Rei footprint which side up

Its components and fabric are not top of the line, but the design, execution, and quality for the price are excellent. This tent is spacious, durable, and easy to pitch. Taken all together, we would love to have this one ready to go for a leisurely weekend in the wilderness, whether we are driving up to the campsite or carrying it ourselves. GearLab is founded on the principle of honest, objective, reviews. Our experts test thousands of products each year using thoughtful test plans that bring out key performance differences between competing products.

And, to assure complete independence, we buy all the products we test ourselves. No cherry-picked units sent by manufacturers. No sponsored content. No ads. Just real, honest, side-by-side testing and comparison. Photo: REI Co-op. Share this article:.

Our Editors independently research, test, and rate the best products. We only make money if you purchase a product through our links, and we never accept free products from manufacturers. Learn more. Its dimensions are roomy, but if you wanted to split the weight and take it out for a weekend with a partner, it is versatile enough for both.

As one of the least expensive tents in this review, it is an excellent option for those looking for their first tent. It comes with a ton of storage capacity, and its symmetrical structure and color-coded poles make it easy to pitch. Compare to Similar Products. NEMO Dragonfly 2. Tarptent Double Rainbow. NEMO Firefly. Show full specification details Hide full specification details. Doors: 2 Weight: 21 lbs.

Capacities: 4P, 6P, 8P What we like: Very spacious interior, premium build quality, and tons of storage. Offered in four-, six-, and eight-person capacities, its familiar tunnel-like shape is a common sight at national parks and campgrounds around the U. Below we outline our experiences with the Kingdom.

To see how it stacks up to the competition, see our article on the best camping tents. With a long tunnel-like shape, two large doors, and near-vertical walls, the REI Co-op Kingdom offers fantastic livable space. Additionally, the long rectangular design allows for most people to stand up throughout the tent peak height is 75 inches.

For sleeping, the inch length just barely fits six standard sleeping pads side-by-side. And the open interior also works well with a large airbed or tall items like cots or a portable crib. For large groups, REI also makes the Kingdom 8 , which has a massive inch-long footprint.

In rainy conditions, the Kingdom is a strong performer. One end of the tent body is completely protected by the rainfly and vestibule, while the other is open. That being said, adding the large Mud Room vestibule covered below on the open end is a nice way to ensure full waterproof protection.

The Kingdom is designed to withstand a lengthy rainstorm, but its upright profile does not make it the best option in heavy wind. The REI Kingdom offers very good ventilation overall, with a double-wall design and plenty of mesh throughout the tent body. In particular, we like the adaptable rainfly that can be set up in three ways: fully deployed to provide maximum protection, rolled back halfway to reveal part of the mesh ceiling, or rolled up along the sides all the way to the mesh to create awning-like protection.

With either rolling option, you can generate a lot of airflow and still easily secure the fly if weather moves in. And should the rain start to fall, the top of the fly includes four vents for additional airflow during nasty spells although you may need to be strategic about which vents you open in sideways rain to keep water from dripping inside.

Organization is typically a strong suit on a premium tent, and the Kingdom is no exception. The Kingdom 6 and 8 also feature a room divider, which clips to the hanging loops that line the interior. When set up, it can be zipped closed for privacy or to create a separate sleeping space.

Along the exterior, the Kingdom has a single vestibule that covers the non-weatherproof door. The vestibule is fairly large for a camping tent at 29 square feet, and we like its revamped, adaptable design that can be converted into a generous awning with a pair of tarp poles poles are not included.

Tent Footprints are designed to protect your tent against the elements. So how do you use a tent footprint? Most manufacturers recommend putting the shiny side with the logo up.

To prevent pooling water the footprint is supposed to be inches smaller than the outside diameter of the tent. On those short weekend camping excursions that was all I really needed. I never really saw the benefit of dedicated footprints until I started working with ultralight gear. In our opinion, REI should have used their backpack-style Kingdom storage bag for the Base Camp, as it addresses these two main issues. Among large, six-person camping tents , the Base Camp 6 is one of the easiest and most intuitive to set up.

Its poles, sleeves, and webbing are color-coded, which means all you have to do is match them and clip everything together. We tested the six-person version of the Base Camp for this review, but REI also offers a four-person model. This allows for ample room to sleep, while leaving enough space to move around during the day without the need to stack sleeping pads and bags. For smaller parties of two or three, or those needing to limit their footprint size, the Base Camp 4 is a viable option its floor area is x 86 in.

The REI Co-op Base Camp 6 impressed us with its foul-weather performance, stout design, and quality materials, but there are plenty of formidable competitors. Furthermore, the generous use of mesh and modular rainfly on the Kingdom promote a lot of airflow and make it a better choice for warm summer camping trips. And the Kingdom has a number of aftermarket accessories, like the Mud Room, that increases both storage space and versatility for more, see our in-depth Kingdom review.

Like the aforementioned Kingdom, the Grand Hut has more of an upright design than the Base Camp, with translates to great overall livability with an open, cabin-like shape, near-vertical walls, and a tall peak height 78 in. Like the Base Camp, the Grand Hut is impressively hardwearing with a burly denier floor and denier fabric on the rainfly and tent body. Our biggest complaints with the Grand Hut are wind protection and storage: the upright walls and X-shaped pole structure are more susceptible to bowing in strong gusts, and the Base Camp offers more interior organization.

But with pre-bent poles and a unique halo-like structure along the sides of the roof, the Marmot has a more expansive interior. Additionally, the heavy use of mesh on the Limestone results in superior ventilation. And the rectangular floor dimensions of the six-person Limestone x in. Where the Base Camp gets the edge is vestibule space 44 sq. But the Base Camp pulls ahead in three key areas. And finally, the Base Camp has far better interior storage with its 14 well-distributed pockets.

Unless you need 4-season-worthy weather protection, the Base Camp is the more well-rounded design. The Big House is similar in size to the Base Camp with 83 square feet of floor area, but the inch peak height and near-vertical walls open up in the interior in a big way.

You can see the Base Camp 6 page here and support us in the process.