REI Hobitat 4 Tent - 2011

Comments about REI Hobitat 4 Tent - 2011:

I was looking for a large tent suitable for comfort based solo car camping. I also wanted a tent that I could stand up in (I'm 5'11") Finally I wanted some sort of "porch" that would allow me to sit under if it rained and to stow extra gear, firewood etc... This tent suited me perfectly, but especially when paired with the optional hobitat garage. I just got back from 2 weeks of camping with a fair amount of bad weather, including snow, torrential rain & high winds. This tent functioned perfectly for me and although there are few nit picks I have I would rate it very highly. The first night I used it there were winds gusting to 50 mph and I realized that simple 4 corner staking was not enough and I had to quickly lash it down to all the provided tie downs. The garage needed extra attention and all 3 ties down along the top of the pole sleeve needed to be securely staked down along with the normal corner staking.

Once that was done, I proceeded to spend the next two weeks enjoying the space and height of this tent. It rained hard and often and nary a drip made it into the inside of the tent. The winds certainly did make the tent shake which is understandable given it height and cross section, but the system of poles and cross bracing seemed up to the job. On the subject of the poles, setting up the tent single handed is a little tricky but do-able. I would of liked some more and sturdier hang loop in the inside but this is a small hit only. The marriage of the garage to the main tent worked well and did not leak a drop either. One other minor issue was with using the garage side flaps as an awning caused some issues with rain run off and I had to take care to rig it so the runoff went where I wanted and to keep the weather side door of the tent closed. I would give it 5 stars but think there is room for some improvement still, but rest assured this is an excellent tent for 3 season car camping

Comments about REI Hobitat 4 Tent - 2011:

I was a little reluctant to get this tent since there were no reviews for this updated version. I was concerned that it only has three poles for a tent this size however the poles turned out to be very sturdy. There was no wind on my one outing so far with this tent but it really did feel sturdy and I'm sure it could withstand modest winds without a problem.

Obviously for serious winds a 6 foot box shaped tent isn't exactly a first choice. But for what we use it for. Easy car camping it's seems perfect. I imagine even under decent winds it'll match up well.

The set up was simple. It can be done with one person as long as you put it together following the step orders in the instructions. One thing I was concerned with is how taught the tension was on the fabric when fastening the top fasteners. For a second I thought it might rip the fabric but it didn't have any problems all weekend. I imagine it might stretch out a bit. They say you can even clamp the bottom poles in closer for a taughter tent but I don't see how that would be possible. Maybe after it stretches out a bit.

It didn't rain so I can't comment on that part but the fly seemed like it would work well. The tent gets great ventilation but it seemed to do nothing to keep out the cold. The temperature inside the tent was essentially what it was outside, even with everything closed up.

I love the big door and all the ways it can be configured. Having a tall tent was also great. Very easy to move around in.

This is a great easy camping type of tent, suited for milder temperatures. For that type of camping this tent is great.

Comments about REI Hobitat 4 Tent - 2011:

I really really wanted to love this tent. It was my first "real" tent, not a $79 one from [...]. I used it for the first time this past week on the North Shore of Lake Superior. It was cold, rainy and very windy. And BOTH of the aluminum tent pole broke as I was trying to set it up!I am not a particularly strong person. I'm 5'5", 52, average build. I'd set up the tent by myself in my yard the previous weekend -- just to see if I could do it by myself -- and all worked well. Then got to the campsite, where it was very windy, so I had to stake the tent down loosely before bending the poles into place. It was during the struggle to do that that both poles snapped. The tent comes with one repair tube. I had to walk back a half-mile to the car, drive to the ranger station and have them help me rig up another repair tube out of a piece of PVC pipe. Even then the tent sagged a bit where it was repaired.I'm also not fond of the grommet and loop staking method. Perhaps I'm used to my old cheap tents, but a metal ring at each end seems to work better in windy conditions. The grommet and loops seemed to let the wind lift the tent a couple of inches. And it was really windy, so it happened often.On the plus side, despite lots of rain, the tent stayed dry. I did buy and use the optional "garage," which worked really really well to have an extra seating area during the rainy times. I even cooked under the garage (with one side up for ventilation).I'm going to return the tent to REI tomorrow. Not sure if I'm going to get a replacement or just stick to my cheap tents.

Comments about REI Hobitat 4 Tent - 2011:

Put this tent up at home with no issues, with my boyfriend helping. However, on site one of the long silver poles snapped while setting up. Since I own three backpacking tents I am familiar with aluminum poles, and the hobitat poles are junk.

Patched the pole with the one included repair tube and I'm sure REI will replace it but still not thrilled about it. Will not buy another REI brand tent.

Otherwise, color coded setup makes it easy and it has weathered the nasty PA summer storms for the past two weeks. The garage is a must have since the hobitat doesn't really have much of anawning to enter the tent in bad weather

Comments about REI Hobitat 4 Tent - 2011:

We decided to add a car camping tent to compliment our back packing tents. The Hobitat was our choice. We love this tent. It is easy to set up and very well designed. Side walls are near vertical for maximum roominess. The fly fits snugly over the tent--no worries about rain blowing under the fly. Much thought went into the design. Lots of storage pockets. Versatile entry. Full 6' height. This tent rocks. Great tent at a great price=VALUE!

Comments about REI Hobitat 4 Tent - 2011:

This is an excellent car camping tent. The additional garage attachment is really the seller for me; it adds a huge amount of space and you can walk into shelter to shed wet clothes before you get in the tent. The garage worked pretty well to sit 4 adults in it with a small table to play cards.

The inside of the tent is also spacious and I'd say the 4 person rating is just about spot on but you'd be more comfortable with 3.

I'm trying to get my camping buddies to each buy one so we can start a hobitown!

Comments about REI Hobitat 4 Tent - 2011:

My wife and I were looking for a tent that would hold the two of us, two small dogs, and our gear. This tent is perfect for us. It is easy to set up, and comfortable to sleep in. I am 6'6" and I can almost stand up straight in this tent.

Comments about REI Hobitat 4 Tent - 2011:

First, the things I like about this tent:
The 6-foot peak height was amazing when changing and getting in and out of this tent and the massive door let us get stuff in and out quickly and easily.

The materials are super tough and durable. We camped for 3 weeks in this and the floor was like new as was the mesh, the fabric showed a couple spots where places wore but that was about it.

The things I don't like about this tent:

The stake out points did not keep the tent floor taught and when it got windy the floor would flap around. Also, there weren't enough guy lines, there would be at least 6 and possibly 8 to cover all the guy out points.

The whole tent acts like a sail and starts rattling at the lightest of breezes. We had this tent staked out and guyed out as taught as we could with out ripping the tent material but it rattled so much that the cross beam-pole rubbed holes into the places where it crosses over the main poles. A suggestion for this would be to have the cross pole not be textured and be make the same way as the other two poles. Another suggestion would be to have four more stake out points on the tent itself in the middle of each side. I know that this tent is a base-camp tent but you could do away with such durable materials on the floor and footprint. I have an old Half Dome 2 and the floor and footprint look like new after ~100 nights of abuse yet they have much less durable materials.

My bottom line is that while it is a good tent, I think a couple little changes would make this a great tent.

Comments about REI Hobitat 4 Tent - 2011:

My rating would have been a 5 star if I hadn't rec'd old generation poles with the first one. I had read the reviews about poles breaking during set up on this tent so I set it up at home before taking it on a trip (thank goodness). When I attemtped to flex the 1st pole into position (being careful to not let the sleeve bind) the wall of the pole snapped at a joint. I took the tent back to my local store and was given a new tent which I inspected before leaving the store. The new tent had poles that were noticeably thicker diameter than the originals. I set this one up prior to my trip also and this time with success. The new generation poles are much sturdier. I used my new tent on a week long fishing trip in a remote area of Idaho and it worked great! At first my partners teased about the "Taj Mahal" since their tents req'd them to crawl in and out. So it turns out they were envious especially of the head room. This tent is perfect for car camping and accomdated my large cot and all my gear for the week. My guess is my buddies will have one for the next trip too. I do recommend getting the footprint or some other ground cover to protect the floor. I plant to get the optional garage for poor weather.

Comments about REI Hobitat 4 Tent - 2011:

A nice big tent but wish it was a shape of a dome rather that the poles at an angle. A big advantage is its height and space. Enough room inside and tall enough to change clothes and have extra gear. Buy with the vestibules and garage that it comes with, with an extra charge. Totally worth it. This tent is great for car camping. Protecting the base with a tarp is probably a good idea as the base of the tents tend to soak in a little liquid. Be careful while inserting the poles in the pole sleeved and the poles ends are pointed and might pierce the sleeves, has happened to someone I know. A little sturdier pole sleeve would have been great. But I don't think there exists a perfect camping tent. Hobitat 4 is a nevertheless a good buy with some minor flaws.