How to Choose Tents for Camping

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The all-season Big Agnes Flying Diamond 8 tent provides plenty of space for the family to stretch out and relax. With a separate area for 2 sleepers and a large main room, it'll feel like home.
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View all Big Agnes Camping TentsBest Use | Camping |
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Seasons | 3 - 4-season |
Sleeping Capacity | 8+ people |
Minimum Trail Weight | 22 lbs. 2 oz. |
Packaged Weight | 23 lbs. 13 oz. |
Packed Size | 24 x 16 x 9 inches |
Floor Dimensions | 175 x 115 / 96 / 84 inches |
Floor Area | 123 square feet |
Vestibule Area | 31 + 6 square feet |
Peak Height | 72 inches |
Number of Doors | 2 doors |
Number of Poles | 6 |
Pole Material | DAC aluminum |
Pole Diameter | 10.2/11.1/12/13 millimeters |
Canopy Fabric | Polyester/polyester mesh |
Floor Fabric | Polyester |
Rainfly Fabric | Polyester |
Footprint Included | No |
Design Type | Freestanding |
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Used this tent last summer at the badlands, South Dakota. Got hit by an ugly storm. The tent held up great. Tightened down the guide lines and made sure the stakes where sunk in. Had no damage! Our other tent (different brand) broke 3 poles. Lots of people had broken and ripped tents from the storm. All the pop-ups in the camp ground broke. Lots of space to stand up and change Could catch good wind with the vestibules Space for everything Two person setup (could do solo with practice) Light weigh for size No water got in from above or below
First camping trip ever with this tent - my wife and 2 year old daughter went out just after we got this tent and an unexpected microburst came through around midnight. This storm included 70 mph winds, hail, lightning...you name it. The tent didn’t even shift side to side with the strong winds! Nor did it leak! Couldn’t believe it! After the sun came up the next morning, I saw broken tree branches, and other tents and campers were damaged but this amazing tent held up very well. Very pleased!!! Best tent on the market!!!
We bought this tent 5 years ago. We have 2 kids (12 and 6) and our car can not pull a camper so we purchased the biggest 4 season tent we could find.. We have taken this thing all over western Canada in all seasons and weather conditions. It holds up brilliantly! We have been in the pouring rain and just returned from a trip to the north beach of Haida Gwaii (humble brag) where the wind absolutely rips through. if you follow the set up instructions and use all tie downs and spikes this bad boy stays sturdy and dry. I upgraded to beefier spikes (we have rocky terrain) and when possible, I place 2 tarps underneath to cover the entire bottom of Big Agnes. In 5 years and dozens of nights we have had no broken poles, no rips or tears and 1 minor zipper issue. This tent is awesome, highly recommend!
The tent is great but the zippers on the doors are horrible. Paid full price from REI on first use front door zipper would stick a little. Didn't think much about it, only use the tent 3 or 4 times a year. Finally this weekend all zippers failed and stuck with wide open doors all night. Used rain fly to help keep some of the bugs out and sweat but nothing worked. Worse trip ever. Contacted Big Agnes about it they want me to ship it back to fix at my expense. Shipping the tent is over $45 each way and $10 to fix. Will take 2 or 3 weeks to get back. I'd rather spend that on a big box through away tent that will last a few years unlike this $799 tent.
Have used it once so far and it works amazing. This is our first experience with the brand and so far I am impressed. Not the easiest to set up and you will definetly need an extra set of hands, but well worth the time and definetly worth the price.
Went car camping this summer with our new Flying Diamond 8. Our 5 kids fit in the main cabin and my wife and I fit nicely in the small side separated by the divider. It’s well built and we had no problems with it. We also bought the footprint to extend it life, and hope to have years more of use.
A few years ago we ditched the camper to go back to car camping with our two kids and dog. We wanted the best car camping tent that we could find and this seemed to fit the mold of what we were looking for. Unfortunately not. The first one we had collected moisture through the floor even when it sat atop the ground tarp. BIg Agnes was gracious enough to replace it but that didn't solve the problem. The floor is still damp, even when it does not rain and just sits on dewy ground. We still use it but just understand that there's a good chance we'll be sleeping soggy. On the bright side it's very roomy and plenty spacious enough for 2 adults, 2 kids and a big dog.
I recently had an unfortunate experience with my buddies where it was pretty much raining inside the tent we were in. After that experience I started looking for a tent that could survive nasty weather and I came across the Big Agnes Flying Diamond 8! The first time I set it up I stayed in it for a couple nights. The first night I woke up at 2:30AM to what sounded like a freight train outside! It happened to be the wind in the trees. I was surprised at how little the tent budged with such strong wind. The guy-lines on the tent definitely did their job. Then the rain and thunder came. Even with all the rain and wind the tent stayed bone-dry inside that night. Fast-forward to the second night. I had checked the radar beforehand and it said 3 massive storms were coming, one right after another. I figured this would be the perfect test to see how weather resistant the tent truly was. The Flying Diamond 8 did not disappoint! It down poured almost the entire night and was pretty windy to boot! When I woke up in the morning the inside of the tent was still extremely dry! The Flying Diamond 8 did exactly what it said it would and I was very impressed! A few notes: -I did not have the tent footprint during this experience, but have purchased one to protect the bottom of my tent from wear later -If you want to steak all of the guy-lines down you will need to bring/purchase a few more steaks. The amount provided is enough to stake the base of the tent down and then a few guy-lines -Based off my previous note, I did not have all the guy-lines staked down and the tent still handled the storms impressively well
The only consideration you need to make is the layout. If your a car camper you need to make sure camp sites can accommodate. The tent is long, which is fine, but the doors are on the ends...if you have a short site your door openings may not be in a practical place. The tent is very roomy for a family of 5 on individual air mattresses. A queen air mattress will squeeze into the widest section, but you will have to cross to get to back part of tent. This was an issue when campsites were short and the tent had to be pushed back into site (trees/bushes) as far as we could so the main entrance wasn't opening right onto road to site. In doing so, the rear entry became useless.
Love the tent!!! Seams are Bomber waterproof. No problem setting it up. The rainfly vents which I discovered on our second practice set up, worked great. Family of 5 in 40 degrees, not a drop of condensation inside the tent. Love the reflective tiedown cords are brilliant. It held up great at 9000+ in Colorado for 5 days. My ONLY complaint, the tent stakes that came with the tent, PATHETIC! Please upgade to something you can hit with a hammer and it won't bend. I upgraded to landscaping nails. Its worth the weight. Not that weight is really much of a consideration when purchasing this tent.