As with any free-standing tent, with this one you stake out the four corners, and then you feed the two main tent poles through the Wawona’s fabric sleeves, which go halfway down the tent’s body. The North Face’s color-coded poles make this process easy to navigate. (We were stubborn and didn’t look at the instructions.) Once you identify the front and back, the process is straightforward. The fly goes up and over the tent body, covering only the upper half of the mesh dome, and then forms the glorious vestibule with the aid of a third pole.
Its fly extends into a huge front vestibule that can store large items like bikes, or even accommodate a table and chairs. Adults over 6 feet tall will be able to walk upright inside this tent—which has almost-vertical walls that can easily accommodate beds, cribs, and cots—as well as in the vestibule. And this tent is easy to set up and pack down, especially considering its size. (It comes with a carrying bag equipped with duffle-style handles.) You’re unlikely to find a similar-sized tent that matches the Wawona’s quality and features for less money—most comparable tents we tested cost much more.
We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and to Elders past and present. Welded corners and inverted seams keep water from getting in if there is a drizzle and it can be put up in less than five minutes with the built-in frame. 7NEWS may receive a commission when you buy from links on our site. The compromise for this convenience is a poor-performing design.
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refund or exchange, minus shipping, within 90 days from the date of purchase unless noted below under
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where some exclusions may apply. In the event you wish to send a product back to us, you may return most unused items for a refund or exchange, minus shipping, within 90 days from the date of purchase unless noted below under exceptions and exclusions.
The main bodies of our other picks are structured with two main poles with added support from smaller brow poles. The Base Camp, by contrast, has four full-size aluminum struts woven throughout it, somewhat like a coleman instant tent basket, plus an additional brow pole that frames the front entrance and supports the larger of the two vestibules. The Base Camp also offers more privacy compared with our other picks—with or without the rain fly.
Headroom is limited to 4’ 11’’, but this is a fairly small, cheap tent that’s expected. I agree with the last reviewer…tent looks good, setup is really nice, but the plastic corner brackets break way too easy, metal ones and this tent would be awesome. I like the weatherctec system, on most Coleman tents seems they stay dry even in heavy rains. We found that company representatives are reluctant to estimate the lifespan of their tents. When pushed, most of the reps we talked to estimated five to 10 years, though the actual lifespan will vary widely depending on care and frequency of use (for more advice, read REI’s excellent tips). In conducting research for this guide, we heard multiple tales of careful campers who had been using the same tent for 15 years or more.
A tent that requires staking to stand up—especially a larger, six-person tent—is unwieldy, and it’ll be impossible to set up on a hard surface such as blacktop or on raised wooden tent decks. A full rain cover, two vestibules, and an extra-sturdy pole coleman camping chair structure make this the best choice for families who want to get outside in any weather. Of course, it’s not really recommended for extreme weather — it’s an instant tent after all — but I haven’t found there to be any issues when the weather turns.
As a family of 4 (plus an 80 lb Golden Doodle), having an instant tent makes the most sense for us. There is often so much going on when we first arrive at a campsite. The kids need to use the restroom, everyone is hungry, the dog needs to be leashed up, etc. Fumbling with an armful of unattached poles with all of that going on in the background fills me with anxiety just thinking about it. The Instant Tent 4 will no doubt find fans in car campers who hold setup convenience as a No. 1 trait.
If you don’t have time to let the fly dry before you pack the Wireless in its duffle, we recommend laying it out when you get home so it doesn’t mildew in storage. A full rain cover, two vestibules, and an extra-sturdy pole structure make this the best choice for couples who want to get outside in any weather. It’s pricey, though, and unless the other couples’ tents we recommend, it doesn’t include a footprint. An instant tent is a category of tents designed specifically for quick and easy setup. Some tents have a central hub at the roof of the tent so that you simply fold the poles down and extend. Others have a box-like design where the sides pull out into place.
MSR’s Habitude 6 is also a good tent, but it costs about $200 more. Unfortunately, you have to buy a separate groundsheet for the Wawona 6 and for most other tents its size as well. The Mineral King 3’s fly attaches intuitively with plastic buckles and has well-placed guy tabs. You can secure the fly to the poles with Velcro ties underneath the fly, so that the extra lines anchored the whole tent, not just the thin protective fabric, but we only needed to do so in very windy conditions. When the fly is fully deployed, the tent has two vestibules, which provide additional gear storage and also help ventilate the tent in inclement weather.