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Hiking tent for two adults plus two kids

M

23-Nov-2005
3:26:43 PM

does anyone know of a good tent that would suit two adults and two small children. i am preferably after a
versatile tent which we could use for short hiking trips and weekend car camping. it wont be used in
extreme conditions but potentially in the snow or moderately high winds. we have a canvas tent for car
camping but its size makes it impractical for short trips to the grampians etc and our hike tent is to small.
i am considering the fairydown trios which is a larger 3 person 4 season hike tent
any imput would be appreciated

Jespa

23-Nov-2005
7:09:39 PM

the fairydown trios is a good tent, but it is a very tight 3 person tent. 2 adults and one child but i dont think it'd be comfy with 4 people in there. a better bet is a set up like the black diamond megamid and the mega bug floor. incredibly versatile shelter, works in snow and if you guy it out right it stands up to some pretty strong winds especially if you shorten the middle pole. and its light enough you can carry a light hiking tent as well

AlanD

23-Nov-2005
7:41:56 PM

With the weight of the Trios being 4.6-5kg, have you considered getting a second 2 man tent? A second two man tent is a lot more versitile in the long run when the kids want to be "independent" of mum and dad (i.e. pitch it 10 m away).

JamesMc

23-Nov-2005
8:41:53 PM

Having been though the kids / tents thing myself, I'd also recommend 2 x 2 person tents. If you have one already then just get a second. Of course, it could be a small one like a Minaret.

One issue we had was kids playing / fighting when they were supposed to be sleeping; this is fixed by putting one in each tent.

Also, you might find that over the years you might not use them as often as you currently hope.

Cheers

JamesMc

JJ

24-Nov-2005
9:05:45 AM

I have 2 kids and I have a Eureka K2 XT (its a 4 season) . Its very roomy and good for 3 adults, so 2 adults and a couple of small kids is fine.

I agree with James, I normally put another tent up for the kids next to ours. They think they are all grown up having their own pad.

JJ

Chalk Free

24-Nov-2005
9:07:14 AM

We have a Macpac Polaris, it sleeps the four of us. As the kids are getting bigger it is getting squeezy. It is not light but lighter than the combined weight of two 2-man tents. When the kids are small they can't cary much, so we wanted less weight and less bulk, the polaris gave us that. Also we didn't have a decent 2-man tent so the polaris was cheaper than buying two 2-man tents.

Our kids were 4 and 6 when we started, we took them to Sealers cove. Since then done the circuit a few times and this summer are going to the lighthouse and will be out for three nights. We have since purchased a 2-man tent and will take that when they can carry it.

We found traing walks after tea to be a great benefit. Keep the distances short around 10 km seems to work well.

Good luck with it. And don't let the inevitable whinging stop you.

M

25-Nov-2005
11:06:02 AM

thanks for the good advice.
we did consider the two tent option but the kids are only one and a bit and nearly four so are to small to
sleep on their own and we wanted the camping to be a family experience. we havent ruled this option out
though particuarly as seperating them does make it easier to get them to sleep.
Its probably going to be a bit of a compromise whatever we decide to do. currently i favour a tent that is
just big enough for all of us but wont be too bad if we take two tents in the future. because they are small
they dont take up much space. the initial appeal of the trios was because it has a similar width to the
polaris but the corners are cut off reducing the length at the sides which I thought wouldnt be problem with
little kids.

chalk free
we actually booked to do the lighthouse which some others when my daughter was about 20 months old.
(we were going to carry her most of the way) the departure day was high 30s and the forcast for the next
two days was up to about 40 deg C so we bailed. the group we were going with departed from the
lighthouse at about 4.00am to avoid the heat but were still pretty trashed when they got back. fortunately i
think this sort of extreme heat is fairly rare at the prom.
if you are staying at the lighthouse at least you dont have to carry tents and thermarests.

mathew

Chalk Free

25-Nov-2005
5:14:38 PM

On 25/11/2005 matd wrote:

>if you are staying at the lighthouse at least you dont have to carry tents
>and thermarests.
>
>mathew
>
This time we are doing it as part of a three night trip, so are carrying for the other nights. We tried to do it earlier this year but they burnt it on us.

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