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Tent

I started out by getting back into camping with a backpacking tent, light weight, packs small, inexpensive. I wasn't sure how much camping I would do, as we had tent camped as a family, moved to a pop up camper and then stopped camping all together. I didn't want to invest a large sum in case it was a passing fancy, so got the hiking/biking tent from Soports Authority. Good little 3 season tent for what it is, but the tent was not tall enough to be able to sit upright to get dressed, and not wide enough for a real air mattress, and the 1" thick self inflating pads just don't cut it for me. I ended up buying a 3 person tent that also packs small, is 3 season, and has done well in rainy weather. The issue I have with this tent is that the poles are inserted into "sleeves", which make it very sturdy in the wind, but a pain in the butt to set up/take down. Not like hours, but twice as long as my buddie's tent with pole "clips". My next tent will be the clip design, but we have since bought 2 more family tents (a 3 man for the boys and a 5 man for when my wife joins me), so I have a hard time justifying buying another one just to shave 5 minutes off my set up/tear down time.

I guess the main point is to research, invest a little more up front, and if you don't use it, sell it, as a good quality tent will sell on ebay or here on the Flea Market. Buying cheap will leave you disappointed and you will probably end up buying a better one later anyway, and the cheap one will just sit on the shelf forever. At least that's what mine is doing.......
 
+1 on large tents 3 or 4 person( for 1 or 2 people with gear) and clips instead of sleeves also free standing is useful
 
Yes the clips to me are a must for quick setup and tear down. Sleeves suck.
 
I have a REI Taj 3 person tent which I really like a lot but would like to have a little taller tent for maybe standing up and changing. Although the taj is a fine tent, we purchased a Big Agnes King Creek 4. A little taller, folds up compact, waterproof, great in wind and is my around favorite tent now. There is lots of room inside, I can stand up to change and is just really nice. It won't break you either. My wife and I can put it up in about 10 minutes without breaking into a sweat. That includes putting the stakes in. Great tent for the price at about $275.00 if you look around. Excellent quality. We also put a fold-up carpet in the vestibule so we don't track grass and dirt in. Works great.

We just picked up a Big House 4 to replace the Emerald Mountain SL3. the EM is a wonderful tent, the extra vestibule holds all our riding gear. But, like you, we wanted something we could stand up in. Holy smokes, this thing is huge compared to the EM3!!! can't wait to try it out.
 
Cabelas XPG !

Had the Cabelas xpg 4 person four years now, it has withstood many severe wind and rain storms, packs nice, with a little extra room.
 

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3 person tent fits me just right

I have a Mountain Hardware Wedge supposedly big enough for 3 people.
After setting up camp and getting my panniers unpacked and into the tent there isn't any room for person number 2 but I'm really comfortable.
 
Personally

I prefer aluminum poles. In a strong wind storm, you wont end up with the tent bouncing off of your face.
 
You can always buy the DAC poles seperatly and replace the fiberglass ones. I've never been impressed with fiberglass poles either they are much too bendy and I've seen too many of them snap then you have to rig up a duct tape fix to keep it going.
 
And then there is the Apache Instant Tent,I've got the four man(9'x7' x6'2" high) it has plenty of room and it sets up quickly.Google it they have a web site. I have the Mountain Hardware Light Wedge3,great tent for someone with younger knees.It's small.
 
Ultralight Tent - Big Agnes

I'm a high elevation Sierra Nevada backpacker and a rider of an F800ST. I have found that the best tents when weight and packing size are important (like on my F800 or hiking at 12,000 feet) are the Big Agnes ultralight backpacking tents... they are awesome. They come in 2-, 3- and 4-person sizes, are lightweight (a few pounds) and pack small. The quality and stability in bad weather are great. Whatever you buy, don't waste your money on a cheap tent that will fall apart when you open the zipper, leak when it rains or collapse the first time the wind blows... you'll probably be better off with a coated piece of nylon securely strung between two trees. REI is a great place to look at what's available and read reviews. Mountain Hardware is another good line as well as several other manufacturers that specialize in lightweight, high quality backpacking equipment.
 
There is a 3P version as well. Very nice tent.

I have the 3P, I agree it is a very nice tent.

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If you buy the footprint you can set the fly up without the tent.

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I often set it up this way, there is more floor space and more air movement when it is warm. If it is raining, I set up the fly first and then add the tent. The tent stays dry this way. When the weather permits, I set the tent up without the fly.

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It has a large vestibule in the front, and a smaller vestibule in the back. If two are using the tent, you each have an entrance/exit so there is no climbing over each other. I keep gear in the front vestibule. In the morning I make coffee in the rear vestibule.

Marmot has a lifetime warranty on their tents, the tent I have now was a replacement for an earlier purchase that had a warranty issue.
 
When choosing a tent don't forget to consider the volume of the gear (clothing, paniers, riding suit, helmet, toiletries, tank bag, sleeping bag, mattress, etc) that you will want to have in the tent with you.

Also park your motorcycle so that if it should tip over it will not fall on the tent & thus you. A 500lb+ motorcycle falling on you is almost certain to cause serious physical harm to your body. The bike itself is better off not falling over as well.

On the Sidestand leaning away from the tent is my first choice, parking a few more feet away helps as well. High winds, and the soil under the stand compressing gradually or becoming unstable after being saturated by rain need to be considered.
 
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