Need a tent for son's first scout campout, and I threw out mine after the flood a little over a year ago. Doesn't need to be an ultralight backpacking tent, but I would lean towards something that I wouldn't mind carrying a couple miles. Leaning towards a 3 person tent (have 2 kids and wife has no interest in camping). Not looking to spend a lot, but want one to keep us dry if we were rained on. 3 season tent with decent ventilation that's easy to set up should meet its purpose (camping in the South).

Do stores like Bass Pro, Cabelas, Academy, or Wal-Mart have any decent tents meeting our fairly basic needs? We also have a BSA Scout Shop near us that has camping gear. Wife wants to buy one at a local store (we have all those I listed) so the buying is part of the experience for our son, and I think that would be good. Any recommendations?

My default in the past would have been to go to REI, but their Left Coast leadership has revealed their anti 2nd Amendment opinion, so if I have another good option, I'll go with the other option.

I have a cheap four person tent I use when hunting/camping on the rivers . Got it at walmart $60 it packs up like a bag with two footballs in it , been using it 4 years -still works fine.

The Cabela's dome tents are pretty hardy doing very well in wind and rain if staked down. More expensive but a little lighter with aluminum poles. Go with a 4 person for 2 people,some gear inside, and maybe a little cooking within.

You can find a decent tent at any of them for what you're using it for. If you're planning on sleeping 3 in there, you'll need something bigger than a 3 person as well.

question....are you sure your son's scout troop doesn't provide tents?

Get him something nice, so he can get a female scout inside it.

i'm wrapping up my scout camping days but when i started out with my boys i went through a couple schitty walmart dome tents and always found them lacking. some old timers in my troop had this one and i ended up buying 2, one used and one new. they are solid, easy to set up, waterproof and storm proof. over the 10 years or so we've camped in some serious weather in these and never a problem.

https://www.amazon.com/Eureka-26277...ative=165953&creativeASIN=B000EQ813S

when was in scouts we all used baker tents.

[img]https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0421/5069/products/Baker_3_grande.jpg?v=1485797846[/img]

The packing list included a tent, so apparently this troop doesn't. Thank you for asking to make sure.

My favorite car camping tent is a Marmot Limelite ... don't recall whether it is the 2P or 3P. I would use it for backpacking if I were carrying a tent to share with 2-3 people but I have lighter tents for solo use. The "bent leg" is cool .. it makes the whole floor space usable space instead of wasting it on corners that are hard to use, get damp, etc. My preferred setup is between a couple trees where I can hang a tarp overhead as an awning, dry access to the tent, and "hang out" space for when I'm not sleeping.

Tom

I was in our Walmart Saturday, all hunting stuff moving out, summer merchandise coming in.

Check out Backcountry.com clearance and Steepandcheap.com

This one

The fly comes all the way to the ground, only one I found in this price range that has this quality of a fly.
Just bought it for a nephew for his birthday


If ya want to go top end get a Marmot. www.marmot.com/equipment/tents

Eureka and Cabelas tents are good.

That was going to be my recommendation. BC almost always has an extra 10-20% off your first order too.

First a three man would be tight for two with gear but doable without gear let alone three. The Eureka is a good tent and used a lot by the scouts. If you are car camping the colman Insta tent is awesome goes up in less than a minute I love mine. If you are packing it then size and weight matters and the lighter you go the more it cost. The one thing you can do is separate the tent and everyone carry some of it to share the weight and bulk. There are a lot of quality tents the choice is yours. Widow

I used a Eureka 3 person for probably 15 years. The 3 person has plenty of space.

y

Good tent for the money, Comes with a rain fly.

https://www.cabelas.com/product/CABELAS-XPG-ULTRA-LIGHT-P-TENT/2495719.uts?slotId=0

I've had good luck with Cabelas XPG line of gear. Durable and functional and reasonably priced for what you get. They are not the cheapest but the are a good value. It's on sale for $200 and it weighs 4# 9oz. That's pretty good for a 3-person tent. Remember that a tent advertised as a 3-person tent will hold three sleeping bags and not much else. This tent would be good for two people plus their gear.

Stay away from tents at Walmart. They are junk.

See if you can find an easy up one with poles trapped. My nephew has one, far easier to set up than my yard sale Eureka. Be aware of "ventilation", some tents are almost all mesh with a rainfly and get cold no matter where you are. Look at the pics of the "3" man. it is 3 people laying down, and the guy on the end better not need to pee. One thing I find is I like (truck camping) is enough headroom to stand up to put on my pants.

Or get a tentcot

That's a good price on that tent. I looked at the 2-person version in-store a while back and found it to be well made. I had a few cheap tents when I was a young man and couldn't afford much. They were utter crap when actually used. I've never regretted a good quality tent.

Eureka Timberline 4XT is the classic scout’s tent. They last forever and have plenty of room for a man, 2 kids, and gear.

I have an older XPG tent that I love. It’s a light little 2 man job.

I’d check Sierra Trading Post. They used to have some great deals on nice equipment.

Budget is pretty important when you ask questions like this.

Also, REI isn't hurting your rights any more than Bass Pro or Amazon so I wouldn't close that door too quickly.

You'll want a four man (minimum). Forget a three.

Kelty dome tents are good 3-season tents. Better quality than the Ozark Trails tents at W-M.

I have Kelty Yellowstone 4-person that looks as good as new after over 100 nights of use.

REI branded tents are some of the best values out there.

I got a tent from wally-world several years ago. Caught it on sale, paid $35 or $40. It survived the tornado at Edtoomanyletters a few years ago. Like others have said.....if you gonna sleep 2, get a 4 person tent. Its nylon with a rain fly. Not made for cold weather, but I've put a propane heater in it without any problem.

The finest tent I ever owned was a Moss "Encore". 4-season tent that was cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Unfortunately Moss went under a number of years ago, but his tents can still occasionally be found on eBay. They're not cheap but they'll last a lifetime and provide camping comfort just about anywhere in the world you choose to land.

Check Cabelas - They were hving a good sale on some very good backpacking tents.

Campmor.com is another place to check out. 2 tents might be a good option, one for you and one for them.

+1.

The 2 man is good for one guy. the 4man is big enough for a queen air mattress, a baby and a Labrador. Mine is not the XT, but it has been serving me since 1984. It's been through 2 wives and 3 kids and one honeymoon. #3 son was probably conceived in this tent on a Moose watching trip to Northern Ontario. It's easy enough to set up by one guy in total darkness. I added a vestibule after a couple of years so I could cook in mine. For backpacking, it splits nicely into 2 bags.

It is not a warm tent. However, most scouting trips aren't that cold. 4 Season tents are usually too stuffy in the summer and 3-season tents are better for warm weather. I've camped and hunted out of it down into the mid-20's. It keeps the wind off, but as a cold-weather tent, well. . . it keeps the wind off and shed snow. Mine has gone through some humdinger thunderstorms without a drop of water.

Eureka has sent me replacement parts over the years. My autistic #1 son threw himself on the tent one year, thinking it was a trampoline. It bent one pole. I called the 800 number and had a replacement in a week. It requires re-waterproofing about once per decade.

Can't go wrong with the Eureka timberline tents.

My experience, a "3" or a "4" man is usually a "2".

You get 2 people and gear in a 3 or 4 and see what room you got left to move around. Usually ain't much.

I'm 6'4". So, I may be a little biased.But, not by much.

You gotta sleep "cattywampus"!

Good tent no doubt. I owned a Diamond Brand similar to the Timberline and it was a fantastic tent. Not lightweight but pretty bomber.

Our Troop has used Eureka Timberline tents for 15 years and this year is the first that I have had to treat any of them for leaking. Our troop policy is NO gear in the tents. The only things allowed in the tents are sleeping bags, pads and the people sleeping in them. This is to give more room and to prevent critters from coming into the tents for a free meal. Packs and Duffle bags are kept outside in larger trash bags. While at Philmont, I have had ground Squirrels (mini bears) chew through a pack to get a granola bars in the side pockets We also have had black bears enter the dining fly looking for food. We don't want any smells of food or sweet smelling toothpaste in the tents. Philmont actually requires the sleeping area to be away from packs and cooking areas to prevent bear encounters. A 3 man tent can get pretty heavy if backpacking but is fine for camping near the car.

Good tent choice here. I bought my son when he joined scouts in the 5th grade an Alaskan 4 -man tent for his scouting career until he "Eagled" Now my grandsons are using his Cabelas Alaskan 4-man tent for their scouting adventures. A 3 man tent as previously stated is good for 3 young scouts and gear. As they age to bigger scouts the tent becomes a 2-man tent and gear.

Cabelas tents are well thought out and tuff as the country they were designed for. You get what you pay for most of the time.

For 2 people, a 3 man tent is considerably more comfortable than a 2 man. Most are about 7x7. Lay out a 7x7 space on the floor and try to get 3 sleeping bags in it.
I have one of these Eureka Tetragons in 3 man that I've had for 10 years of more. It's been a very good tent and has stood up to some hard use which is surprising considering it's fairly low price. Weight is 7lb. EUREKA TETRAGON

It also comes in a 4 man for about $20 more. It weighs about 2lb more than the 3 man but would be much better for 3 people.

The 2 Kelty tents that were lightly used thrift store finds have been more than
adequate shelters and have stood up to pretty heavy rain well.

Girlfriend & I together have owned 5 Eureka tents. We love them.
Since Bass Pro has killed Cabela’s there’s no telling what you will find there. Perhaps you will get lucky and find a decent Cabela’s branded tent on clearance to make room for more Bass Pro trash. When we visited the Kansas City, KS Cabela’s back in July the only tents they had in the store where Cabela’s and Coleman brands.

Another vote for campmor.com if you cannot find anything local.

If one is willing to go high end, the North Face tents are fine but really expensive. I have a two man I use on solo fishing trips. Between the tent and fly, there are 29 tie down points, so it's not going anywhere in wind. Fly also comes to within 2 inches of the ground. Cookie and I used a two person version for about 20 years before UV eventually consumed the fly. In several instances, it was the only unit standing after all night storms.

I want this one...

This time of year nearly any sporting good store should have tents on sale good for a season or two, well under $100. Here we have Big 5 that usually has a large in stock supply... we have Bass Pro Shop and REI. I still use REI an then Big 5. If you have the time, might get a good deal for a higher end tent online.

Whether it keeps you dry is up to you:
Link

Current clearance on a Coleman 7" x 7" dome tent $29.99
Link

Looks like you have Big 5"s in Texas, Order online they have $10 off first order and free shipping on orders over $50.

Phil