Customer Reviews

Kelty Trail Dome 4 Four Person Tent

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Price: $159.99 at local Sports Authority

Weather Conditions: Cloudy, with sunbreaks. 2 days car camping.

Weight: Fairly light. 8 lbs.

Set-Up: The strength and durability of the aluminum poles are definetly worth the investment. You don't have to worry about snapping the poles unlike the fiberglass poles. I recommend putting the poles in the base "fastex" clips first, and then attaching the plastic clips on second. It's not really clear in the instructions. If you just bought this tent, I recommend practicing pitching the tent a few times. The first run took almost 30 minutes. I was able to set up this tent in under 10 minutes by myself. Always, always use a footprint or tarp when camping to save you from damaging the tent floor and moisture from the ground. Be sure to sweep your area of pine cones and small rocks. I also recommend getting beefier stakes. I've read the MSR Groundhog stakes are nice, but I got some $3 plastic ones at Walmart for a set of 6.

Tent fly: I like how the tent fly "clips" into the fastex clips at each corner. Also, I've read complaints of how the tent fly doesn't provide a good awning if you decide to step out during the rain. Pay attention to the color coded straps that will tell you how the tent fly is installed.

Front opening: The zipper of the opening is overstretched near the top. I was nervous that the zipper couldn't handle the stress of the two poles stretching it. I had to use a fastex clip with a strap (similar to the cross strap on a backpack) to wrap around the poles and pull them together to relieve the stress on the zipper. That solved the problem.

Storage compartments inside the tent: There are 4 mesh pockets at each corner of the tent. But they're aren't any hooks near the top of the tents if you wanted to hook a lantern to the roof.

Inside Space: I'm 5'7" and I was able to stand up completely with my head crouched a little bit. This is truly a 2 person camp with gear. I was able to fit a queen size air mat with no problems. The zipper wasn't as quiet as I hoped it to be. It still sounded like a zipper being pulled. The zipper was very smooth once I adjusted the two poles with the plastic strap. I didn't see any condensation the next morning, so I guess the tent vents very well.

Suggestions for design: This would be a perfect tent if it had a vestibule to store dirty clothes, boots, etc. A 2nd door would be nice, too.

Overall, I think I'll upgrade the the Kelty Gunnison 4.1 since it has a vestibule and a 2nd door. This is a nice tent for the camper on a budget.

Kelty makes great tents. They are well-made and go from box to fully setup in a matter of a few minutes. Very easy to set up!!!! We got this tent for two people and it works great with our queen airbed mattress. There is enough room for another person inside but not another mattress. The queen mattress touches 3 walls with a nice space left to store gear and clothing bags. We used it this past weekend and it was perfect. The tent is very lightweight and even though we were car-camping, it would be possible to carry this tent in a backpack.
Don't get this tent if you have a family with kids, etc. Get a bigger tent, but I would recommend you get a Kelty! They are worth the extra $$.

Great tent. Went through a couple heavy rain storms and watertight as long as you keep equipment off the front and back upper portions. The tub is watertight, the fly keeps the sides dry, if equipment is touching the front or back above the tub floor water will come in. That's because the front and back above the tub is breathable nylon. But nothing a few towels can't clean up if you wake up in the night in a rain with equipment against that part of the front and back. As in most tents, this is hardly a 4 person tent. It is 6'x8' afterall. (I guess each person gets 2'x6') I used it for 3 weeks straight but as a one person with gear and found it perfect. If 4 people were to use it, they better be kids and have another place to store gear. It is indeed freestanding. I was in a sheltered area and never staked it out. But then again I was car camping and had plenty of gear in it. If I was at the beach or any other windy area, I would stake it down or find it rolling away I'm sure. Setup was easy but as in any tent, trying it at home first will make sure you have all parts and look smoother at the campsite the first time. I would suggest a ground cloth if car camping to extent floor life but that goes for any tent.

Not super light for serious backpacking but for an overnight or weekend trip where you won't be carrying huge amounts of food and other gear and if you can share some of the other gear's weight with another person, it would be one of my first choices.

I actually used this tent while working out of town while remodeling a house. Set it up on the patio and had access to electricity and used a radiator style electric heater in there on a week of record cold. Several nights below freezing and with the electric radiator style heater in there the tent stayed above 55F (60s for the most part) so with a electric radiator style heater it can be used in the winter as well.

The wind flap on the door zipper got stuck in the zipper often but this is common with any tent with a weatherproof door. Just be careful and use 2 hands when possible.

Seems to have classic Kelty Quality. (I used a Kelty frame pack hiking the AT years ago) Sad to say it was made in China, but quality seems to still be there.

I bought this tent in early 2008 for about 1 4 0 and it is still doing very well. For less than hundred it a steal. very highly recommended!

Received quickly. First time out it rained and snowed, everything stayed dry. Tent was a bit tricky getting the floor to lay right.
Good buy for the $$$.

This tent was exactly what I was looking for, and the price could not be beat. Most "4 person" tents are really only good for 2 or 3 people, but I could easily see 4 people comfortably sharing this tent. It is relatively easy and quick to put up/take down. I wouldn't recommend it as a backpacking tent, as it is on the heavy/bulky side for that.

I've only ever owned Kelty tents, and this is a good example of why - it is rugged and looks good too.

I bought this tent so my 9 yr old son and I could go camping together. Our needs were for a simple, cheap tent to keep off the spring--> fall weather in the US mid-west. This tent delivers exactly as expected; good value for money with no frills.

We liked;
- lots of room for two of us on cots. *Forget* the 4-person description; you'll be sleeping on top of one another.
- very simple to set up. As (rusty) novice campers, we needed something simple and quick to set up. We got our routine down to ~10 mins.
- fairly light to haul around, but I recommend car-camping. It's a little heavy for dad + kid to move on our backs for a long time.

We didn't like;
- no spare tent pegs. If we lose one, we're stuffed....
- difficult-to-orient flysheet. I still can't figure out which end is the front and which is back. It looks goofy 50% of the time.
- no front 'lobby'. The front zip opens directly out, so there's nowhere to boil water etc in poor weather.

If all you need is a solid, simple tent for weekend camping in mild weather, this tent is a very good choice. It's not perfect, but it's good value for the money.

The tent is AWESOME!!! The poles are very durable and secure, the zipper is smooth, and it is very lightweight for its size. But I have not tried it in stormy weather. The only disappointment I had was the size. It fits 3 people quite nicely, but with 4 people, you need to have the people lay diagnolly. The floor size is actually about a foot smaller when setup. A portion of the floor is forced upward by the force of the poles. I would not reccomend this tent for any group over 3 people. This price is a steal when compared to REI prices!

I almost rated this 4 stars because I am sure it is better than most tents but I had very high expectations for the price. I like it. It is OK. The longer it holds up the more I will like it. I camp in the Northeast part of the country.

For 10 years I used a cheap 3 person Winnebago tent. I loved it. Was perfect and would have bought it again if it was available. The floor finally wore through and wasn't waterproof. I stepped up (in price), did my research and selected the Kelty Trail Dome 4 person tent based on the company reputation and these reviews.

I've used the tent 4 times (2x in back yard with kids in perfect summer weather, 1x in heavy rain and 1x in chilly weather). These are my thoughts for your consideration.

Things I like... 4 corner mesh storage sacks which are good for keeping things in easy reach. 4 hanging loops which can be used with a clip to hang lanterns or fans. Tent is light because of the materials used in stakes and poles which even though light are thick and seem sturdy so far. Tent storage bag is well designed with pull handles and clips. Easy to set up. First time took maybe 20-30 mins in the back yard and now I could set up in between 5-10 mins depending on how motivated I am. The tent stakes are light and thick and took the mallet pounding so far. The tent stakes never loosened, came out of the ground, were easy to pull out and have not bent under easy conditions to date.

Things I'm not sure about yet... The rain fly design is new to me. Don't count on figuring it out for the first time under the gun. A tip to shorten the learning curve is the fly poles go under the rain fly in the front and back of the tent attached by velcro straps and slotted into each corner of tent about 3/4th's of the way up the tent poles. The front of the rain fly is curverd different than the back to provide cover for the door. The manual provided could have covered that better. Not small enough in storage bag to be packed in an extra large Dry bag for river trips unless you sacrifice other things you want to bring and keep dry. Used a separate 2x ZipLoc storage bag for the tent in my canoe. Floor material is thin enough to feel every twig or pebble but I assume and hope it is made with durable puncture resistance material. I bought the footprint that is available after the first use and found that material also thinner than I expected so be sure to have some sort of mattress to be comfortable sleeping and be careful kneeling on the bare floor of the tent. During heavy rain the tent stayed mostly dry (faired better than any of the other 8 tents at my campsite and some of those tents were thrown away after the trip by unhappy and wet campers who stopped by Target or Walmart on the way to the launch site). There was some drops and condensation that seemed to come through seams of the tent that were in contact with the rain fly which were easily mopped up with a paper towel. I would have preferred not to see any water via the seams and I hope the tent holds up for future rain. The ventalation seems about right. With the rain fly off I got cold in my fleece bag when the temperature dropped below 60. With the rain fly on I would have liked a tent fan in 80 degree weather. Not much visability out from the roof or door with the rain fly off and hardly any (small view though top of door) with the rain fly on. Would have preferred another foot of mesh down from the roof to see stars and a zipper window on the door when not raining for camping views. I like the zipper pull cords attached to the door zippers although I had to keep making sure the inside ones or outside ones stayed on their respective sides and confirm via flashlight in the dark to keep the tent 100% bug proof. The tent when assembled seems to have a lot of stress on it when attached to the poles which keeps all sides arched up off the ground which is good for wet weather but causes concern for long term use. A section of each tent pole seems to have a slight bend already. Tent seems smaller than the 3 person I used to have. Technically you could sleep four kids. Will be tight with me and my two children. You can fit either 2 twin mattresses or one queen mattress. The material on the door is really streached tight which makes zipping the door open or closed not as easy as it should be and I hope the stress does not cause zipper failure. There is a material flap along the zipper that velcros down over the length of the zipper which I assume protects against water. The zipper flap material can catch and stick in the teeth of the zipper which requires extra care to avoid any undesired damage.

I recommend the tent as the best I know of and hope it lasts as expected.

Bought this tent at a local Sports Authority for $190.00. We bought the tent because of the reputation of Kelty. Setting it up for the first time in our backyard we bent a pole. Had to guess at how to set it up because it had no instructions. We have been camping for close to 30 years. From tents to R.V,'s and this one had us puzzled. We will be on the road for almost 3 weeks. To have a tent pole bend on day one is a bad omen. We're taking in back. I would not recommend this tent to anyone.