Boy, I'm really torn about this tent. It's very spacious, fairly easy to set up (given its size) and comes at a great price. However, I've had two sets of poles fail. The problem is with the metal collars that hold together the individual sections of the long fiberglass poles. Twice in six months I've had a collar split, rendering the pole useless. Granted, both times I was putting some pressure on the pole to set it up--but then, you really don't have any choice with a dome. Bean replaced the whole tent the first time (it was a family Christmas present, and a bummer when it broke on the first set-up.) This time, they are sending a replacement pole at my request. I wish I had a bit more faith in the pole system, because otherwise, this is a great tent. The metal collars just seem to be a real weak point. It appears they are actually two layers--one plastic, and the other metal...cheapo stuff, and not up to the standard I normally expect from LLBean (although customer service has been--as always--excellent.) I'll definitely be sure to ALWAYS have repair gear with me
I too like this tent. I've had it for a year and used it several times floating the Smith River in Montana. Once it's up, it's wonderful. But putting it up can be a bear--much longer than the 10 minutes mentioned in the catalog and a real problem if it's raining. The tent is so big that laying it flat, right side up, in the right orientation before inserting poles takes time. Threading the poles through fabric sleeves is a pain because the aluminum connectors between pole sections virtually always hang on parts of the fabric. You can't simply thread the poles through. Taking the tent down is also a pain for the same reason. The sleeves hang on the connectors as you pull the poles out. Putting the rain fly on can be a problem for short people because of the tent's height. Finally, you've got to stake the tent down very securely. It's so big that a good wind can pull the stakes out of the ground and send it tumbling--a memory from my last trip I'll try to forget.
This is a great tent! Very easy to set up and lots of space for 2 of us and our lab. The screened in porch was a hit during a downpour when we easily fit 5 people in there to wait out the storm. I would recommend getting the 6-person if you have more than 3 people to fit in the tent.
Let me first say that I am a 37 year old female above-knee amputee (wearing prosthesis) and I set this up by myself the first time with no difficulties, other than the additional time that it took to orient myself to it during the initial set up. It really wasn't any more difficult to do than a tall dome tent. Granted, I'm in very good physical shape, but erecting a tent this size on your own can be a pretty daunting task. I'm sure it's a breeze for 2 people, but quite manageable by 1 person as well.
When I looked at this in the catalog and also online I didn't realize that it had a door from the screenroom into the tent and an entirely separate door from the tent to the outside. This doorway features a small vestibule. Both the screenroom and tent have a nice hook for a light too.
This tent is pretty well ventilated through wide top panels that still ensure privacy. However, you can only get good ventilation this way if you have the center vestibule panel gathered upward. The zippered side panels of the screenroom are a nice feature as well for rainy days. I have the #6 and I would have to do some serious arguing as to the ability of this tent to support 6 people. Honestly, if you enjoy comfort don't try more than 3 people at the most with this tent.
The reason I am giving this 4 out of 5 stars is because of the floor. I wish it was thicker and made of a different type of material. I just feel like it's more apt to rip. To help with this I purchased a couple of inexpensive area rugs, which will help keep the floor of the tent cleaner anyway. I use a cot and definitely need to use a rug underneat this. If not for the floor, this would have been a 5 star review.
