User Review: Hillary 10 Person Rio Grande 4 Room Family Dome Tent

I bought this tent on sale from Sears, for something around 100 bucks. I wanted a family tent for summer (hot weather) camping, so this tent with its ventilated roof looked like it would stay cool during warm days and nights; which it did quite well.

We camped about 11 nights in five different Rocky Mountain states in July and it did very well, even during several rain showers. I've read a bunch of reviews from people whining that it's leaky, however, we didn't really experience too severe of problems with several days of rain. We slept on cots which definitely helps.

Sure it leaks a little bit, but show me a tent that never leaks. . . . Uh, hate to break it to you, but there really isn't any such thing folks.

I am an avid outdoorsman and camp 10 to 12 nights a year during the fall and winter in an "almost leak proof" tent (Cabela's Alaknak II), but here's the catch, that tent costs around 6-times what the Hillary tent runs! Yep, $600 bucks! But even after a couple of days of rain, the floor of that $600 tent will get a few small puddles developing.

Pure and simple, you can treat the seams of any tent with sealer which helps, but anytime you get fabric that is sewn together, it WILL leak eventually.

The Hillary tent isn't as bad as what many say. It's a great hot/warm weather tent, and will keep you relatively dry if it isn't really windy. Basically, you get what you pay for. And for $100, it's a decent value.