Customer Reviews

Kelty Yellowstone 4-Person Tent (Navy/Grey)

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

 

 

This tent turned out to be just about perfect for car camping. It's a little heavy, but it sets up very easily and is very roomy. We used it on a very rainy night and aside from a slightly damp floor, we stayed very dry.

My only complaint is that the instructions are pretty lousy. There's no information at all on how to connect a footprint or how to use the gear sling. I spent a lot of time guessing and am still not sure I'm doing it right.

After sleeping in this tent for 5 weeks near the ocean (lots of fog/marine moisture at night), I can say it is waterproof with the rain fly (I also placed a tarp underneath it, as I wasn't willing to test the waterproof floor hypothesis) and is relatively quiet in the wind. It never came unstaked, the rain fly never flew off, never ripped or tore, the door zipper never jammed (and I was in a sandy environment), and it was very easy to put up. The little ceiling storage pouch worked very well as well.

Personally, I'd recommend this tent for no more than 1 or 2 weeks use at a time. What I can say positively about is that it is very obviously well-constructed and I expect it to serve me on shorter trips for many years to come. Oh, and the lightweight tent stakes it comes with are very prone to bending in compacted soil or sand.

We bought 3 of these for our scout troop and have had them out on 6 camps to-date. The tents look sharp and appear to be holding up well enough at this point in their life. They are a snap to put up/take down and they're roomy. I will say that if we were shopping for troop tents again, and we were staying with Kelty, we'd buy the Kelty Dome Trail 4 tent instead of the Yellowstone 4.
>>My biggest beef (and thus only 3 stars): The corner attachment points for the poles and rain fly are a single molded piece of plastic. While they look good now I have (hopefully unfounded) fears that these crucial points on a tent will weaken/break/etc (I have no faith that they'd stand up to a 130 lb boy in hiking boots if he steps on the corner of one of these tents). If you lose any of these plastic pieces due to breakage the tent will almost immediately become unusable (unless you are crafty and can modify them to hold the poles at the corners and find a way to secure the rain fly. There is a nylon loop for the stake, but that's not a great option)
I'd recommend the Dome Trail 4 because it is similarly priced, weighs less, and has aluminum poles (I'll also note that I have the 6 man version of the Trail Dome and its still great after 6 yrs of use (with 3 of those years as a Scout Master). Hope this helps in making a buying decision (esp if you're torn between to product offerings from Kelty)

This is an excellent tent. Good quality. The rainfly, which covers the entire tent and not just the top half, deflected the rain and kept us dry. Just make sure it is drawn tight and secured. It fits three people perfectly, allowing for floor space for the dog or gear. The only down side for me is that it does not come with the stronger aluminum poles, which would make it lighter as well. It sets up easily. My brother-in-law liked ours so well that he had me order one for him. I did a lot of research before buying this particular tent. I definitely recommend this tent.

We bought this tent for car camping trips for the two of us. Make no mistake, we are not travel-light backpackers. We're just lowly car campers, so this tent is quite large for the two of us. But it works. They call it a 4-person, but again, if you are car camping, you don't need to try and sardine 4 people into this, because if you did, you'd become VERY good friends with your tentmates...

The tent sets up quickly and easily. You secure it down on 4 corners with aluminum stakes, and there are guylines included for rock setups, or in windy conditions. There are two fiberglass poles which make up the strucure of the tent, secured with plastic clips attached to the tent. The door is nice and large and the tent is nice and high in the center. Makes for easy clothes-changing in the morning, I can almost stand all the way up (I'm 5'10").

I would suggest laying a tarp down and then putting the tent on the tarp, as the floor of the tent is just nylon. Seems like it could tear if placed directly on rocky ground, or may let water in under rainy conditions.

Make no mistake, this is not really a backpacking tent, though there is nothing to say it could not be used for that purpose. It's a good size tent, best used for 2 or 3 car campers.

I guess this proves that you get what you pay for. We've owned a $300+ Kelty tent (Vortex4) that has held up perfectly for 1-3x's a year usage for the past 10 years. Now that we have kids we need more room, which is why we bought this tent.

Pros:
-Price is affordable.
-Set up is really easy if you know how to set up a tent.
-Spacious enough for us to sleep an adult, playpen for toddler, and have a changing area.
-Kept us warm at night in 40 degree windy weather.

Cons:
-The clasps that hold the poles to the tent are the silliest design, in our opinion. We're used to having poles that slide through fabric sewn to the tent.
-The screen fabric is extremely cheap material, and tore at the slightest tug when it got stuck in the zipper--after our first use!
-The flaps that cover the door zipper are a pain in the tuckus, requiring the use of two hands to close the zipper to avoid snagging, and have complete closure.
-Because of the tent fly not covering the tent completely, it was pretty "flappy" sounding in the wind. Compared to our Kelty Vortex, which has a fly that covers the tent completely, it's pretty loud.

I'll stand by Kelty products still because all that I've owned but this have been great. For this tent, if you're looking for a cheap tent that won't last a long time, and if you're a rare - occasional camper, maybe get this one. If you can, spend a little more on a better quality Kelty tent.

I've probably used this tent about 4 times now. The assembly is very easy. It is my first tent, though. The inside floor piece is really thin so you will want to get the ground-covering. The tent-fly is very tight.

This tent is remarkably strong. I was camping at Ocotillo Wells, CA desert state park when it started to rain. The rain came down very hard along with wind gusts up to 20mph. All night it rained and I was in my tent very warm and dry. I was surprised it held together so well, there were times when the wind blew so hard I thought it would tear. There was some condensation on the floor of the tent, but no water. It is very compact and light and very easy to assemble. The one drawback however is the tent stakes are too short. I recommend using at least 10" stakes. This tent held together well for a 3 season tent. I would recommend this tent to a friend.

Very nice and light weight. About half the weight of my previous tent of the same size. Easy to set up with 2 people.

This tent delivers on quality and ease of errecting. The floor is light weight so purchase footprint, but don't purchase the Kelty footprint which is same material as tent and pricy. The instructions are not very good and did not show how to use the supplemental tiedowns. It also included a mesh square with ties, but there is nothing to identify what it is or how it is used. Once the user has errected the tent, I believe it can be done in 10 minutes. The design and construction of the tent is good quality and is well worth the cost. The tent is light weight and is easy to backpack. The supplied tent stakes are a little weak so I purchased heaver stakes to ensure tent stayes in place in heavy winds. I would make this purchase again and would recommend it to anyone.