dome verses single pole canvas tent

Marilyn,

We have the single pole canvas type and it is quite easy to erect. We are able to fit a double swag as well as the kids beds in it. The canvas needs to be conditioned properly before use though.

As for marriage proof, our honeymmon was spent traversing the Alpine National Park and all I can say is that the tent stood up to all the unishment that we dealt it. LOL!!

Cheers Kev

Hi Marilyn,
Sounds like you've answered your own question; if you want something easy and quick to erect, then the single pole tent is the way to go, or even better, the Oztent, which is brilliant.
In my case, I prefer the dome tent for its small packing size and loads of extras inside it, so I am prepared to put up with a 5-minute erection time, vs 30 secs with the Oztent. The dome tents are generally very waterproof, being nylon, and I like the annexe area for storing luggage and food, leaving the main sleeping area free of clutter. The annexe is also useful for dining inside in foul weather. I have only experienced one serious storm in my dome, and it was best described like "wheat in the wind"; it bent over, but would not fall down or break. And we stayed dry inside.
Nylon tents can be packed up wet and not suffer from mildew (tho they will stink a bit) whereas cotton canvas needs to be dried soon after otherwise goodbye investment.
But size was the main factor for me, where I wanted to store the tent inside the vehicle. The Oztent must be stored on a roofrack, being nearly 2m in lenth.
Gerry

Hi Marilyn

Well from my time with dome to single pole tent I'd go the single which is what we did and for the last 5yrs we have not looked back this link is from where we got ours www.freedomcamping.com.au/touring.html but I been told that southen cross tents are cheaper and of the same quelity and shapes
very easy to put up ous is the family tourer 1310 and it takes 4-5 min and thats one person .
for two people the www.freedomcamping.com.au/obc.html is the way and 1-2min very easy

Barty

We have a smallish dome tent we use occasionally but at the last camping show in PerthI saw a tent being shown that was the best I have ever seen .
I am sure it was called a Blackwolf. Have a look at them.

Everyone has different views about tents. You have to work out your own needs and budget. I think you are right to talk about quality rather than price.

Your choice is affected by several factors:
- how much you can afford (you get a lot of dome tent for the price)
- how much space and weight matters to you (canvas weighs more and takes more space)
- whether you tend to camp in one spot for a while or keep moving (if the latter, ease of set-up really matters)
- the risk of camping in extreme conditions (e.g. much better to be in a canvas tent in a big storm)

Good quality quick-erect tents with internal frames (e.g. Oztent, Black Wolf Turbo, etc) have been the big development of the last few years. Many people find that they are a good compromise between the two traditional types (domes and tourers). Just about the easiest to set up and pack away, room to stand up, best use of internal space (relatively straight walls, much better than the traditional tourer), durable, lighter weight than canvas tourers. (Oztents were originally canvas too, like the tourers, but now use good quality treated poly-cotton material which is strong, light and waterproof; Black Wolf likewise.) The major disadvantage (apart from cost) is that they are bulky when folded - for example, unless you have a Troop Carrier, Oztents generally have to be carried on the roof. Heaving 25 or 30 kg up and down to the roof rack each day is not everyone's idea of fun. Oztents try to deal with this problem by selling their own (expensive) pod for the roof rack, so that the tent rolls in and out relatively easily.

We had the same kind of decision to make as you and got the Black Wolf Turbo 300 (that is 3m x 3m floor). It is bulky compared to a dome, but does fit inside the vehicle (95 series Prado), very well made, sturdy, very quick to set up. Pretty much marriage proof! Good for either overnight stops or longer stays. For longer stays (with a large enough camp site) we use a (cheap) screen dome as well (for tables, chairs, fridge, food preparation, washing up, etc), leaving the tent mainly as a (very spacious) bedroom, in which you can stand up and move around easily. The screen dome is very light and folds up quite small. As an alternative, you can get a deluxe fly for the Turbo which extends the usable area under a kind of awning, which can be enclosed with optional side panels.

Suggest you do a search on the forum for "Oztent" or "Black Wolf Turbo" for more info/opinions (but only have regard to those who have actually used them).

Would be good if you can try a couple of different types before you buy (borrow from friends or hire). At the very least, have a go at setting up the tent yourself in the shop first.

Happy camping anyway.
Des

HI Marilyn,
We have both and use the domes(we have several diff. sizes) in cold weather and the canvas tent in warm weather. We have found the dome tents to be up to 5 degrees warmer in the sleeping section then the outside temp.Slept in the canvas tent in the alpine area last xmas and nearly froze on a couple of nights. Went back in March inb the dome and were much warmer in bed of a night. I would suggest a three man dome(less than $100.00) and a more expensive canvas tent
Cheers Pete

Hi

We have tried both dome (large and small) and tourer. As someone earlier said it comes down to budget and what type of camping you are doing.

First Budget - a new tourer with awning and all the gear will set you back about $1500. Domes are generally a lot chaeper. not sure of the Oztent or Black Wolf. If you don't mind preloved then there is a healthy second hand market for domes and the occaisional tourer comes up as well.

Camping type - base camping, ie 3+ nights in the same spot go for max storage in the tent or a second gear store. this can be say a tourer plus a small dome. some sort of fly proof shelter is also handy in some places. Base camps are for setting up and then kicking back to enjoy the place you get to with minimum fuss.

if however you are touring, spending mainly 1 but soetimes 2 nights in the same spot then you really need something to go up and come down quickly - espescially if you travel with other people. A tourer will enable you to setup the whole camp in 30 minutes and similarly pull it down in 30 minutes. useful if you have a tight timetable.

If you are in Melbourne I suggest a visit at the end of the month to the 4x4 show. Here you will be able to see all the types up and on display and be able to compare easily. Who knows maybe a double swag could be the go for you.

G'day Marilyn,
I bought an Oztrail Tourer 9 Plus about 6 months ago. It’s a single pole, weighs 19kg and packs in a square shape which fits nicely in the back of our Disco. The floor area is 2.6m x 3.5m and erects in a couple of minutes. I think they are a copy of the Freedom Tents but retail for about $250 or less. I checked the Freedom and Black Wolf (preferred Black Wolf) but could not detect a marked difference in quality to justify the huge price variation. Ours only gets used a couple of times a year so I reckon it will last a long time. I had the same idea as Des mentioned – a cheap screen dome to compliment the set up, but haven’t got around to getting that yet.
Dome tents definitely have the advantage of portability but can be tiresome to erect and are more susceptible to damage. Also I prefer the cooler canvas. If the ambient temperature drops we rug up and utilize body warmth.

Cheers…. Doodle

I would never go near a Dome tent again.

On the recomendation of a few on EO, we bought a Coleman Classic Camper 4. Excellent so far (Flinders Ranges and the Murray in dust, gale force gusts and some minor rain) and very quick and easy to put up. Rolls into a bag about 1m long and 30cm round. Weighs around 20kg. Very heavy PVC floor (a weak point in cheaper domes) and heavy, proofed nylon. List is $699, usually $599, bought ours as new on eBay for $225 and saw one (of all places!) in Harris Scarfe for $250 a couple of months ago. Sleeps 4 comfortably with room for storage. Big advantage is that it has vertical walls so all the space is usable.

Adrian

G'day, go for a geodesic dome. They will take the wind really well. I've got a Coleman and it's been really good. It's built better than a lot of other similar sized tents, the poles are heavier, the the threads is thicker etc. It weighs more than similar sized tents but I'm told if I look after it it should last longer than any other tent. Mine's a 6 person job and it takes the wind better than some 4 person two pole domes I've seen. It only takes a few minutes to put up. Seeya

Hi Marilyn

We have also gone down those paths in a lower cost way and most of the time use a $100 type Ozi dome tent , think 4cv becuase you can just stand up in that one. Pretty good really and for cost better to replace every few years than get expensive.

For recent long trip we decided to go for single pole type and after some investigation brought $179 one from Aussie disposals. It did prove quick and effective but only after some mods. This is llighter weight canvas tent with tarp material type floor like domes and floor isn't as strong as heavy weight PE floors.

We went through process of seeing where time went in setting up camp.

Taking down tent and folding up takes longer than putting up espically with wet floor, as floor area is greater for these than domes for same useful living space.

Also the extra weight of canvas took more phyiscal effort.

Improvements which save real time for us were to , take the single pole tents packing bag and add a seam of 50mm all way around it. Even then it was only just big enough when wet and cold.

Being a low cost tent we had no hesitation with mods and added little velcro ties everywhere to hold windows up inside of tieing a knot etc and even cut out the back door inner panel etc saving a kilo on weight.

We also ensured that this tent would pack vertical in back off Patrol so taking up less effective floor space.

At end of day with both we still prefer dome if not packing up every day. Single pole is good but versatility of a 3 rod dome is great and extra set up time is not that much

Robin Miller

Hi Marilyn, I've used just about everything from swags to canvas to single-skin-mountaineering tents. I've used tents for a living and for fun. And the anwer (IMHO) is.. there isn't one. Like many have said, it depends what you want to do.

If your idea of travelling is going to a different spot most nights, swags or single pole are the go. If you like to stay put for a while and have more comfort, domes are an easy choice (all things being equal).

One point, it's not really the setting up which is annoying when moving regularly, it's the striking camp. A tent is only part of this. If you want all the comforts (camp kitchen, tables, lighting, food cupboards etc.) you will probably grow to hate moving on a daily basis (this is where camper trailers come into their own, along with all the benefits and deficits THAT entails). Figure out what you mainly want to do then take the advice posted above to determine your best tent. If you want to travel up north often, for example, a screened section (either part of the tent or a separate entity) can be a godsend. Nothing worse than having to sit all night in a bloody small, dark canvas room because you're being bitten to pieces.

Cheers,

Mark

We have black wolf with extended front and extra panels to create the extra room on the side. Love it. We have used dome for years. If we are going for a night or two we take the black wolf without all the extra bits, if for longer we take the extension for the font. Provides a great area to sit around in playing cards if the weather turns nasty. It has stood up to all the weather we have camped in so far.

Hi,

We have a Black Wolf Turbo Tent after having a dome previously. It has done a 2 month to Cape York & we have just returned from a 3 month outback trip.

The Turbo is a great tent - so easy to erect & pull down & is easy to store in 4WD (ours fits across the vehicle behind the front seats).

Highly recommended,

Willy

Sorry I didn’t get back to you Marilyn.
Our Oztrail Tourer 9 has no trouble going in the back of a Disco. I am overseas at the moment but I estimate the packed size is about 750x750x150 (square packing bag). My vehicle is only a 5 seater but it would easily stand on edge behind the 3rd row of seats, but wouldn’t leave much room as there isn’t much room to start with if the seats are down. It’s a good product – I’m happy with it.

Cheers……Doodle