| NATIONAL PARKS QUICKLINKS |
|
|
REI Half Dome 4 TentIf a two-person Half Dome can win an Editors' Choice Award, can the four-person be twice as nice?Photos and text by Will Rochfort
Modeled after REI's Half Dome 2, which is one of our all-time favorite two-person tents, the Half Dome 4 is also a great combination of weight, livability, and price.
|
|
|
|
-
The 10 Essentials
The 10 essentials packing list was designed to ensure that hikers could a) ... -
How to Fit a Week's Gear into a Weekend Pack
Don't own a massive pack for your big annual adventure? Here's how to make it ... -
How to Make a Survival Bracelet
In an emergency, you can use paracord for lashings, tourniquets, shoelaces, ...
TIP 9: Check the Weather
Most weather reports don't apply to backcountry or mountainous terrain. Gather specific information by calling ranger stations, checking guide books, and researching monthly climate trends.
Fall/Winter Gear Guide
261 reviews and camping tips
Boost Your Apps
Add powerful tools and exclusive maps to your BACKPACKER apps through our partnership with Trimble Outdoors.
Carry the Best Maps
With BACKPACKER PRO Maps, get life-list destinations and local trips on adventure-ready waterproof myTopo paper.
FREE Rocky Mountain Trip Planner
Sign up for a free Rocky Mountain National Park trip planning kit from our sister site MyRockyMountainPark.com.
Get 2 FREE Trial Issues and 3 FREE GIFTS
Survival Skills 101 • Eat BetterThe Best Trails in America
YES! Please send me my FREE trial issues of Backpacker
and my 3 FREE downloadable booklets.
Free trial offer valid for US subscribers only.
Canadian subscriptions |
International subscriptions
and my 3 FREE downloadable booklets.
READERS COMMENTS
Page 1
Love my HD4! The set up is so freakishly simple. They don't mention how easy it is to set up with just the footprint and fly if bugs are a non-issue. Yeah, it's a little heavy, but the price is so very nice.
— Mike
you say "the vestibules easily protected everyone's packs and boots during a rainstorm."sorry not seing it that is a tiny vestibule. Also I couldn't help notice all your pictures are of s tent in amazing places not in an actual campsite. If you are going to start shilling you should say so. you know a little disclaimer . the following is a paid advertisement.
— Thomas B.
Image 5 - WOW! Where did they get an apparently fully grown woman that's only 4-foot tall? The answer: they didn't.
The tent has 48" of interior height, yet the image shows a woman standing erect inside of it. If you look closer, her head and hands are lifting the tent top and sides up while only the floor directly under her feet remains on the ground. Too bad the cropping of the photo removed the corners of the tent from being seen. The resulting optical illusion is misleading - most adults will not be able to stand erect inside the tent.
BTW, my girlfriend is 5'1", 100 lbs. and has a similar build to the lady in the tent. If the tent lady is only 4-foot tall, then she must only weigh 75-80 lbs. Four adults of that size could easily fit into my 2-person tent!
— Anonymous
How does a single 4 person tent compare to two, two person tents for family camping? Does the extra height and ability to sit together make up for the lack of privacy and easy of caring? All of the 4 person tents I've seen make a fairly large bundle to tote around, and I'm not too sure how to split it between two people.
— rentzk
Folks,
Thanks for your comments on the tent! To answer a couple of your points:
@Rentzk: I've split this tent between two, three and four people. Personally I like the community aspect of sharing a tent with more than one person because I enjoy the company, but others prefer the privacy and not having to deal with three other people. It's really a personal preference.
@Thomas: I personally took all of those photos on gear testing trips that I scheduled and planned myself. The one of the tent under the full moon is from the top of Yosemite Falls in April (trying to catch a moonbow), the snowy one is from below Kearsarge Pass in May, and unfortunately I didn't get to include the photos from Olympic NP's coastline (which were spectacular as well). I am in no way compensated by REI for these photos, and neither is BACKPACKER. The scenery is just that good. As for the vestibule, we really did fit four packs and four pairs of boots (two in each vestibule). We even fit three of each on one side when we had to use the other for cooking while in Olympic.
@Anonymous: You're right, the camera angle is misleading, and I apologize for that. I thought the comment of the the tent being four feet tall would make it obvious that anyone over that height wouldn't be able to actually stand up, but I should have been clearer. The photo was really intended to be visual hyperbole. All the same, we still fit four full grown adults comfortably in Yosemite :)
WMR
— Will Rochfort (The Tester)
POST A COMMENT