Customer Reviews

Columbia Mt. Bachelor First-Up Hex Three-Person Dome Tent

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After camping in the same tent for close to a decade, I was a little intimidated about changing my routine and upgrading my gear. I'm a minimalist when it comes to camping, I like to know I'm not going to have to worry about leaks and that I'm not going to blow away, but other than that, I considered everything else "cush" and the domain of lazy suburbanites pretending to "rough it." So when I got this tent for my b-day a few weeks back, I was skeptical: it seemed like there were lots of bells and whistles for something that was supposed to be an unencumbered activity. I mean, really, who needs a tent that practically puts itself up?

All this is to say, I couldn't have been more wrong. The "First Up" system in the tent does add bulk to the package, but this isn't a tent you're going to be using for backpacking anyway. This is a tent you'll be happy to have as a base for other activities if you're spending more than a day or two there, or if you're traveling with more than one other outdoor companion. The tent almost literally puts itself up-- fold it out, pull up the center mass, and push down on a button, and your tent is set. Getting staked in and figuring out the sliders on the guyline system was a bit time-consuming the first time around, but I'm chalking it up to it being just that-- the first time. The next time, I'd be surprised if it takes me 15 min from start to end.

The interior is fairly roomy for a three-man tent, and gives you plenty of area to stash gear, fold your clothes out of your pack (if you're the type), and still have ample space for your sleeping bags and pads. The large screen panels are nice, but if there's so much as a chance of rain, it sort of defeats the purpose. My only complaint with this tent is the lack of window space once the rainfly is installed: the front door doesn't have the zip-out panel to expose a screen door, and the massive screen panels are completely covered by the fly. I'd love to have a clear panel in the fly for a view of the night sky, or some sort of cutaway other than the one back window. The tent does ventilate well, it's just the views are an important part of camping for me.

The gear loft system is nice, and is taut enough you can stash your keys there and they'll be held securely against the dome of the tent: it's very out of the way, and it certainly ensures you keep up with them (i.e. not worrying about them dumping out of your drybag when your boat's rolled and you're swimming a rapid, or that they're bouncing out of your backpack as you're flying downhill at 30 mph on your mountain bike is a definite bonus). The gear lockers open to both the outside and inside, which means, when you're done unpacking your pack, you can stash it in one of the lockers from the outside, wake up the morning you're leaving, unzip from the inside, and pack up without ever having to get dressed or step outside. In my old tent, the gear lockers were fully open to the inside of the tent, so my dog isn't really happy about the new set up: as far as she's concerned, I've taken her bedroom away! As far as getting gear out of your way and keeping things neat though, this is a big improvement over my last tent.

It may seem silly, but I do like the hanging poockets inside the tent, and the floor mat at the door. My shoes and river shoes could be removed at the mat, and that kept dirt and leaves from being tracked inside. The gear loft also doubled nicely as a drying rack/ clothes "hanger" when it started raining overnight and I wanted dry shorts to paddle in the next morning. On the whole, it's a well-designed and well thought-out tent, and even without my re-sealing the "factory taped" seams, it kept out the water and rain in unexpected weather very nicely. An added bonus is being able to get back at the end of a long day or weekend, and knowing you'll be able to spend the bulk of your time showering and packing up since it only takes about 5 min to break camp (the tent comes down just as quickly as it goes up, if not faster!).

Other then the windows/ screen issue, I'm a very satisfied camper.

We recently purchased this Columbia tent for our 8yo son. I was a little nervous because it was a Christmas gift from `the big guy' and if it wasn't what we wanted, we were stuck with it. I'm happy to say I'm pleasantly surprised. As a Mom I gravitate toward Columbia products because they last and are well made and this tent isn't any different.

Our son is in his second year of boy scouts so we knew we would need a tent at least twice a year. Knowing very little about tenting and needing something easy to set up for 2 people we chose this tent and I'm glad we did. It is six sided with the front and back panels being slightly larger (this is the front door and rear window). The poles are built into the tent and very strong. The first hux hub is amazing. All the poles connect into this and with a press of the hub the tent is up. Place two poles in the rain fly and it is good to go also. Very simple and easy.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I have only been camping once in my life and that was within the last six months. My son and I attended our first Mom and Me for Boy Scouts. My girlfriend invited us to stay in their tent and taught me so much that weekend about tenting (Thanks Jill). She explained about having an order to setting up your tent and properly tearing it down.

This tent is the perfect size for two people. Two single air mattresses fit nicely inside. As a novice camper I am very happy and can see us using it for many years to come. As far as the hub breaking, as a previous reviewer mentioned, I'm not worried. I called Columbia and they have always had a replacement guarantee on their products and I was told this includes their tents. Happy camping to all and to all a good night!

great idea, space, shape, ventilation and vestibules seemed lovely. the hub broke on our first trip out however, and this pretty much negated the quick setup. it did stay up and was only slightly shape distorted (only one drip from fabric touching). a hinge flipped backwards as well, and would Not Go Back. So a little wet there too. If the parts were solid I'd recommend it to anyone - the zipper's loud, and it's hard to put away correctly at first, and the hub and hinge broke. all of this could be manufacturing issues and i had bad luck, or it could have been design. I wish it had not broken, as it was otherwise ideal for me and my partner (primarily car campers). quite roomy for two folks and airbed and gear, though-

As a relative novice to camping, I was pleased to attend a Boy Scout Camp Out with my son and set up the tent in minutes. I used all of the extra time to help some of the other fathers who were struggling with their traditional pole tents. When we struck camp, I had an audience wanting to see how the tent comes down so quickly. A purist might scorn this tent but it really has every amenity including two gear lockers accessible by the outside or inside of the tent, two hanging organizers for personal articles or flashlights. Very roomy with a big view all around. I could sleep at night and have full view of the trees, stars and moon by looking up through the screens. For privacy, one might want to use the rain fly but give up the view. As a tall person, I was able to easily enter the tent since the doorway is quite high. When disassembling the tent, I was concerned about bending the built in poles at the hinges because it takes quite a bit of force at first to collapse. The second time however and the poles seemed to collapse easier.

This particular blog report is an update of tents I have written for families and individuals who love camping:

In the past, I have critiqued many camping tents for so many valid reasons. Particularly focusing on brand, durability, storage, room, and ease setting up a tent.

The newest addition of tents I own is the Columbia Mt. Bachelor tent. Please view my Tent URL below to critically examine the tents I have and the ones that have failed miserably. Please copy and paste URL below to the URL address to view photos of tents I have and do not have now (the reasons will be very clear once you see the photos):

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/fabler/slideshow?.dir=/7481&.src=ph

I just love my Columbia Mt. Bachelor First-Up Tent! I used my Mt. Bachelor tent when I went camping at Big Sur a few weeks ago (please copy and paste URL photos link to URL address to view photos):

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/fabler/slideshow?.dir=/4130&.src=ph

My Mt. Bachelor tent was very warm and cozy inside. I did have a problem setting up my Mt. Bachelor tent initially at first while camping at Big Sur State Park Campground at Campsite 6. My brother, John twisted the knurled knob below which was the wrong thing to do! Oy-evay! WRONG!

KUDOS TO REI BERKELEY, CA STORE! My humble gratitude is forever indebited to you! I had to take my Columbia Mt. Bachelor tent back to REI where I knew they would help me reassemble my tent, otherwise I would have to return my most favorite tent!

Please do not twist the knurled knob while setting up your Mt. Bachelor tent or you might find yourself at REI (Great big hug & thank you to Colin and two other REI employees in Berkeley, CA for repairing the faux pas blunder both my brother, John and I had done twisting the knurled knob causing the entire assembly to come apart! It took THREE STRONG REI Berkeley Men-Colin and I forgot the other two men's names reassembling my Mt. Bachelor Tent! The three men spent 45-minutes manhandling my Mt. Bachelor tent reassembling my brother, John and my blunder twisting the knurled knob! I will NEVER twist that knurled knob ever again!) or another camping specialty equipment store who are patient enough to reassemble your tent for FREE!

Anyway, just gently push the top portion of the mechanism down to set up or push up the knurled knob up to collapse the Mt. Bachelor tent. It's that simple. This time while camping this past weekend at Samuel P. Taylor State Park, I set up my Mt. Bachelor tent in three minutes! Awesome Tent!

It was super easy to set up, exactly what I had been needing. However, it was extremely windy and my tent collapsed only on one side where the wind was blowing. It could have been my fault because the bracket part may not have been properly in place. I'm really not sure if it was me or the tent ... it was DAM WINDY and practically blowing the tent sideways! I looked at the brackets the following day but heck, I was exhausted from not sleeping well and all I could do was tie string over the bottom bracket and stake the other end into the ground. After doing this the tent never collapsed ... whew! The next time I use this tent just to make sure it doesn't collapse I'll attach a pretty colored thin rope to match my tent and stake it to the ground. Yes ... a woman needs matching rope for a tent ... LOL!

The ventilation isn't very good, it's pretty much a big cover. However, there is a zipper on each side of the tent on the forward area that opens up. I couldn't find a place to attach the flaps or may be I missed it so I just wrapped it around the closest pole. I wish the back side had an opening, that would have been helpful. I live in Hawaii so you can imagine it gets pretty hot in the day when sleeping but at night it's very cozy.

Overall I love the design of a pop-up tent. I think anyone purchasing this will be pleased.

I did get the product really fast. I have not actually used it yet, because it is still winter but i will be using it in June.