Customer Reviews

Columbia (2005) Squall Ridge Six-Person Two-Room Family Dome Tent

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a difficult review to write, but I thought anyone interested in this tent should know some of my experiences with it. First off this is a gorgeous tent. It is spacious and airy. There is plenty of room above your head when standing for a large gear loft. The room divider is well designed and easy to install. The ventilation is excellent and makes for a dry(no condensation) experience.

I was able to erect this tent by myself, but it is a struggle. It is really a two person task. Once up, the final erection process is fairly straight forward and if you forget what to do next there are good instructions sewn into the tent carrying case. This carrying case is one of the best I have ever seen. It is very well designed and has some very nifty features. It has wheels so it can be pulled around luggage style. It has a zippered expandable feature which helps to compress the size or expand it depending on what else you might want to carry. The tent stakes were also some of the best I've seen. Strong and easy to use...looked like they could be driven into the roughest terrain.

We loved this tent, but ended up sending it back. Northpole, the makers of this tent, were absolutely excellent to deal with, but they were not able to deal with some inherent design flaws. The tension on the tent pole sleeves and on the tent where the top short pole crosses the long shock cord poles is tremendous. This area should have been reinforced both on the tent and on the sleeve. Upon first set up the stitching started to let go on one side and looked like it was ready to pop on the other. This design limitation makes this otherwise wonderful tent unusable.

The rainfly was easy to put on, but did not fit properly on one end and gave the tent a slight lopsided apprearance. The sleeve on one end of the door frame also had a 1" tear...totally unacceptable for a brand new tent. As I said, Northpole was wonderful in being willing to replace the fly, but that still did not resolve the problem with the tearing sleeve and tent attachment at the top on both sides, so I reluctantly returned the tent.

Perhaps Columbia and the makers at Northpole will address these issues in a latter model. If so, they would have an excellent tent that I would be happy to own.

I ordered this tent from Amazon, They sent a tent that is NOT the one in these pictures. I have wrote them, but they have not changed their description, so here is whats different:

2006:

1)The entrance system is missing the two poles (that square off the top of the rain shield) and the door is totally different.

2) There is NO Clean Sweep zippered floor flap

3)The rain sheild(cover) lays flat against the side of the tent. It does not stay taught without the poles stated in #1. I hope you like to swim, because the cover will just lay against the huge mesh side of the tent because of this (05 has much less mesh).

4) There is no wheeled carry bag as described.

5) This 06 tent does NOT use a post and Grommet system. It uses a ring and pin system like most Cheaper family tents.

6) There is NO removable door mat.

7) More mesh(so you must use the cover) and less fabric. Perhaps it is cheaper to use mesh, and just make you use the cover.

8)No hanging gear loft


I recieved this 2006 tent when I actually ordered the 2005 version described here. I was very dissapointed and I have returned it.

Sportsmans hopefully has the 2005 version. I just ordered from them. I hope to get the good one.

It is a shame that Columbia decided to strip this tent down for 2006. YOu can see the differences on their website. It is clear that this was to maximize profit. I think they are struggling in the tent industry. North Pole is making their tents...they also make all WALMART (OZARK TRAIL) tents too... That right there makes this a little iffy to me when I think of quality. I could buy a nice 10X12 walmart tent for $49.99, or this for $119 less all the $10 off coupons codes all over the internet.

We will see.

Good luck. One thing I will say, is the quality of the fabric seems nice and thick. Taped seems are good too.


JUst a quick note: Look at the 3rd and 4th picture. This is actually the 2006 model. All other pictures here are of the 2005 model. Notice the subtle differences. Look at the different shape, all mesh walls, door and compare to the other pics..The 3rd and 4th picture is what you actually recieve and is not described here.

Very good.
Be aware that the 2005 model floor is not tarp material. It is 1200MM nylon like higher end tents. Some may like the tarp bottoms, but you will find virtually no high end tents with this. Polyethylene is a good durable floor material whose main purpose is low cost which is most likely why it was introduced along with the all mesh sides in the 06 model.

All I can say is wow. It is outside in the rain right now. I made a footprint for it from 4MM thick painters plastic drop. Just cut it about 3-5 inches smaller than the tent, and it give it extra durability and waterproofness. $6.84 for a 10/25 drop at walmart.
Now it is perfect. So much nicer than the 2006 version with much more features and one that I didn't mention below. The windows zip closed from the inside for extra bad weather. The 06 models has ALL mesh everything with NO zips so you MUST depend on the cover.

Also, sportsmansguide and bargainoutfitters are the same company. Do a search for a $10 internet coupon and the shipping is free direct though Bargainoutfitters (4 dollars more at sportsmans). Same price as the stripped 06 model fufilled at Amazon.

IMPORTANT WHEN LOOKING:
2005 - model = CB-5500
2006 - model = CB-5550

It was kind of hard to set it up the first time.
Very poor instructions to help you doing the job, they could do a lot better with that.
Not a tent to be set up with less than two people, three is better, four people it's perfect.
After the initial task it's done, it's a great tent! lots of head room, very sturdy and good looking.
Very easy to bring down and wonderfull storage bag.
Overall, I'm happy with it.

This tent was excellent. Contrary to some of the other reviews, we found the tent to be fairly easy to set up, with a typical dome-style process. Anybody that has camped before with smaller 3 and 4 man tents should have little trouble setting it up.

The stakes are metal, and of good quality. The rain fly was a little confusing to set up initially, but ended up being fairly simple. Also, the rain fly easily rolls up on the sides so the tent cools down during the day, creating a pleasantly cool temperature in which to take afternoon naps...

Another great feature is that when rolled up the tent easily fits back into the duffel provided by Columbia. We recommend this tent.

Finally, the remote control light, while not very bright, is simply a cool gadget. We love this tent and look forward to years of camping. We highly recommend!!!

After reading the other reviews about the tent, I was excited about the pricing and features the tent had. Unfortuantely, as some of the other reviewers inferred, the model sent was not the 05 model as advertised but a new cheaper made version without the storage locker, wheels on the cart, and clean sweep and with more mesh. The price was still a decent buy and I hope to get much use but overall I was disappointed and expected better.

Unfortunately, even though the customer service person assured me that I would get the right model, I was sent the 2006 model, which is far inferior to the 2005 model. I posted a picture of the various visual diffences between the 2. But Amazon was great about returning the item at no cost to me. I am sad that this listing is still here because the next customer service person told me they did NOT have it in stock and I really wanted it. Also The pictures for this listing are the 2006 model.
The only way to really tell the model is a small number on the side of the box, right above the bar code that says 'Squall Ridge tm style # 5550' this is the 2006 model number that I returned. I hope this helps anyone else looking for this tent.

We realy like this tent. It worked great on the cool coast and worm climates. Advise to setup at home for first time setup. The rainfly is tricky at first, but after first setup everything is a snap. This temt was made to last! Columbia did a great job, two doors makes it easy to get in and out form eather side.

I will have to say this is the first tent I have ever owned or put together. That said I literally picked the tent up from the ups guy (ups mix up) and took it camping (yeah yeah I know I should have put it together beforehand and sealed the seams). The instructions are horrible, especially when your doing it for the first time and in the dark (my new lantern was broken in the box of course). Thank god for my ryobi flashlight, ok I did have a little light. So here I am trying to beat the weather, battery life and being eating alive my insects (you gotta love this stuff). Getting the tent together was made easier just by looking at the picture on the box it felt GREAT finally putting it up. No sooner my head hit the pillow it started to rain and did it rain we had some torrential rain the next day and I did get a little bit of water in the tent but that was due to not sealing all the seams.

I did spend sometime at the camp store checking out other tents and found the squall is of very good quality compare to others, some of the features listed on the site as mention by others are non existent. The footlocker, clean sweep and removable door mat are features seen in other Columbia tents which I figure they just copy pasted most of the descriptions from one to the other.

I love this tent and recommend it just learn from my mistakes and you will not be disappointed.

This tent has "tons" of open air space - making for great camping in Texas or anywhere else it is warm. Also, the rainfly is thick and has zippers, letting you open as little or as much as you want (in addition to the lower vents that can be left open if it is raining without getting water inside your tent). The materials are much better than those on the cheaper tents and well worth the extra money - especially if it is windy or rainy. It is a little difficult to get the main tent poles together and up if you are trying to do it alone(but it could be because I am only about 5'2" - and this tent is 72" tall.) Also, the description states the bag has wheels - which it does not. Based on the weight, this tent is not a backpacking tent (30+ pounds). I would also not make your decision to buy this tent based on the "remote control light" which works, but then again, so does a $5 flashlight. I would definitely recommend this tent for family campers who either can park near the campsite, or are willing to bring a wagon to tote it. Lots of room (we have 4 and a dog who camp) and good quality materials.