Customer Reviews

Wenzel Grand Lodge 14- by 12-Foot, 8 Person Cabin Dome Tent

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

 

 

I love everything about this tent except the rainfly. It does not deflect rain. It collects it. My first tent collapsed under the weight of collected rain in the fly. The steel poles fractured & tore multiple holes through the tent sides. We did have flood conditions in that storm so I let it go to 'the not so normal heavy rains'. I really liked everything else about it so I ordered another one. It is very spacious, has sturdy fabric & can be set up by one person very easily. However, the new tent also endured a thunderstorm & continued to collect rain. The best thing to do in rain is unhook the fly from the fly poles & stake the fly directly to the ground. It has a straight line & works better. Now that I figured that out I love it, but, it was an expensive lesson.

After researching about a dozen different tents over several weeks, I decided there was not a tent available that would fit exactly what I was looking for. But the Wenzel Grand Lodge came the closest to it, so that's what I bought.

We considered other brands' large tents. But in many of the campgrounds we frequent, the sites would not easily accommodate some of the larger dimensions. This tent is 14x12, with a total of 168 sq. feet. We looked at one tent I liked that was 17x10, with 170 sq feet. But the extra 3 feet of length would mean our options for locating it would have been more limited.

My family of four camps with a ton of gear. But we like to enjoy camping, not endure it. And we like much of it in the tent with us, so I wanted a tent with lots of storage space. This tent has it. We have two large Slumberjack cots for my wife & me, and two Thermarest pads for our kids. And there was still room for all our clothing, two folding chairs, and a tall heater.

The tent was easy to set up the first time, but you have to follow the directions on the tent bag. The poles are color coded and it's easy to see what connects where. I don't know how long the colored stickers on the poles and connectors will last, so I will be marking them myself with a paint pen.

The first night we got a little chilly when the temp dipped down to about 40º. We had a small heater, but it was not enough to maintain warmth in this big tent. Especially when you consider the top of the main tent is about 95% screen. So I went into town the next day and bought a larger heater and two king-size sheets. I spread the sheets out over the top of the main tent, covering the screen top pretty well. That night it got down to about 37º, but we were toasty warm. Lesson learned. I think for long term we will have a seamstress I know add some velcro strips to the top of the tent and the sheets.

The third night it rained off and on all night. There were no thunderstorms, but it was a steady, fairly hard rain. I had Scotchguarded the entire tent, so I was anxious to see how it would hold up. The next morning we had two small puddles where rain has wicked through the tent wall due to something inside touching the wall. Otherwise, it was completely dry. I was pleased with the results, considering how much it had rained.

We're all really pleased with this tent. The day we were leaving I asked my six-year-old daughter if she wants to go camping again soon. She replied, "Yes, Friday!"

I have the Swiss Gear version of this tent and I give it a C+. It has enough room for me, my wife, five children, and our gear. It is easy to set up after a couple of practice runs. However the door zipper snags constantly on the flap which covers it, it could be improved. The one thing that could lead to a disaster is the rainfly. In a rainfall it starts to collect water between the roof poles until the weight bends the poles if you don't push the water off from the inside. I had to replace two sections of pipe with conduit after such an incident.

Unlike large dome tents which require one person to hold up the tent from the inside while a second person connects the poles, this tent can quite easily be put up by one person. I have some concerns about the large ceiling area dedicated to mesh screen. It seems like it would be impossible to retain any heat inside. But, of course, the ventilation on a hot day is great. The rain fly has separate tie-downs which lessens the likelihood that wind will pull out the tent stakes, which often happens when the same stake holds both a tent pole and a rainfly rope. Lots of room but somewhat heavy. $119.00 at Sam's Club. I'm happy with my purchase.

I purchased this tent last fall, and used it for the first time this Memorial Day Weekend. We were very close to a tornado, we had 60 mph winds and 3 inches of rain, the tent held fine and kept us dry. I have 2 children, we use the 2 rooms of the tent as bedrooms with one large queen airbed in one, and 2 single airbeds in the other. there is still lots of room for gear(although I never could figure out where the storage loft was), and plenty of head room for my 6ft tall husband. I have set the tent up myself, it is a great design and very easy to both set up and break down. I love this tent and would recommend it to anyone.

Just like the previous reviewer, we loved the spaciousness of this tent. It is HUGE! There was room for everything and no crowding. Then, the rains came. Now granted, it was a real hard rainstorm and lasted for hours, but the rainfly collected water. All through the night the first time we camped in it, we were having to stay awake and push up on the ceiling to dump the water. We didn't get wet that night, but no sleep. The second time it was camped in, another rainstorm, but this time the tent collapsed under the weight of the collected rain and broke the steel poles. If I had thought about disconnecting the fly poles and staking them to the ground to make a straight line, I would have! But that thought never crossed my mind; so I do not think I will purchase another one of these.

This is a great tent for fair weather with lots of room for a family and their gear.

If you buy a Wenzel tent you better pray for good weather or bring a giant tarp. Yes this tent pools water along the edges of the rain fly, but worse than that- the rain just poors straight through the roof as if it's not even covered. I have gone camping every year for 5 years now with my family. Three years ago we "upgraded" our smaller Coleman tents to big, roomy Wenzels. The teens inherited the old Coleman tents. The is the second year in a row (the first year it didnt rain) we were forced to evacuate in the middle of the night and if my tent holds up without someone there to push out all the water damming on the edges when I go back I will have quite a mess to clean up. The teens however are safe & dry in their old Colemans. Both the Wenzel tents and all the gear in them are filled with water right now. It's making me hate camping. This was an expensive tent, who the f*&% makes a tent that isn't waterproof? My sister purchased a different model large, dome style Wenzel tent and had the same exact results.

Have found this to be an excellent choice for the two of us and a massive amount of gear. Very easy setup. Had been using a 6-person dome + 4-person for storage. This setup is infinitely better. Love the head room and being able to walk around. Have had some minor problems with water pooling on the rain fly. Will give another reviewer's suggestion to stake directly to ground a try. Purchased on sale for $130 + free shipping and have been extremely pleased.