Tahoe Gear Willow 2 Person 3 Season Family Dome Waterproof Camping Hiking Tent

My girlfriend and I took this tent on a backpacking trip through Puerto Rico & on a hiking trip through Wisconsin. I've a lot of opinions about this tent.Tent Construction: Standard tent material, the mesh at the top is prone to tearing, the mesh door zips closed, but the nylon flaps only velcro. There's no real rain fly, it's just the little square you see in the picture. The bottom, though, bears note. It's AMAZING. You don't need to worry about wet ground, as the bottom comes up about six inches all the way around. We got caught in a major rain storm in WI, and ended up with about an inch of standing water around our tent. It didn't seep in at all. The walls, did a fairly good job of keeping out the water, as well. The only place that let water it, really, came from the areas where the mesh are - the bottom of the door and the rain fly. It just sort of sneaks under there when the wind blows.Size: We're both small (under 5'5), and fit comfortably, though we do sleep very close together. We were able to lay out our Thermarest roll pads side by side easily, and have room to place our packs on the other side of the tent. If you're over 5'9, you probably don't fit very well in this tent if you want to sleep stretched out.Ventilation: There aren't any windows, save for the door and a little mesh netting at the top (Under the rain "fly"). You're going to get hot, and quickly, once you shut the front flaps. We've only taken it out between April (in PR) and August (in WI), so I don't know how it does in the winter (we live in Chicago), but I imagine that you'd probably be okay in moderate temperatures.Usefulness on a backpacking or hiking trip: Because we flew to Puerto rico, we had to pack it inside our packs (each 65L). One pack took the tent, the other the poles, and it fit fine between them. In WI, we were able to strap it to our packs with little to no problem. It doesn't compress a whole lot smaller than what the tent bag offers, which is something to take into account if you're going on a long trip or have limited space to pack a tent. It IS light, and therefore it's not a huge addition to place on your pack. Set up and tear down are easy, quick, and straight forward.Overall, this tent is perfect for two - possibly three (if you really like each other) - small people going back packing, hiking, or to festivals. We added our own layer of mosquito netting under the rain fly, to prevent the bugs from sneaking in, and we bring a tarp to hang over the top just in case we get caught in a thunderstorm.

I actually did a video review of this tent, I hope you enjoy it. [...]I will say I have not camped in this yet, so there may be more plus'/minus' that I will learn, but here are my initial impressions.Pros:I love the bathtub style flooring which comes up a good 4-6" from the ground. This eliminates the need for a tarp.For me, a 5'10' guy I fit into the tent. If I were over 6 feet it would not work.Freestanding tent - no need to use stakes to put the tent up, perfect for indoors with kids. When outside you can and should stake the 4 corners to prevent the wind from blowing it around when you are not inside.Can be setup by 1 person - it's a pain getting the poles into the corners but it's possible.Cons:No windows except a small section on the roof and the doorI don't think I will like the door. As you'll see in the video the main door zipper is a bottom to top zipper in the middle of the door. Then two zippers on the bottom open to create a triangle shape to enter and exit. I would have loved a larger zipper in an arc shape with a chase zipper.Only one very small pocket inside the tentThe "rainfly" is a joke and about the size of a large bandanna. Offers no rain protection on the door opening. Why could they not make this bigger?I really think if they could have make 1 or 2 windows, included a real rainfly, added another larger pocket inside and changed the design of the zipper for the door it would be great.I will provide an update when I camp with it.

Well worth the money! My buddy and I went out on a road trip this past summer and camped out at a few National Parks during our travels. We went to Badlands National Park and set this up for the first time at the Sage Creek campground, which was almost as well-thought of a plan as the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Fortunately the tent was really easy to set up as reviews have suggested. I would recommend bringing a hammer to set the nails in the ground but stomping on them works fine. It was put to the test about an hour after we set up: An intense hurricane-like storm blew in with winds so strong that gravel was picked up; I'm not an expert but it seemed like 100+ mph winds! The tent was literally bent over in half by the force of the winds and we waited out the storm in our Mini Cooper thinking it would either break apart or fly away like a tumbleweed never to be seen again. Fortunately, it survived but we forgot to zip up the outside cover before the storm came in, so we had to drain all the water out and dry the interior with cloths, which was a minor price to pay considering the ridiculous storm that came through. Fun fact: Later that night we took some edibles (because why not) and I thought the Spirits of the Badlands were talking to me through gentle winds rustling the tent.Anyway, it really stood up to the initial test and we used it again with great success in Grand Teton & Zion. Hopefully this was a convincing review. Buy this and go have an adventure!