BEST FULL SYS TEM
NEMO AURORA 2$250Packed weight: 5 lb. 13 oz. Floor space: 31.8
sq. ft. Peak height: 3 ft. 8 in. Doors: 2The new Aurora is for people who mostly stick
to developed campgrounds in the frontcoun-
try and might go backpacking once or twice
a year, though it will weigh you down some
when you do. The full-coverage fly has two
roof vents, and because they’re on the sides
instead of the top, we left them open in a rain-
storm and didn’t wake up to a sopping-wet
tent. Both vestibule flaps roll up if you don’t
need the weather protection or the privacy.
We had concerns with the fly, though, which
was slightly too large. Attaching it to the ridge
pole with the inadequate connectors was
finicky, leading to some frustration when we
were pairing the two parts; we would hook
one side on only to have it fall off when we
moved to the other. We recommend staking
out guylines if you’ll be camping in windy
or rainy weather. On the plus side, NEMO
includes a compatible footprint.BES T FOR CAR CAMPING
REI CO-OP KINGDOM 4 $429Packed weight: 18 lb. 6 oz. Floor
space: 69.4 sq. ft. Peak height: 6 ft. 3
in. Doors: 2The Kingdom is one of the most spa-
cious four-person tents you can find.
Tall, circular doors and vertical walls
allowed us to enter and stand inside
without crouching. And the nearly 70
square feet of floor space meant we
could spread out when we slept or
legitimately fit a party of four within
the tent. Gear storage abounds with 20
mesh pockets, including several over-
head that can fit a headlamp or other
small camp light. Keep in mind that this
is an 18-plus-pound beast with a steep
cost, best left to campsites you can
roll up to in a car. Although the King-
dom was less straightforward to pitch
than a simple dome tent, it helped
that the sections of the main support
poles branch off of a central hub. And
when bad weather rolled in, the King-
dom remained standing and (almost)
impervious; during a night of severe
thunderstorms and high winds, only a
nominal amount of water got through
LA the nearly full-coverage rain fly.
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