REI Kingdom 8 Tent - 2012

Comments about REI Kingdom 8 Tent - 2012:

On our fourth enjoyable outing with this tent, our family of 6 found ourselves in a cloud on a 2500 ft Arkansas ridge. Overnight we experienced a very severe thunderstorm, with high winds about 50 mph and horizontal rain and freezing temperatures. I can say that we all stayed warm and dry. However, the tent took a beating: Bent poles despite six guy lines (but it stayed up); limited areas of condensation; ice on the lines. It got cold, damp and windy enough to move us into the Garage, in which we comfortably cooked a hot meal. Probably best to avoid setting the long side of the tent directly in the path of the wind if possible. We all love the tent, and have returned the poles to REI for replacement.

Comments about REI Kingdom 8 Tent - 2012:

I researched for about a month before purchasing the Kingdom 8 - what sold me was the amazing headroom, great reviews and REI's legendary customer service.

We camped with the tent for the first time this weekend and it was perfect! Except for the fact that one of the eye tabs was completely missing from the base of the tent, therefore we could not attach the pole (second pole back on the right side.) No problem, we popped the pole into the footprint and put a heavy bag down inside the tent to hold it down. Otherwise, the tent was amazing!! Tons of mesh for ventilation, even more in the sleeping area than it appeared online. We had a queen air mattress, and two ground pads, which fit comfortably with room to spare. The front mesh room was smaller that it appeared in pictures, but the ratio seemed perfect once I moved around in it a bit. There are a plethora of pockets, which is awesome, and did I mention the headroom?! That is the most attractive feature of this tent, hands down, in my opinion. No need to shimmy around horizontally, trying to get dressed.

We didn't need to use the rainfly, so I didn't set it up. Same with the garage attachment. Next time! The footprint worked well.

My only complaint is with customer service when I called today to let them know of the defect. The person I spoke with seemed rushed, and annoyed to be having the conversation in the first place. I have another trip planned for 2 weekends from now and was very disappointed when she told me that they would only send out a replacement tent when they received the defective tent back. I expect better than that, honestly! I feel that once they have a shipping conformation number indicating that the defective tent is on its way back, they should send me a new tent immediately. I was told I could order a new one (sorry, don't have an extra $500 on hand), and that was the only way to get me a "replacement" quickly. I was surprised and disappointed by that.

All things considered, I'm happy with the tent - it went up easily and has all of the features that I was looking for. I just need one that is fully assembled before it ships :)

Comments about REI Kingdom 8 Tent - 2012:

This is a great tent for our family of 5. We have plenty of room for 2 air mattresses and a pack and play. We love the tent and material is definitely quality stuff.

Comments about REI Kingdom 8 Tent - 2012:

Bought this as a Christmas gift for my girlfriend, but its really for me... put it up for a trial run in the back yard. Boy I didnt expect it to be this big! Slept in it myself and in the middle of the night I woke up with the tent in the side of my face. I was sleeping in the middle and there were 40 mph gusts , and on and off rain! It was one heck of a night! I was surprised the trent never picked up... I purchased the garage and plan on using it for the beach in june! Tons of room. Ut to flexable. Over all great tent by rei!!

Comments about REI Kingdom 8 Tent - 2012:

We got this tent for our first family camping trip with our 2 year old twins and 5 year old. The tent fit 2 REI comfort cots (for the adults), 2 pack-and-plays and a sleeping pad with room to spare. We also got the garage which housed a table for changing diapers and our clothing. The vestibule held the rest of our fishing gear and firewood. (The tent fit on the largest tent pad we saw in the TX state park but the vestibule and garage spilled over - not a big deal). My wife (who has not camped) was able to set up the tent by herself while watching the kids. The 3rd day it rained 3 inches in 3 hours as unexpected storms blew up where we were. When we got back to the campsite, it had flooded, and our tent pad was under 4 inches of water. There was not a drop in the tent, even where the playards and cots were holding down the tent. We evacuated between storms and threw the tent into the car in a heap. By the time we got home, it was a sopping mess. We set it up in the garage, and it dried within a couple of days. It also cleaned up easily. The only negatives are: a. the zippers catch the fabric so you need 2 hands to unzip the tent, b. there is only 1 place to tie back the interior walls divding the rooms, and it is on the upper part, so you can't tie back the wall completely and a portion of the wall ends up hanging over our cots (you can see this in the picture below), and c. the pockets on the interior wall dividing the rooms are great, but they are only on one of the interior walls rather than both. All in all a great relatively lightweight and packable tent that is perfect for our family's car camping.

Comments about REI Kingdom 8 Tent - 2012:

This is a large tent, but still very portable and incredibly easy to set up.

Comments about REI Kingdom 8 Tent - 2012:

I bought this tent after shopping extensively for a large, comfortable family tent and have not been disappointed. When coupled with the footprint and optional garage this thing is like a luxury fortress in the woods. It is impervious to water and has a ton of room to store everything my family of four needs to keep dry. I have had two issues that required attention though...first, the mosquito netting that makes up a large portion of the front end and top of the tent got all bunched up and snagged in the process of rolling the tent up and putting it away a couple of times. Second, somehow my four year old son was able to snap the ridgepole while playing in the tent when he fell into the side. I don't exactly know how this happened, but it seems that it should be able to withstand this minor amount of abuse. Thankfully REI's satisfaction guarantee was able to provide me a replacement, essentially nullifying any gripes I may have about the tent's performance. All things considered, this tent is a tremendous step up from the likes of the major US "bargain" tent manufacturers and I love it.

Comments about REI Kingdom 8 Tent - 2012:

My wife and I got the Kingdom 8 as a gift to start getting our two young daughters into camping. We plan to use it car camping in the State Parks of Texas as well as while out trail riding in our Polaris Ranger. As my children get older and stronger, we will try to combine these activities with hiking and paddling.

I set this tent up for the first time in the San Antonio REI with ease. My mom and I had it set up and back in the bag in less than 30 minutes. I set it up in my living room today by myself with ease in about 15 minutes. It is very simple to set up and take down. The carry bag has plenty of room for all the included pieces as well as the foot print (which is an absolute must if you want your tent floor to last). We haven't purchased the garage yet but we plan to in the near future.

The tent has plenty of mesh for ventilation, which is a major selling point for me since Texas ranges from warm to very hot most of the year. I'm not a native Texan and the heat here is something I still haven't gotten used to even after nine summers.

The space and storage capacity of this tent must be seen to be believed. We will camp with my wife and two children most of the time, but my mom and perhaps other family/friends will join us from time to time. The floor space of this tent should allow 4-6 people plenty of room and I can't imagine eight people feeling terribly cramped while sleeping, especially if the garage is purchased and used for gear storage. There are several mesh pockets and gear loops to organize smaller items inside the tent. I'm 6' tall and have no problem standing in the center line of the tent.

I can't wait to get it outside and take my girls camping for the first time. I haven't camped in several years and am looking forward to getting back outside. Since we are starting basically from scratch, we will be comfort driven for awhile as we adjust to the changes and improve our outdoor skills. With the size and ameneties of the Kingdom 8, this should be a pain free and enjoyable journey back into outdoor sports.

Comments about REI Kingdom 8 Tent - 2012:

This is a great tent. We had the 6, but 4 cots barely fit. REI said no problem, bring in the 6 and we can swap it out for the 8. Amazing!! Great service. The only odd thing is how the fly rolls up (bottom up to the middle) on the corners. The 6 had great toggles to keep it rolled up. The 8 doesn't have these toggles on the corners - only in the 2 center pole areas.

Comments about REI Kingdom 8 Tent - 2012:

We had the Kingdom 6 tent, which was great. After using it once this spring, we got cots for the 4 of us and back to scouting this fall. We took it out, all excited with our new cots. But they would hardly fit - literally pushing at the ends to the point it would almost not zip. I didn't understand how a 6 person wouldn't hold 4 cots. So we called REI and they said "No Problem." They said just to take the 6 in and we will exchange it for the difference - amazing customer service.

We used it this weekend, and it is great. There was one bit on unknown around rolling up the sides of the fly and how to attach at the corners. The six was easy with toggles at each corner, but the 8 doesn't have the corner toggles to hold the fly rolled up. I am working to figure this out - there has to be a reason.

Otherwise - we absolutely LOVE IT!