Greater than 20 years in the past once I was in faculty, my girlfriends and I went automobile tenting on the Olympic Peninsula. It was pouring rain and the within of our tent and our sleeping luggage obtained fully soaked. I ended up gathering what was left of my dry gear and hiding out within the driver’s seat of my automobile. It was a depressing expertise, and I discovered that one of the crucial vital automobile tenting necessities is a high quality automobile tenting tent.
An ideal automobile tenting tent is straightforward to arrange, spacious, sturdy, and can maintain you dry irrespective of the climate. I’ve been testing the not too long ago up to date REI Base Camp 4-person tent, and it hits all the marks – loads of room, a HUGE vestibule to your gear, plenty of vents to enhance airflow, and an insane quantity of pockets to maintain issues organized on the within.
On this REI Base Camp 4 Tent Evaluation, I share my opinions on why I like this tent and some issues I’d wish to see improved after testing it in a wide range of climate situations.
Sponsored by REI Co-op
REI Co-op is my favourite outside gear retailer and a long-time supporter of my work right here at Bearfoot Idea. Their 1-year return coverage for Members is hands-down the very best within the business, and Members additionally get 10% again on their purchases yearly.
REI Base Camp 4 Tent Overview
This REI Base Camp 4 Tent evaluation is predicated on my expertise testing it in a wide range of climates over the previous few months. On one journey to the Arizona desert, situations ranged from a blistering 95 levels to 50 mph winds and heavy rain showers. I’ve additionally used it within the Uintas in Utah the place nighttime temperatures obtained down into the 30s. On each journey, the tent has carried out properly, and it’s full of particular options and particulars that make this certainly one of my favourite automobile tenting tents so far.
REI Base Camp 4 Tent Particulars
Professionals
Cons
Save this submit!
Enter your e-mail & I am going to ship this submit to your inbox! You will additionally obtain my weekly e-newsletter filled with useful recommendation for planning your adventures.
Ease of Setting Up
On my own, I used to be in a position to set the REI Base Camp 4 Tent up in 15-20 minutes the primary time round. I couldn’t discover the directions…seems they’re connected to one of many stuff sacks that the tent is available in. Nonetheless, the color-coding made it extraordinarily simple to determine.
Due to its dimension, it feels somewhat cumbersome the primary time in case you are setting it up alone, however that may be true of any 4-person tent. Additionally, in case you’re utilizing a 4-person tent, probably you’ve a further set of fingers that can assist you.
Towards the tip of this evaluation, you’ll discover step-by-step directions for arrange the tent, together with much more images.
Spaciousness
Whereas the REI Base Camp 4 is rated for 4-people, it might be fairly tight making an attempt to suit 4 adults in right here. In reality, I arrange a NEMO Double Roamer (a 2-person sleeping pad), the REI Campwell Sleeping Pad, and one other outdated Thermarest automobile tenting pad I’ve, and so they didn’t all match. You’ll be able to see within the picture under how the blue and crimson sleeping pads overlap.
Now, the automobile tenting sleeping pads I arrange have been wider than the common sleeping pad, however I do suppose 4 backpacking-style sleeping pads would match, no drawback. Nonetheless, even then there wouldn’t be an entire lot of wiggle room with 4 adults, which is why I give it 4/5 stars for spaciousness.
Now for 2 adults and two children (or pups), this tent would work nice. For much more consolation, I’d personally need to restrict it to a few individuals which might leaves a bit of additional house in between the three sleeping pads so it doesn’t really feel such as you’re sleeping on high of each other.
My household of three plus 2 canines can slot in right here with some room to spare (however our canines are on the smaller facet). You’ll be able to see on this photograph how a lot better it’s with sleeping pads that accommodate a complete of three individuals.
This tent would even be nice for 2 adults who merely need extra room. I slept in right here with a girlfriend and beloved how we each had our personal house. You possibly can simply match two cots in right here, a small desk, and even two compact camp chairs in case you have been hiding out from the rain.
Home windows and Vents
Considered one of my favourite issues about this tent is all the home windows it has. Not solely does this enhance air flow in scorching climate or cut back condensation out of your breath on a chilly evening, it additionally means that you can get pleasure from all the good views.
When you don’t put the rainfly on, the highest has 4 mesh panels so you possibly can stargaze as you’re falling asleep. I really like that this mesh doesn’t come at the price of your privateness although.
The doorways of the tent are made from two layers. First is a stable layer that may be zipped up for privateness. If you’d like higher airflow and views, you possibly can zip down the stable layer, revealing a second mesh layer that retains the bugs out.
Along with the mesh on the ceiling and doorways, there are additionally two-floor vents you can open. I really like this function as a result of generally I need to really feel somewhat further breeze on my face on heat nights.
Lastly, there are 4 vents on the rainfly that may be popped open. These enable a number of the heat air from within the tent to flee because it rises which prevents condensation.
Pockets and Group
There are 18 pockets within the REI Base Camp 4 tent! I don’t suppose I’ve ever slept in a tent with that many pockets. They’re conveniently positioned throughout the tent, so in case you have been sleeping with 4 individuals in right here, everybody would have their very own pockets for his or her stuff inside attain.
Not solely are there quite a lot of pockets, however they’re all actually large. I match my Nalgene within the pocket by the door with out having to stretch the fabric. Within the others, I positioned my Kindle, headlamp, cellphone, hat and gloves and different necessities that I want all through the evening.
There are additionally loops you possibly can cling issues from like a small lantern or perhaps a small moveable fan. I used the loops to string up my string lights which created a pleasant ambiance when hanging out in right here at evening.
Lastly, I’ll point out the pocket by the door. The doorways unzip virtually all the means, and they’re much to large to simply roll to the facet. It took me a minute to determine this out, however when the door is absolutely unzipped, you possibly can stuff it within the pocket subsequent to the door so it’s out of the way in which.
Vestibules
Merely put, the vestibules within the REI Base Camp 4 tent are superior. With a complete of 38.5 sq. ft inside the 2 vestibules, there’s greater than sufficient room for ALL of your gear. You possibly can match a cooler, a few backpacks or suitcases, sneakers, and no matter else you need to maintain out of the weather.
My good friend and I even arrange my two Dometic GO Camp Chairs in right here with room to spare. I might see this being actually useful on a scorching day while you need to get out of solar. And with the vestibule on the opposite facet, you continue to have loads of room to your gear.
Every vestibule has two zippers, one on either side. This makes it simple to get out and in of in the course of the evening.
The one purpose I’m docking half a star right here is as a result of rolling up the middle of the vestibule is somewhat tough. It’s quite a lot of cloth and fairly extensive, so rolling it up with one individual was difficult.
Weatherproofness and Sturdiness
Whereas I can’t but converse to long-term sturdiness since I’ve solely had this tent for just a few months, I can say that it might probably face up to heavy winds and rain. Once I was not too long ago tenting in Arizona, we obtained hit with a sudden storm, and the REI Base Camp 4 tent stayed dry as a bone on the within.
The bottom the place we arrange the tent was virtually as arduous as concrete, so the tent wasn’t staked down in addition to I’d like. We additionally didn’t have entry to large rocks to overwhelm the stakes. As a substitute, we have been in a position to safe the man traces in just a few locations, and we additionally put a few of our camp furnishings within the tent to weigh it down as a lot as attainable.
With how poorly the tent was staked down, I couldn’t consider how properly it held up. The poles are fairly thick, in order that they don’t bend or buckle simply just like the poles from a lighter-weight tent would. The rainfly didn’t leak a single drop.
In rain, you’ll need to ensure that the 4 roof vents are closed and secured with the velcro so water doesn’t blow in by way of these.
I’ve full confidence that the REI Base Camp 4 tent is hard sufficient for use in virtually any kind of climate that you’d camp in.
Packability
The REI Base Camp 4 tent weighs greater than 17 kilos, and the footprint provides one other 1 lb 5 oz. Whereas this sounds awfully heavy in case you’re used to sleeping in a backpacking tent, in case you’re searching for a troublesome 4-person automobile tenting tent you can virtually rise up in, you’ll be hard-pressed to seek out one that’s considerably lighter.
Something that’s lighter goes to be lacking options that make this tent so practical. For instance, The North Face Wawona 4 weighs 13 lbs, nevertheless it solely has one vestibule that’s considerably smaller than the REI Base Camp 4. It additionally doesn’t supply any privateness with out the rainfly on.
Another choice – the MSR Habiscape 4 – weighs 12 lbs 11 oz (I’ve a earlier model of this tent referred to as the MSR Habitude). It has extra headspace than the REI Base Camp 4, however equally to the Wawona, the vestibules are a lot smaller. In my expertise, it additionally doesn’t appear fairly as sturdy because the REI Base Camp 4.
Apart from these two options, the REI Base Camp 4’s packaged weight could be very a lot in step with different 4-person automobile tenting tents. For all the options it gives, I might select this over the opposite automobile tenting tents I personal, so long as I can drive proper as much as my campsite.
What I do like in regards to the REI Base Camp 4 is that every little thing simply matches within the bag that it got here in. I didn’t need to wrestle to get it again in after utilizing it, and the footprint even matches in the identical bag, even these it’s offered individually.
Once I’m storing it, I don’t trouble making an attempt to fold all of it good and neat. I simply stuff it within the bag like I might if it have been a sleeping bag.
Find out how to Set Up the REI Base Camp 4 Tent
Organising the tent could be very simple. It takes me about 15-20 minutes on my own, and if Ryan helps me, that point will get minimize all the way down to 10 minutes. Listed here are the steps:
1. Put down footprint and pull every little thing out
The very first thing to do is to unfold the footprint and pull all the tent components out of the bag. I like that the poles, stakes and tent all have their very own sacks to maintain every little thing organized.
The REI Base Camp 4 Tent Footprint is offered individually, however I extremely suggest it because it offers an added layer of safety for the underside of the tent. Additionally it is the precise dimension of tent and will be staked out.
2. Insert the gold poles into their sleeves
Discover the 2 gold-ended poles and insert them into the gold sleeves on the tent. These create the preliminary construction for the tent.
One thing distinctive about this tent is that it has “dead-end pole sleeves.” This implies the tent poles don’t poke out the opposite finish when you’re pushing the poles by way of. This makes it a lot simpler to arrange by your self with out the assistance of one other individual. The one factor you must take note of is that the rounded finish of the pole have to be inserted first
As soon as the poles received’t undergo any additional, insert the tip of the pole you’re holding into the grommet.
3. Insert the brown poles into their sleeves
Subsequent, there are two poles with brown ends that present further help for the tent. These run by way of the brown sleeves throughout the highest of every door.
As soon as by way of the sleeve, you’ll run the poles diagonally throughout the facet of the tent sticking the ends within the brown color-coded grommets.
On the edges of the tent, there are clips that you just connect to the poles to make the tent extra taut.
There may be additionally a hook that goes round each poles holding them collectively the place the cross.
4. Stake down the tent
Earlier than you placed on the rainfly, make any changes to your tent’s placement, ensuring it’s even with the footprint. Then stake out the tent loops and the footprint loops collectively.
5. Add the Rainfly
The cool factor about this tent is you don’t really want the rainfly for privateness. The stable cloth on the doorways means individuals can’t see by way of the tent except they’re very tall and standing proper subsequent to it, peering in from the highest.
However in case you are anticipating any climate or it’s chilly and also you need to minimize down on the breeze, then it’s value placing on the rainfly.
The rainfly creates two different-sized vestibules. I counsel placing the larger vestibule on the facet the place you suppose you’ll be getting into and exiting the tent probably the most. The facet with the larger vestibule has a white pole sleeve.
Orient the vestibules the way in which you need so the rainfly doorways are aligned with the 2 tent doorways. Then clip the 2 corners of the rainfly down close to the smaller vestibule.
Subsequent thread your remaining silver-ended pole by way of the rainfly’s pole sleeve and stick the 2 ends within the grommets.
6. Stake out the vestibules and tie out man traces
The ultimate step is to insert the remainder of the vestibule clips into the tent clips after which stake out the vestibule corners. It will create a pleasant patio and guarantee. the vestibule doesn’t flap round within the wind.
If it’s windy, the REI Base Camp 4 Tent additionally comes with a set of man traces that may simply be connected to the tent. We had to make use of these down in Arizona as a result of the bottom was too arduous to correctly stake out the tent and fly. The man traces helped immensely in that state of affairs.
The place to Purchase
The REI Base Camp 4 Tent is just obtainable at REI. It retails for $474, nevertheless it incessantly goes on sale throughout REI promotional occasions. Listed here are the hyperlinks for the tent and its non-compulsory equipment.
I hope you discovered this REI Base Camp 4 evaluation useful! If in case you have any questions or expertise with this tent, depart a remark under.
Save this submit to Pinterest