A Tale of Two Tents

[Brand X] and [Brand Z] tents are both rated as 2 of the best two-person tents for under $100 according to [this website]. Both had descriptions that painted the perfect picture of each tent - and I could actually see me and my son in each of them.

I couldn’t make up my mind.

So I purchased two tents, with the intent of returning one of them (I should note that my wife was 100% against this - “Please, just buy one?”).

When I received them my goal was to treat them like new shoes (“Don’t wear them outside or you can’t take them back”). I carefully set them up inside my house, put on clean socks, and took my pocket knife out of my pocket (I wasn’t taking any chances). I even kept the kids and cats away - which was no small task.

Once I had a chance to set each of them up, I wrote down what I liked and didn’t like about each tent (with apologies to Charles Dickens):

“It was the best of tents, it was the worst of tents, it was the purchase of wisdom, it was the purchase of foolishness,...”

Okay, maybe that’s a little overdramatic. These tents were different, but not opposites - and they certainly didn’t have anything to do with the French Revolution.

But I still have a dilemma - which one do I keep?

Tent X was amazing. It’s easy to set up and take down. It’s well-ventilated. It has a floor vent - a small opening in the back of the tent just above the bathtub floor. It allows for more air to flow through the tent to help avoid condensation.

The downside is that the fly only covers the top half of the tent. Even though Brand X claims it’s made of water-resistant material, I’m guessing a little snow, or some heavy rain might cause some problems.

…But how often am I going to camp in those conditions? (It happens, planned or not)

Tent Z was also amazing. This one is labeled as a three-season tent. It is exceptionally well-ventilated (the tent itself is almost all screen). The fly goes almost all the way down to the ground, but when the guylines are staked and the front and back doors are open - oh yeah, you read that right, front AND back doors - the tent was as warm or as cool as you wanted it to be.

The downside is that without the fly, there’s not much privacy. So I have to use the fly if I stay in a public campground.

Both were roughly the same size. They both had plenty of room for me and my son. I know I would be happy with either one.

I went with the three-season, 2 door model …Tent Z.

I still have both.

Maybe my son’s Cub Scout friend and his dad would like to join us and borrow Tent X?

My wife is still mad.