Overall happy with this tent, however, in my opinion there is one design flaw that I feel could have improved upon
What I like about it:
I have had this tent for 2 years (4 camping trips total) and so far no major issues. No tears or rips have been seen anywhere on the surface of the tent.
It seems that each year we end up getting a big storm with quite a bit of wind (20+mph) and extended downpours of rain. So far this tent has stood up without any leaking inside whatsoever which I am extremely happy with.
It is very easy to setup and takedown taking minimal time. We used the diagram to see how to do it the first couple times, however since then havent needed to look at it.
Although a somewhat tight fit we are able to get everything back in the bag each time, and the carrying case at least seems fairly durable (no rips or tears up to this point).
I do like the screened in area option that if it ends up being a lot of bugs out you can setup a chair or two in this section without needing to worry about mosquitos and other pests. However, this does also lead to my major complaint which I will explain about below.
What I think could be improved:
While the screened in front area is nice, really should supply something that can easily and quickly cover this area in case of rain. The first time we used this when rain was in the forecast I ended up draping a tarp over the front half of the tent and used bungies to hold it down from the wind. This worked great to keep all rain out from the screened in entry area, however was a bit of a hassle to fold back when entering and exiting. The next camping trip where we were supposed to get rain I decided against putting the tarp on as we would have a little over a day for it to dry out before we needed to pack up and I thought that would be enough. As you can imagine the whole front area was wet following the storm, and even though the front of our tent was sloped slightly downward the water just sat on the surface in the entrance. Long story short, I ultimately had to take a towel the morning we were about to leave and soak up the remaining water over a day later (we were on a shaded campsite under trees). Personally I think could and should provide extra material to fold down over the front screen and be able to roll back to avoid excess water in this area.
Other than that my only other complaint is that the stakes are the standard you hit one rock and it will bend and become unusable as I have found in all previous tents I owned. I wish manufacturers could actually supply stakes that are more durable with the tents, rather than having consumers purchase different ones.
In summary this is a great tent, but if you purchase it I would recommend getting a tarp to be able to cover the front screened in area during storms, unless you are camping in a very sunny location and have plenty of time for it to dry before packing up. Also, if you do not have other more durable stakes it is probably worth purchasing those to make your life easier.
We only practice set it up at the house so we have not yet camped in it which we will be doing soon. So I cant speak about the durability of the tent but I can say this tent is easy to put up and is bigger than I expected it to be. It seems well made I recommend this tent. If i am disappointed after camping in it I will update this review in the near future.
It was relatively easy to set up as someone who has never set up a tent before, once we figured out where all the poles were supposed to go. The screen was extremely useful for keeping out bugs while cooling the interior down in the evening. Nice and spacious, too. We were very happy with it!
Although the tent provided the space we needed, and I loved the screened in portion, when it rains, the rain fly doesnt cover the full screened in area. Therefore, it gets extremely flooded when you get hard rain. The rest of the tent was very waterproof, but Id recommend only keeping things that can get wet in the screened in section.
I would say this is a major design flaw, but if youre camping in nice weather, the tent is great.
I have used the Evanston 6 about a dozen times in the last 5 years successfully, but this year have had multiple poles split. The last time, setting it up moderate wind, it collapsed in on itself repeatedly and broke poles, even with all windows open, even before attaching the fly. Ruined the weekend. Previously, though, it had OK weather/water resistance.
We didnt want to drop hundreds of dollars for a tent wed use once or twice a year. This tent worked great for us. The large size was great to not feel crowded; we had two adults (one with a twin-size air mattress) and a child sleeping in it. The airflow and system for the rain cover to overhang the side windows worked great. Having an exterior area door (we call it the porch) worked great to keep insects out of the main sleeping area.
During setup, minimally, youll need two stakes for the front porch corners. Also, youll need to tie the opposite-side rain-fly guy line to pull it away from the tent. This could be to a tree though and makes a reasonable clothes line for a few items.
Minor negative items:
- the porch area collects water during rain as its not well covered by the rain cover. It drains at the front only. You must setup this tent with the front door down-hill to ensure drainage. This isnt a big deal but does slightly limit your options if you want the front to face other tents or the picnic table.
- its really heavy, largely due to size. You cant have everything here, if you want glamping size you have to carry it. This is fine for car-camping or short hike-in camp-sites but dont expect to carry this thing real far.
Good air circulation. Only a little rain so cant report on waterproofing, but rain fly should handle most water well for the sleeping portion. The screened portion less so. Handled some gusty winds well with only a tiny bit of movement. Tie downs held, but a few of those plastic gizmos used for tensioning them wouldnt grip requiring half hitch knots. Id redesign the screen entry door so one zipper would open it, not the 3 zipper inverted t setup which meant bending up and down multiple times every time. Overall Im happy with this tent.
Pros, camped in Oregon and it rained for 2 nights, zero water inside. Cons, after 2 years one of the poles snapped and some of the cloth loops where the poles go into the ground broke, still usable but takes more to set up and cant move around much. Also, I dont see how 6 people can fit inside, we are to adults and 2 kids, we lay down and there is zero extra room for a 5th must less a 6th space for anyone.
Bought this for my wife who was going to girls camp, she was very happy with it. Had 3 girls in it with her each on twin blow up mattresses. The porch is a big selling feature. Would buy again.
I do more camping than most, multiple times per year, for the past 20 years, and I also have 5 kiddos under the age of 9. I dont do pay sites, and I dont do RV camping. I do straight up real, primitive camping, in the mountains.
About rain getting through to the screened-in porch area, yes thats unfortunate. Just look at the weather beforehand, or if youre in an area like Yellowstone that can hail, rain, snow, and have burning sun in a matter of 15 mins, just tie tarps above it. Not a problem guys. Seriously. Real campers dont whine, we simply get creative. Plus, I always put tarps underneath my tents.
Anyways, the ventilation is SOOOO good that it doesnt cause any condensation. Condensation is when its cold outside (Maybe 40 degrees or below while inside your body heat warms up the tent, creating condensation on the INSIDE WALLS, exactly like a cold glass of water on a warm day creates condensation on the OUTSIDE WALLS of the glass (which is like the INSIDE WALLS of the tent, the warm side)). I had some tents without good ventilation where I had to use like half a roll of GOOD quality Bounty paper towel to clean up the nasty condensation EVERY MORNING when the temperature was cold outside during the night. When its like high 50s F outside at night (i.e. if you just camp in your back yard, or low elevation areas), condensation doesnt form inside because the temperature difference is not enough to cause condensation to form. In other words, on warm nights (or low altitudes like your backyard), the outside air isnt cold enough to cause the inside air with high humidity (or specifically the water molecules in the air) to lose their energy to the outside (as energy/heat transfers from a higher energy/heat area (inside) to the lower energy area (outside)), and thus higher energy gaseous water molecules in the air inside the tent loses their energy and then forms liquid water, on the sides of the cold tent walls. Its not because the rain came through guys... seriously, stop whining at the tent makers. Its called C O N D E N S A T I O N. Look it up. Thermodynamics 101 guys/girls. If you paid attention to basic Chemistry and Physics courses in high school, youd know this. But most of you failed!
ANYWAYS, the ventilation is so good (basically the entire back side is opened, with just a thin tent wall between you and the freezing air), that on cold nights, you will literally freeze to death, especially if you sleep your heads immediately underneath that back area. Good luck with the migraines. So how I solved this was I simply cut up two clear plastic trash bags (but you can use white, black etc.), and tied them up together at the edges to make it longer length wise, and then OUTSIDE the tent, I tied the two ends above the poles as high as possible. Tape didnt work with these clear plastic trash bags (although tape works great on black trash bags), so I got creative and poked a little hole near the corner of the trash bag corner tip, tied the corner of the trash bag around the tent pole, and then into the hole, knotted it, and got it to stay on that way. See pictures. By using this quick makeshift method, I basically prevented a big opening on the sides and bottom of the back end of the tent, thus preventing the cold air from freezing me and my family to death.
The only real con I didnt like were the two holes on either corner where the tent and the screened-in porch attaches. Im sure they did this to drain out water for those people who position the tent in such a way where the ground is not horizontal and water pools inside the tent. These holes unfortunately are so big that it allows nasty big spiders in, so I took pictures with a various objects to give you a general idea. I simply plugged them with toilet paper... Again, if you use a tarp above, or position your tent so the higher ground is on the back side with the opening on the lower ground, and/or use tarps above tied to trees etc., water pooling shouldnt be a problem.
Two OT QOMOTOP Ultra Thick Self-Inflating Camping Mattress, Ultra Comfortable Side Sleep Friendly 4 Inches Thick Sleeping Pad, 80×28(Single)/52(Double), Portable Roll-Up Floor Guest Bed, Blue/Gray fits in this tent.
Reviews
Overall Great Tent and would recommend, but could further improve the design.
Overall happy with this tent, however, in my opinion there is one design flaw that I feel could have improved upon What I like about it: I have had this tent for 2 years (4 camping trips total) and so far no major issues. No tears or rips have been seen anywhere on the surface of the tent. It seems that each year we end up getting a big storm with quite a bit of wind (20+mph) and extended downpours of rain. So far this tent has stood up without any leaking inside whatsoever which I am extremely happy with. It is very easy to setup and takedown taking minimal time. We used the diagram to see how to do it the first couple times, however since then havent needed to look at it. Although a somewhat tight fit we are able to get everything back in the bag each time, and the carrying case at least seems fairly durable (no rips or tears up to this point). I do like the screened in area option that if it ends up being a lot of bugs out you can setup a chair or two in this section without needing to worry about mosquitos and other pests. However, this does also lead to my major complaint which I will explain about below. What I think could be improved: While the screened in front area is nice, really should supply something that can easily and quickly cover this area in case of rain. The first time we used this when rain was in the forecast I ended up draping a tarp over the front half of the tent and used bungies to hold it down from the wind. This worked great to keep all rain out from the screened in entry area, however was a bit of a hassle to fold back when entering and exiting. The next camping trip where we were supposed to get rain I decided against putting the tarp on as we would have a little over a day for it to dry out before we needed to pack up and I thought that would be enough. As you can imagine the whole front area was wet following the storm, and even though the front of our tent was sloped slightly downward the water just sat on the surface in the entrance. Long story short, I ultimately had to take a towel the morning we were about to leave and soak up the remaining water over a day later (we were on a shaded campsite under trees). Personally I think could and should provide extra material to fold down over the front screen and be able to roll back to avoid excess water in this area. Other than that my only other complaint is that the stakes are the standard you hit one rock and it will bend and become unusable as I have found in all previous tents I owned. I wish manufacturers could actually supply stakes that are more durable with the tents, rather than having consumers purchase different ones. In summary this is a great tent, but if you purchase it I would recommend getting a tarp to be able to cover the front screened in area during storms, unless you are camping in a very sunny location and have plenty of time for it to dry before packing up. Also, if you do not have other more durable stakes it is probably worth purchasing those to make your life easier.
This tent is huge
We only practice set it up at the house so we have not yet camped in it which we will be doing soon. So I cant speak about the durability of the tent but I can say this tent is easy to put up and is bigger than I expected it to be. It seems well made I recommend this tent. If i am disappointed after camping in it I will update this review in the near future.
Great tent for first-time campers
It was relatively easy to set up as someone who has never set up a tent before, once we figured out where all the poles were supposed to go. The screen was extremely useful for keeping out bugs while cooling the interior down in the evening. Nice and spacious, too. We were very happy with it!
Some design flaws
Although the tent provided the space we needed, and I loved the screened in portion, when it rains, the rain fly doesnt cover the full screened in area. Therefore, it gets extremely flooded when you get hard rain. The rest of the tent was very waterproof, but Id recommend only keeping things that can get wet in the screened in section. I would say this is a major design flaw, but if youre camping in nice weather, the tent is great.
Was good for a while
I have used the Evanston 6 about a dozen times in the last 5 years successfully, but this year have had multiple poles split. The last time, setting it up moderate wind, it collapsed in on itself repeatedly and broke poles, even with all windows open, even before attaching the fly. Ruined the weekend. Previously, though, it had OK weather/water resistance.
great for the price
We didnt want to drop hundreds of dollars for a tent wed use once or twice a year. This tent worked great for us. The large size was great to not feel crowded; we had two adults (one with a twin-size air mattress) and a child sleeping in it. The airflow and system for the rain cover to overhang the side windows worked great. Having an exterior area door (we call it the porch) worked great to keep insects out of the main sleeping area. During setup, minimally, youll need two stakes for the front porch corners. Also, youll need to tie the opposite-side rain-fly guy line to pull it away from the tent. This could be to a tree though and makes a reasonable clothes line for a few items. Minor negative items: - the porch area collects water during rain as its not well covered by the rain cover. It drains at the front only. You must setup this tent with the front door down-hill to ensure drainage. This isnt a big deal but does slightly limit your options if you want the front to face other tents or the picnic table. - its really heavy, largely due to size. You cant have everything here, if you want glamping size you have to carry it. This is fine for car-camping or short hike-in camp-sites but dont expect to carry this thing real far.
Good sized. Easy up. Quickly down.
Good air circulation. Only a little rain so cant report on waterproofing, but rain fly should handle most water well for the sleeping portion. The screened portion less so. Handled some gusty winds well with only a tiny bit of movement. Tie downs held, but a few of those plastic gizmos used for tensioning them wouldnt grip requiring half hitch knots. Id redesign the screen entry door so one zipper would open it, not the 3 zipper inverted t setup which meant bending up and down multiple times every time. Overall Im happy with this tent.
Nice tent, waterproof, not really a 6 person
Pros, camped in Oregon and it rained for 2 nights, zero water inside. Cons, after 2 years one of the poles snapped and some of the cloth loops where the poles go into the ground broke, still usable but takes more to set up and cant move around much. Also, I dont see how 6 people can fit inside, we are to adults and 2 kids, we lay down and there is zero extra room for a 5th must less a 6th space for anyone.
Well made, super sime.
Bought this for my wife who was going to girls camp, she was very happy with it. Had 3 girls in it with her each on twin blow up mattresses. The porch is a big selling feature. Would buy again.
Freezing cold in 32 F temps, AND has holes in screened-in porch area for spiders and ants to get in
I do more camping than most, multiple times per year, for the past 20 years, and I also have 5 kiddos under the age of 9. I dont do pay sites, and I dont do RV camping. I do straight up real, primitive camping, in the mountains. About rain getting through to the screened-in porch area, yes thats unfortunate. Just look at the weather beforehand, or if youre in an area like Yellowstone that can hail, rain, snow, and have burning sun in a matter of 15 mins, just tie tarps above it. Not a problem guys. Seriously. Real campers dont whine, we simply get creative. Plus, I always put tarps underneath my tents. Anyways, the ventilation is SOOOO good that it doesnt cause any condensation. Condensation is when its cold outside (Maybe 40 degrees or below while inside your body heat warms up the tent, creating condensation on the INSIDE WALLS, exactly like a cold glass of water on a warm day creates condensation on the OUTSIDE WALLS of the glass (which is like the INSIDE WALLS of the tent, the warm side)). I had some tents without good ventilation where I had to use like half a roll of GOOD quality Bounty paper towel to clean up the nasty condensation EVERY MORNING when the temperature was cold outside during the night. When its like high 50s F outside at night (i.e. if you just camp in your back yard, or low elevation areas), condensation doesnt form inside because the temperature difference is not enough to cause condensation to form. In other words, on warm nights (or low altitudes like your backyard), the outside air isnt cold enough to cause the inside air with high humidity (or specifically the water molecules in the air) to lose their energy to the outside (as energy/heat transfers from a higher energy/heat area (inside) to the lower energy area (outside)), and thus higher energy gaseous water molecules in the air inside the tent loses their energy and then forms liquid water, on the sides of the cold tent walls. Its not because the rain came through guys... seriously, stop whining at the tent makers. Its called C O N D E N S A T I O N. Look it up. Thermodynamics 101 guys/girls. If you paid attention to basic Chemistry and Physics courses in high school, youd know this. But most of you failed! ANYWAYS, the ventilation is so good (basically the entire back side is opened, with just a thin tent wall between you and the freezing air), that on cold nights, you will literally freeze to death, especially if you sleep your heads immediately underneath that back area. Good luck with the migraines. So how I solved this was I simply cut up two clear plastic trash bags (but you can use white, black etc.), and tied them up together at the edges to make it longer length wise, and then OUTSIDE the tent, I tied the two ends above the poles as high as possible. Tape didnt work with these clear plastic trash bags (although tape works great on black trash bags), so I got creative and poked a little hole near the corner of the trash bag corner tip, tied the corner of the trash bag around the tent pole, and then into the hole, knotted it, and got it to stay on that way. See pictures. By using this quick makeshift method, I basically prevented a big opening on the sides and bottom of the back end of the tent, thus preventing the cold air from freezing me and my family to death. The only real con I didnt like were the two holes on either corner where the tent and the screened-in porch attaches. Im sure they did this to drain out water for those people who position the tent in such a way where the ground is not horizontal and water pools inside the tent. These holes unfortunately are so big that it allows nasty big spiders in, so I took pictures with a various objects to give you a general idea. I simply plugged them with toilet paper... Again, if you use a tarp above, or position your tent so the higher ground is on the back side with the opening on the lower ground, and/or use tarps above tied to trees etc., water pooling shouldnt be a problem. Two OT QOMOTOP Ultra Thick Self-Inflating Camping Mattress, Ultra Comfortable Side Sleep Friendly 4 Inches Thick Sleeping Pad, 80×28(Single)/52(Double), Portable Roll-Up Floor Guest Bed, Blue/Gray fits in this tent.
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