Everyone who loves camping needs a good tent, but a tent isn’t necessarily ‘good’ for you just because it pitches. If you love camping like I do, then that means you’ve probably found yourself in unexpected wind, rain, mud, heat, and like conditions. These are the things you need to consider when purchasing a tent online, and if you have any experience or if you’ve done your research, then you probably already realized that you should get a tent with aluminum poles, as opposed to fiberglass. Fiberglass poles tend to snap, crack, and break, and are known as well to be heavier. Aluminum poles bend easier and are lighter, preventing snapping or breaking and also allowing you to handle the tent easier and with less effort (especially important for backpacking, but the 5 best backpacking tents will have to come in another article). This list will be aimed towards car camping, with tent size focused around 6-person. 6-Person tents are usually just large enough for a queen mattress, with considerable space on the sides, and tall enough for a person of height to stand comfortably within. These are ideal for couples or small groups of 2 to 4 friends to comfortably go camping in style and with ease, all while keeping themselves protected from the elements.
The Kelty Trail Ridge 6 is arguable one of the best and most reasonably priced 6 person tents on the market. The tent is large yet lightweight, and made of high quality materials which include vibrant orange fiberglass poles, quiet and strong zippers, and durable high-grade tent fabric. The rain-fly is brilliant and reaches all the way to the ground on all sides, while also providing you some extra room outside of either door via the 2 vestibules (yes, there are 2 doors). This thing will definitely keep you dry, and in heavy downpour at that. Just make sure you have a good tarp under the bottom of the tent even though this tent is made with a tub style bottom, which aids in keeping you completely out of the water.
Not only will you stay dry, but your tent will be well ventilated no matter what, as this thing is made up first of a fine but durable “no-see-ums” mesh that breathes beautifully, and the rain-fly even has some convenient little air vents on either side which aid in the upper air flow and increase the overall ventilation. The 2 extra cross bars on the top of the tent provide extra head room for the user the stand comfortably within. And speaking of headroom, the Trail Ridge 6 comes with an overhead organizer, these pieces are actually very convenient for storing little pieces of gear or setting a lantern.
The Kelty Trail Ridge 6 Person Tent is one of the best overall tents for the price of $399.
Similar to the Kelty Trail Ridge 6 in that it’s colors are the same, and the rain-fly reaches equally far to the ground, the Kelty Como 6 also makes use of aluminum poles for a sturdy, light-weight construction. The Como 6 provides a longer footprint (not as square) and a larger single vestibule (1 door), as well as a roll-up mud-flap. However, the difference is also in the headroom, whereas the Como 6 is taller in the middle by a little bit, the Trail Ridge 6 has a more square roof with the cross bars, creating more overall headroom.
When it’s all said and done, this tent is just about as great as the the Trail Ridge 6 in all aspects, or could prove better for you if you’re looking for a single door tent, or one that is not made entirely of mesh. I would probably rather find myself in the Como 6 in the snow than I would in the Trail Ridge 6 which is better for more mild climates.
Big Agnes: Rabbit Ears 6 – $299
You will get an amazing bang for your buck with the Big Agnes Rabbit Ears 6 tent. Not only does it come with good aluminum poles for a confident setup, the tent fabric is mostly a vibrant shade of lime green, and also happens to come in a pretty awesome bag. This bright coloring really aids in finding your campsite after wandering off into the woods, and along the same vein, the Rabbit Ears 6 comes with reflective guy-lines for tying the tent down to extra stakes / trees in order to keep it firm on the ground in strong winds. The reflective quality of the guy-lines are nice to have late at night when camp is pitch black, I can’t tell you how much it sucks to trip on your tents invisible, taught guy-line and nearly pull your tent to the ground.
Among all of these great features included in the relatively low price of $299, are a large front door, and also a window on the opposite side. Half of the front door is mesh to allow for ventilation, but the bottom half is covered to allow for privacy. Between the mesh of the front door and the window on the back side, you should get away with decent air-flow in this tent in cooler weather, although I’m not sure I’d want it for a hot summer-day, compared to the all-mesh Trail Ridge 6 reviewed above. But, this tent has a high quality rain-fly design that will keep you dry, although the fly does not touch the ground, nor does it provide you with a vestibule to store gear outside the tent.
The Rabbit Ears 6 is large and tall, giving you plenty of room for your queen air mattress and to walk around on the sides. Also, the middle is so high that a person of height doesn’t have to worry about not being able to stand up fully in the tent.
The Big Agnes: Rabbit Ears 6 Person Tent is probably the best bang for your buck around the $299 range.
This is a nice tent, and if you’re willing to shell out the extra little bit of dough, it will definitely be worth it. To start, the Marmot Limestone 6 is made from very high quality materials, such 150 denier heavyweight fabric and DAC DA17 aluminum poles. Also, it has a high quality rain-fly which offers full coverage, and will keep you very dry within the tent. The quality of the materials alone contribute to the higher price, but the design is partly to blame as well. There are 2 doors, and plenty of high-quality mesh to keep your tent ventilated and comfortable, however, unlike the Trail Ridge 6, this tent is not made up entirely of mesh, so it provides a little more visual privacy when you have the rain-fly off. The Limestone 6 is large enough for a queen air mattress and then some, which should be more than enough room for 4 or less reasonably sized individuals to reside comfortably. The door mat and hanging organizer are included.
The zippers are high quality as well, which should be noted as a busted zipper is one of the main reasons people have to look for new tents. Apart from the stunning design, and ultra-high-quality materials, this tent is created with the user in mind and you will find that from setup to take down it will leave you impressed with your purchase.
Marmot specializes in high-end tents so naturally you pay a little bit more but you get what you pay for in the materials and in the design.
Eureka: Taron Basecamp 6 – $304
We’ve seen Kelty, Big Agnes, and Marmot tents on this list, and now it’s time for the last but certainly not least of the 5 best tents with aluminum poles. Eureka has been making quality tents for a long time, and they maintain a strong reputation for their high-standards of tent building. The Eureka Taron Basecamp 6 Person Tent is another beautiful addition to the Eureka legacy of tents. Boasting an aluminum build, and a practical part mesh and part fabric design, the Taron Basecamp 6 is an awesome deal for any budget camper. The Taron Basecamp 6 has 2 doors and comes with a great full-coverage rain-fly, which will definitely provide you with a dry shelter from the rain or storm. The fly covers the two doors but also provides ample vestibule space for gear (20 sq ft on one side and 22 sq ft on the other!). Along with these great features, the Taron Basecamp 6 comes with a tub style bottom and lockable zippers.
If you want to spend less than $350 and still get a tent of great craftmanship and which can be used in nearly all climates, then the Eureka Taron Basecamp 6 is for you.
Thank you for reading this review of “The 5 Best Tents With Aluminum Poles For Car Camping” – A to Z Recommendations.
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