Columbia Bugaboo Four to Five-Person Family Dome Tent

Take the family camping in style - and protection from the elements - with the Columbia CB-5300 Bugaboo dome-style tent, which fits four to five people. It provides a heady 74-inch center height and features a 1200 millimeter double-coated fly, sealed seams, and a polyethylene tub floor. The reflective zipper pulls make it easy to get in and out of the tent - even in the dark. It comes with a remote-controlled light (with a 65-foot reach) that attaches easily for exceptional nighttime security and visibility.

The Clean Sweep zippered floor flap makes it easy to sweep out debris. The two storage foot lockers are accessible from outside and inside the tent so you can easily store your gear out of the way. Other features include a quick-release buckle system, two hanging cup holders, and a removable door mat.

The Bugaboo's skylights offer large areas of mesh for maximum airflow and awe-inspiring views of the night sky. In addition, the rainfly has clear panels with zippered covers that offer you the option of having night views or no morning sun in your face. The Bugaboo's venting system creates a vortex that flushes hot air up through the roof, providing fresh air all night long. For maximum climate control, open or close the lower vents to feel the cool night breeze or keep warm air in.

The CB-5300 features the GoBe Dry Ultimate Rain Protection System, which combines patent pending fabric, component, and seam technology that culminates in exceptional protection from the elements, in particular rain, in any and all terrain. The DryTek Fabric repels moisture with a protective coating. The DryFloor Tub design elevates the floor seams to keep away water, while the DryGuard Skirt deflects rain from the floor seams and stake loops.

Specifications:

• Base Size: 12 x 9 feet
• Center Height: 74 inches
• Poles: 4 x 9.5 millimeter fiberglass poles
• Weight: 21 pounds
• Sleeps: 4 to 5

About Columbia Sportswear
Founded in 1938, Columbia Sportswear Company has grown from a small family-owned hat distributor to one of the world's largest outerwear brands and the leading seller of ski-wear in the United States. Columbia's extensive product line includes a wide variety of outerwear, sportswear, rugged footwear and accessories. Columbia specializes in developing innovative products that are functional yet stylish and offer great value. Eighty-year-old matriarch Gert Boyle, Chairman of the Board, and her son, Tim Boyle, President and CEO, lead the company.

Columbia's history starts with Gert's parents, Paul and Marie Lamfrom, when they fled Germany in 1937. They bought a small hat distributorship in Portland, Oregon, and named it Columbia Hat Company, after the river bordering the city. Soon frustrated by poor deliveries from suppliers, the Lamfroms decided to start manufacturing products themselves. In 1948, Gert married college sweetheart Neal Boyle, who joined the family business and later took the helm of the growing company. When Neal suddenly died of a heart attack in 1970, Gert enlisted help from Tim, then a college senior. After that, it wasn't long before business really started to take off. Columbia was one of the first companies to make jackets from waterproof/breathable fabric. They introduced the breakthrough technology called the Columbia Interchange System, in which a shell and liner combine for multiple wearing options. In the early 1980s, then 60-year-old Gert began her role as "Mother Boyle" in Columbia's successful and popular advertising campaign.

The company went public in 1998 and moved into a new era as a world leader in the active outdoor apparel industry. Today, Columbia Sportswear employs more than 1,800 people around the world and distributes and sells products in more than 50 countries and to more than 12,000 retailers internationally.

What's in the Box?
Bugaboo dome tent, fiberglass poles, remote-controlled light, door mat, carry bag with handle

Manufacturer's Warranty
Lifetime warranty

Amazon.com Tent Guide
Selecting a Tent
Fortunately, there are all kinds of tents for weekend car campers, Everest expeditions, and everything in-between. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Expect the Worst
In general, it's wise to choose a tent that's designed to withstand the worst possible conditions you think you'll face. For instance, if you're a summer car camper in a region where weather is predictable, an inexpensive family or all purpose tent will likely do the trick--especially if a vehicle is nearby and you can make a mad dash for safety when bad weather swoops in! If you're a backpacker, alpine climber or bike explorer, or if you like to car camp in all seasons, you'll want to take something designed to handle more adversity.

Three- and Four-Season Tents
For summer, early fall and late spring outings, choose a three-season tent. At minimum, a quality three season tent will have lightweight aluminum poles, a reinforced floor, durable stitching, and a quality rain-fly. Some three-season tents offer more open-air netting and are more specifically designed for summer backpacking and other activities. Many premium tents will feature pre-sealed, taped seams and a silicone-impregnated rain-fly for enhanced waterproofness.

For winter camping or alpine travel, go with a four season model. Because they typically feature more durable fabric coatings, as well as more poles, four-season tents are designed to handle heavy snowfall and high winds without collapsing. Of course, four-season tents exact a weight penalty of about 10 to 20 percent in trade for their strength and durability. They also tend to be more expensive.

Domes and Tunnels
Tents are broadly categorized into two types, freestanding, which can stand up on their own, and those that must be staked down in order to stand upright. Freestanding tents often incorporate a dome-shaped design, and most four-season tents are constructed this way because a dome leaves no flat spots on the outer surface where snow can collect. Domes are also inherently stronger than any other design. Meanwhile, many three-season models employ a modified dome configuration called a tunnel. These are still freestanding, but they require fewer poles than a dome, use less fabric, and typically have a rectangular floor-plan that offers less storage space than a dome configuration. Many one and two-person tents are not freestanding, but they make up for it by being more lightweight. Because they use fewer poles, they can also be quicker to set up than a dome.

Size Matters
Ask yourself how many people you'd like to fit in your fabric hotel now and in the future. For soloists and minimalists, check out one-person tents. If you're a mega-minimalist, or if you have your eye on doing some big wall climbs, a waterproof-breathable bivy sack is the ticket. Some bivy sacks feature poles and stake points to give you a little more breathing room. Also, if you don't need bug protection and you want to save weight, check out open-air shelters.

Families who plan on car camping in good weather can choose from a wide range of jumbo-sized tents that will accommodate all your little ones with room to spare. A wide range of capacities is also available for three- and four-season backpacking and expedition tents. Remember, though, the bigger the tent you buy, the heavier it will be, although it's easy to break up the tent components among several people in your group. It's also helpful to compare the volume and floor-space measurements of models you're considering.

Customer Review: Finally, the right sized tent!
This is truely a great tent. Love the center height and the ability to stand up and get changed. We use this with a queen sized bed, a folding chair and plenty of extra room for the suitcase and odds and ends. We have used the buddy tent heater many times with this tent and it is just a great all around Mom and Dad tent. We recently purchased another on sale...just in case. For anyone tempted to Cpap while camping...this is the tent for you. The battery is easily accessable using the small access doors. As far as leaking concerns...this tent is great. We also pitch one of those folding 10X10s from Walmart and we say nice and dry.
Customer Review: Great "car camping" tent
This is the first tent I have owned where I haven't had to do extensive aftermarket waterproofing. Actually, I have done no aftermarket waterproofing on this tent, because it just didn't need it. For the money and size, this is an excellent tent for people car camping. I wouldn't want to carry it too far from the car, as it's unwieldy and heavy, but I didn't buy this for frontier wilderness camping so it serves my purposes well. Nice things about this tent: - Easy to put together. My first trip out with this tent, I was the only one with any prior experience, but with the help of one other person we got this up in less than 15 minutes with a strong wind blowing. I consulted the directions when things weren't intuitive, and they were simple and easy to understand. If you've put many tents together in the past, you can probably skip the directions. - It is spacious. It fits four adults comfortably with ample room for a small cooler, packs, and a dozen board games. Make sure you've pulled all corners completely out or you'll lose space - if it is put together properly you can fit six women in this tent, as long as you don't mind close quarters and leave the majority of items in the car. - It's very well-ventilated. That first camping trip was October in New England and it stormed most of the weekend. We could open the windows even though it was raining outside and not worry about water coming inside. - Waterproof. There are a few places that water can get in, but the tent itself is more waterproof than any tent I've owned in the past. Be careful of the small zippered slot on the front left of the tent - it's convenient to put the cord for inflatable air mattresses through, but if you do not close it back properly you will find a small amount of water might leak inside (about ½ a cup overnight). You don't need to put a tarp under the tent, the bottom is completely waterproof. - It comes with a light and remote, but we played so many board games we ended up hanging a lantern from the ceiling with no problem. - Height - I hate bending over, and my back hates it more. You can stand up straight in this tent. Keep in mind it is a dome tent though, so it slopes towards the sides. - Pockets - great for putting things you need to keep handy. Things I would change about this tent: - Stakes. These were not the greatest, especially in the wind with a sandy/rocky ground below the tent. I plan on replacing some with more heavy-duty stakes. - Dividers/attic - I discarded these, they are not something I would ever use, and I didn't see how to put them up. - Floor mat - it hooked to the tent, but I think it would be more useful if it were just attached along one edge. Overall, this is a great tent and my friends and I have a lot of fun camping with it.

Looking for a place to camp overnight on Horsey Island we were closing in on the rusty barges which are run aground in Hamford Water. Joel was up head and we could hear him cursing and as we reached him we could see why he was so upset. The sandy beach was there alright, but to get to it we would have to wade through five hundred yards or more of mud due to the tide now being completely out.

Before I knew it two of the guys from our group had already jumped out of their kayak seats and were knee deep in the mudflats and swearing liberally. I had not been that afraid for a long time and I remembered many stories of people being trapped in mud and stuck there until the tide came back in and they drowned.

I had a very bad feeling about the situation and knew the Walton backwaters were predominately marshland and mudflats. I tried to persuade the others that it was a bad idea and that we should call for help on our mobile phones. Before my appeal had even been considered everyone else had got out of their kayak seats and were taking their chances in the mud.

I was so tired and ached to get out of my inflatable kayak. A desperate need to just go for it took over me. I took a deep breath and leapt out of my kayak seat and sank immediately knee deep into cold, wet, martian like mud that surrounds Horsey Island. Within the first two steps I lost my trainers and was now wading barefoot. I was thankful only that it was so dark I could barely see where or what I was stepping on. What made progress through the mud infinitely worse was hauling my inflatable kayak weighed down with all my kit and paddles.

The two guys with the sit on top and the Perception kayak were moving marginally quicker due to these boats being significantly lighter. In the dark all I could hear was a royal amount of swearing as everyone tried to avoid falling over or plummeting too far into the foul-smelling mud.

It was impossible to take more than a few steps without collapsing on top of my inflatable kayak from exhaustion. I longed to just leave it there but I knew the tide would come back in soon and I would have no way of returning home. At one point I took a step forward and sank right up to my backside. At that split second I thought my luck had run out. I lunged backwards and grasped for my kayak. This scared me senseless as a few inches further and I would have been stuck and I doubt very much the others would have been able to pull me out.

I just wanted to be at home in my warm bed. Once I got my breath back I slowly and timidly stepped forward again. I could feel sharp pain in my feet and prayed it was just stones and shells I was stepping on and not broken parts of the rusting barges that we were passing uncomfortably close to.

I could just make out the shadow if Joel dragging the Perception kayak who was now a couple of hundred years up ahead. I shouted to him asking if he had made it to the beach yet and was dreadfully dismayed when he swore back that he had not. I cursed my inflatable kayak that although filled with air still weighed a ton. This was by far one of the worst experience of my life and I could not understand how on earth an easy paddle around Horsey Island had ended up with this nightmare scenario.

Heads down and with gritted determination we finally made it to the beach. Covered in mud and entirely confused we looked in the dark for somewhere to pitch out tents. I could not believe that both Nicks and my inflatable kayak had survived the ordeal un-punctured which is a testament to their toughness and durability.

Vicki Churchill writes for a site that specializes in Inflatable Kayak Accessories providing you with excellent resources and products including reviews on the stunning Sevylor Ranger Inflatable Kayak. And an excellent guide to Sit On Top Kayaks