Description It is tall (6' headroom inside), long (15' overall) and has a sturdy 5 pole structure. It is built like a backpacking tent with aluminum poles, and two entrances, both covered by vestibule areas. The ...
Summary: I have owned this tent for at least 5+ years and use it several times each season for both car camping and canoeing trips. I am not impressed with this tent at all, yes it is big and tall, but we have a hard time fitting 4 people in it comfortably. It is difficult to set up, and the poles are very long which takes a country mile to set up. The fly is poorly designed, even if you use all of the tie off points provided you just cant keep the fly off of the tent fabric (MAJOR DESIGN ERROR), there is just to much fabric, and it contacts in many places causing moisture to be wicked through the tent and on to you, we "ALWAYS" end up with wetness inside the tent because of this. The extending vestabule is also poorly designed and is more hasle to deal with than it is worth. If I had it to do over, I would not have purchased this tent, I continue to use it because it was so expensive and I want to feel like I am getting my moneys worth, but it really isnt worth it. I am now purchasing a replacement for it for this next season, I just can't take the frustration anymore.
Customer Service: Customer service from REI as far as the sale went was fine. And when I contacted the maker they were nice also when I explained the problems I was having with this model. But there is nothing you can do about a poor design.
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Reviewed by: Marc(Unregistered User)
,
Car Camper
, from Seattle, WA, USA
Price Paid:
$350.00
at REI
Summary:
I've always wondered why they can't take the solid, strong design used in backpacking tents and apply the same principles to a tent sized for more luxurious car camping. The Armadillo line in general seems to have met this particular need. Enter the Boojum, a standard backpacking dome tent that grew up - and up, to an interior where I can stand up straight (I'm 6' tall.)
Setup is easier than most cabin tents in my experience, but the sheer size makes it tricky. If you like to set up a new tent in your living room for practice, be warned that the long poles (5 of them!) probably will make that difficult or impossible. With 2 people after a bit of practice setup becomes pretty routine.
We actually use this tent with just 2 campers, so I suppose we could manage with something much smaller, but I like to have enough space to keep me, sleeping bag, clothes, etc. more organized and not constantly be touching the tent wall. I probably wouldn't put more than 3 adults in a tent like this unless they were quite friendly.
We live and camp in the Pacific NorthWest, so there's plenty of opportunity to test out in the rain. This tent does what you would expect out of a backpacking tent with respect to weather. The rain fly is taped and extends all the way down, so water won't get in even if it's windy. The height of the tent means it catches stronger winds than a backpacking tent would; there are plenty of attachment points for additional guy lines and stakes, but I haven't needed them so far.
The only annoyance is in just one spot -- right above the front door. The fly there tends to sag sometimes, coming into contact with the tent body and causing condensation and dripping. This isn't a problem with the rear door because the little elastic fasteners used to tie up the rear door stop the seam in the fly from sliding over the pole, but on the front those fasteners are not located there. I've thought about sewing a little something onto the fly at that point to prevent the sliding. I haven't heard anybody else complain about this, so maybe it's just an oddness of my tent.
Overall I'd say this is a terrific car camping tent. It is pricy, so I won't give it a super-high value rating, but if the extra money you spend on it prevents rain from ruining a trip or two I'd call it worth it.
Similar Products Used: None
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Reviewed by: Jamie(Unregistered User)
,
Car Camper
, from Las Vegas
Price Paid:
$240.00
Summary: This is a great family camping tent. There is plenty of space for my family of four and our gear. The tent is extremely well made (same company as Walrus and Moss) and designed. It handles high winds very well for tent this tall. A limitation is the weight of this tent precludes it use for serious hiking unless you have a pack animal.
Similar Products Used: Kelty family tents.
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Reviewed by: Will Hay(Unregistered User)
,
Paddler
, from Ottawa
Summary: Great tent for its category. Really stable in wind, and the inner tent at both ends is coated, so, if you fall asleep with the vestibule's open and it starts to rain you won't get soaked, even if it's windy. The zipper flaps on the fly get caught in the zipper if you're not careful. Excellent value.
Similar Products Used: None
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