Looking for a good family camping tent. Done a ton of research but not sure if spending 5-$600 is needed on a canvas tent like a Kodiak or not. It will be 5 people. 2 adults ,3 kids(10, 9 and 3). Plan is to have 3 cots and one queen airbed for one adult and the lil one on. It will not be for cold weather camping in the winter but could see lows in the 30s but not likely, It would be mostly for high elevation Arizona summer camping which sees summer rains.

Two smaller tents will keep out the weather better than one big one. Any tent big enough for 5 plus air mattress or cots will have a roof big enough to catch lots of rain and walls big enough to catch lots of wind.

This is what we use.  REI Kingdom 6.  Six-man tent for  a family of four so quite roomy (over 6' high inside) plus big vestibules for shoes and gear.  Wife insisted on something with a room divider so it has that and lots of internal pockets.  It has HUGE mesh sections so if you are expecting dry weather and can go without the rain fly you'll get an amazing view of the sky.  Love this thing.

Here's ours set up in Mammoth Cave Nat'l Park this past summer:



website

Well two tents aren't really an option right now with this young of kids. We camp in bear country too, not that they are a common problem here, but Id rather not seperate with one firearm.
I like those tunnel style tents. Wish more companies made them.

Cabela XWT tent or something like it

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-Outfitter-Series-XWT-Xtreme-Weather-Tent-x/713881.uts

http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=1570907&destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fproduct.jsp%3FproductId%3D713881%26type%3Dproduct

If this is for regular old fashioned car camping get a tent a little bigger than you think you will need.  Sooner or later you will have a weekend that is a washout and being stuck in a smaller tent is a pain. Some if the 2 room tents have a nice screened porch you can use as a game room or something and cut down on traffic through your sleeping area. Nothing sucks worse than having kids tracking mud throughout the tent going back and forth to get stuff.  If you can set them up in a porch area or second room it helps a lot.

Eureka has some nice tents in their Copper Canyon series.  If you have room consider a tent for more people.

http://eureka-tent.shptron.com/c/tents_copper-canyon-series?mobile=1

We use a Eureka Condo that is huge but has been awesome for years. Much bigger than we need but that extra space has been a Godsend on some trips.

http://www.montana-camping-guide.com/eureka-condo-tent.html

Wenzel Klondike is what I use. I can stand up in the main area and I'm six feet tall. There are two 'rooms' with lots of 'windows.'

Its not perfect, but I am happy.

It's built like a normal tent(fabric, poles), but with steel poles for the vertical wall portions. Fiberglass rods are used for the roof.

I like the REI Kingdom!
John

My main thing is that the tent can handle some rain. Nothing worse then a leaky tent.  I also been looking at the Eureka Copper Canyon 12

Big agnes ten sleep 6 dome shaped roomy and has a killer vestibule

The REI Kingdom is nice. A friend of mine has one and the tech garage add on, very nice setup!

I saw this tent. I have never bought anything from them SPORTSMAN GUIDE

That many people in one tent? I'm sorry but I don't think that will be fun!!!
Especially if the weather is poor!
But good luck with it! Let the hive know what you get and how it worked!!
Sorry! With pictures!!!



PITA45

Still deciding. Got till about February too decide, as I get a lil chuck of funds coming to buy one? I really like the looks and reviews of the Kodiak canvas flex bow tent in 14x10. The European and Australian markets have some real interesting options available that aren't sold here. Something similar to the REI tunnel style but bigger and more options. I'll try and find the link and post it.

I have this tent also and highly recommend it

I've always been a hiker, backcountry camper kind of guy.

Girlfriend wanted to do the relaxing car camping thing, so we invested in a base camp setup. So figure you are gonna want to upsize from our kit but it's a start.

The REI tents are great and you wont go wrong choosing an REI product.I personally found a great deal on a Big Agnes "big house" but have extensively camped with REI quarter domes and they are all good to go. Get the fitted ground sheet and it will help your tent to last.

You also are going to want air mattresses. We have the big "guests/sleepover" style one, it's a queen sized mattress with built in pillow bump at the head end, and a built in electric pump at the foot end. It both fills and deflates the thing depending on how you hook it up. Our mattress, linens, extension cord and vehicle power inverter fit nicely in a rubbermaid bin that can do double duty as a nice little bedside table.

You are also going to want a big blue tarp. Bigger than your tent - many of the seasoned tent campers at the 3 places we go all seem to string them up diamond style and then their whole tent setup under that. They seem like they are truly unphased by poor weather.

We already had an "easy up" or pop-up tent, one of those is nice to put above your camping chairs (which are awesome and you want these too), or the picnic table. Blocks the hot sun or rain. Think of it as a movable porch. The eagles nest style hammocks are fun for lazily lounging in, I would want to bring something like that for sure.

We will be using one queen airbed cot and 3 cots. I like the REIs but I think they may be a touch to small. A 14x10 size is about right. Bigger then that would be ok but not to big. I've seen some huge tents. I wonder if those have hell in the weather??

REI Kingdom  8?

The Kingdom 8 is alitte to small still based on the dimensions I saw. I don't like packing things in to the point beds are pushing on the sidewall or there is no walking room whatsoever. Rain and tents with items touching sidewalls usually becomes a issue.

First off, I would never discourage anyone from buying a high quality tent from REI, Big Agnes, or some other serious gear maker. I own an REI Basecamp 6 that's seen a good amount of use and aside from the dirt on the floor that I never remember to sweep out, looks as good as the day I first set it up in my yard.






REI calls it a 6-man tent but we find it comfortable for two guys on cots, with an aisle in between and room on the ends for gear.




That said, a friend of mine bought an Ozark Trail 10-man, 3-room cabin tent from WalMart several years ago. We call it the "refugee camp in a bag." We have used it a lot, and in some crappy weather (rain, snow). It has room for 4 guys on cots on either side with plenty of space for gear in the center section. It is very well designed and setup is pretty easy with two people. The quality of the fabric is good for the price point. The weakness has been the fiberglass poles. A couple have split over the years, which we've fixed onsite by wrapping the splits with mechanic's wire and then covering the wire with duct tape. (Both of which I keep in my truck all the time.) The owner has since replaced the split poles. If you're on a budget something like this is actually not a bad choice fo car camping, just bring a basic repair kit (wire, duct tape, pliers) with you in case a pole splits.


 

Buy a stack of gutter nails and washers.  Throw the cheap piece of shit tent stakes in the trash.


Thank me later with a beer.




I bought a big, square, tent with metal poles.  It is very similar to the HD versions I used to get at base special services.  




It is nice to stand up in your tent.  I also like an over-sized cot.  You can get one big enough for two.  Sleeping on the ground gets old quick.


 

Airbeds suck.  They always get popped while camping.  


Camping in your back yard isn't underrated.  Make a list, pack up, and lock your doors.  Add to the list every time you go inside to get something you forgot.  Unplug the wifi.  Camping with friends will find you a lot of things that you will bring along next time.  It's a great way to find new ideas.


Pack twice as much beer as you think you need.

Plus in a year or two when one or two of the teenagers opts out, you don't have a humungus tent for two or three people.

 

And you can find two smaller spots instead of one bigger spot (which might be harder.)


Imagine "Kid's Tent" where they set it up and take it down!

That's another of the million reasons a big tent is a big pain in the ass.

My kids always liked having their own tents. My son (now 18yo eagle scout) had his own tent at 3. Some stuffed animals and quiet toys and he was happy. My daughter has been rigging her hammock since age 10.

Did I read this correctly, your kid has had his own tent since 3?? Did he sleep in it  at a campground by his self?? My kids could never handle that at a place other then home.

Sure. Car camping within a few feet of our tent in a campground. I didn't expect him to set it by himself or pack it anywhere.

We saw a lot of giant tents in action during the cub scout years with other families. They don't do well in rain and wind.

Okay, I know this is an older thread, so I am probably late to the party.

We have a Kodiak Flexbow delux 10x10 and Love it!!! We actually got lucky and bought it for $80 from a guy who had only used it a few times for elk camp. After   our experience with this tent, I wouldn't hesitate buying one at full price in the future if we needed to. Totally worth it if you're wanting a high quality car camping tent. Yeah spending a little extra seems like too much, but as the saying goes "Buy once, Cry once".
As I said before, we have the 10x10, so for your requirements of space, maybe their cabin model would be best for your needs? If you just slept in individual sleeping bags the 10x10 or 10x14 may be big enough. However sounds like you want to use mattresses and cots, so I don't know if the Flexbow models would be big enough.

In the 10x10 we can fit a queen blow up and 2 kids on sleeping mats with just enough space for some gear, but not a whole lot. So maybe the 10x14 Could work... Or go with a couple bunk cots?

Their cabin models are a bit more pricy, but if you buy one it will last you YEARS of quality camping!
http://www.kodiakcanvas.com/12-x-9-ft-cabin/

Or go all out and spend $1,200 on the 26x8 ground cabin!

http://www.kodiakcanvas.com/26-x-8-ft-grand-cabin-with-awning/

Here's a picture of ours while doing some tent camping last year.

How much were you looking to spend?  

Once you go intsatents its hard to go with any thing else.  Not sure if they make them that big or not.  I can put two queens in mine and set up and take down in two mins. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_06X3f-IcM