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21 of 21 found the following review helpful:
Very Nice Apr 14, 2006
By Mom of 3 boys
SIZE: ROOM AVAILABLE:
We purchased this for family camping. We have four boys ages 2-11 and my husband is 6'2" . He can stand up easily, with head room and there is plenty of room for all of us.
Parent's Side: We have 2 King size cots set up along the sides, with plenty of storage room under them for the things we don't want the boys getting into and plenty of walking and changing room left on that side.
The kids side: plenty room for all four to sleep, and if desired, plenty or room for a queen air mattress, and you can just stand it up during the day to get it out of your way.
And if its raining, there is plenty of room for our chairs and a card table to eat or play games. Even with the cots, etc.
AIR FLOW
Yes the cyclone vents work. It was hot outside, but we set up in the shade, and the cyclone vents and all the screens helped keep the air flow going and kept it cooler (not cold, but cooler than any other tent I have experienced and it was comfortable). And there was air flow at night, so we slept better. You did not get the hot, stifling heat feeling or musty smells at all.
ZIPPERS
The zippers did get caught in the fabric, which was easily fixable, by gentally squeezing them shut more so the fabric wouldn't get caught underneath.
RAIN/WIND
Not 100% rain proof in full storm, but I have yet to see a tent that is...without paying a heck of a lot more money. Small leaks at door zippers, laid a towel down at each side, had no problem. Again, better than any tent I've had before, and it stayed put in the wind (but of course we had it staked and tied down. Don't know about hail...haven't had that experience (thankfully)
THE EXTRAS
lights and cargo room - very nice! You have to buy the batteries for the lights and they aren't regular batteries, and they aren't cheap, but I read a review that said customer service would mail the batteries for free if desired...don't know, didn't try, I just paid for the batteries. Gives plenty of light from the ceiling down, so the light is well spread out as well, and the lights are remote controlled, so everyone can get into bed and then you can turn them off!
EASE TO SET UP
After the intial set up it took us (2 people) 15-20 minutes to set it up and take it down.)
Intial set up takes more time...and make sure you aren't rushing.
The directions are not the best...first set up we broke the top pole. This was our fault, we were setting it up rushed because the sun was going down and we were setting it up wrong and didn't take the time to fully understand all the directions. So we were forcing the poles to bend more than they had too, causing them to break.
The instructions for set up are across for the parts page. The instructions are not very clear and easy to follow. The picture you need to fully understand the directions is on the BACK of the instructions. We didn't find these until after we had broken the pole. And in all honesty they need to be side be side, so you can reference the picture while reading the instructions.
Even with the broken pole we just ducttaped it and were still able to set it up and camp.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
I called customer service, and they were fantastic! They express shipped me new poles...free of charge (I didn't pay for the poles or the shipping) and they didn't give me any hassle at all!
20 of 20 found the following review helpful:
Columbia Gardner Tent Oct 13, 2005
By Top Gun
"TG"
Pros: in general a well-designed tent that has a huge floor area of 18x10ft. You can easily stand anywhere in this tent. Lots of venting in the roof and walls makes this a cool tent even in hot weather. In heavy rain the fly sheet does a great job, water just runs off of it. Very easy to put up and take down. 1 person can do either task in about 20mins, 2 people can shorten this time to 15mins.
Cons: our tent leaked even in moderate rain at multiple points around the tent, I think primarily the zippers. In a 0.7" rain in 24 hours we had 8 seperate leak areas and approximately a couple of cups of water in total entered the tent. Most of the zippers on our tent were not of good quality and showed signs of damage when we 1st put it up. Also the rain flaps that cover the zippers require a lot of care to not catch them in the zippers. I didn't like the partition that you can fasten to divide into 2 rooms, it had large gaps between the walls and floor so was only semi-private in my opinion.
On reflection after reading alot of Columbia Tent reviews, I think we got a lemon and that our experience is not typical. I'm going to return this tent and exchange it for a Columbia Cougar Flats in the hope that I get one that can be easily sealed with seam sealer and then be waterproof :)
13 of 13 found the following review helpful:
Very Nice BIG Tent! Mar 21, 2006
By Micocoro
I bought this Tent after reading the first reviewers write-up.
When it finally arrived, the rain was threatening. That would not stop me, so, I set it up in the living room (YUP!)WOW! It was a truely awesome site to see, it practically took-up our eniter living room. We were all very excited, because Spring Break was right around the corner. As stated by other reviews, it has plenty of room for all. In fact we were able to fit three (3) Queen size blow-up matresses side-by-side, with three(3) feet to spare by the door and nearly three by the wall.
I will also have to agree with a reviewer that the Door zippers need adjusting. The rain-flap kept getting caught in the zipper. I was so enraged that I came close to cutting it off. At one point the zipper was not even binding the two together. I calmed down, used my trusty Leatherman and made slight adjustments to it (squeezing down on it). Problem solved
Pro's- Very BIG Tent for all your needs....
Con's- Very Big Tent, you need a big campsite for this BAD BOY..
Zippers on the Door's (Flap's need to be bigger)
Tip's: Buy a Heavy Duty Tarp for under-protection
Take an extra Tent for your gear (not food)
Enjoy!
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
 Big but doesn't hold up to normal use Oct 17, 2006
By M. Martin
I have 5 kids and wanted a tent that would provide both floor space and walking space for adults. Columbia has always been associated with high quality gear in my mind so we splurged and went for the Gardner Peak. The first time out there was a thunder storm and the sides began to leak. The 2nd time out the zippers on the doors started to catch in the fabric due to what seems to be too much side to side tension across the top of the door. The 3rd time out one of the door zippers came apart and we had to duct tape the door shut. I also had a fiberglass pole split on trip #3 but I fixed it with a hose clamp and electrical tape. During the 5th trip out one of the elastic cords inside the spars broke, another fiberglass spar splintered and the other door zipper came off the track. In all, the $280 tent lasted 5 trips which is about the same cost as 5 nights in a cheap hotel. Not what I expected from Columbia. I'll be checking out other brands.
39 of 52 found the following review helpful:
 Columbia Tents-Gardner Peak and Bugaboo Tents VERSES OTHER TENT MANUAFACTURERS I have purchased in the past Dec 11, 2005
By fabler
"fabler"
Here's the whole backstory of why I have decided to purchase Columbia Tents rather than purchase Columbia's tent competitors:
I made some grave mistakes by buying cheap tents!
My first GRAVE MISTAKE was purchasing Swiss Gear 10-person Dome Tent at Sears-item #00674119000 Mfr. model #74119 "Interlachen" four room cabin dome tent sleeps 10 people-lousy, weird design-my nieces and nephews complained the tent design was cramped, the zippers were getting stuck on the zipper protective fly, the room dividers were inefficient for privacy, and the tent poles were so cheaply made that the poles shattered into fragments. The figerglass poles caused slivers to lodge into my hand. Painful.
I also bought the Swiss Gear 13 x 17 ft. Dome Tent Sears item #00674115000 Mfr. model #74115 "Alpine Lodge" family dome tent is weather-resistant with many Swiss Gear features like removable dividers, gear loft, pockets, factory-taped fly seams, 3 exit entry doors during the same time. The Alpine proved just as worthless as its counterpartner, Interlachen!
The tent space for the Interlachen and Alpine are quite small and trying to size up a tarp as a footprint to protect the tent floor was trying my patience terribly. I returned both tents to Sears-I abhored these two tents! The tent poles shattered and frayed; the rain fly allowed rain to blow into the tent. Terrible design for both Interlachen and Alpine tents!
Second GRAVE MISTAKE: I purchased the Coleman's Outsider Tent from Big 5 in the Fall of 2003. The Outsider Tent COLLAPSED when it rained in the winter months of 2003. I was livid when everything I owned was waterlogged and damaged while camping in the Coleman Outsider Tent! I immediately returned the Coleman Outsider Tent to Big 5 the next business day!
I have purchased tents from Target and Wal-Mart, too. However, I purchased a large 6-7 man tent from Target with two doors, but the zippers broke, leaving the tent unusable and no access into the tent. I did buy this small, hiking junior tent from Target. I decided to keep the junior camping tent from Target as a storage tent for my camping gear/food which I keep inside my Gardner Peak Columbia Tent.
By keeping the Target junior tent inside my Gardner Peak Tent, this keeps animals from raiding my food supply-I lock this small tent making it very difficult for a small animal to pry open the locked, zippered tent. This sobering fact is especially true when you accidentally leave the Dutch "D" door open . . . animals such as squirrels, birds, rats meander into an open tent hunting for food.
I make it a habit to not use the bulky, plastic tubs to store my camping supplies since it takes up a considerable amount of space in my Toyota Limited Edition 4WD 4-Runner. Still, animals are tenaciously able prying open the plastic lid! Using the junior camping tent as a storage bin-it rolls up compact and small or lays perfectly flat when your food/camping supplies are consumed. Stowing a junior camping tent is far more condusive traveling with less bulk in your car or SUV.
Also, I owned a cabin tent with screen room from Wal-Mart, but this tent did not last the rainy seasons or high winds. The Wal-Mart cabin tent proved to be unstable, wobbly, and very little moving room when I have my queen-size bed set-up inside this tent.
Moving on-I purchased an Aerodome Tent from Marshall's in the men's department (odd place to buy a tent, huh?). I still have the Aerodome tent for changing on the beach, cooking in this tent due to the open door ventilation feature, storing my food and camping supplies such as firewood, cooking stove, etc. when I just bought too much food/camping supplies stored in my Target junior camping tent. So, the Aerodome is a cool tent that has a great zipper that I can lock when I leave my tent to go play on the beach or leave my tent to get food/camping supplies.
The tents made from 2003 to present from Wal-Mart, Target (except for the junior hiking tent), and Sears have cheap zippers on all their tents and slight/nil poorly designed gear space. I have all my pictures to document all the tents I have owned to show how each tent weathered through each season's use.
So . . . why do I bother writing about tents? I am writing about all the tents I have purchased, so you as my fellow camper will avoid purchasing the cheaply made tents, avoid feeling miserably cold & wet, and ruin your experience camping while camping next to me! A sad camper is a miserable, crabby camper-I do not need to see such suffering when camping should be a wonderful, fun, lifetime experience!
I heard of Columbia Tents by clerking many different sporting good shoppers' opinions who were using different tent brands for camping-from novice to survival expert. From one shopper's opinion-I decided to check out the Columbia First-Up combo Tent. I stopped by Sportmart and purchased the First-Up Bugaboo Red 10 x 10 Tent for $300.00. This tent was a combination tent where you could set up just the awning, but have the alternative setting up the camping tent underneath the awning.
I did not realize that it was so very difficult to set up the First-Up tent by myself, so I had to have FOUR campers who were camping a few campsites from my campsite helped me play a tug-of-war setting up this First-Up . . . expanding the awning support system is not easy to set up muchless pull apart! Yanking and pulling-attaching the tent in the middle of the awning, resetting the position of the 10 x10 over the campsite . . . aw,it was a nightmare, a hassle and embarrassing asking for help setting up my First-Up tent! Note: Do NOT attempt to set this tent up by yourself! Why? You just CANNOT set up this type of tent by yourself unless you clone yourself instantaneously when camping solo!
Well, a day later after setting up the First-Up tent-I installed the two room dividers-not much space in a 10 x 10 tent frame-narrow. The first heavy rain storm flooded this tent completely! A female California Park Ranger named, Max helped me disassemble the muddy, water-filled tent and loaded the messy tent into my 4-Runner. I immediately returned the $300.00 tent with water and mud inside the tent back to Sportmart! The Sportmart manager was miffed because this tent is SUPPOSED to be waterproof! Yeah-right!
So, after returning the First-Up tent at Sportmart, I bought the Bugaboo Dome Tent from Sports Chalet for $169.00. Sportmart didn't have the Bugaboo Dome Tent in stock. Now this Bugaboo Dome Tent is the bomb-now this tent is TRULY a wonderful tent!
This tent survived gail-force winds, heavy horizontal rain-the kind that Forest Gump described in the movie, hail the size of golf balls in the winter of 2004/spring 2005. FYI: The Bugaboo Dome Tent fits in tight campsites. To set up the tent by myself, took me exactly ten-minutes. By the way, I was dry, warm and living the "cush" life while the weather outside was disgustingly cold & wet-horribly miserable for camping.
The Bugaboo Dome Tent has so many wonderful features such as drink holders that will keep your can of soda from tipping over . . . it is a well-balanced drink holder design. Two lights with two remote controls supplied, but call Columbia/North Pole to have them send you the batteries in two days.
This tent has generous storage/gear space, too. Very cool and quite impressive! The only design flaw I didn't like with the Bugaboo Dome Tent was its odd shape at the entrance Dutch "D" door. It seems it wasted about 1 1/2 to 2 feet of usable, interior space substituting for a mud runner for shoes.
As life happens, things happen for a reason . My brother sent me E-mail that he was returning from serving in Iraq and he wanted to go camping with me. So, I went to Sport Chalet and purchased the Gardner Peak Tent for my brother and his daughter to camp in style with me. The Gardner Peak Tent was on sale for $189.00, so I bought the tent!
The Gardner Peak Tent is an awesome tent as well as the Bugaboo Dome Tent. The Gardner Peak took me about 15-minutes to set up and it has a gargantuan, impressive living space inside, plus ample storage for your camping gear. The Gardner Peak has two lights with two remotes-I called North Pole and had them send me the batteries for free.
Please look at the pictures I have online via www.amazon.com to view the Bugaboo Dome, Gardner Peak, and other named brand tents I have purchased in the past. My pictures do not lie! My pictures are eye openers regarding tent usage applications and the results of using each tent.
It is true from the other camper's critique stating the Gardner Peak has dividers that are semi-private which separates the tent into two spacious rooms. I solved the problem with the gapping dilemma by taking my Tahitian and Hawaiian pareaus and clipping them to the room dividers with clothes pins. No problem-piece of cake. Privacy restored!
I had no problem with the zippers on my Gardner Peak Tent. I must admit that the camper who wrote about the zipper problem must have purchased an odd-ball/lemon which is very rare occurance for Columbia/North Pole to manufacture a "lemon" tent!
I purchased from Wal-Mart a folding queen-size bed for about $48.00. I also purchased a queen-size Aero Bed Mattress from Target for $99.00 which I slipped the air mattress into the queen-size folding bed. I placed the queen-size bed set-up on one side of the Gardner Peak with a round Papasan chair I gave to my niece as her birthday present. Please keep in mind by visualizing my niece's side of the Gardner Peak: she still had plenty of space for her clothes and miscellaneous camping gear, plus the queen-size bed and round 60" Papasan chair! Huge!
Meanwhile, the other Gardner Peak entrance had a Wal-Mart $22.00 twin fold-up bed with a twin toddler Aero Bed mattress $70.00 from Target slipped into the twin bed. I slept on the twin bed set-up. My twin bed, my MACSport folding reclining chair, and all my camping gear felt dwarfed by the gargantuan sleeping space inside my Gardner Peak Tent!
My niece was in heaven claiming, "Auntie! This is NOT camping!" Ha! Funny thing is my brother decided to camp in the Bugaboo Dome tent on another Coleman queen-size bed set-up I purchased at Wal-Mart for him while my niece and I slept in the Gardner Peak Tent. My brother just loved the Bugaboo Dome tent so much that he begged me to let him have the Bugaboo Dome Tent as an early birthday gift. Alright-ok! So, soft-hearted sister here gave my brother the Bugaboo Dome tent . . . ho-hum!
Ok-so, now-I do not have a small camping tent just for me. What do I do? A very dumb thing! I returned to Sport Chalet and decided to buy the Eureka Zeus Exo 2 Tent for two people. I set the Eureka Zeus Exo 2 Tent up at my campsite . . . Oh, my! The Eureka Zeus Exo 2 Tent felt like I was sleeping in a COFFIN! I was simply claustrophobic! I returned the tent immediately the next business day!
I shopped at Big 5 looking for other Columbia Tents-none. REI-nothing. Sport Chalet had the Cougar Flats, but that cougar Tent is too, too big just for me camping solo, besides I have the Gardner Peak Tent! Target had nothing of excellent quality, same with Wal-Mart-zilch.
I have this old Greatland Insta-Set Tent which I purchased at Target that pops up in one to two minutes. I decided to use this tent until I found the Columbia tent I wanted. My old Greatland tent did not survive this past camping trip because the gail-force winds RIPPED my tent while camping on the beach! Of course, I have had my Greatland tent for about twenty years. My Greatland tent has been camping with me throughout Baja California, Hawaii, and Europe! Sadly, it is time to retire my Greatland Insta-Set Tent and buy another tent when I do my solo camping. This Greatland Tent design was probably one of the last well-made designs sold at Target. Since twenty years have past, sadly the quality at Target, Sears, and Wal-Mart for their tents have gone downhill in quality design features.
I came home weary from my Greatland Insta-Set ripped tent one-week camping fiasco two days ago and went online in search of another 3-4 season tent. Well, to my delightful dismay, I found the Mt. Bachelor tent via www.amazon.com on sale for $89.99 with free shipping, so I bought this tent today.
Mt. Bachelor tent is reminiscent to my Greatland Insta-Set tent which I am very fond of the easy set up. However, the Mt. Bachelor tent has more cushy perks that it runs rings around my old Greatland tent! I can install my twin bed set-up inside the Mt. Bachelor tent easily with more ample storage space whereas in my Greatland Tent, I barely fit my toddler Aero bed inside with my twin bed frame with my large Coleman Heater including only two, very small storage pockets for keys. There is plenty of room for my other camping gear such as my Coleman big heater, my broom/dust pan, rake, clothes, etc. inside my new Mt. Bachelor tent!
Furthermore, Columbia/North Pole, LTD. provides a light with a remote control & free batteries. This Mt. Bachelor Tent like all Columbia Tents has the cyclone venting system whereas other tent manufacturers do not have this patented system featured. Maybe Kelty, MRS or Marmot might have another type of venting system, but it is not the same effective venting system Columbia offers.
I received my Mt. Bachelor tent via UPS/USPS on Saturday, December 17, 2005! Fast delivery, Amazon.com-AWESOME!
Overall, I have had years of experience camping as a military personnel and continuing into my civilian camping experience. I am sold on the Columbia/North Pole Tents. Still, I am hesitant to pay $749.99 for a MSR Wind 4 Four-person All-Season Expedition Tent made by MSR muchless purchase a tent made by Mountain Hardwear Space Station Tent which is a 4 Season Tent made by Mountain Hardwear for almost $5,000.00 UNLESS, I will be camping at the North Pole or severe climate location such as North Canada for six months or more.
So, for now-I am very happy with the Columbia/North Pole Tent manuafacturer and their tent designs built for sturdiness, cushy perks, and keeping me dry and warm on miserably wet camping days to keeping cool during sunny, warm summer days with their patented cyclone venting system.
Incidentally, the Columbia zippers are not cheaply made! The zippers are very high quality which is very nice and very cool! I want you to know I lock my tent when I leave my tent to get supplies. The Columbia Tents allow you to lock your tent with a heavy duty combination lock. Another great feature from Columbia.
Have questions? Please view all the pics I downloaded to prove my point regarding tent designs. I am confident you will understand why Columbia Tents are 100% better than other tents purchased at sporting good stores and department stores. Believe me-I did a lot of shopping searching for the right tent to use for camping! I did a lot of researching finding the right tent for me online.
When camping you are out in Nature's element, so you must choose carefully the type of tent you will be using in that location or several locations all year round. The point is to use the tent you buy obtaining the greatest usage value dollar for dollar living away in the wilderness and away from the concrete jungle. Living in a tent protects you from severe weather exposure, so choose wisely.
One more thought-There are two tents that have caught my eye I would like for you to check out. Please tell me if these two tents are worth their weight dollar for dollar:
Berg's Thermo Tent for the tropics & Heilberg The Keron GT Tent for Mt. Kilimanjaro/Mt. McKinley.
Hmmmm . . . I wonder if I should go test these tents for durability and comfort for these two specific locations: The Great White North heading towards the North Pole and Thailand?
See you somewhere around the planet!
Fabler
See all 20 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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