This is absolutely true. They are somewhat flexible when it comes to family (or at least our group seems to be) but my son is not out there to be camping with me anyway . I'm just along for the ride to help with his diabetes management (although my involvement is growing).

Well, you do have Hilleberg:



Hilleberg has a very good reputation. Helsport is another Scandinavian brand that probably has a wider range of qualities (from expedition style to family summer camping).

http://www.helsport.no/en/product/TENTS/




Well, if you can cook outside then the weather really can't be THAT bad..

Thanks guys! Now I'm drooling over tents. Right now I have 7, 3-season, mostly good for mild to moderate weather tents, 1 of which might fit most of Dennis' requirements but not all.

My current have it favorite is our EURKA Apex4. It's meant for 4 people. It sleeps my hubby, son and I ok, and my son and I perfectly. (Well, as perfectly as possible with a thrashing octopus sleeping beside me.) It did an awesome job in 3 days of torrential Ontario thunderstorms 2 summers ago. The fly is great, the two doors excellent, good ventilation, the 2 vestibules a little smaller than I like and it's big enough for me to change while kneeling. (Which isn't quite tall enough for the absent-minded octopus sometimes.)

Our teenager sleeps in our old Escort 2-man cycling tent (think really big bivvy, with good fly, made specially for Canadian Tire - Canadian retail icon, for the uninitiated) and loves it.

I've always wanted a tent with a tent that suspends from the fly and now I've got the itch to shop!

This is an equipped to survive forum. Consider your tent serving you in unexpected and extended bad weather. Consider the role of your tent in providing privacy and some visual security in trying times and conditions.

Borrow a tent or two and get some overnight experience, even if it is in the backyard. Try out all the in-tent activities you can reasonably expect in bad weather.

Form should follow function, not function making do with form.

All backpacking tents become too heavy and small some of the time, and too light and big only once in a great while. Almost all "tents" come in several components which allow the load to be spread to several hikers' backpacks.

If your routine in-tent activities touch the tent, you will harvest condensation and have wet gear.

1-person tents are okay for gear; 2-person tents are okay for 1 small person with little gear; 3-person tents are okay for 1 person with a reasonable amount of gear or 2 persons with little gear; 4-person tents work well for 2 people and their gear.

Extra-large vestibules at each end of a tent, with complete ground protection / footprint flooring, and more vertical tent walls, bring tents more in line with their manufacturer people-rating.

Sit upright on the living room floor and measure head height, measure full extension to the side of both arms, lie down and measure your full body length plus the width of your loaded pack. Where are you going to put your boots overnight? If you need to use your stove inside, where can that safely be done? What other activities will you pursue that result in more gear and storage needs?

Hope for good weather.

Edit: If MEC is like REI they will be happy to let you set up and try tents in-store, including supplying you with a backpack or two stuffed to full size with foam blocks, a pair of boots or two, and whatever else makes sense to you. They also would rent tents relatively cheaply so you can try various models in the real world.

My experience with several brands has been that 1-person tents work just fine for one individual, a 2-person for two people and so on. I am speaking of decent to high quality tents used for the purpose for which they were designed - typically backpacking, mountaineering, ski or bike touring or the like. In these activities you generally use the tents only for sleeping and you are out of them most or all of the daylight hours, retiring to the confines of the tent only to pursue blissful sleep.

In these tents, light weight is highly desirable, so they are designed to be minimalist. If you are car camping at the beach or lake, you want something entirely different. There are plenty of spacious, relatively heavy tents that work well for those situations.

If you are employing tents in a work situation, say scientific research or construction, you may well want something much bigger, and you may prefer to give everyone their own personal tent. I was involved in a project where we were in the field ten days at a time for a four month field season over the space of three years. Each crew member got a 3-person tent - it worked out quite well.

It is indeed an excellent idea to rent or borrow before plunking down the fairly serious cash required for a workable tent these days. Don't waste your money on the really cheap junkers - the ones with tent flys the size of handkerchiefs. They will not give good service.

Do learn to set it up properly in various circumstances. A good erection is not always easy to achieve.

When bad weather strikes, you hunker down and endure - that is all part of the fun.

There are a lot of different models available today, from large manufacturers as well as some really excellent offerings from cottage industries - lots of choices among a bunch of really fine models.

Must... Keep... Straight... Face...

HJ

I go to the relative wilderness to thrive and enjoy, though I respect the choice of others to instead to survive and endure.

REI half dome.

2 entrances >Yes
2 vestibules sufficient for a good sized (i.e., 70-80 litre) pack >Yes
Vestibules which allow opening/entry without getting the inner tent wet >Yes
At least a partial-fabric inner tent (i.e., not all mesh)>Yes
Vents in the rain-fly >Yes
Wide enough for a couple Therm-a-Rests for the full length of the tent >Yes
Under 6 pounds >Yes
Around $300 or so (preferably a little under)>Yes

I own lots of tents. I get to see lots of tents in use. For what you described my number one pick is the REI Halfdome.

Off-topic, but it sounds to me like you're ready to sign up. You'll love Woodbadge training and being more involved with the kids, and they'll appreciate the commitment.

Sage advice from Dweste, to measure before shopping and try-out before buying.

If the store can't let you borrow one to try out for a few days, they should at least be willing to let you set it up in the store and stuff gear inside to simulate your conditions so you can evaluate the space. They should also have a decent return policy. Beware "All sales final" clauses!