Hillary 3 Room Dome Tent for 6-7 People

We have a big family; there are seven of us. We went looking at tents and picked Hillary for two reasons: We have owned Hillary tents before and they held up well, and also because of the size it CLAIMED to be.

According to the box, the tent measures 18 ft x 10 ft. That should be big enough for seven people, right? So we get out in the middle of nowhere on our camping trip and put it up. Behold, the 18 x 10 tent that measures only about 14 x 8 (being generous). And yes, we physically took a tape measure to it. Yep, not near as big as the box claimed. How do they keep from getting sued over that?

Anyway, it is supposed to be a "3 room tent." They have a different "vision" of what a "room" is compared to me though. The two smaller rooms are tiny. My 8-year-old daughter couldn't even fully extend her legs in them. We didn't take actual measurements, but the rooms measure about 36" wide by 24" deep by about 24" tall. You call this a room??? Who is supposed to stay in these rooms, Thumbelina or Tiny Tim???? C'mon! It's ridiculous!!!!

The second day we used the tent, it rained. 0.56 inches of rain in about six hours. Not much, right? For the most part, the tent did okay, but the windows in those two "rooms" leaked water, and got our mattresses and bedding wet. Marvelous...

Now then, the box "claims" the tent will sleep 6 to 7. Well, perhaps if they are all about 3 ft tall. We took the measurements and did the calculations, and the tent only has about 100 sq ft total, then minus the two little bogus "rooms," you end up with about 88 sq ft. Well, all I can say is you MIGHT fit 6 or 7 gay mountaineers in this thing together comfortably and happily, but there's no way in heck you will EVER fit 6 or 7 averaged size STRAIGHT men in it. Totally impossible.

Final word, Hillary lost my confidence with this piece of crap. We ran as fast as we could and took this thing back to Sears after our trip was over. Next time, I buy Coleman.

All in all, we were pretty disappointed by this tent. I wouldn't suggest buying one. I've seen worse, but by golly I've darn sure seen a hell of a lot better too!

I have bought a Hillary tent in August, used it once that year, and thought everything was fine with the tent. Although it had a zipper that kept getting stuck on the door, I thought nothing of it.

I then used it this past year, the SECOND time, and the day we set it up it rained. Although it has an "everdry" guarantee on the front cover, it leaked right through the seams and into the tent. And the other worst part about it was that the zipper (the same one that had given me troubles the first time) had BROKE! I had nothing else to sew it up with other than dental floss. My belongings soaked, and so did my sleeping bag.

Although it reads on the box "Weldwide seams: welded floor seams have no needle holes to leak", it is far from truth!

Further inside the owner's manual reads "Your tent is water repellent. However, it is not waterproof." Why does the front say one thing but the inside manual a complete different thing!

After calling the company to complain, they had told me that they cannot guarantee this and I should use a tarp. If it's so "Everdry" as it says...then why do I need a tarp?

I am completely unsatisfied with this tent, and with the company. I would discourage any person from purchasing from this company, unless you want headaches, a bad camping experience, and wet belongings!

I bought a used Hillary tent years ago and the kids and I wore it out. We were rough on it! But I loved the tent, it was tall!

I bought another Hillary new 2 years ago, used it once camping, but then moved to a farm. The kids set it up in our field, but the poles couldn't withstand the wind. Not saying the poles were inferior, because I'm sure the stakes came loose before they snapped and this happened over several occasions. Not just once. So the poles were stressed more than once.

I'm writing because I finally got around to ordering the replacement poles today and was sick about the price! $50 per pole! The Sears rep said that was Hillary's price, not theirs. Or I could order a complete set for $68.50.

The tent is almost always on sale at half price (it's normally $150). It's Model #71104 (originally), now the Model # is 73114.

I'll call Hillary on Monday. Aren't those pole prices steep? So, if a pole breaks, you might as well buy a new tent!?

I have used the tent two times. The first thing I did was waterproof it (as recommended) with a silicon product that I purchased at Sears. The tent housed two adults and four boy scouts. There appeared to be enough room for everyone in sleeping bags (the boys would have complained otherwise.) That night we had a terrible thunderstorm that poured. It was so windy and cold that it actually snapped some of the plastic stakes (I use metal now). It kept us perfectly dry. Although we were wearing everything we brought to keep warm (I assume because of the mesh roof/fly design).

The second time we camped by the shore with my wife, son and daughter. My wife felt cramped. The shape of the tent did not agree with the shape of the two queen sized air mattresses we brought along. It also stayed dry. There was some condensation dripping from the fly after four days. I made certain to air out the tent after that.