Over the next several weeks, I will be looking at some of the best tents on the market, for family camping. First up, this week, is Big Agnes in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Big Agnes is known for quality tents featuring easy-to-assemble clip-style construction and lightweight hub-style frames. In addition, these tents all feature aluminum poles, which are superior to the more common fiberglass poles that come with cheaper tents. Big Agnes tents are more expensive than many others, but they will last for years and their no-nonsense 100% guarantee can’t be beat.
Big House
The Big House comes in 4-person ($299.95 – shown) and 6-person ($359.95) models. The $50 footprint is available separately, as is a huge (52sq. ft.) front vestibule for $100. These nice, tall, tents provide plenty of room for family camping. In fact, the 6-person model features a center-height of 6’ 3â€. The center-height of the Big House 4 is just under 6-feet, at 68-inches.
Lynx Pass
The Lynx Pass 4 ($299.95) is a lower-profile tent than the Big House and light enough for backpacking, at 7lb. 9oz (tent, fly and poles). The integrated vestibule provides 17sq. ft. of storage space for shoes and other small items. For summertime use, you can use just the footprint (sold separately) with the frame and fly for a 5lb. 10oz. backpacking solution.
Jupiter’s Cabin
The Jupiter’s Cabin 4 ($289.95) line is new for 2010 and is a bit of a cross between the Big House and Lynx Pass models. The Jupiter’s Cabin line is relatively heavy, at 11lb., 6oz. (tent, fly and poles), which is indicative of the heavier polyester fly and less mesh venting. The center-height of the Jupiter’s Cabin is 66-inches and, while the footprint (sold separately) and fly can be used independently of the tent body, for lightweight summertime use, this combination still tips the scales at 9lb. 14oz. so the utility of this feature in the Jupiter’s Cabin line is of marginal benefit.
See also…
We have an “old” Hillary 4-man tent that we purchased pre-kids. Needless to say, with five of us now, we need to upgrade! I’ve heard good things about a jeep branded multiroom tent – some friends of ours had one in a wicked rain storm this summer, and theirs was the only tent left standing.
I think those are Coleman tents. I know someone with a Copper Canyon model that’s been through several rain storms, with no problems. That’s pretty good for a cabin tent.
It was pretty cold the time I’m talking about a pole snapping, as well as windy. I wonder if fiberglass becomes brittle at lower temperatures. Actually it was when I was trying to fold the tent up that it got caught by the wind and the pole snapped. A big tent is harder to fold up than a small one.
Clear, infoartmive, simple. Could I send you some e-hugs?
You make a good point on the aluminum poles. I have a couple of small tents which I’ve used for years – lightweight tents that pack up small – and the poles were/are great. Then I bought a bigger family tent from Costco – one to use right out the car – and one of the poles broke the first time I took it out. Kansas can be pretty windy, as can many campsites in other states. The big tent is also really cold – fine to use in the heat of summer, but no good in spring or fall when temperatures get down to freezing overnight.
Alison – my experience with fiberglass poles is that they start to fray and come apart where the pole sections go together. I haven’t ever snapped one (knock on, uh fiberglass?), but I’ve sure heard a lot of horror stories about that.