Stoic

Madrone 4 Tent: 4-person 3-season

Jeff N

Familiarity:

I've used it several times

Size Bought:

4 man

Height:

5' 5"

Weight:

150

Bought this to camp in the backyard with my 3 yr old grandkids. So far so good. Even when we got stuck in the rain. Kept us dry with the fly. Plenty of room to even add the dog

Beat the Heat in This Inflation Beater!

Familiarity:

I've used it once or twice and have initial impressions

Weight:

null

Have experience with the two- and four-person versions of this tent. Simply put, these Madrones offer excellent price-to-performance value. The most important seams come sealed. The rainfly appears to have some amount of waterproofing and includes a pair of adjustable vents. Setup is quick and intuitive. The tent's upper third is entirely mesh. Side pockets are abundant. There's even a gear loft. This is NOT an ultra-lightweight backpacking tent made with state-of-the-art materials and top-of-the-line stitching, but such a tent would easily cost 10 to 15 times this. With all the inflation we've seen over the past couple of years, a dollar doesn't seem to stretch as far, but this tent beats that trend.

A few design issues

Familiarity:

I've used it once or twice and have initial impressions

Weight:

null

It's cheap and big and easy to put up. It also has top vents in the rainfly. The seams are taped. Those are all great. On the other hand, the beefy looking stakes easily bend, the vestibule/rainfly design will allow rain to directly enter the tent if you open the flap, and the fly is honestly poorly designed overall. It's never fully taut, and hangs against the non-entry sides unless you install a guy line at the bottom. The floor is lightweight and based on other reviews rain can wick through. It doesn't come with a footprint. Overall, a few design issues and one material issue keep it from being a strong recommendation. It'll do the job but you might get wet if you're not careful.

Almost perfect tent

Familiarity:

I've put it through the wringer

Weight:

null

I’ve been using this tent all summer with a double cloud stoic camp bed. It’s been through three storms and just recently a 30 mph gust lighting storm with very heavy rain. I experienced zero leaks however, you will need to tie extra rope to the loops on the center of the sides of the fly and stake those to keep the fly off the tent or the water will condensate through the tent and whatever is by the wall will get wet. The floor is very thin and also condensates water through the floor so a footprint is highly recommended for one to waterproof the floor and for two the cleaning of the bottom of the tent is not fun!! The tent poles are very sturdy none have bent at all this summer!! The stitching is coming apart in some places from use but I have yet to see a tent that doesn’t do that !! It takes me about 7 minutes to put the tent up and fly on and stake it all down. The clips are plastic and feel like they would break but have yet to do so. With the fly on the zippers are hard to get to. The zippers sometimes get stuck but it’s not every time more like once every 5 times I’d say. Overall it’s been a very good tent for my kid and my wife.

Not Worth It

Familiarity:

I returned this product before using it

Weight:

null

I bought this because my beloved Coleman tent of 15 years was starting to show some wear. I just needed something for my dog and I. The colors are as described and really pretty. That’s about the only thing it’s got going for it. The material is stiff and feels cheap. The floor of the tent is not made of tarp-like material but rather a thin nylon. As I mentioned, I wanted this for my dog and I and due to the floor material alone I knew it wouldn’t hold up with her paws. I think it wouldn’t hold up in general without a really good footprint. It is very roomy and pretty simple to put up and take down, however, as previously mentioned the material is quite stiff so rolling it up is not nearly as easy with other tents I have had. I also do not think it would fair well in the rain. The rain fly doesn’t stake out very far so I think it would pose issues for getting the interior of the tent wet. Based off my initial experience with it I don’t think it’s worth it. I’d rather spend my money on another Coleman. This is the first item I have ever returned from Backcountry.

Not too shabby

Familiarity:

I've used it several times

Size Bought:

4

Height:

5' 9"

Weight:

200

I have used this tent for two summers now. Last week we got caught in a lightning storm, heavy rain, and at least 25-30 mile an hour gusts. It held up and didn't get us wet. East set up. I was able to throw the rain fly on once I felt sprinkles within a couple of minutes of that. Really do enjoy this product.

Not used it yet

I haven't used it for camping yet, due to it being winter, but have set it up indoors. Easy to put up and take down. Very roomy, nice to have 2 doors and 2 vestibules. I won't even consider a tent without a vestibule. Having a hard time finding an appropriately sized footprint but I'll find something that will work. Camping first week of June, can't wait!!

Love this tent

Familiarity:

I've used it several times

Height:

5' 8"

Weight:

null

We used this tent backpacking 20 miles into Caribou Lakes in the Trinity Mountains with our 12 year old daughter and 16 year old son! Great tent, easy to put up and take down with plenty of space!

Perfect tent

Familiarity:

I've used it once or twice and have initial impressions

Height:

6' 1"

Weight:

null

We've only used our tent once, but it performed perfectly during continued 15-20mph winds on our first night (three nights total). My 12 year olds and I were able to quickly set it up which was pretty standard fare for tents. The clips for the poles were a little bit trickier than my other two tents, but totally doable (kids had a hard time taking them apart, but no problem with set-up). The clip/adjuster for the rain fly was a nice improvement over my other tents. It's got a nice ceiling vent which was good to have once the wind died down on our next two nights. It does not come with a footprint but I bought an alternate solely for extra tear/condensation protection. For the rain fly, you'll want a couple extra scraps of rope to keep the fly off the tent to avoid condensation dripping. To the other reviews, I agree that the zipper opening is a little hard to access with the fly on, but so be it; you find a way to make it work. Not sure how the poles could get bent so easily as our experience was easy. All in all, great value, and I'm very happy to add a 4 person tent to our inventory. Three kids, wife, and I all able to play Uno in there during the storm.

Invest in something of higher quality

Familiarity:

I've used it several times

Weight:

null

Have now had the opportunity to use this tent on 4 trips, all of which have been car camping. With the little bit of movement between a storage bin, set up and tear down, both poles now are bent. I believe it's simply from the arch of the tent shape, but not certain. The rain fly sags in between the tent poles even when staked out and away from the base of the tent, I'm not sure how to get these tighter or more secure. The rain fly does not have much to deter water from coming in when you open/close the zipper to access the tent. I purchased this tent to have a larger, more spacious tent for car camping versus the lighter and less roomy backpacking tent I own. Overall I am not satisfied with the tent and would go back and invest more if I could in something with better thought and quality put into it.