Kelty Pagoda 4

I am one of these people that, as soon as I get into something, I am immediately looking to upgrade. When my wife suggested we get into camping for our WW kayaking trips, I looked at probably 200 tents. I wanted reasonable room, interior height, only one vestibule and - of course - reasonable ventilation combined with rain repellancy.

I chose a Kelty Teton 4 over a Kelty Gunnison 4 because of the one vestibule. As soon as I set up the Teton I realized the fly was not going to be ideal for either cold weather, high winds or heavy rain. It's a lightweight, warm weather tent.

So, I went looking for the next step up, for poor weather. I soon focused on the Pagoda 4, because of the expanded square footage, vertical sidewalls, a more complete rain fly and a nice single vestibule. But what really hooked me was the second door in the side. No real vestibule but a second way out at night, if I needed to go to the bathroom without disturbing my wife or tripping over any junk in the larger front vestibule.

This tent is not for everybody, especially anybody who wants two vestibules. But I don't, I want a second door. Completely counter-intuitive! Hey, guess what? I got it in the Pagoda 4, and I really love. Use it with MSR pegs, not the flimsy pegs Kelty supplies.

It is exactly what I wanted. Keeps you warm and dry, but not suffocated. And if you need to pee and don't want to disturb the wife and kids, slip out the back door! Go ahead, find a better tent for the money...

Great tent. A little tight for 4, but perfect for 3. A bit heavy for backpacking, but it is sturdy, so I think its a fair trade-off. Kept kids and family very dry. Would buy another if I had a need.