How to Choose Tents for Camping

Spend less time setting up camp and more time enjoying the great outdoors. The easy-to-set-up Caddis Rapid 4 tent boasts a roomy interior that comfortably fits 4 and stores all your camp essentials.
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Imported.
View all Caddis Camping TentsBest Use | Camping |
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Seasons | 3-season |
Sleeping Capacity | 4-person |
Packaged Weight | 20 lbs. 8 oz. |
Packed Size | 9 x 50 inches |
Floor Dimensions | 96 x 96 x 72 inches |
Floor Area | 64 square feet |
Peak Height | 80 inches |
Number of Doors | 1 door |
Number of Poles | 1 |
Pole Material | Steel |
Pole Diameter | 21 millimeters |
Canopy Fabric | 190-denier polyester taffeta/mesh |
Floor Fabric | 210-denier polyester taffeta |
Rainfly Fabric | 190-denier polyester taffeta |
Footprint Included | No |
Design Type | Freestanding |
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Took my boys camping (with the scouts) up near Goose Lake, WA. They are 20 &15 years old. 1st time with this tent and it was up in record time...which was great since we got there at dusk. We got about an hour of just torrential rain, which we were not expecting and they and all of their gear stayed dry. There is plenty of room to stand which was nice that you don't have to crouch over. The only thing they said was annoying was the zipper kept getting stuck in the fabric (which is there as another layer of protection). This is a great product for families and car campers.
My husband will not camp without AC and a TV. Lone camper here. I car camp, but like a tent for my gear. I had a tent that attached to my Jeep. I LOVED it, but the struggle was real on setting it up alone. I decided to try this rapid tent. I can pop it up and take it down in minutes! I have the 4 person, I think really for 2 people. I have slept in it on occasion, and through a huge rain storm it stayed dry! Yes the door zippers can be tricky and annoying, but after a few uses I figured out what I need to do to keep them from getting caught. (Some people may not be able to figure that out) I’ve used it many times for 2 seasons now, so far so good on wear and tear!
Ok, so I bought this tent because of others who reviewed it for ease of setup and weatherproof design. I have memories of camping with my parents who struggled over setting up our leaky tent and then trying to stay dry during a rainstorm. It isn't surprising that the family transitioned to a trailer. This put me off tent camping for many years. This year my husband I decided to try it again. As we approach retirement, we want to be able to camp beside the streams we fish instead of driving from a hotel or AirBNB. This tent transformed me into some who would rather camp if I have a choice? I can set it up myself in about 10 minutes. We tested the weatherproofing during two nights of downpours this spring. It kept us and our gear dry even though a puddle formed behind our tent on the uphill side despite my efforts to trench that spot. We have the 4 person version and it is roomy enough for two. My only recommendation when you purchade would be to add reflective tape to the guy lines as I have stumbled over them a few times in the dark. I now make sure to situate the tent so I won't be tempted to walk around to the back to use the facilities aka find a bush. Go camping in the rain! Get to the campsite at dusk! This tent won't let you down!
This is a great tent for the money. I set it up by myself the first time in about 10 minutes. It withstood a summer thunderstorm without leaking too.
This tent is Awesome! I watched a YouTube video prior and I was able to set it up all by myself and very quickly!
I am an avid camper, and I’ve tried many tents. This one is by far the best 4-person tent. It has ample storage, huge windows that allow you to choose full coverage or full view of the night sky, very easy set up and take down, and so roomy it feels like an apartment. The windows/walls also reach all the way to the ceiling when fully zipped, and the rain fly fully covers 3/4 of the tent walls, which means it keeps dust out even during the worst wind storms in the desert. The only downsides are: (1) it’s a big tent when packed up and (2) when it was very windy one night while camping, one of the straps vibrated so loudly and no matter how many times I adjusted it, it kept making noise. Truly I’ve been looking for the best tent for me and my dog while we car camp and I found it.
What a game changer. We are in love with this Rapid tent. It is made with super heavy duty materials and is such a breeze to set up. We used it in some less than favorable conditions and it kept the water as well as most of the dirt out. The only down side is it is not lite weight but that comes with a big tent that is built to last. The zipper has an extra rain flap on in so you need to mind what you are doing when zipping it up. Some may think this is a issue but I find that it is a real simple trade off for the extra protection that it offers. We bought a 10X10 top to put down for a floor saver but the floor is so thick that you probably don't need one. I just want to take good care of it. Also, watch the video before using it the first time as it is very helpful. We have had several tents over the years and thi thing is the best large family tent I have ever came across. It now takes us about 3 mintutes to completely set up and about the same to take it down.Happy camping to all.
I have gone through many a tents in my years. This tent is the easiest to set up by far! It has built in shelves, holds up very well in all weather, and just looks good. Zippers and material are high quality so I wont worry about anything breaking for a very long time.
Before I purchased this tent, I specifically asked REI to verify its interior height (see Q&A dated 10/7/23). REI thanked me because, after saying they had checked with the manufacturer, they "corrected" the interior height from 72" to 80". I bought the tent on that basis. I set it up. I discovered that my head was touching the ceiling and measured the peak interior heighth. It is, in fact, 72". Completely inadedquate and unacceptable. The purchase was affirmatively misrepresented to me and the tent will be going back.
1. I measured the 4 Person1 Caddis Rapid have an interior Peak height of 71-72". This consistent with labeling on the stuff-sack (photo) of 96x96x72", also the labelling on the product tag. Please ignore REI listing and REI corporate Q&A answer saying 80" peak height, REI corporate is wrong ;-( If this isn't enough to convince you, consider that the angles of the corner and ceiling poles are fixed by the 4 elbows and 1 center hub. If Rapid 6 person is 120"x120" footprint and has an 80" peak height, how could the ~96"x96" have an the REI corporate claimed identical peak height of 80" ??? Ceiling height in the corners measured to 64". The REI corporate listing shows the packed size as 9" x50", identical to 6-person. This can't be right and isn't; the 4 person packed size is ~9" x44", as it's poles are shorter. So, good news here. Compared to other available in the USA stand-up instant it's pretty good, but that's a very low bar; USA offerings are very limited. Gazelle T4 might be the exception. Comparing only to similar instant standup tents available in the USA, does pretty good. 1)The center hub and 4 elbows appear to be more robust. Does NOT have the dreaded sideways instability when not guyed at the corners. 2) Fabric seems to be thicker 3) Almost full-length rainfly on 3 sides better than the skimpy "bra" style flys on the competition. 4) stuff sack is side entry for relatively easy stowage. Designers could have improved on several things: 1) The short fly (and "eyebrow") over the door needs to be longer so rainfly drainage doesn't pour into interior of tent when door opened...ridiculous! 2) some method of guying the corners when fly not installed 3) More/larger pockets inside (why-not?) 4) Color coding rainfly straps so can orient it correctly relative to tent body. 5) the tent body sidewall fabric (& rainfly fabric) is pretty loose and can flop in the breeze...is this inherent in this telescoping pole style design? Certainly not the case with the Gazelle, tight as a drum. 6) Even better than an extended eyebrow over the door, how about a proper vestibule? Manufacturing workmanship looks OK. Didn't do a full review, as I promptly returned it when determining the interior height was insufficient. Hard to know what overall star rating to give this. If REI listing was correct, I'd give a higher rating as it meets specifications. But then, is 5stars the best instant tent extant, or the best instant tent available in the USA; extremely different offerings? Looks like the Aussies can get some pretty awesome instant stand-up tents, example Blackwolf brand Turbo 240 X-Lite which has a full-coverage rainfly, including generous vestibule and window access through the fly. Wish these Black Wolf tents, or similar were imported into the USA.