Kelty Grand Canyon 9

Review Date
July 30, 2003

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 1 of 5

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2 votes

Reviewed by: dotkaye(Unregistered User) ,  Car Camper , from Denver

Price Paid:  $260.00 at REI

Summary:
bought this as a family tent because it's one of the few with a full-coverage fly. Also the front vestibule is very nice for getting out of the rain.

However I'm rather disappointed in the quality. The first one I returned because the pole sleeves were ripped after 3 uses. I'm not sure when/how, been pitching tents for 30 years and this the first such problem. Then the replacement tent:
1. first use - one of the sockets on the end of the poles fell off and vanished in the long grass. The tent can't be pitched without this. Manufactured a substitute and duct tape to hold it on, worked OK.
2. second use - the vent at the back has the only non-taped seam in the fly. Water came through the seam and dripped on our sleeping heads. Not good.
3. third use - the poles are all bent at the insertion points into the aluminum sleeves. I don't think they're going to last much longer.

I'm going to try to return it and get my money back.

Review Date
July 7, 2003

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Reviewed by: paul gregory(Unregistered User) ,  Car Camper , from edmonton

Price Paid:  $500.00 at Ottawa

Summary:
My review is of the Grand Canyon 11. First of all, this is a very good tent. Once you get into the large 10ft by 10ft size, selection becomes limited and prices escalate. This tent is solid, with 4 poles, has a full polyester fly, and quite the versatile vestibule. Feels very roomy. Do get an extra ground sheet, even if it is a plastic tarp. We previously had an Escape hexagonal 10 by 12 tent with 5 foot sides, it was OK for two adults and 2 small children, but not for 4 adults. The Grand Canyon fits the bill and we can easily line up 4 sleeping bags side by side with room for gear. Among the large tents most are 9ft by 12 foot, which means when you enter the tent you have to watch out not to step on sleeping bags. Other tents were too large, being 10 by 14 or 10 by 15 feet. Good luck trying to find a flat pad to put those tents on. That is why my limit was around 10ft by 10ft.

The review below by Ollieswood certainly noted all the faults, but he was too critical. The tent is easy to set up, I had no trouble with the fiberglass going in the sleeves, aluminum poles would cost significantly more (cost is an issue), and the only part I had to stake outwards was the back fly (the front vestibule needs to be staked too). The fly clipped in nicely. I wish the front door had a cover for the screen (most tent seem to lack this nowadays), and wish the back vent was smaller (those who need ventilation will be happy), but there is no perfect tent out there (I think Kelty was worried about suffocation and condensation). The vents could have had curved plastic fittings to hold them open as in the Bon Echo, rather than staking, but the Bon Echo is too small and only a 2 pole tent. The Mantra 7 is nice but 20 inches longer and much less roomy due to the triangular shape. All in all the Grand Canyon best fits the bill for my family.

Customer Service:
NA

Similar Products Used:
Eureka Bon Echo, Kelty mantra 7, Outbound.

Review Date
May 28, 2002

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Visitors rate this review
4.67 of 5, 3 votes

Reviewed by: olliesworld(Unregistered User) ,  Car Camper , from Hudsonville, MI, USA

Price Paid:  $260.00 at REI

Summary:
I wanted to place a review for the Grand Canyon 11 but it wasn't available and the Grand Canyoy 9 is identical except for the size. My wife, three children and I spent 4 days in rain and fairly high winds in the 11. We stayed dry with no problem. However, during setup (the first for this new tent) one of the rings at the bottom where the poles attach opened up almost competely just from the force of the pole tension. I bent the ring closed as best I could. The foot print, I purchased extra, was smaller than the tent floor (no problem) but the attachment clips are positioned so that the footprint is very loose after installed. Staking the loops on the ends of the straps helped to hold the footprint down but prevented the use of the snaps directly to the tent??? This brings us to the fly. The fly extends all the way down, nice job Kelty. Most tents lack this very important feature! However, the buckles used to attach the fly to the tent, at the pole tips, cause the fly to lay loosely on the sides of the tent at the bottom. I could not get the fly tight all the way around the bottom. The tent bottom is just not the same size as the fly. I tried to move the tent pole locations outward as far as possible but the tent floor was already extremely tight. I finally gave up and used stakes, through the buckle straps, to hold the fly taut and about 4-6 inches from the base of the tent floor. This helped to prevent the rain from running down the fly and directy onto the seam ajoining the floor to the sides of the tent. (No bathtub floor design). One other interesting feature that I can't leave out is the visor type fly flap at the rear of the tent. This feature is supposed to be staked out and downward to cover a mesh panel in the fly. Driving winds can easily force rain up and through the mesh into the top of the tent. Not sure why the fly was designed this way. Having two doors and two vestibules would have been better. Moving on to the poles. Kelty, why fiberglass. These poles are very large (diameter) but crackle as they bend, weigh a ton and have those stupid aluminum joints that alway get stuck passing through the sleeves. Aluminum! It's worth the money for the easy of assembly, weight and strength. All and all it's a very large tent but my 12 yr. old REI GeoDome (6 man) is much more robust and just as water tight but too small.

Customer Service:
Haven't used it.

Similar Products Used:
Sierra Design Mondo 5, REI GeoDome

Review Date
May 19, 2002

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Reviewed by: David (Unregistered User) ,  Car Camper , from Middlesex County, Virginia

Price Paid:  $250.00 at Blue Ridge Mountain

Summary:
My opinion of the Grand Canyon 9? It's a "best buy". It meet and exceeded my car camping needs, and I would have no problem giving this tent as a gift to someone I care about. I just returned from my first 3 day camping trip in 25+ years and yes, I did have a leak the first night (10 hours of a heavy constant rain), but the problem that I encountered was of my own doing. In short, read the instructions, and guy the tent out correctly!!! (I didn't guy the back out at all, and yes..it did get wet inside). The next day, I saw why, corrected the problem and that next evening .....NO PROBLEMS. Oh, the second night, instead of rain we experienced light rains, and in the morning ... HEAVY condensation on the fly, but not one drop came into the tent! Dry, dry, dry!!! I don't think you can go wrong for the price, but for my needs...alum. poles aren't necessary. Easy, and fast to set up (with or without a partner. It says 4 person; however, two campers will have it made, and 3 would still be acceptable.

Customer Service:
Haven''t had any experience with them, but have heard only good things.

Similar Products Used:
None..this was my first tent!

Review Date
April 30, 2002

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 2 votes

Reviewed by: skap(Unregistered User) ,  Car Camper , from United States

Price Paid:  $0.00 at backcountry.com

Summary:
I am extremely impressed with the Kelty Grand Canyon. It comes with a nice carrying case with handles. It was easy to set up with the color coded clips. The rain fly gives complete protection down to the ground. I have not gotten wet inside the tent yet. The vestibule has a lot room to move around. And finally, it has a lot of room in the tent. I can stand up straight and I am 6'3. I have had other big tents but this one is far and away the best big tent I have ever owned. If you are looking for a family or base camp tent, look no farther.

Similar Products Used:
Eureka Wind River