Customer Reviews With Photos

After combing through many reviews I settled on this tent. Have taken it only now on two trips in Michigan. Our Coleman lasted several brutal trips in rain sun and snow. This tent has seams falling apart. Zippers get stuck and need assistance constantly. Not to mention the wonky take down. It spilled all the sand and dirt onto itself when putting it away. The bag to hold the tent immediately ripped and wasn’t usable. The poles that extend no longer work when sand and water and grime get on the poles. So incredibly disappointed in this purchase.

This review is for the three-season version of the tent - just first impressions for now. For the TL;DR crowd: If you're looking for a good value, well made, lightweight (1.15 kg / 2.5 lb) tent in the <$200 price range, you would be hard pressed to find a better value. It does require two trekking poles, so keep this in mind. Also, it's probably best to consider this a 1-person + pack tent rather than a 2-person tent. Detailed Review: I bought this tent in anticipation of hiking the AT. I also plan to use it for shorter section hikes, kayaking trips, and possible biking trips. What I was primarily looking for: - large enough for me and my backpack inside the tent (i.e., 2-person) - good ventilation - lightweight, but not necessarily ultralight - affordable This tent checks off everything. Interior size: I measured the interior of the tent at 44" wide by 84" long, which is big enough to comfortably fit a sleeping pad+bag and a pack. This would be a bit of a tight squeeze for two people. I measured the interior height of the tent at 44" - I set the trekking poles to a height that kept the sides of the tent low to the ground because of rain and wind - they could easily be set to 2" higher if needed (I'm pretty short, so I don't need much headroom.. ;-) Ventilation: the tent is a double-wall construction - essentially, a tent within a tent. The outer rain fly is 15D nylon and waterproof. The inner tent is primarily mesh construction with a small 20D nylon bathtub floor. This part of the tent clips to the top and sides, but hangs away from the rain fly walls, which allows air to circulate freely between the two and helps keep condensation from dripping down into the tent. Because the tent has both front and rear openings, it is easy to adjust the front flaps to allow as much or as little air flow / cross ventilation as you would like. Weight: The entire kit - tent, stakes, ropes, and bags - came in at 1150 grams on my digital scale, which is 2.5 lbs. It's probably worth mentioning again that part of the weight savings comes from using trekking poles as the frame. If you're not a trekking pole user, this may or may not be the tent for you. Cost: <$200 as of the time of this review. Things I like: - Vestibules: the tent has two vestibules that aren't huge, but more than roomy enough to store a pack and boots outside the tent and still keep them from getting wet in rain or dew. They are also more than ample to set up a cook stove for that first cup of coffee in the morning. The vestibule area is triangular and roughly 7' long and 3' at the widest in the center. - Dual zippers: huge plus for this - both the front and rear zippered entry way have dual zippers, which means that you can open them from either the top or the bottom. If you keep things in the vestibule and want to get to them quickly without letting a cloud of bugs in, you can open just the bottom of the doorway and grab your stuff. - Rain fly: I really like the fact that you can pitch the tent so that the edges of the rain fly sit close to the ground. In heavy rain, this directs the water away from the bathtub and helps keep water from collecting under your tent - especially if there is significant wind. - Pack size: the tent comes with a lightweight compression sack, which helps keep the pack size of the tent system pretty small. If you're using a 50L or smaller pack, you'll appreciate the space savings. Hacks: - The only hack I've done so far is to swap out the two front and rear tent stakes for slightly longer ones. The tent comes with 8 stakes that are 6" long. These seem to be adequate for the four corners of the tent as well as the guy lines on either side that help pull the walls out. However, there is a good deal more tension on the front and rear stakes that do most of the work of holding the tent up. I decided to go with a couple 7.5" stakes, which come in at 16 g each - only 5 g heavier than the small stakes that come with the tent. - I am a bit concerned about the longevity of the bathtub floor - it's only 20D nylon and pretty lightweight. I decided to use a Tyvek footprint, which I purchased from Six Moons. I went with the heavy, "house wrap" version. As absolutely everyone points out: it is LOUD. I ran it through the washing machine a couple times and then used a warm iron to get rid of the worst of the wrinkles. That made a huge difference in terms of noise. Rain and condensation: I did a bit of camping in my backyard - it rained pretty heavily for a couple days during that time. The tent was completely dry inside. Not a drop of water anywhere. I also spent the night when temps dropped down into the low 50's. There was a bit of condensation on the under-surface of the rain fly, but absolutely no water in the tent or on the mesh walls. The foot of my sleeping bag, where it touched the tent wall, was completely dry. The instructions that come with the tent are pretty minimalist, but it does appear that the three season version is seam sealed at the factory. Pitching the tent: Pretty easy actually: - lay out the footprint - roll out the tent - stake out the four corners - insert one trekking pole (front or rear) and stake out the guy line - insert the other trekking pole and stake out that guy line - stake out the guy lines for the two sides - attach the elastic cords (attached to the four corners of the bathtub floor) to the tent stakes Easy peasy. This takes about 5 minutes to set up. And what is hugely helpful is that the inner mesh tent is clipped to the rain fly, so it sets up just like a single wall tent. If you have the misfortune of setting up in pouring rain, you'll be hugely grateful that the inner tent is protected. Many dual-walled tents, in comparison, require completely setting up the inner tent and only then can you attach the rain fly. BTW, I recently watched a YouTube video review on budget lightweight backpacking tents and the creator mentioned that trekking pole tents are for more advanced users. That's utter nonsense. Even if you're a beginner, with a bit of practice you can master this pretty quickly. The truth is: you stake out the four corners, insert and guy out two trekking poles at the front and rear, and guy out the two sides. It really, _really_ is that simple. Initial impressions: All in all, I am hugely pleased with this tent. It's easy to set up, lightweight, packs down small, is easy to set up, provides excellent ventilation, and keeps everything dry without the issues of condensation that plague single-walled tents. At a cost of under $200, it is a very good deal and, so far, I would recommend it without qualification. Longevity: Only time will tell. I'll post an update once I have a better idea as to how this holds up. Good luck!

I have included a picture of how the 6 pack arrives. The 6 sacks each arrive in separate zipper bags along with 6 orange nylon fabric drawstring bags. The nylon bags are a bit larger than I thought they would be, but that leaves some extra room.

High quality and sets up in a few minutes!

There's a lot to like about this super easy set up, lightweight, pop-up camping tent. Very easy to carry and set up. Because of the open mesh design under the outer cover this is an excellent hot/warm weather tent. Not designed for colder weather camping, but for warm weather, when heat can build in a tent, this design allows for maximum airflow. SIZE: Size wise this is more of a 1 adult or 2 kids/older teen size. Size wise this makes a good teen tent or an excellent supply tent. My husband is 6'1" tall, he could sleep in here but sort of sideways and no room to spare. This probably won't fit a camping cot. SET UP: Incredibly easy - remove it from its storage bag, take off the securing strap, and lifting from the center pole this tent pops into place and sets itself up. Stake down the corners and the tent is 100% ready to go in a matter of minutes. TAKE DOWN: Taking the tent down can seem confusing at first but once it's figured out it's incredibly easy. I looked at the instructions but ended up finding a YouTube video of a similar tent and followed that video. The instructions say to start by pushing down on the two shorter labeled poles - I didn't see anything labeled and it was more trial and error to see which two poles to squeeze and push down. Once that step is done (see picture in review) the side poles' joints are slightly pulled and folded and the whole tent folds upward to the center, and from there it can be secured and zipped back into it's storage back. FEATURES: Has two doorways, both have mesh windows. The top cover extends out over the doors. There's an interior pocket. Tent includes stakes and tie down rope, storage bag, the tent itself, and a securing band to hold the tent in place once folded up.

Bought this to replace a broken canopy for a trip to the beach. Weather changed and it was consistent 20mph winds for the 3 beach days we had. First day, one support pole bent quite a bit and the second day another one bent. However, the canopy had pretty great stability being out in those wind conditions for about 5-6 hours per day. The fabric is strong and held up to being stretched by the sand bag parts to try to securely anchor the canopy in the wind. Having 2 sandbags at each corner is great. This canopy is easy to assemble/disassemble and carrying bag is nice to have. I didn’t get a great picture of it at the beach, but there it is! It always felt secure and the shade provided was exactly what we needed. I reached out to the seller and asked if we could get additional poles to replace the 2 that had bent and they were quick to respond and are sending us replacements from the factory. I am really happy with the quality for the price (it’s a very decently priced canopy) and customer service is superb. Highly recommend

I liked that these had holes and a clip, so you could put the rope through the stake or clip it… made staking trees very sturdy

This was my first Kelly purchase in many years. Our family started using more REI products for backpacking over the years due to the easy return policy and discounts for members. Our REI Quarter Dome 4 finally needed replacing. After much searching, reading reviews, and comparing brands and models, the Kelly Late Start 4 won out as our best option for size, weight, usage, and cost. We’ve been extremely happy with this tent. It fits my wife, two daughters, myself, and our small dog perfectly. We have just enough room to fit our packs inside as well. The vestibule is good sized, allowing our boots and other items to stay dry outside the tent. The tent goes up very quick and easy. The color coding makes it simple. I can have the tent staked and up in about 5 minutes with no help. Total weight is great. It’s easy to pack and carry on long backpacking trips. The quality seems top notch. The tent doesn’t come with the foot print, but is sold separately. Overall I give this tent two thumbs way up. We will be using more Kelly products in the future, if this is what we can expect from all their products, built well, lightweight, and affordable.

We just set it up in our backyard and everything was included and in great shape. It seems very well made and heavy duty. We won’t get a chance to use it for camping until next Spring but I’m confident it will serve us well. The instructions are not very good but with a little common sense, we were able to set it up in about 30 minutes. I expect it will take 10-15 minutes next time. Simple

So overall, I'm obsessed with this tent. So easy to put up and take down (only took me a couple minutes to learn the take down, see my tips below) and perfectly spacious for 2 adults and 3 60lb+ dogs. The windows and access points are very well designed and look great too. 100% love the setup and design. Now the only issue is waterproofing. We got caught in a thunderstorm and at first (2 or so hours), it really held up. I didn't notice any leakage or water getting inside with the rain cover on. However, when we woke up the next morning, water was leaking through from the ceiling (a couple drops here and there) and if you hit the walls of the tent water would mist/splash in. So I don't know if the waterproofing just didn't last or what. But I'd say "Waterproof" is false advertising. We'll be setting up an overhead tarp to deal with the waterproof issue and keeping the tent but I would definitely warn anyone who needs a waterproof tent against this one.

This is perfect a ground pad for hammocking. Recently use it for a 4 day backpacking trip and it worked great. Provided a spot to stand while getting in and out of my hammock without messing with shoes and had plenty of room to store my pack. Easy to setup, breakdown, and the underside dried quickly in the sun from condensation overnight. Weighed less than regular tarp options and while it didn't rain on the trip I'm confident the inside would stay dry.

EXCELLENT TENT! Spacious comfortable with several options to customize to your liking. I recommend it! 10 points for the quality-price ratio. I took it to the beach and the children had lunch inside without sand or discomfort. I would definitely buy it again!!

I used these stakes to secure the Christmas deers decoration for the holidays and very sturdy

Purchased this tent last year. Used it once last year worked great, couldn’t figure out how to get the front porch cover to stay up , but otherwise, it was great. It even down poured one night and we stayed dry. I had it on a tarp, but still woke up dry. Use it for the second time last week up in Acadia national Park. Still, couldn’t get the little front porch cover to stay up but otherwise slept fine. Woke up in the pouring rain still dry. Had to pack it up in the rain so when I came home, I had to remove the tent covering from the polls to wash it. While removing the tent cover the pole snapped off the top. I did not force the polls or anything in anyway, and it simply broke off easily, I was very surprised. With that one pole disconnected, the entire tent cannot be used. I’m going camping again this week in Canada. Trying to find a way to contact the seller to get a replacement skeleton for the tent. If the seller reads this post and contact me regarding replacing the skeleton, I will once again be a happy customer. And update my review

I love this tarp— it really got put to the test today on the trail: I got to the summit of my hike and set up my new hammock and underquilt. Then I took this tarp out of the bag, and it suddenly started to rain. I quickly draped it over the hung hammock and sat under it for 20 minutes until the rain slowed down (classic late summer PNW hike!). Then, I hung it up and it was sturdy and seemed high quality as the rain poured down yet again for an hour as I sat there dry and warm! It was easy enough to use if you know how to tie knots. It’s lightweight but slightly bulky. It’s currently hanging in the garage to dry, and I can’t wait to use it on future adventures. ENO wanted to charge twice as much for the exact same product! Get this one instead.