Marmot Quality?

Where does Marmot compare on quality of tents? I am considering a Marmot Halo6 for family camping, but would I be better off with another brand (REI, North Face, Eureka...)? Direction anyone?

Marmot ranks among the top-quality gear out there, plus stands behind their gear. Over the years, I have put significant wear on various of their clothing items, which they repaired very inexpensively (especially considering that they charge premium prices for their gear, which is in line with the premium quality).

Question is, how much family camping and under what conditions? If you are going to use it only a couple times a year, then the lesser quality (still high quality, though) of Eureka, REI, Cabelas, etc might serve just as well. North Face is about in the same class as Marmot, and hence expensive for the occasional family camping trip.

But whatever you do, do not get the Big Box Store brands. These seem inexpensive, but the price reflects the cheap quality. They seem to frequently be absent essential parts and even set-up directions.

I second Bill's comments regarding very inexpensive tents from the discount stores. While you certainly don't need an expedition tent for family camping, which for many means car camping, a decent tent will make that experience much more pleasant, especially if you run into any inclement rain. Whatever you buy, ask the dealer if the tent is seam sealed. Even high end tents are often not factory sealed and need to be sealed using one of the commercial seam sealers, which is a liquid sealer you apply to all of the seams-floor, sides and top. Be sure and seal any seams in the floor, otherwise water may seep in from the bottom.

I regard Marmot as being the "standard grade"of gear, generally well designed and made, but, not what they once were circa 30 years ago, when I had quite a lot of their then superb gear. I consider North Face to be inferior to Marmot and Sierra Designs much the same.

I believe in buying quality to function and last and would buy a Hilleberg tent over anything else now on the market. In fact, these impress me so much that I will not buy anything else.

With any tent used for group camping, buy a "foot print"to go under it and use another light cloth inside to protect the floor.

A lot depends upon where and when you camp. I live in midwest and for summertime family car camping trips have had great luck with the larger Eureka tents, I own three. For car camping trips I like tents large enough to stand up in so mine are 10x10 and a bit over 6' high. I do recommend getting a model with aluminum poles rather than fiberglass as I think these are stronger and typically go together easier in my experience. A quick glance at Eureka's web site and I'd pick the equinox model. The models I have are no longer made as they change these over time.

Marmot's quality will be better than Eureka's, but I don't think Marmot makes a larger model tent as Eureka does. For summertime family car camping Eureka's quality is certainly good enough as is REI's, the North Face, Sierra Designs, etc... Stay away from anything you find at Target, Wal Mart, Sams Club, Kmart, Sears........

Alan's point about poles is well taken. Fiberglass poles are less expensive, but almost impossible to fix in the field if they break. Aluminum poles can be fixed by using a sleeve over the broken pieces or a dowl on the inside. Some backpacking tents come with a short piece just for that purpose. This would probably work for the fiberglass ones as well, but a fracture may cause a fair amount of damage to a fiberglass pole and make repair much more difficult than aluminum.

I can't speak to Marmot tents, but I will say that I have an REI Basecamp 6, which I bought after soliciting views on this site.

It has been excellent - well ventilated and adequately sized. (We are a family of four but with a large dog, and will all of us inside there is still abundant additional floor space. It clearly would fit six, although in less luxury.) We have been rained on, and the tent stood up to that very well. Quality of stitching, seam taping, etc. seems fine (aluminum poles, I note).

I also lend it frequently to climbing friends who don't have tents and don't mind sharing when we head out of Tokyo on weekend trips. They all speak highly of it as well. It has been called "the palace", among other things. (I generally use my one man Integral Designs for these trips, since I prefer to hear only my own snores...)

I will hedge by saying that I have not had it out in a genuine deluge, nor in very high winds or snow, but the tent seems solid. For the money, I give it a strong "recommend".

Edited to add: Please note that this is definitely a "car camping" tent, not a backpacking tent. Too heavy/bulky for the latter.

All the brands mentioned above, including Marmot (http://www.trailspace.com/gear/marmot/tents/), make decent to excellent tents and depending on how often you'll use the tent and in what conditions you can find a quality tent at the right price point for you. If you’ll be camping at a campground a couple times a summer, then the “best” $500-600 tent probably isn’t the best for you. However that $600+ tent may be worth every dollar in a totally different application. So it really does depend first on how you’ll specifically use it and then balancing your needs with your budget.

We have an REI Half Dome 4 HC (http://www.trailspace.com/gear/rei/half-dome-4-hc/), which we use for car camping and family backpacking (it's not super light for backpacking, but it's doable). Unfortunately REI doesn't make a 6-person version of that model, so that may not be an option for you. REI's tents tend to be affordable also, if that's a concern. I think they make quality tents for the money, especially for more casual family camping.

We also just got a Tarptent that is really big and quite light, great for warm weather uses. But you may want something sturdier than all that mesh for family camping with active kids. That’s one of the reasons we like the REI for use with our 3-year-old, who likes to “help” set up the tent and run around with sticks and rocks.

If you haven’t already, you can read the reviews of specific tent models: http://www.trailspace.com/gear/tents/

If possible go and see the tents set up at a store and see if you like the space of one versus another.

You can also find general info on choosing a tent in the "Guide to Tents" http://www.trailspace.com/gear/guide/tents.html (although you may already know this info).

The exception to all of this is the poor, poor quality tents people buy from Big Box stores. Avoid these at all costs. We get e-mails practically every day from people with broken tent poles and lost instructions for these tents.

Good luck.

Marmot is the highest of quality menufacturers. Plus, they have a lifetime warranty. I have several Marmot pieces of gear and love and them all very often. For family camping, I agree with a previous post...the REI Basecamp 6 is a great tent for family camping. I own one of those, loan it out to friends, etc. everyone loves it.