Friday, January 24, 2025
Tents: Compare
Price
Report Card Grade
Pros
relatively inexpensive family tent with 160 ft² of space; vertical walls offer more interior space; interior door offers privacy and great ventilation; ability to block windows in the screen room for additional privacy/weather protection; good water resistance; E! Power port
extremely lightweight; quick/easy to set up; offers great stability and protection in inclement weather; spacious interior and vestibule; Kerlon 1200 fabric is extremely durable (4-5x stronger than most so-called "expedition grade" tent materials)
relatively inexpensive family tent; lots of interior space and room to stand; good ventilation; very easy for 1 person to set up; tent color easy to spot in crowded campgrounds; skylight window provides light during the day and the opportunity to star gazing at night; reflective guy lines for nighttime visibility; lightweight compared to other tents in the family camping category
Cons
screen room doesn't have a floor and the sod cloth didn't protect a few reviewers from insects (and even a small animal) from getting into the tent; cabin style tents are very unstable in windy conditions because of their high walls; flat top means water can pool on the fly if you don't use guylines to change the slope; pretty heavy
expensive; not freestanding; some issues with condensation inside the tent
some complaints about the tent's water resistance and the fly not fully protecting it during heavy rain; tent body is polyester mesh, which isn't ideal if you want privacy or plan on camping in cooler weather; some customers didn't feel there were enough stakes and guy lines on the tent and had to buy more separately; welcome mat is cute but necessary and hard to clean; high cost of necessary accessories for the tent
Seasonality
3-season
4-season (but not designed for use in extreme weather or above the tree line)
3-season
Ideal Activities
Family, car, or base camping
Backpacking
Family, car, or base camping
Capacity
5-person
1-person
6-person
Price
$419.90
$465
$279.99 - $359.95
Warranty
Limited lifetime warranty
Varies by region/country
Limited lifetime warranty
Interior and/or Vestibule Space
It has 160 ft² of interior space that is divided equally between the sleeping room (80 ft²) and the screen room (80 ft²).
It has an 18.3 ft² sleeping room and an 8.6 ft² vestibule.
It has 90 ft² of interior space.
Interior Height (max.)
7'
3'
6' 3"
Weight
35 lbs and 6 oz
3 lbs and 8 oz
13 lbs and 15 oz
Design Type
Freestanding, cabin style tent
Stake down, tunnel style tent
Freestanding, dome style tent
Frame
Nine 12.7 mm & 16 mm fiberglass and 19.5 mm steel poles
Single 9 mm DAC Featherlite NSL pole (small fiberglass rods in the bottom corners of the outer tent provide extra height around your head when lying down)
Three DAC Combi Shockcorded lightweight aluminum poles with PressFit connectors.
Tent Body Materials
75D 190T polyester taffeta, 1200 mm coated
Highly breathable fabric that has a durable, water-repellent finish.
Polyester rip-stop
Rainfly Material
75D 190T polyester taffeta, 1200 mm coated
Kerlon 1200 (nylon fabric that has three coatings of silicone on both the inner and outer surface)
Polyester rip-stop with 1500 mm waterproof polyurethane coating
Floor Material/Design
75D 190T polyester taffeta, 1200 mm coated (one-piece bathtub style design)
Kerlon 1200 (one-piece bathtub style design)
Polyester with 1500 mm waterproof polyurethane coating (one-piece bathtub style design)
Mesh Material
68D polyester no-see-um mesh
No-see-um mesh
Lightweight polyester mesh
Ventilation
Features 6 large mesh windows, 3 mesh doors and a full panel mesh roof, all of which can be opened/closed based on the amount of ventilation needed.
The tent has a mesh panel on the door, a triangular mesh window on the opposite wall and two opposing vents on the other walls. All are fully adjustable and make it easy to regulate internal moisture and temperature.
Tent body is almost entirely mesh.
Doors
3 doors (2 exterior and 1 interior)
1 door
2 doors
Packed Dimensions
29" x 10" dia.
22.83" x 6.69" dia.
4" x 14" x 26" (briefcase style carry bag)
Vestibule/Storage
In addition to the 80 ft² screen room, the tent is designed with interior storage pockets and comes with 2 gear lofts.
Tent has one 8.6 ft² vestibule and also features an interior storage pocket.
It is designed with 12 interior mesh floor pockets and has gear loft loops if you want to purchase the Big Agnes Trapezoid Loft that is sold separately ($22). A 64 ft² vestibule is also sold separately ($110).
Set Up
Two people can easily set up the tent in about 20 minutes thanks to its shockcorded steel and fiberglass frame, clip attachments, and ring and pin assembly. You won't need to use stakes or guy lines except in case of severe weather.
With its single-pole tunnel design and linked inner and outer tents, a solo traveler can easily pitch the Akto in 2-3 minutes. It comes with 10 stakes total but only requires 4 stakes for each of the guylines to pitch it. You can use the other 6 stakes if you want additional stability.
One person can easily set up the tent in 10-15 minutes because it has color-coded webbing and buckles. It is a freestanding tent, but Big Agnes includes 14 superlight aluminum stakes that you can use if it is particularly windy.
Extras
Designed to accommodate the Eureka! rope light if you want to purchase one ($20).
None
Attached welcome mat helps keeps dirt outside of the tent.
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