The review by Bruce Anderson is very complete and I concur with the majority of his observations, but I would like to add a few of my own.
I bought this product when a friend of mine and I were planning a trip to Yellowstone. My situation is a little unique in the fact that only my left hand is functional and my right leg is weak. So, I needed a tent that I could set up with one hand and that was big enough to use a cot, because getting off the ground is very difficult for me. This tent met both of those requirements.
This tent is extremely well-made as is its carrying case. I'm able to remove the tent from the case and set it up in just a few minutes using my one hand. Taking the tent down and putting it back in the case is just as easy.
This tent is extremely well ventilated with screened in windows on all sides and all windows can be opened for access to the cot and all windows have zippered doors. All the zippers are of extremely high quality and can be easily opened and closed with just one hand.
The doors/windows flaps are held open by rolling them up and securing them with a toggle button that is passed through a loop on the backside of the doors/windows. To me this is rather cumbersome, especially if you try to do it like I have to,with one hand. Also, the toggle button is difficult to undo quickly i.e. starting to rain. A simple solution that I found is using cheap spring-loaded hair clips. If it starts to rain, I simply squeeze/remove the hairclip which can be done from inside the tent and the door/window unrolls into place. If I happen to lose the clip, like I said they're cheap, so I have extra.
I was able to easily insert my ALPS 3" thick and 30" wide self inflating mattress by sliding it in the end window. Temperatures at Yellowstone got down to high 30° and using my 20° sleeping bag I was comfy. In fact, with this self inflating mattress, the sleeping surface was more comfortable than my bed at home.
Since the cot is 90 inches long and my self inflating mattress is 77 inches, for me there was adequate storage space at the end of the cot for a bag containing all my clothes and miscellaneous gear. The 30' wide mattress still allowed a gap between the mattress and both sides of the tent for storage/easy access of flashlights, books, bear pepper spray,,, also, there are small pockets along the roof for storage of small items.
If you happen to buy this tent from the manufacture, please note that for sales in the United States, you must buy the fly separately. For sales outside of the United States, the fly is included. I bought my tent via Amazon and the fly was included with the tent.
The fly is made of heavy-duty waterproof material and is extremely easy to put on and it fits securely. It slips down over the edges of the tent like a fitted sheet, the ends utilize a quick release snap onto the tent frame with shoestring tiedowns on the sides. Because of the difficulty of tying the shoestring tiedowns with one hand, I replace them with nylon straps and quick release buckles. This worked beautifully. I was able to secure the fly over the top of one end of the tent so that it could not be blown away but did not block any of the windows. If it starts to rain, all I have to do is pull the fly down across the tent and secure the remaining quick release buckles.
I also purchased the storage bag that attaches to the bottom of the tent. This bag is heavy duty and extremely well-made. There are absolutely no setup instructions included with this tent. That's not such a big deal since this setup is pretty obvious/intuitive. But I found the attachment of the storage bag cumbersome. The concept of having an additional storage compartment underneath the tent seems to be a good idea, but the application... not so much.
In summary, this is an extremely well-built one-person (and possibly moderate sized dog) tent. It's extremely easy to set up and take down. Since you're up off the ground, you do not have to worry about ground conditions/obstacles/sticks/rocks. You can set it up on a cement pad, gravel, pretty much any level terrain and have a excellent shelter/sleeping experience. Plus, if it rains the ground water passes underneath you and not into the tent. It is heavy and in no way could it be used for hiking/backpacking. It easily fits in the trunk of my Honda Accord, but it takes up about 25% to 30% of the space.
Bottom line, I like it, would purchase it again and highly recommend it for car/truck camping. It fitted my needs perfectly and looking forward to using it again.
| Item Package Dimensions L x W x H | 35.9 x 34.4 x 6.7 inches |
|---|---|
| Package Weight | 15.4 Kilograms |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 37 x 34.2 x 6.8 inches |
| Item Weight | 24 Pounds |
| Brand Name | Kamp-Rite |
| Warranty Description | Manufacturer Warranty |
| Model Name | DTC443 |
| Color | Green |
| Material | nylon |
| Suggested Users | unisex-adult |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Manufacturer | Kamp-Rite |
| Part Number | 3442033 |
| Included Components | Kamp-Rite Tent Cot Oversized Tent Cot w/R F DTC443 |
| Size | Information Not Available |
| Sport Type | Camping & Hiking |
