Big Agnes Pine Island 4 Tent: 4-Person 3-Season - 2008 BCS

My wife and I purchased this for weekend car camping at state parks. Although it says 4 person tent, I was hoping the size would be large enough for the both of us plus two dogs. With a queen size air mattress, this tent was simply too small for us plus two dogs. We loved the tent the one night we spent in it, it has lots of huge mesh pockets all along both sides, and the build quality and setup are both superb. I would definitely buy another Big Agnes tent (we are returning this for a 6 person) so if you have a small amount of gear, and not using an air mattress, this tent should be just fine for two people. Sadly its too small for us :(

My wife and I purchased this for weekend car camping at state parks. Although it says 4 person tent, I was hoping the size would be large enough for the both of us plus two dogs. With a queen size air mattress, this tent was simply too small for us plus two dogs. We loved the tent the one night we spent in it, it has lots of huge mesh pockets all along both sides, and the build quality and setup are both superb. I would definitely buy another Big Agnes tent (we are returning this for a 6 person) so if you have a small amount of gear, and not using an air mattress, this tent should be just fine for two people. Sadly its too small for us :(

I have been camping for a solid 15 years and I have never found a tent that worked better than this, from the old Biblers to North Face 4-mans, 2-mans from Sierra Designs and Marmot, a terrible Kelty 4-man, etc. Every problem I have ever encountered in a tent has been fixed in this one. It is so intuitive to set up that I actually over-interpreted and did it wrong before realizing I was an idiot. Yellow clips on the fly go to yellow clips on the tent which go to gold poles. Silver poles go with black clips. Duh. There are 2 vestibules, both of which have easy access from inside and outside the tent, wall to wall pockets in the sides, and it comes in a single briefcase-like stuff sack that has a space for everything and is sinfully easy to pack and unpack. The tent doesn't contact the fly at any point when it's set up, so condensation is nonexistent, even in hail at 8000 feet. Solid in wind, rain beads off it, fast to set up, easy to pack, lighter than almost any other 4-man on the market, even the guy lines are orange with reflective tape in them so you don't trip over them at night. They really have thought of everything. I can't think of a single thing wrong with this tent. I think I'm in love.

Just came back from canoeing 8 days in Quetico Provincial Park, using the Pine Island 4 for me and a buddy. Though I wouldn't recommend it for backpacking, I would highly recommend it for canoe camping, where weight requirements are not so exacting. Easy to set up, is watertight, TONS of space for two people - I especially like the walls lined with mesh pockets for organization - probably OK for 3 people, huge front vestibule, and overall very well made. Only down side (very minimal) is that there is no where to string a decent gear loft or lines in the tent except a small square of loops at the top center. No big deal, though. I am very happy with this tent. And it's not like it weighs a ton, it's about 9 lbs. Would also be a great state park/car camping tent.

Angus B. summed it up perfectly! this tent is awesome. it's a spacious four man and a downright luxurious two man! check my picture below. for the sake of brevity, i'm just going to sum my review up with a big ole' DITTO. get this tent, it will be one of the best gear purchases you've ever made.

A great tent. Just returned from a trip with it, but it was a more standard car-camping trip with friends. No backpacking excursions this time. This is my third BA. I also own the fly creek 2 and copper spur 3. This one is well made as expected, easy to set up, and I love the large vestibule, double doors, and even the color. Setup was under 5 minutes first time and is similar to other BA tents. The mesh seems higher quality and less likely to run than the Marmot Den 4 person tent that I owned previously and returned due to several issues (see my review of it). Compared to the Marmot, this tent is lighter, seems of higher quality materials, has two doors, a large vestibule and another smaller one, and is packaged in a convenient compartmentalized stuff sack. Personally I would use it for car or canoe camping due to weight but I guess it could be split amongst four people and not be too bad. It will definitely sleep four and has decent internal storage pockets without buying the gear loft. Overall, if looking for a good 3 season 4 man tent for camping with family or friends that won't break the bank, but will stand up to harsh weather and keep you dry more reliably than your standard cheap Coleman family tent, I would check this one out.

We demoed this tent last summer, we took it kayak camping high in the Gunnison forest of Colorado. Me, my wife and our two golden retrievers stayed warm and dry in this tent. The vestibules are huge and both of our dogs slept in the front one, we stored all of our gear in the back one which meant we had TONS of room inside. We bought the tent after we demoed it! It is a bit heavy if you are backpacking but if you split the weight it can be used. I would highly recommended this tent to anyone who needs a bit more space than a two man backpacking tent. It is super easy to set up!!!! Love it!

I recently used the Pine Island 4 on a backpacking trip (4 people) in the Los Padres National Forrest. Setup is super easy, a one man job, 5 minutes max if you guy it out. While it’s a little heavy, 8 to 9 lbs., we split it up between 3 people (Tent – Fly – Poles) and it weighed less than if we would have taken 2 smaller tents, while providing about the same amount of room. The front vestibule is nice and roomy for taking muddy boots off in the rain. The rear vestibule is cramped, but I was still able to stash the empty packs there overnight to keep them dry. The zippers are solid and the tent is clearly well made.

The only real concern I have is that the fly doesn’t fully cover the bottom edges of the tent. The two people sleeping by those edges noticed some moisture seeping through the wall the night it rained.

Overall, based on quality, ease of setup and space to weight ratio, if I had to make the choice again, I’d buy it.

Easy set up and easy clean-up. The clean-up was the important part, my 7 year old threw-up in it, we rinsed with mild soap and water and was good to go. Great tent.

Love the tent. Roomy, well constructed, dry, comfy and all around solid. The first set-up is a little difficult due to poor instructions. Subsequent set-ups take about 3-4 minutes. If I could give the pole system 10 stars, I would. Overall the tent is crafted with military precision, I would trust it on any trip. The fly, on the other hand, is mediocre at best. The main vestibule is great, the secondary vestibule is nearly useless. It is small and the fly must be un-staked to enter it. No matter the amount of time I spend adjusting all of the straps and strings on the fly, it still contacts the tent. Incredibly frustrating.

Having said all of that, the tent has never let me down. A friend and I endured an incredible 8 hour storm in the tent about a month ago. It didn't leak a drip or fold in the wind.

Throw anything you want at this tent, it's a survivor. You get what yo pay for, and this tent is definitely under priced for the value! Wind and water proof and so much room! So eay to erect and take down too! Friends were gathered in my Big Agnes Pine Island when theirs was being blown and washed away. If you need a real tentand not just a "shelter", then this is the home away from home you can trust!

I bought this tent for my sister, who will be living in this for the next 2 months in south Texas working at an archeological dig. Before I mailed it to her, I did set it up and it was everything I expected from a BA tent: solid construction, relatively easy to set up (though there weren't any instructions).

Fast forward several weeks: my sister set this tent up about 8 days ago and has slept in it every night. Said it was easy for her to set up with 2 other people (she had no experience setting up a tent, though it isn't rocket science). Not enough room to stand up in it (she is 5'4"), but it still has plenty of room to name it her living quarters for the next 2 months.

Maybe this isn't a review as much as it is a story... two nights ago my sister texted me and said: "I hope this tent stands up to downpour. Really bad downpour."

The next morning she sent me another message: "Greg... Your tent is a GODsend. It's dry and withstood some really nasty storm today. Thank you :)"

After talking with her, a nice line of t-storms rolled through and the other kids there with Wal-mart tents got what they paid for: wet, soggy, and little sleep. While they were evaluating the damage as the sun came up, my sister was able to sleep in like the princess that she is ;-)

This is the 3rd Big Agnes tent I've bought (also have the Seedhouse SL1 and the Emerald Mtn tent), and you get what you pay for!

The tent was very easy to set up by one person and held up well in wind, rain, snow, and hail. However, one of the zippers is starting to stick already.