The 6 man tent – and six men I wouldn’t want to be in a tent with

I don’t often go camping with a lot of other people. My favourite camping party consists of my brother and out best friend who sometimes brings his dog. I could do without the dog especially since he likes to sleep in the tent with us and he has a tendency to smell like...well, a wet dog. But our trips are always fun and we manage to get in and out of any campsite with a minimum of fuss.

I have gone camping in larger parties before and although I wouldn’t say they are less enjoyable it is certainly a different experience when you have to accommodate for the preferences and living habits of a whole group of other people. My brother and my best friend have the same goal for camping that I do – to eat as much as possible and to enjoy the water. That’s about it. But with larger camping groups I’ve been forced to go hiking, or pick berries, or take pictures or do whatever touristy nonsense that gets in the way of me and my BBQ ribs.

But I have to say what I enjoy about camping with a larger group of people is that I often get to see the gear that other people have. I’ve seen a lot of unnecessary camping supplies in my life but I’ve also seen some great tents that I wouldn’t really buy for myself otherwise since a 4 person tent is normally all I need. However, one of my favourite things is to wander in and out of other people’s tents to see what their setup is like and I often find it interesting to observe different ways other people camp.

I recently had a chance to spend some time in a 6 man tent that I thought was pretty cool. I was able to spend a few nights sleeping in it and I got a good sense of the value of this product so I’d like to do a brief review. And then just for fun, I’m going to list 6 men that I would never want to have to spend any time with in a tent. Make sense? Ok good, here we go...

The first thing I noticed about this 6 man tent was the cabin-like design that stood out among the other tents that I see which usually belong to the dome category. So although this structure is not as strong against the wind as a dome, I really liked the space available and the roomy interior. I’m a fan of back-to- basics camping and although this product might not fall under the "cheap tents" category, it makes up for that by simulating a cabin pretty well. The height level was also really nice as I usually have to hunch when I’m in a smaller tent. I’m a sleeping bag kind of guy but you can fit cots into this tent and for the first time I allowed myself to sleep on one. I hate to admit it was a lot more comfortable than sleeping on a tent floor. I’m a summer camper so all of the mesh openings and ample ventilation came in handy. Something tells me however that you might need to bundle up a bit more if you camp in a harsher environment with rain and/or wind. I didn’t have to set this tent up myself but for a cabin design I was told it was pretty easy, and I can back that up just by looking at the product. No fancy wire manipulation or impossible pole placement, the thing stands firmly and you can see why. There’s also a port from which you can run an extension cord but that goes against my rule of basic camping. My worst nightmare would be seeing someone using that cord and blow drying their hair or plugging in a karaoke machine inside the tent. So for a 6 person tent I would say this would fit most of your camping needs. My only concern would be using it in more difficult weather, but you wouldn’t really take your family to do power camping in stormy weather anyways.

 Like I said I usually go camping with only two other people. I’ve also said (in another Hub) before that I would never need something like an 8 person tent because I could never think of 7 other people I’d want to go camping with. So along those lines, and since we are talking about a 6 man tent, I’m going to list 6 men I would never want to get caught in a tent with on a camping trip.

Oh, the product review is over by the way so you can stop reading if that’s all you were interested in.

George Clooney – My sister thinks George Clooney is smug and would be a jerk in real life. I don’t happen to share that opinion. He seems like a pretty level-headed guy and one of the lesser annoying stars out there. But the main reason I don’t want to be trapped n a tent with this guy is that he is so smooth that I’m afraid I’ll fall in love with him if confined in close quarters.

Tiger Woods – I actually wouldn’t mind being in a 6 person tent with Tiger Woods. It’s just that we wouldn’t be able to fit his fifteen mistresses which he would undoubtedly want to bring along.

Jay Leno – He would say he’s leaving the tent but then he’d set up his own tent right in front of mine. Then he’d come back into the tent and take my place.

Russel Crowe – wants to live in a tent that smells like cigarettes and Kangaroo meat?

Sean Penn – Camping is for fun not to talk about protests and political views. All this guy would want to do is fight for fire fly rights and how we should pay off the debt accumulated by bears.

Larry King – It’s a tent not a catacomb. I can’t imagine the nightmares I’d have with this living skeleton sleeping beside me.