The REI Campwell 6 is a freestanding tent appropriate for automobile tenting. It has a giant footprint with loads of inside area that’s a palace for 2 however may maintain a household with a couple of small children. The tent is a hybrid double wall tent with an internal tent and a rain fly that simply covers its ceiling, with a slight overhang for rain safety. The roof of the internal tent is made nearly solely of black insect-proof mesh, nevertheless it has a low ceiling, simply 64″ excessive, which suggests I’ve to stoop and can’t arise straight inside. There’s one door, which is stable cloth and never screened, and one mesh window that may be coated for privateness with a unfastened piece of material suspended from dowels. I can’t say that I like this tent, however if you’d like much more inside area for tenting with your loved ones, it’s a step up from a single room six-person dome tent for a similar worth.
- Capability: 6 folks
- Weight: 17 lbs. 13 oz.
- Footprint obtainable: Bought individually
- Poles: 3
- Packed Dimension: 9.5 x 26 inches
- Flooring Dimensions: 120 x 100 inches
- Peak Top: 64″ (actually 63″)
- Doorways: 1
- Flooring: 150-denier polyester
- Cover: 75-denier polyester taffeta with a 1,500 mm polyurethane (PU) coating; no-see-um mesh: 40-denier solution-dyed nylon
- Rain Fly: 75-denier polyester taffeta with a 1,500 mm PU coating
- Professionals: Big coated area, simple to arrange with a associate, black mesh ceiling for star-gazing
- Cons: Partitions flap within the wind, entrance door catches on zipper and isn’t screened
The Campwell 6 is a freestanding tent that comes with three poles to arrange: two very lengthy collapsible fibrerglass poles that slide into sleeves and cross in the midst of the cover ceiling. This offers the tent a really sturdy basis, though you’ll nonetheless need to add further guylines to the corners in windy situations. A 3rd, shorter forehead pole is used as to create a small awning above the entrance door and rear window.
When the rainfly is deployed, it covers the internal tent’s ceiling mesh and extends out from the sidewalls a couple of inches creating an awning across the 4 partitions of the internal tent. This prevents rain water from draining onto the partitions of the internal tent but additionally acts like an air scoop, permitting air to move below the awning’s edges and into the internal tent by way of its mesh ceiling.
When the rainfly is deployed, there aren’t lots of choices to see exterior. The entrance door, is a stable panel of material with no display screen behind it, so you possibly can’t see out the entrance when somebody comes knocking with out utterly opening the door. The door zipper additionally snags each time I take advantage of it, with out fail.
There’s a again window, which is screened, however isn’t weatherproof. It’s a unfastened piece of material that’s held in place with dowels, on the wall reverse the door. If I may redesign this tent, I’d make each make the entrance door and rear window with mesh and canopy them with stable zippered cloth so you could possibly see out or batten down the hatches in foul climate. That approach you could possibly have some cross-ventilation between the 2 on heat evenings.
If the entrance door and again window are closed, mild nonetheless filters by way of the internal tent’s evenly coloured partitions. There’s not a lot contained in the tent besides a giant unstructured area, though there are 4 pockets within the corners, two mesh pockets within the ceiling and a material loop the place you possibly can cling a lantern.
One factor that I haven’t talked about beforehand, is that the ceiling of the Campwell 6 is annoying low, measuring simply 64″. I’m 5’10” and I’ve to stoop inside. That acquired previous in a short time. In case you’re going to get a cabin fashion tent like this, get one you possibly can arise in like a Eureka Copper Canyon LX 6, or a Coleman Skydome 6 if you wish to buy your tent from REI.
I’ve had the Campwell 6 out in windy climate (10-20 mph) and I can’t suggest it for these situations as a result of the partitions cave inwards within the wind, which will be disconcerting whenever you’re inside. From that have, I’ve concluded that this tent is finest used at a effectively protected campsite in dry climate, when you possibly can maintain the again window utterly open for air flow.
Evaluation
The REI Campwell 6 is a freestanding tent designed for automobile tenting. Whereas it’s simple to arrange for 2 folks, it’s finest utilized in good climate at pre-established tent websites that provide good safety from the wind. Although spacious inside, the ceiling of the tent is sort of low, simply 5′ 3″ excessive which will get previous very quick should you’re taller. As well as, you possibly can’t see by way of the entrance door, its zippers snag simply, and the rear window isn’t weatherproof. REI sells so many different massive tenting tents that don’t have these issues, that I can’t suggest the Campwell 6 and counsel you attempt a distinct tent just like the Coleman Skydome 6 which is equally priced and obtainable from REI.
Disclosure: REI donated a tent for assessment.
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