The REI Campwell 6 is a freestanding tent appropriate for automotive tenting. It has a giant footprint with loads of inside house that’s a palace for 2 however may maintain a household with a couple of small children. The tent is a hybrid double wall tent with an interior tent and a rain fly that simply covers its ceiling, with a slight overhang for rain safety. The roof of the interior tent is made virtually solely of black insect-proof mesh, however it has a low ceiling, simply 64″ excessive, which implies I’ve to stoop and can’t rise up straight inside. There’s one door, which is strong cloth and never screened, and one mesh window that may be lined for privateness with a free piece of material suspended from dowels. I can’t say that I like this tent, however in order for you much more inside house for tenting with your loved ones, it’s a step up from a single room six-person dome tent for a similar value.
- Capability: 6 individuals
- Weight: 17 lbs. 13 oz.
- Footprint obtainable: Offered individually
- Poles: 3
- Packed Dimension: 9.5 x 26 inches
- Flooring Dimensions: 120 x 100 inches
- Peak Peak: 64″ (actually 63″)
- Doorways: 1
- Flooring: 150-denier polyester
- Cover: 75-denier polyester taffeta with a 1,500 mm polyurethane (PU) coating; no-see-um mesh: 40-denier solution-dyed nylon
- Rain Fly: 75-denier polyester taffeta with a 1,500 mm PU coating
- Professionals: Enormous lined house, straightforward to arrange with a associate, black mesh ceiling for star-gazing
- Cons: Partitions flap within the wind, entrance door catches on zipper and isn’t screened
The Campwell 6 is a freestanding tent that comes with three poles to arrange: two very lengthy collapsible fibrerglass poles that slide into sleeves and cross in the course of the cover ceiling. This offers the tent a really sturdy basis, though you’ll nonetheless need to add further guylines to the corners in windy situations. A 3rd, shorter forehead pole is used as to create a small awning above the entrance door and rear window.
When the rainfly is deployed, it covers the interior tent’s ceiling mesh and extends out from the sidewalls a couple of inches creating an awning across the 4 partitions of the interior tent. This prevents rain water from draining onto the partitions of the interior tent but additionally acts like an air scoop, permitting air to circulation below the awning’s edges and into the interior tent by way of its mesh ceiling.
When the rainfly is deployed, there aren’t numerous choices to see outdoors. The entrance door, is a strong panel of material with out a display screen behind it, so you may’t see out the entrance when somebody comes knocking with out fully opening the door. The door zipper additionally snags each time I take advantage of it, with out fail.
There’s a again window, which is screened, however isn’t weatherproof. It’s a free piece of material that’s held in place with dowels, on the wall reverse the door. If I may redesign this tent, I’d make each make the entrance door and rear window with mesh and canopy them with strong zippered cloth so you can see out or batten down the hatches in foul climate. That approach you can have some cross-ventilation between the 2 on heat evenings.
If the entrance door and again window are closed, gentle nonetheless filters by way of the interior tent’s calmly coloured partitions. There’s not a lot contained in the tent besides a giant unstructured house, though there are 4 pockets within the corners, two mesh pockets within the ceiling and a material loop the place you may grasp a lantern.
One factor that I haven’t talked about beforehand, is that the ceiling of the Campwell 6 is annoying low, measuring simply 64″. I’m 5’10” and I’ve to stoop inside. That received previous in a short time. If you happen to’re going to get a cabin model tent like this, get one you may rise up in like a Eureka Copper Canyon LX 6, or a Coleman Skydome 6 if you wish to buy your tent from REI.
I’ve had the Campwell 6 out in windy climate (10-20 mph) and I can’t advocate it for these situations as a result of the partitions cave inwards within the wind, which may be disconcerting if you’re inside. From that have, I’ve concluded that this tent is finest used at a properly protected campsite in dry climate, when you may preserve the again window fully open for air flow.
Evaluation
The REI Campwell 6 is a freestanding tent designed for automotive tenting. Whereas it’s straightforward to arrange for 2 individuals, it’s finest utilized in good climate at pre-established tent websites that provide good safety from the wind. Although spacious inside, the ceiling of the tent is sort of low, simply 5′ 3″ excessive which will get previous very quick if you happen to’re taller. As well as, you may’t see by way of the entrance door, its zippers snag simply, and the rear window isn’t weatherproof. REI sells so many different massive tenting tents that don’t have these issues, that I can’t advocate the Campwell 6 and recommend you attempt a unique tent just like the Coleman Skydome 6 which is equally priced and obtainable from REI.
Disclosure: REI donated a tent for assessment.
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