I found this tent relatively difficult to set-up with just myself and my wife. Getting the poles into the pole sleeves was a bit difficult for us. We have an Ultra Dome 6 and find it much easier to set-up with clips instead of pole sleeves. We plan to purchase another so that we have one us and one for the kids.
I was very excited when my new tent arrived after many nights of searching the internet. The size seems ok for 2 cots and some gear. And the poles are very durable. Good luck trying to get the poles, stakes, the rain fly, and the tent all back in the bag it came in. The looks of the tent are great, but for the money I was expecting more.
I have owned 5 or 6 LL Bean tents and they are usually great tents; customer service is fantastic. I bought this tent (XL 6) for my annual trip to Cape Breton and as sometimes happens, it rained. 14 days there and 10 days of rain - 7 days of heavy rain. The tent was sound and dry (even though I had not sealed the seams); plenty of room for two of us plus gear and a large dog. It held its composure in some brisk (30 - 40 mph) winds; a very nice tent. Except: the vestibules. These are part of the tent/fly and you have to use them and they are a pain in the neck/back. If you are more than 3 feet tall, you have to hunker down to get in or out; the zipper always catches in the flap unless you use 2 hands, which means you cannot have anything in your hands (like a flashlight at night); and you cannot get in or out without getting wet from the wet fabric.
I just bought this tent and took it on a 2 day camping trip with my husband and 5-year-old daughter. It rained and stormed pretty much the whole time we were there. Even during some of the bad storms the tent stayed dry as a bone! It was also roomy and comfortable when stuck inside hiding from the storm, not claustrophobic like other tents I have been in. The only complaint I have is that the zipper on the front vestibule keeps catching on the rain fly flap that covers the outside of the zipper.
