss Gear St. Alban Family Dome Tent w/o rain fly
The St. Alban comes with a water resistant sonic-welded polyethylene floor that works wonders at not letting water seep through the bottom of the tent during wet weather to ruin your trip. The fabric of both the tent and the rain fly are coated with water repellant to keep the contents of the tent dry. Also the seams are designed to not allow leakage. This isn’t the perfect tent for high winds, there will be some moving around, but we didn’t have a collapse and we didn’t blow away. The corners are designed to help in high winds though. The windows are large and provide plenty of air flow. If their is no chance of rain I recommend removing the rain fly. The mesh roof will add more air and a night view. the d shaped door is a nice touch. The built in floor mat is a nice feature as well, allowing you to easily clean your shoes and feet and keeping dirt out of the tent.
Additional Features
There are shoe storage areas near the door that have both inside and outside access. The attached floor may keeps the inside of the St. Alban clean. Ther is port for power cords so you can power your electronic devices without having to leave the door open. there are some handy storage areas. the mesh roof is a nice touch.
Cons
As usual with every tent I come across the stakes aren’t well designed, but I always have aftermarket tent stakes ready for any camping trip. They are relatively cheap for good quality.
Summary
At this writing the Swiss Gear St. Alban was 33% off at Amazon. Click to check current pricing.
This a good deal for a quality family tent.
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Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011 at 4:47 pm
Suisse Sport Wyoming 3 Room Family Dome Tent Review


Suisse Sport Wyoming 3 Room Family Dome Tent
Suisse Sport Wyoming Size
We love the Suisse Sport Wyoming and the main reason is that is divides into three rooms. A three room tent!! So many tent are limited to one or two rooms. A third room provides extra privacy that is much needed when camping with large groups of people. You can use it as a two bedroom with a shared living room or as a three bedroom tent.
The Wyoming tent is large enough to sleep up to eight people with a little extra wiggle room left over. If all tenants of the tent are children you could probably squeeze in a few more than eight. This is a dome tent so the center height is taller than on the ends of the tent where you will probably have to stoop or kneel to move around easily.
Suisse Sport Wyoming Weather
The Suisse Sport Wyoming Three Room Dome Tent is designed to keep you dry in the rain. It has a weather resistant polyester floor. The body fabric is also polyester with seams that are coated and taped. The rain fly does a good job of diverting the rain. The weather resistant features of the Wyoming are not as good as some of the tents that will cost you a few hundred bucks, but for its price range it performs quite nicely. It does great even in heavy rain and light winds, but severe storms could cause some minor leakage. There are three large mesh windows that provide plenty of ventilation and fresh air. Take off the rain fly any you will get even more air from the mesh roof and maybe a view of the stars.
Wyoming Set-up
The shock corded poles make setting up the tent a pretty easy process. It will probably require two people to set it up properly. Fifteen minute is about how long it will take most people with a little experience to get it up. Inexperienced campers may take a bit longer until they get a little practice.
Additional features
This Suisse Sport has some cool features. There are two compartments near the entrance to the tent that are for placing your shoes in. They zip up yo keep our the insects and the other creepy crawlers that could ruin your trip. Plus they can be accessed from the inside or outside which is really convenient. The door zippers work great without snagging which is a problem with many tents. There is a plug port for plugging in your electronic devices.
All in all the Suisse Sport Wyoming is a good tent for the family. The fact that its a three room tent makes it more desirable. It will be fine in most weather conditions and set up isn’t difficult.The Wyoming was 37% off the last I checked. Check Amazon for the latest pricing on the Suisse Sport Wyoming 3 Room Family Dome Tent 18 x 10.
Free shipping is available for this tent too!
Thursday, July 21st, 2011 at 1:27 am
Coleman Montana 8 Person Tent Review

Coleman Montana 8 Person Tent


The Coleman Montana Eight Person Tent is a big tent but not too big, measuring sixteen feet by seven feet, Coleman claims it can sleep eight comfortably. I have no reason to doubt that it can, but we only slept three in the Montana but there was much room left over that if we had more campers on the trip they could have fit easily. The center height is about six feet and two inches so there should be ample headroom for most people. The hinged door is a cool feature that cuts down on the wear and tare on the zipper. Often times the zipper is the first thing to go on a tent basically rendering the tent useless. Not with a hinged door.
The Coleman Montana 8 Tent
has all the weather resistant features you’ve come to expect from the Coleman WeatherTec System. Leak Free Seams, weather resistant fabric,Waterproof floors, zipper protection, and a wind strong frame all work together to make the Coleman Montana 8 Person an excellent tent for standing up to the worst of Mother Nature has to throw at you. The rain Fly covers enough area in front of the tent door to allow for three chairs.
The set up of the Montana 8 is pretty easy. Most people will have no problem setting it up as the instructions are straight forward and there are several features that help make sure you are putting the right piece in the right place. Two people may be required for assembly. It is rather difficult alone but can be accomplished if you have a long reach. There is a port for ventilation and passing electrical cords or smores through. The attached feet wiping mat is a nice bonus that helps to keep dirt where it belongs, outside of the tent.
I really like the colors of this tent. The green earth tones are easy on the eyes in an outdoor while in the outdoors It holds its on against the weather, and set-up is relatively simple. The Coleman Montana 8 Tent is a really good tent that is usually found at a low price. Free shipping is usually available. Click Here to see if it is still 27% off at Amazon!
Coleman Montana Weather Features
- Leak-free Seams: In addition to fully-taped rainfly seams, the rainfly covers doors and windows, and incorporates easy-to-use Velcro frame attachments
- Weather-resistant Fabric: Coated polyester fabric combined with anti-wicking thread, webbing, and zippers are designed to keep you dry
- Protected Seams: Inverted floor seams dramatically increase weather resistance by hiding needle holes inside the tent, away from the elements
- Waterproof Floors: Welding technology strengthens the tent floor and eliminates needle holes
- Zipper Protection: Zipper cuff adds protection from the elements to the door
- Wind Strong Frame: Engineered to be a stronger, more wind-responsive frame by using redesigned poles and guy-out triangles to anchor tents and increase performance
Coleman Montana Specifications
- 75-denier polyester taffeta fly
- 68-denier polyester mesh inner tent
- 1,000-denier polyethylene floor
- 11-millimeter fiberglass poles
Tuesday, June 7th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
Coleman Red Canyon Tent Review
8 Person Dome Tent


Size of Coleman Red Canyon
This Coleman Red Canyon 17-Foot by 10-Foot 8-Person Modified Dome Tent
is a large family sized tent. Measuring 17 by 10 feet it sleeps up to 8 people comfortably. Although if your family or friends are large size 6 may be a more realistic number. With a 72 inch center height most people can maneuver within the tent without any problems. With these large dimensions fitting the whole family in a single tent should be a breeze. It also features removable privacy walls that allow you to choose whether you’d like 1 large space or 2 or 3 smaller spaces. This is great for separating misbehaving children or just getting a little privacy from your friends and family.
Red Canyon Dimensions:
Width: 17 by 10 feet
Height: 72 inches in center
Weather Resistance of Coleman Red Canyon

red canyon-interior
The Coleman Red Canyon is a weather resistant tent that features Coleman’s exclusive Weathertec System and Leak-Free protected seams. The Red Canyon is made of a Coated polyester fabric with anti-wicking thread for further rain protection. And if that wasn’t enough, a rain-fly to cover the tent is also included. The doors are also protected from weather by the zipper cuffs. With the wind strong frame that uses guy-out triangles you are not likely to have the tent blown away which is a possibility with lesser tents in the wrong weather conditions. This thing held up for me in 20 mph winds without any problems. I’d bet it hold up in much heavier winds also. My favorite part of the weather resistance is the water-proof floor. Being protected from the rain is great but not having to sleep in a puddle is even better. I love this tent on long camping trips that make the weather harder to predict.
Set Up of the Red Canyon

Red Canyon
Set up of the Coleman Red Canyon 8 Person Tent is rather easy. My first practice run took my 30 minutes by myself. With the help of my 2 nephews it took 15 minutes. With a little practice I suspect the time could be cut even more. Easy instructions are sewn right onto the storage bag. The shock corded color coded poles made the assembly process headache free. Getting the rain tarp over alone can be tricky for a shorter person alone, but possible. For taller people putting on the rain tarp should be no problem.
Additional Features
Extra features of the Red Canyon include a Cool-Air port for adjusting ventilation or moving your stuff through. I found this feature a little odd looking but it did help cool off the tent which was greatly appreciated in the Texas heat on my last camping trip to Lake Caddo. A welcome mat comes with the tent helping to keep the floors clean. Interior pockets also aide in keeping the place neat, clean, and organized. Separate storage bags for the tent and the poles help prevent damage to the tent and help with organization. The Red Canyon is a good tent for running a clean camp.
Coleman Red Canyon Cons
The only con to this tent is the height on the ends of the tent are shorter than the center. Some ducking may be required in the two end rooms.
Summary
All in all the Coleman Red Canyon family sized tent is highly recommended and is priced much lower than tents that offer similar features. As a matter of fact it is the lowest priced tent I’ve found of this size. Free shipping is likely available. Click to see if the Coleman Red Canyon 17-Foot by 10-Foot 8-Person Modified Dome Tent is still 36% off the regular price
at Amazon and get your camping trip started off the right way,that is, dry with room to stretch out. And don’t forget to read our other 8 Person Tent Reviews.