Kelty Rio Grande 8 Tent

I love this tent. We have had it for about 18 months and used it on several recreational trips and in the backyard. It sets up so quickly once you have done it one time; the design is ingenious. It's sturdy enough that when we are packing down, we don't sweep it, we lift it up (it doesn't collapse on itself or us) and shake debris out - time saver! It is weighty, but that is due to its size (sleeps 6 very comfortably on cots or 8 on the ground), and the weight and durability of the 5 poles. It's great to have a tent that you can actually stand up in, that goes up in just a few moments, even with a small child as your only helper. The cons, are that its heavy, and the zipper cover flaps on the outside easily get caught in the zipper, which is annoying (especially when its dark), but the flaps are a necessity. We just taught the kids how to zip to prevent that from happening. Overall, I think this is a great, great piece of car camping equipment - its reliable, great in weather and designed very well.

I bought this tent so that my sons and I would have a bit more room for gear and changing clothes during our cub scout camping trips. The tent would be pretty heavy for backpacking, but it's great for truck camping. Set us is very easy after you've done it once, and take down is even easier. I do wish it had a larger fly that would cover more of the front door area.

We just purchased and used this for the first time in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. What a great tent. Our last night we had torrential rains-could not have been any worse-and we awoke dry! Yeah :)

bottom is completely waterproof. Fly is ingenious and effective. setup is simple and quick. Zippers work well. top breathes well. etc etc etc. This tent is a best buy.

We are former minimalist backpackers experienced in setting up small tents who bought this tent for car camping with our kids. The tent is spacious but was very tough to set up. The directions were virtually useless and it took the assistance of a fellow camper with the same tent model who had worked through the same frustrating set up to assist us in setting up the tent. Once you've been through the set up things are o.k. but beware the first time out.

I'm a single mom with two quickly growing boys so I wanted to get a bigger tent that would grow with us. I was able to set this tent up with my 5 year old in about ten minutes and the vented high roof is a lifesaver in high humidity. Haven't tried it in the rain yet but kelty makes great tents for rain usually. Only drawback is the weight. I have to split it up between packs.

The first night we used this tent, it absolutely poured all night. There was a little bit of water around the inside bottom edges of the tent in the morning but considering the amount of rain we got, we were impressed with this tent.

This tent is true to size, we could sleep 8 adults in this easy. Works great for car camping with a family of 5. Super easy setup, 15 minutes in the dark for initial setup. Plenty of room inside.

We have yet to use this tent, camping. I just set it up in the backyard with my 8 year old son in 10 min. My 10 yo daughter and I broke it down in 10 min too. The only expected drawback is the small fly, which does not cover the door. I got this ginormic tent because I am 6'2" and NFL sized, my wife is..., looking over my shoulder. I am looking forward to camping with my family and not being squished on top of each other. Kelty has stood us well in the past.

We used this tent last weekend, in Torrential downpours in North GA. Tent only leaked very slightly where I had it twisted at the base (my fault.) Easy to set up and break down. Only thing missing is some sort of porch, as the front of the tent got a little damp with the kids coming and going.