Kelty Pavilion 6

Bought this tent for my wife and I and our three kids, ages 1, 3 and 5. We wanted something large enough for all of us and our stuff, with enough height to stand up inside, and a large enough vestibule that you could stand in it to put on jackets, etc. in the rain. We also wanted something durable that would last for a number of years.

I like the fact that this tent comes with aluminum poles--far superior to fiberglass for durability (and weight, but when you're at this weight already, who really cares). The tent comes with Kelty's lifetime warranty, so that's great too.

As for the tent in use, we've only taken it out once, but I wanted to add this review for other family-of-five's out there who are also looking for a car camping tent.

What this tent is not ideal for is the conditions the night we first used it--that being an October weekend in the Berkshires with overnight temperatures in the 20s. It's both cavernous and extremely well vented, so don't expect it to retain any warmth. There are also no ways to seal up any of the venting. This latter point may be a cause of concern.

I've read reviews that said in a heavy blowing rain the rain can actually blow through the vestibule screens (which, while they have covering (privacy?) flaps, are only held closed with a clip in each corner), and right through the mesh panels located low on the tent front. On the other hand, one can see how this venting would be a definite plus on a muggy night.

That said, this tent has ample space. We had two queen air mattresses and still room between them and a good 4 or 5 feet on the other side. It would have been easy to fit a playpen in too if needed. We actually brought a chair into the tent. I'm a pre-kid backpacker...a chair in the tent? That's luxury. Speaking of luxury, Kelty's added a bunch of pockets around on the side, some of which are high enough to leave them out of reach of the youngest of the young ones.

Have to say that I love the size and layout of the vestibule. In addition to being high enough to stand up in, it's also large enough to place some chairs under and use as a nice rain/bug shelter/gear storage area.

The only negatives to the vestibule include setup (described below), and that there's a lot of material to roll up on the door to hold it out of the way, and a lot of curtain/flap things to roll up and down if you want to open/close the panels.

As for setup, I found it pretty simple. You peg the corners, insert the three equally sized poles through the sleeves, and (with 2 people) lift. The fly is slightly more tricky because it's dependent upon the tent being pegged in order to remain standing (unfortunate, but given its size, necessary).

Probably a good idea to peg the little wing flaps on the tent body that the fly attaches to before setting up the poles as, if you set up the tent first, then find the wing flap's over a rock that you can't put a peg through, you're going to be moving the whole tent to make the fly work.

As for pegs and other hardware, they're those ridiculous little aluminum hooked head type pegs that will probably bend the first time you use them, so I'd recommend an investment in some decent quality ones. The Kelty does come with a nicely sized storage bag that has ample room for a ground sheet/etc..

Overall, I've considered returning it for something that seals a little better for cold weather camping, and I'm also a little concerned about a heavy blowing rain coming in the front. That said, I've decided to keep it, and I think I might get some ground sheet material and adhesive backed velcro to make a little cover for the lower mesh panels just in case.

As for the warmth issue, it seems that most family tents are designed with a lot of mesh, and hey, at least we don't have condensation problems.

My requirements for a family tent are sufficient room for four and enough height to stand up in. I bought the Pavilion 6 from the online outlet of a major “club” retailer for $125. I thought it looked a little big, even for a family of four. But at the price, I thought it was worth a try.

The first thing you notice is that the tent is BIG. With two sons, we tend to camp heavy. Four twin air mattresses went down with no problem, and still left plenty of room for personal gear. It’s nice being able to keep stuff inside.

Pitching the tent is a two person job. The three aluminum poles are sturdy and go together easily, but there is just too much tent to handle by yourself. Once the three poles are set, the tent holds its shape very well, so shifting the final position is easy. The hard part is finding an acceptably level 13x15 ft spot.

The rainfly covers the tent completely, and extends out front to create a trapezoid-shaped vestibule. It’s roomy enough to stow gear out of the weather, or provide a protected space for a pet. The fly attaches to the tent’s stakeout points with color coded, quick release tensioners, so getting in over the tent correctly is straightforward. There is a pole for the fly, which anchors to two “ears” on the front of the tent floor, and supporting the roof of the vestibule.

Now the fun begins. The vestibule is held open by anchoring it’s front to the ground, which provides the tension necessary to keep the vestibule and it’s pole from collapsing against the front of the tent. This is where the level site is critical. If the ground in front of the tent slopes up even slightly, you won’t be able to stretch the vestibule taut, and you’ll have a basin in the roof of the vestibule and the roof of the tent which will catch water. On a downslope, the sides of the vestibule will not be taut, and will sag inward, losing you some covered space. Not as bad, but not desirable.

Finally, there are guyout points provide at the front and rear corners, which can help straighten things out. Finally, be sure to stake out the rear center point, or it will fall against the tent and cover the very large lower vent

Overall, erecting the tent took about 15 minutes, and securing the rainfly took an additional 30 minutes, much of which was spent tweaking the guy lines and repositioning the fly stakes. It was worth the effort, as we endured a full night’s worth of downpour without a leak of any kind. I’d like to see Kelty offer a rainfly without the vestibule that would use the same pole, but just guy out instead to shelter the door.

Pro’s: Quality of construction, usable space. Excellent for a base camp

Cons: Wrestling with the rainfly is a lot of effort, especially for a one or two nighter