Swiss Gear 2-Room Eight-Person Square Dome Tent Review

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(More customer reviews)When we received the tent, since it was bigger than any tent we had ever owned, we decided to set it up in our yard to test it before our big camping trip the following week. The first thing we noticed was that the poles were super heavy-duty which made them very difficult to bend through the fabric to secure the tent. They were so thick in fact that when we tried to bend the first one, instead of breaking the fiberglass pole, it bent the aluminum connector area and then broke completely through. We tried fixing it with the infamous duct tape and set it up as best we could. We decided to let it stay up overnight to make sure it would be okay, and it's a very good thing we did. In the morning it was flat on the ground. I'm very glad that we made the decision to set it up before taking children on a "fun camping trip" where they would probably have ended up very scared of camping in the future! Now we have a giant tent with no support poles, and another new smaller tent with support poles that work just fine!

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The entire family will enjoy the next summer camping trip with Swiss Gear's spacious 2-room tent. Offering 144 square feet of total area, the tent includes a room divider curtain to provide two separate rooms for privacy or to create a living room effect. The curtain easily attaches with a toggle closure.
Constructed of a polyester fabric with a polyurethane coating and mesh, Swiss Gear's dome tent also features a hoop fly frame to make assembling the tent simple, while also providing extra stability once it's up. The tub style, polyethylene ripstop floor features a rain shingle layer for enhanced weather protection and superior water repellency.
Large mesh roof vents and two side windows offer ventilation to keep the tent cool and breezy. The windows also feature inside zip storm flaps to keep you dry during unpredictable wet weather. With a center height of 74 inches, even taller campers can move around with ease. For storage, use the gear loft organizer with mesh utility pockets to stash your stuff out of the way and out of your living space. Two flex doors allow easy in and out access.When packed up, the tent weighs 24.4 pounds, and can be easily toted around in the included carry duffel.
Feature Detail:
Base Size: 12 x 12 feet
Area: 144 square feet
Center height: 74 inches
Sleeps: 8 people
Carry Weight: 24.4 pounds
Type: 2-room square dome
Fabric: Polyester taffeta with a double pass polyurethane coating and mesh
Floor: Polyethylene ripstop
Frame: Shockcorded fiberglass
Door: 2 flex doors
Windows: polyester mesh, 2 side windows with inside zip storm flaps
Tub style floor with rain shingle for enhanced weather protection
Hoop fly frame
Gear loft organizer
Manufacturer Warranty 10 years
Amazon.com Tent Guide Selecting a Tent Fortunately, there are all kinds of tents for weekend car campers, Everest expeditions, and everything in-between. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Expect the Worst In general, it's wise to choose a tent that's designed to withstand the worst possible conditions you think you'll face. For instance, if you're a summer car camper in a region where weather is predictable, an inexpensive family or all purpose tent will likely do the trick--especially if a vehicle is nearby and you can make a mad dash for safety when bad weather swoops in! If you're a backpacker, alpine climber or bike explorer, or if you like to car camp in all seasons, you'll want to take something designed to handle more adversity.
Three- and Four-Season Tents For summer, early fall and late spring outings, choose a three-season tent. At minimum, a quality three season tent will have lightweight aluminum poles, a reinforced floor, durable stitching, and a quality rain-fly. Some three-season tents offer more open-air netting and are more specifically designed for summer backpacking and other activities. Many premium tents will feature pre-sealed, taped seams and a silicone-impregnated rain-fly for enhanced waterproofness.
For winter camping or alpine travel, go with a four season model. Because they typically feature more durable fabric coatings, as well as more poles, four-season tents are designed to handle heavy snowfall and high winds without collapsing. Of course, four-season tents exact a weight penalty of about 10 to 20 percent in trade for their strength and durability. They also tend to be more expensive.
Domes and Tunnels Tents are broadly categorized into two types, freestanding, which can stand up on their own, and those that must be staked down in order to stand upright. Freestanding tents often incorporate a dome-shaped design, and most four-season tents are constructed this way because a dome leaves no flat spots on the outer surface where snow can collect. Domes are also inherently stronger than any other design. Meanwhile, many three-season models employ a modified dome configuration called a tunnel. These are still freestanding, but they require fewer poles than a dome, use less fabric, and typically have a rectangular floor-plan that offers less storage space than a dome configuration. Many one and two-person tents are not freestanding, but they make up for it by being more lightweight. Because they use fewer poles, they can also be quicker to set up than a dome.
Size Matters Ask yourself how many people you'd like to fit in your fabric hotel now and in the future. For soloists and minimalists, check out one-person tents. If you're a mega-minimalist, or if you have your eye on doing some big wall climbs, a waterproof-breathable bivy sack is the ticket. Some bivy sacks feature poles and stake points to give you a little more breathing room. Also, if you don't need bug protection and you want to save weight, check out open-air shelters.
Families who plan on car camping in good weather can choose from a wide range of jumbo-sized tents that will accommodate all your little ones with room to spare. A wide range of capacities is also available for three- and four-season backpacking and expedition tents. Remember, though, the bigger the tent you buy, the heavier it will be, although it's easy to break up the tent components among several people in your group. It's also helpful to compare the volume and floor-space measurements of models you're considering.

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