Kelty Wi-fi 6 Evaluate | CleverHiker

Backside Line

The Kelty Wi-fi 6 is a feature-packed, six-person tent with a spacious inside and powerful construct, all at a surprisingly low worth. With tents at this worth level turning into more and more uncommon, the Wi-fi 6 stands out as considered one of our high budget-friendly tenting tents. To completely check each facet of this tent, we packed up the household and launched into a six-week, eight-state street journey.

We’re genuinely impressed by the standard and value of this tent. Its excessive peak top will delight taller campers, and the twin vestibule design provides 14 sq. toes to an already spacious inside. It additionally holds up properly in opposition to the weather, together with driving rain and excessive winds, and is straightforward to arrange due to its color-coded tab system.

Nevertheless, the Wi-fi 6 does have its drawbacks. Air flow is restricted, resulting in stuffiness and potential condensation points. Regardless of its high-quality building, there are issues concerning the longevity of the poles, and at over 22 kilos, it’s fairly heavy.

Consolation

The Wi-fi 6 boasts a spacious inside with 70 sq. toes and a 76-inch peak top, providing greater than sufficient room for a household of 4. Tall campers will respect the beneficiant headroom, eliminating the necessity to crouch whereas standing. The lengthy forehead pole enhances stability, maintaining the interior tent taut and the partitions almost vertical to maximise house. Whereas the tent can theoretically sleep six individuals, gear storage is restricted inside.

Nevertheless, the twin vestibule design provides 14 sq. toes of additional house for storing gear outdoors the primary space. Total, the Wi-fi 6 is well-suited for households and gives a snug and useful dwelling house. We should always be aware that this tent doesn’t ventilate properly and that may have an effect on the local weather inside. It might probably get stuffy, particularly throughout hotter days and humid nights. You may assist mitigate this by opening and rolling again the vestibule doorways however then your gear may be uncovered to the weather.

Sturdiness

The largest disadvantage of this mannequin is the poles. They’re created from fiberglass reasonably than extra sturdy aluminum. Whereas fiberglass could be a good materials for tent poles, we’d favor them to be a bit thicker for added energy.

After our twelfth night time utilizing the tent, we skilled a shock wire break in considered one of them whereas taking it down. We have been in a position to restore it and proceed utilizing the tent with out additional points, but it surely’s one thing to remember. We don’t consider the poles are of poor high quality, but it surely’s vital to deal with them with care. Keep away from pulling on them as this may stress the shock wire; as an alternative, push them gently out and in of the pole sleeves to make sure longevity.

The material supplies used within the building of the Wi-fi 6 are surprisingly good for the worth. Kelty has absolutely taped the entire seams for added safety, and the mesh feels sturdier than another tents we’ve examined. The stakes appear sturdy, although we bent a couple of in Colorado’s rocky soil. Total, the Kelty Wi-fi 6 provides mid-tier high quality, however for the worth, it’s arduous to beat.

Climate Resistance

Total, the Wi-fi 6 scores properly within the climate resistance class. We examined this tent in some intense Colorado thunderstorms, and it held its personal in opposition to reasonable winds and torrential downpours. It’s vital to notice that the Wi-fi 6 doesn’t embrace a footprint, so we examined the tent each because it arrived and with a floor tarp. With no footprint, we did expertise some leakage via the underside of the tent, which wasn’t stunning. We at all times suggest utilizing a footprint or floor tarp to guard essentially the most susceptible a part of the setup. When examined with a floor tarp, we encountered no leakage regardless of comparable rain situations.

On scorching days, when you’ll be able to sleep with out the rainfly, the Wi-fi 6 is nice, due to ample mesh that enables heat air to flee. Nevertheless, with the rainfly absolutely deployed, air flow is restricted, which may result in scorching and stuffy sleeping situations. The tent’s form and wall angles shed rain properly, and when absolutely guyed out, the Wi-fi 6 handles gentle to reasonable winds successfully. Like several tent of this dimension, it struggles in high-wind situations, so when you’re anticipating sturdy gusts, it’s finest to pitch the Wi-fi 6 close to a windbreak.

Ease of Setup

We discovered the Kelty Wi-fi 6 to be remarkably simple and intuitive to pitch. At the same time as a solo camper, you’ll be able to arrange this tent in underneath 10 minutes, and it’s even faster with a associate. In contrast to many tents that use grommets for pole attachments, the Wi-fi 6 options small pole sleeves on the corners, which simplifies the setup course of.

Kelty additionally contains color-coded tabs for one nook of the tent and rainfly, eliminating the guesswork of orientation. The tent’s design ensures that all the things matches collectively properly. Though the tent is on the taller aspect, which could make it a bit difficult for shorter campers to achieve the middle clip as soon as the poles are up, general, the setup is easy and hassle-free. The considerate design makes the Kelty Wi-fi 6 one of many simpler tents to pitch in its class.

Options

In the case of the options of the Kelty Wi-fi 6, we really feel it leaves a bit of to be desired. Beginning with the great: we love the fast nook sleeves and color-coded webbing that make pitching the tent simple and intuitive. The twin massive vestibules are additionally a plus, providing additional house for gear storage when the rainfly is deployed. It could appear minor, however we actually respect the carrying case. Packing up camp is at all times a trouble, and it’s worse when your gear doesn’t simply match again into its stuff sack. The Kelty Wi-fi 6 makes this course of a bit much less irritating. The case has a zipper working the size of the bag, so you’ll be able to merely roll up the tent, place it inside, and zip it closed. The case is spacious sufficient to comfortably match the tent and all its parts, eliminating the battle of packing.

Now for the not-so-good: the Wi-fi 6 solely has 4 small pockets, which look like they could stretch or tear over time. For a tent designed for six individuals, we’d wish to see extra storage choices. Moreover, the tent suffers from poor air flow. With out sufficient airflow, moisture can construct up inside, resulting in condensation and a moist night time’s sleep, even with out rain. Extra air flow flaps on the rainfly would considerably enhance airflow and assist with the condensation problem.

Ought to You Purchase the Kelty Wi-fi 6?

The Kelty Wi-fi 6 is a wonderful funds purchase, very best for these with worth constraints or these on the lookout for their first family-friendly tent. Its spacious inside is nice for taller campers, and the additional vestibule room is ideal for storing further gear on prolonged journeys or for establishing a base camp.

At roughly 17 kilos, it’s not fitted to backpacking, and when you anticipate heavy use, you may take into account a extra premium choice. Nevertheless, for informal tenting and household adventures, the Wi-fi 6 provides spectacular worth and performance.

What Different Tenting Tents Ought to You Think about?

REI Skyward 4 Evaluate: The Skyward 4 is smaller than the Wi-fi 6 however is made with high quality supplies, provides glorious livable house, and contains a tall peak top to keep away from crouching whereas standing.

NEMO Aurora Highrise 4 Evaluate: For a bit of extra money, you may need to try the Highrise 4. Whereas it’s technically a four-person tent and pricier, it provides an analogous inside livable house with higher-quality supplies. If you happen to plan on spending extra nights underneath the celebs, the NEMO Highrise may be a better option. 

The North Face Wawona 6 Evaluate: The Wawona 6 is on the other finish of the funds spectrum and provides an analogous quantity of inner house. The distinction is that the Wawona 6 is filled with a few of our favourite options and features a large vestibule that’s virtually as massive as a few of the tents we examined.