Customer Reviews

Swiss Gear St. Bernhard 10-Person Family Dome Tent

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

 

 

I purchased this tent about a week ago. Did a dry run in the backyard, which I highly recommend, to see how to set it up. The first thing that was frustrating about the tent was the bay window tension poles, they are inside of the tent. You have to attempt to feed these long poles through a pocket in an erect tent--not fun, but we got through it. Once it was up we Loved It! Lots of room but we noticed the room dividers did not want to zip shut, but we thought we just had the stacks too tight, easy fix. That night it rained, perfect, we can weather test the tent. Woke up the next day to a leaky tent. The seams on the bay window which are not covered by the rainfly leaked. No problem, we sealed the seams-- three times in and out-- water tested it again-- still leaked! It was like the bay window material was just wicking the water to the seams. One last thing to try, silicone water repellant spray-- that did the trick! I was so excited, the tent I really liked was now water resistant! Time to take it down. Remember those cumbersome tension poles in the bay windows? Well they did the tent in. Because they are inside they have to be removed first, while the tent is still taut. As I worked the first pole out I heard a POP! but just thought it was release of pressure on the tent, NOPE! It was a main tension pole holding the tent up. The fiberglass construction literally exploded at the top of the tent at one of the joints. Well that was the straw that broke the camel's back. Unfortunately a friend saw our tent and the deal we got and went out the day we set ours up and ordered one , too. UGH! Do not buy this tent, there is a reason why it is so cheap! Should have figured that out myself. :( On a positive note, Sportsman Guide, the company the tent came from was great and is giving me a full refund, no problem. Swiss gear, on the other hand, has terrible customer sevice! Still can't get ahold of them.

First time out bay window poles snaped.... for the money I expected more.... From a company as highly tauted as Swiss Gear I expected more.... Complete disappointment... My old Walmart brand dome tent lasted 5 years this pile wont be out for another trip.... I will begin my hunt to find replacement poles...wish me luck.

So the tent is cool very large, what I wanted but the rainfly isn't very good & we didn't even get rained on for that long or very hard. As for the durability... It seems to be ok except that one of the fast feet have already cracked. I guess it's not that bad but a little disapointing... I had a Coleman that lasted me for three years before it was no longer usable. I hope this one last at least half that, but I don't see that happening..

I just used this tent this weekend and it was wonderful...no dissappointmnet here!! I normally do not use the "rooms" because once you close the dividers the tent becomes too small...not here, both rooms are huge and it still has a walking space inbetween rooms. I had a queen air mattress and two twins and still had plenty of room...the twins fit right into the corners so no wasted space! Very easy to put up and take down....one person can do it without a problem...very happy with this tent!!!

Update : OH NO...my perfect tent gone to the dogs, on our third camping trip the pole in the snapped and went right through the tent..then when taking down the tent I removed the rain fly and another pole had sanpped at the top and went through! I am contacting the seller for a refund, one pole snapping could be a fluke but two means trouble!

Tent was big and comfortable until it rained. The parts of the tent not under the overtarp (both ends) leaked badly and I will have to invest in a large tarp to put over the tent to keep the rain out before I camp again. My brother, who bought a similarly sized tent for about $100 more was happy and dry inside, because their overtarp covered the whole tent. Strange design in that regard, and best for dry climates. Wish I had spent a little more for a better design.

We did the dryrun in the backyard and applied a waterproof spray and seam sealer (the Colman seam sealer does not appear to work and looks pretty unsightly like dry Elmers Glue). So we went camping last weekend and knew it was going to rain so we staked a 12x24 tarp over the tent. We woke up dry and happy! The tent was easy to erect and take-down. We are using it again next week for 4 nights so I will post again with an update. We also got this for $99.00 so we feel we got a great deal so far.

We purchased the Swiss Gear St. Bernhard tent a few weeks back when it was on sale for only $99.99 from the Sportsman's Guide (through Amazon). When it got here, I was impressed at how such a large tent could fit into such a small box. I was also happy that it included a storage duffle. We set it up in our backyard for a dry run before going camping and I was so impressed by how fast it set up. There were only 4 main poles, which made erecting the tent plain and simple. It was easy to insert the bay window poles, and after the set up, the tent seemed very sturdy. I sealed all of the seams, including the already taped rain-fly seams. The rainfly is huge and covers most of the tent. The floor is also very tough in appearance, and the electrical e-port is an added touch. Also, all of the mesh topping is great for stargazing. I will point out the I haven't actually taken this tent camping, but did have it set up for about 9 hours and we didn't have any problems. I'll edit this review after we camp in it for three nights. But, basically I wanted to calm peoples fears about the tent poles snapping during set up. If you follow the instructions, they wont. And just a tip, it helps to have someone inside the tent pushing up on the poles when trying to put the poles into the 'fast-feet'.

I bought this tent for my birthday camping trip last year. I knew a few ppl going with me were new to camping so I thought I might as well upgrade to a roomier tent. The first day the poles on the side that held up the window snapped. There was no wind that day. The next camping trip 3 support poles broke and ripped a hole in the canvas. I rigged the poles with duct tape and continued camping. I tried to find a place to buy more poles- yea good luck with that. Set it up again in the back yard for a sleepover and the rest of the poles broke. If you are looking for a disposeable tent you found one, cuz thats all your gonna get. I got 3 uses out of it and I am an experienced camper- 4 or 5 times a year for 8 years. Dont waste your money