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14 of 14 found the following review helpful:
Truly the Cadillac of tents! Dec 07, 2006
By My2Cents
My husband and I have been tent camping for years. We own two other tents - a 4-person REI dome tent (that we've enjoyed for 10+ years) and a small backpacking tent that sets up quickly and takes up very little space in the trunk of our car. We finally got this last summer when I wanted to start sleeping on a cot (back problems, darn them) and none of the cots I wanted would fit in our other tents.
After lots of careful research I decided on this tent because of its size, everything I'd read about ease of set-up, Paha Que's customer service, and how well people say they stand up to wind and storms. We like desert camping and wind and storms are usually part of the package.
We got to use it for two camping trips so far and were not disappointed whatsoever. But I must say that I am REALLY glad we did a trial set-up in our local park before going. Some of the set-up for us wasn't as easy as it looked in their online video instructions - those poles are really strong and not as flexible as the fiberglass ones we were used to (and maybe we're just a little more out-of shape than we thought). Either way, we were able to figure out a system that worked for us ahead of time so we weren't struggling during set-up at the campsite. I highly recommend doing that if you can.
I can't say enough good things about sleeping in it though. It was huge and roomy - my husband was able to stand up to get dressed and undressed which he never could in our other tents (he's just under 6' tall). We also had room for a small table, a tent fan and a porta-potty (no more late night jaunts out into the cold where I wake up too much to go back to sleep).
The inside pockets that are reachable from the outside are very handy, as is the "attic" where we can store all those little things that just get in the way. We could've brought chairs in if we wanted, there's that much room, but we didn't want to this time. Heck we could live in it if we ever needed to! I also love the square shape vs the dome shape - it's a much better use of space and things just seem to fit better (like cots, for instance).
We didn't get to try out its storm-resistant qualities though, because we had unusually good weather those weeks - darn it, because I was really looking forward to cozying up in there during a good storm. Oh well, maybe next time. But the ventilation was excellent and we didn't notice any condensation on the tent walls, even though there was dew on the grass in the mornings.
The only downside (and I'm really reaching here) is that because of its large footprint our choice of campsites was more limited than we were used to - but that would be true of any large tent and it's actually smaller than a lot of other "family" tents on the market.
12 of 12 found the following review helpful:
Best Tent I've Ever Owned Jun 08, 2006
By Wanderer
"SurfToLive"
I really love the Pamo Valley tent! My wife and I and doggy tried out the new tent over the Memorial Day weekend. We went to a favorite spot near Buena Vista CO, near the Buffalo Peaks Wilderness Area. We were camped at about 9800 ft. in an open park that did not provide much wind protection. We arrived at dusk (no wind at the time of tent setup). I had purchased additional stakes from Ace Hardware (the 12" landscape nails). Tent setup went smooth and I double staked all corners of both the tent and the fly (bomber). The wind started about 2 hours into the evening and was relentless for the entire 3 day weekend. I have elk hunted in this area for 20 years and never remember consistent wind like we encountered. I had no quantitative way of measuring the avg. wind speed and gusts but I would estimate consistent 20-25 MPH winds with occasional 40+ mph gusts. I was able to pull my truck upwind from the tent as a bit of a block, but the tent still took some big wind hits. I was truly amazed that the tent endured the weekend. The stakes held true and the tent did not move from the original positioning. The construction of the reinforced stake corners of the tent is excellent. We cooked in the tent as there was no keeping a stove lighted outside. I experimented with trying to reduce the wind effects on the tent by allowing air flow through the mosquito netting and also by keeping the tent completely closed. There seemed to be little difference in tent movement either way. Sunday evening temps dropped into the high 20's. The open design of the top of the tent certainly kept the tent well ventilated.
Bottom line, I was impressed with the well thought out design, quality construction, and room for two people plus dog plus 2 chairs and cooking/eating table.
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
Like A Cabin In A Bag May 23, 2006
By Camp Family
"Thiebaults"
We just wanted to say how happy we are with our Pamo Valley tent. It has worked well for us for over four years now, but this time this tent held up against some of the strongest winds I've ever seen blowing through these mountains. Our stuff stayed safe and we had the time of our lives! In fact we ended up with 6 other folks in our tent - 8 total! It's startin' to be warm weather time, so we'll be getting one of the Paha Que' Cottonwoods soon.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Big and Roomy Oct 13, 2006
By Marc LeRoy
I bought this tent so I could get my wife to go camping with me. Befor i had a three person Coleman dome tent and every time the wind blew the poles came out and the tent would fall down , and my wife refused to go. We have had this thing out in Glamis and if you have ever camped in the desert there are times were you have to stay inside for a hour or so due to the wind , And you really don't want to worry about the tent collapsing on you. And there was room to set up a table and play cards to pass the time. I am 6 foot 1 and weigh in at 260 pounds and I can put my pants on standing up for once. I never reliazed how much I hated my dome tent untill I got this pamo Valley!! THIS THING IS AWESOME!!!
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