REI’s Base Camp tent is the best-designed, best-built six-person tent I’ve ever used. It also proved itself one of the most waterproof large tents in our testing. It’s a traditional dome tent design, with two crossed poles and two side poles. The tent floor is high-quality 150-denier (150D) polyester, while the sides are a combination of mesh and 40D nylon. There’s loads of storage pockets, double doors, great vents, and huge windows, making it comfortable even in summer heat. It’s also one of the few family-size, three-season tents on the market with a nearly full-length rain fly (made of 75-denier polyester), which makes it suitable for those more weather-prone fall and spring trips (the fly sits about 3 inches off the ground, so not four-season level like the Marmot below, but close). It’s also surprisingly stable in the wind considering how tall it is (74 inches for the six-person model).
The inside is roomy. My family of five (two adults, two teenagers, one 10-year-old) had no trouble fitting inside. There’s plenty of room for five smaller sleeping pads, or you could double up on Exped’s Megamat Duo ($349) for an extra cushy car camping setup. The vestibules are nice and roomy too, offering storage for the rest of your camping gear. If you really want some extra, covered, outdoor space, you can grab the Base Camp Vehicle Connector for $170 (untested, but it’s on my list).
With two huge doors that have big, no-snag zippers, it’s easy to get in and out of the Base Camp without stepping on anyone. There’s also a wide variety of storage options, including six pockets (one for each person), and lots of hang loops stitched into the ceiling allowing you to hang lights or string a clothesline. There are also plenty of mesh vents, which make it possible to get a nice cross breeze through the tent on warm nights.
| Specs | |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 100 x 86 in. (4-person) / 110 x 110 in. (6-person) |
| Interior living space | 56 sq. feet (4-person) / 84 sq. feet (6-person) |
| Vestibule space | 27 + 17 sq. feet (6-person) |
| Height | 63 in (4-person) / 74 in (6-person) |
| Weight | 17 lbs., 5.6 oz. (4-person) / 20 lbs., 11.5 oz. (6-person) |
| Capacity | 4- or 6-person |
| Doors | 2 |
