Customer Reviews
Puppies being house broken are more waterproof than this tent. Pitched it with little problems. It came with an extra hole though in the back wall about the size of a pencil eraser, a snag in the fabric. The rain fly is too small to keep rain out of the top ventilation. The material is super thin. This morning the tent floor had big puddles after rain last night. Needless to say I slept elsewhere. This tent is BLUE not the GREEN the picture showed. I wanted a GREEN TENT. This tent will be used for a month long trip, but looks like I should buy a shower curtain to go OVER IT for rain or heavy dew and the smallest shower will soak through. Going to try camp dry on it, but have my doubts that is going to help much at all. For 20 bucks, I got a use it till you have to throw it away tent. Guess I should not have expected that the advertising for it would be true. Thought as it was shipped from Amazon that it would at least be as advertised. Fooled me once shame on them, but there will be no more fooling me. I have no time to ship this back, before taking off on the trail for a month. Otherwise they would have gotten it back just for the hole alone. Over all I am not very happy at all. I could have a dryer place to rest my head with an old worn out tarp from the barn than this tent. AMAZON should be ashamed to put their name on such a flimsy, inspected, flawed, product as this.
I was a bit hesitant to purchase this tent because of the relatively mediocre reviews for this item, but now having just received it and having taken it out for a quick trial in wet weather, it's a surprisingly great buy for the price, plus free shipping if you buy something else from Amazon. What makes this a great tent?
First is the weight. Very light and easy to pack. It is as advertised and weighs just 3 lbs.
Next, it's a rectangular tent with a 6.5 ft x 4.5ft base. Another reviewer complained that this is shorter than advertised. Actually, I'm 6'1" and I measured the footprint. The size is as advertised. The issue with some folks is if they want to put some lofty air mattress inside. The tent is a dome and curves inward as it rises. So if you're higher up, the footprint shrinks. With a small, 2.5 inch high camping mattress, I can sleep lengthwise in the tent, but to avoid getting wet from condensation inside the tent, I shift a bit diagonally and have clearance at both head and feet. I still have room for a second, smaller person and my gear.
Third, the tent is not drafty. In hot weather, this may be a problem if still hot at night. But most places I camp, get chilly at night, even in the summer, and drafty tents mean cold tents. Many folks claiming their temperature-rated sleeping bags aren't keeping them warm are simply forgetting that most of the heat is escaping through their uncovered head and face at night, and in a drafty tent, that means one gets really cold. This tent has a single front screen vent and a small top vent. If facing into a breeze, it's quite nice. But it's easy enough to position the tent opening away from the wind, and then to seal it well and block the wind if you want a warmer night.
Fourth, the tent is rain-worthy. All tents will eventually leak. All tents get condensation on the inside unless you haul a massively heavy tent fan. I don't care how much you spend on a tent. The taped seams, thermally sealed yadi ya ya features eventually all fail and all tents eventually leak when it rains. The solution is to learn how to site the tent, set up a footprint (aka 'tarp'), and to properly seam-seal the stitches and seams on the tent prior to use in the rain. Proper folding with minimal crinkling of seams also helps maintain seam integrity. If one observes those practices, this tent appears to be adequate for 3 seasons. In addition, the bottom of the tent is a bath-tub design, rising about 4 inches off the ground all the way around. This reduces the chances of water intrusion if you find that rain has fully saturated and begun to pool around the tent. With proper siting on a slight sloped ground, and use of a waterproof tarp underneath that was just smaller than the tent base and having rolled edges facing toward the ground, the tent stayed absolutely dry for me, as expected.
Fifth, the tent is very structurally stable. The cloth may be thin, but the two-pole cross design is a proven design and this tent is taut and free standing before even staking. This makes it also quieter in the breeze because wind doesn't cause loose sides to flap around as much. The tent uses a standard pair of short tie straps to secure the apex of the tent to the cross formed by the two tent poles. Failure to tie this on any dome tent will compromise integrity. Doing so as part of habit helps insure the tent is stable even in strong breezes.
Sixth, single-person setup was easy and intuitive. For those who are accustomed to standard shock-corded fibreglass poles, and sliding them into the diagonal rib-sleeves on the top of the tent, setup and takedown is a no-brainer. The whole tent also rolls up and fits easily back into its draw-string sack. The tiny rain fly is adequate to cover the small air vent at the top and to prevent rain from coming in. The stitching around the zippers was clean and had no excess material that would get caught. Having used a number of tents, the zipper is about the same as any tent, including those that cost 10X and have some chic name from some chic store. Folks having issues with zippers may want to simply not step on the tent or sit too close to the entrance where their feet or legs or weight abnormally stretch the tent to add excessive tension on the zipper, thus making it hard to zip up or down.
Lastly, I can sit up fine in this tent and have room to change, put on shoes, or organize my gear. Getting out was pretty easy too. And believe me, at my size, and built like a linebacker, with shoulder, knees and ankle that all have seen injuries and surgeries, I can assure folks that it is quite a challenge to enter and exit any tent. And this small tent was surprisingly as easy to enter/exit as a 4person tent with a D-door flap.
I am continually amazed at the deals on Amazon. I'm slowly compiling a list of recommended items for some Boy Scouts in my local Troop who are preparing for a major hiking adventure at Philmont, NM next year. Amazon has been instrumental for quite a few necessities, like a tiny, 3oz backpacking stove with piezo starter for just $15, a super-comfy ultralight air mattress for $20, and 30deg F ultra compact sleeping bag for just $37. And now this lightweight tent for an amazing price. It isn't the absolute lightest stuff, but it's within 10% of the weight and certainly didn't cost a thousand bucks either shopping at that 3-letter trendy outdoor gear store either.
Sorry if this review was so long, but based on other reviews I read for this product, it really appeared that reviewers were rating this tent on very idiosyncratic subjective values or they simply didn't understand how to setup a tent. I wanted to set the record straight here in some detail.
Product Description
There's nothing better than exploring the outdoors, but a full day of UV rays and dealing with insects, can take its toll. Enter the GSI Camping Tent, a sturdy shelter that's ideal for long days and nights spent outside. Made of heavy-duty polyurethane-coated taffeta for increased UV protection and cool comfort, the GSI Tent protects you on the sides, with a roof that extends over the top as you lounge below. You can sit inside the tent to avoid the sun, lie partially covered to protect just your face, or huddle up for full-body protection when the winds start whipping. Easy, User Friendly And Affordable.
Product Features
- Enjoy The Great Outdoors Without Worrying About Harmful Sunburns, Dangerous Rays And Environmental Conditions
- Ultra Portable Design, Take It With You In Carrying Case, Weather Resistant Material
- Size Of Tent When Fully Assembled: 6.5 x 4.5 x 3.5 Feet; Spacey Enough For A Family
- Tent Opens Up And Comes Down In Seconds, 170T Polyester Taffeta PU Coated Fabric
- Strong Sturdy 7.9mm Fiberglass Frame Keeps Tent Stable In Windy Conditions
Price : $19.99
You Save : $40.00 (67%)
Product Details
- Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
- ASIN: B0050OIRME
- Item model number: GCHCT001
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