Northwest Territory Simpson Bay

We recently returned from a 10 day camping trip with this tent, which we bought based on some of the other reviews on here.

Setup: Easy. If you've set up a dome tent, you can set this thing up. The only caveat is that you might want to have a kid or another pair of hands, as it's sheer size makes it a little tricky to do by yourself if you're not 6'5" like me.

Space: Enormous. We fit a Queen size pillowtop air mattress in here, with plenty of space for bags and dressing space, and we even slept two of the kids in there on the floor when they got a little spooked in their own tents. I can almost stand up and everyone else can jump.

Ventilation: As a previous reviewer said, almost too much ventilation with the rain fly off, or too little, with the rain fly on. I managed to arrange it so we could have the rain fly off and still have the screen house up (clothespins)

Weather: We had several days of heavy rains, and we did have to throw a rain slicker over it the first day, as the rain fly dripped a bit. Sprayed on a bit of waterproofing on the rain fly the next day, and tight as a duck's butt after that, including handling one storm that knocked out our kitchen site.

Pros: BIG, easy setup, stable, great sky view with fly off, inexpensive

Cons: A bit too no/all ventilation, would like the screen house to be a bit more standalone, weatherproofing should have been better, boot doors are simply extra doors, rather than compartments.

All in all, well, worth the money we paid for it.

Pros:
- Rain fly extends to within 12" of the bottom of the tent and is part of the screened in patio area.
- Ventilation is superb, actually too good on a colder night. The doors have rounded corners and make for extremely easy zipping with one motion.
- Also features a sewn in door mat and zippered access panels in the bottom front corners of the tent.

Cons:
- The elliptical shape of the tent makes this less roomy standing up everywhere but in the middle.
- Structurally, the tent seems to rely on the rainfly/patio for support in strong winds to prevent it from folding over. Also if you want the patio, you have to have the rainfly on as well.

Overall, I really like this tent. The available space for the 2-room setup is too small for my liking. Still it fits my queen air mattress with plenty of room on the sides for gear without it (though depth-wise there's about 12" from the door to the mattress). It's "airy" in that there's so much mesh you'll want the rainfly installed if you require privacy. 5 minute setup times, ez-zippers, mesh pockets & shelf, all pack into a roomy stow bag.

This tent worked well for me and my family; however, there are only three of us at this time. We were able to fit a queen size air mattress and a play pen in there comfortably. The size is misleading as others have said, but the screened in "breezeway" turned out to be a neat feature. However, I've only used it 2 times and I already had a pole break. Hopefully I can get it replaced for free!

The 17 X 12 size is misleading because the "porch" is included in that size and it doesn't have a floor. Also, it leaked and I was told by customer service I had to seal the seams. The front of the box promotes dry and comfortable, which is misleading. It does not tell you to seal the seams on the front of the box. It is comfortable for 3 or 4, but not 6 or 7 as stated on the box.

We just came home from the mountains. This tent is not only difficult to put up but it is pure junk. I wouldn't recommend this to my worst enemy. Hopefully I can return as the item says I can.