Wenzel Ponderosa 10- by 8-Foot Four-Person Two-Room Dome Tent

by Wenzel

Product Features

• Four-person tent with lightweight construction for hikes, cycling trips, and other camping occasions
• Lightweight, shock-corded fiberglass frame with pin and ring connection for quick setup and break down
• Weather-armor polyester fabric with polyurethane coating is tough and reliable
• Dutch D-style doors; removable divider curtain for 2-room orientation; 4 mesh roof vents
• Sonic-sealed, welded floors; measures 10 feet long x 8 feet wide; 10-year limited warranty

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Great for hiking and biking trips, the Ponderosa two-room tent is lightweight enough at 10.8 pounds to carry on a backpack or saddle bags yet spacious enough to sleep four people at once. The tent base measures 10 feet by 8 feet, with a height in the center of 60 inches--more than enough space for an informal game of cards at midnight. The removable divider curtain, meanwhile, adds a bit of privacy in crowded conditions. Construction details range from a shock-corded fiberglass frame with a pin and ring connection to a weather-armor polyester fabric with a polyurethane coating. The frame is designed for quick and easy setup--a far cry from the clunky frames of yesteryear--while the coated fabric is reliable and sturdy regardless of the weather.

And should the rains come pouring down, the tent's armor-tough seams and water-repellent threads, zippers, and webbing stand ready to resist. The tent even includes sonic-sealed floors that are welded (not sewn) to eliminate stitch and needle holes, ensuring that water from rain-soaked dirt won't sneak in. Additional details include three windows (two in the front and one in the rear), Dutch D-style doors for easy entry from either side of the tent, and four mesh roof vents for circulation and moisture control. The Ponderosa is backed by a 10-year limited warranty.

Amazon.com Tent Guide
Selecting a Tent
Fortunately, there are all kinds of tents for weekend car campers, Everest expeditions, and everything in-between. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Expect the Worst
In general, it's wise to choose a tent that's designed to withstand the worst possible conditions you think you'll face. For instance, if you're a summer car camper in a region where weather is predictable, an inexpensive family or all purpose tent will likely do the trick--especially if a vehicle is nearby and you can make a mad dash for safety when bad weather swoops in! If you're a backpacker, alpine climber or bike explorer, or if you like to car camp in all seasons, you'll want to take something designed to handle more adversity.

Three- and Four-Season Tents
For summer, early fall and late spring outings, choose a three-season tent. At minimum, a quality three season tent will have lightweight aluminum poles, a reinforced floor, durable stitching, and a quality rain-fly. Some three-season tents offer more open-air netting and are more specifically designed for summer backpacking and other activities. Many premium tents will feature pre-sealed, taped seams and a silicone-impregnated rain-fly for enhanced waterproofness.

For winter camping or alpine travel, go with a four season model. Because they typically feature more durable fabric coatings, as well as more poles, four-season tents are designed to handle heavy snowfall and high winds without collapsing. Of course, four-season tents exact a weight penalty of about 10 to 20 percent in trade for their strength and durability. They also tend to be more expensive.

Domes and Tunnels
Tents are broadly categorized into two types, freestanding, which can stand up on their own, and those that must be staked down in order to stand upright. Freestanding tents often incorporate a dome-shaped design, and most four-season tents are constructed this way because a dome leaves no flat spots on the outer surface where snow can collect. Domes are also inherently stronger than any other design. Meanwhile, many three-season models employ a modified dome configuration called a tunnel. These are still freestanding, but they require fewer poles than a dome, use less fabric, and typically have a rectangular floor-plan that offers less storage space than a dome configuration. Many one and two-person tents are not freestanding, but they make up for it by being more lightweight. Because they use fewer poles, they can also be quicker to set up than a dome.

Size Matters
Ask yourself how many people you'd like to fit in your fabric hotel now and in the future. For soloists and minimalists, check out one-person tents. If you're a mega-minimalist, or if you have your eye on doing some big wall climbs, a waterproof-breathable bivy sack is the ticket. Some bivy sacks feature poles and stake points to give you a little more breathing room. Also, if you don't need bug protection and you want to save weight, check out open-air shelters.

Families who plan on car camping in good weather can choose from a wide range of jumbo-sized tents that will accommodate all your little ones with room to spare. A wide range of capacities is also available for three- and four-season backpacking and expedition tents. Remember, though, the bigger the tent you buy, the heavier it will be, although it's easy to break up the tent components among several people in your group. It's also helpful to compare the volume and floor-space measurements of models you're considering.

Product Description

Wenzel Ponderosa Sport tent is great for hiking and biking. Lightweight carry weight of 10.8 pounds, is easy to pack for those day/night short trips. Tent base is 10 feet by 8 feet wide with a 60" center height. W back to back Dutch "D" style doors and 3 windows, 2 in front and 1 in the rear and all with inside zip for your convenience. One removable divider curtain and 4 mesh roof vents for circulation and moisture control. Shockcorded fiberglass frame with pin and ring connection for easy set-up and tear-down. At Wenzel we have a tradition of creating rugged, durable, top performing camping gear. We earned the reputation as America's family camping brand after more than a century of providing uncompromising quality and high value to our customers. Customer Care at 1-800-325-4121

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 27 x 6 x 6 inches ; 14 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 11 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B000F1WH28
• Item model number: 36277
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #75,650 in Sports & Outdoors (See Top 100 in Sports & Outdoors)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great tent... misleading sleeper size, September 15, 2007

By 

beth - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wenzel Ponderosa 10- by 8-Foot Four-Person Two-Room Dome Tent (Sports)

This tent was pretty easy to put up, even for a little first timer like myself ( I am under 5 feet and was able to do it by myself, although it recommends 2 people). Definately use 2 people if they are available, simply for holding the rods steady as the tent goes up. It drizzled a bit on the camping trip, and the tent held up well with no extra sealant, and was tall enough for me to stand in. The privacy curtain came in handy while dressing or napping, since I shared my tent with 1 other person most of the trip. The number of people that fits in the tent is misleading, the tent says it fits 4-5 people, when what it really fits is 3 twin size air mattresses side by side, with about 1 or 2 inches on either side. If there are just sleeping bags, no air mattresses, it could probably fit about 4 people. The tent comes down just as easily as it goes up and fits nicely into the provided bag.

Happy camping!

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good tent - good value, June 25, 2007

By 

Older Traveler (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wenzel Ponderosa 10- by 8-Foot Four-Person Two-Room Dome Tent (Sports)

My husband and I researched before deciding on this tent. We are casual campers so we didn't need to spend a lot of money. But we wanted enough space for an air mattress and all our gear without having to push everything up along the sides. And we wanted easy set up. This tent fits the bill very well. There is gobs of room for 2 people and all their stuff. At 5' 1", I am able to stand up in the center (hubby has to bend over a bit). We used it this weekend and it was perfect for our needs. We did read that it is important to seal the seams when getting a new tent because of the little holes created by the sewing needle. We did that as soon as we got it, but we had perfect weather this past weekend, so I still don't know how well it will hold up in crappy weather. I have high hopes, however. We had no trouble at all setting it up and all in all, we are very pleased with our purchase.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Tent, May 7, 2007

By 

Diane Cloer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wenzel Ponderosa 10- by 8-Foot Four-Person Two-Room Dome Tent (Sports)

We went camping for the first time this weekend with this tent...and of course it RAINED all weekend. As with all tents you should put some sort of seam sealer on the rain flap...I did after i put the tent up but couldn't reach the top....it did drip a bit where I didn't put the sealer..but i will take care of that. Great tent help up really well in the rain and extreamley heavy winds we had. Don't be scared off by the dripping again the seam sealer is like someone else said...a big chapstick you run along the seams...very easy!