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| |  | Tennessee Titans | Home » » » » Kelty Trail Dome 4 Four Person Tent | | | | | | | Description: | | In the early 1950's, Dick Kelty made backpacks for his friends in the Sierra Club. Time and experience proved that hiking was more pleasurable when the hiker could carry heavy loads without shoulder pain. This was accomplished with Kelty's ideas of a hipbelt and light weight aluminum frames. A few of Kelty's popular items are backpacks, adjustable poles, rain covers for backpacks, camp pillows, fanny packs, a carport tent or shelter, Thermolite Quallo sleeping bags,and chuckwagon dog packs. | | | Features: | |
• Three-season, four-person tent is ideal for camping trips with family and friends
• Freestanding design with color-coded clip construction
• Mesh side vents and a mesh ceiling for great ventilation
• Watertight walls will keep your tent dry
• Guy points for added stability in windy conditions and noiseless zipper pulls
| | | Product Details: | | | Package Length:
| 23.3 inches | | Package Width:
| 7.3 inches | | Package Height:
| 7.2 inches | | Package Weight:
| 8.9 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 21 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
 disappointedAug 29, 2010
I used this on 2 different 3-day camping trips in July 2010. Setup was pretty easy. I had trouble with the fly poles (very hard to fit) but since it didn't rain I didn't need them and ended up just putting up one over the entrance.
BUT - when I took the tent down after the 1st trip one segment of the tent poles was warped, seriously curved. It was not like that when I put it up. I couldn't straighten it out. (not sure what they are made of, but they're sort of gold colored metal.) But I used the tent again, no real problem getting it up even with the warped piece - except for the fly again. This time I snapped one of the segments of a fly pole. So now the tent is useless if it rains since the water will come down the side instead of being diverted by the fly on that side.
Do not buy this tent. I wish I hadn't.
 Awesome 2-3 Person Tent!Aug 27, 2010
NOTE: I've probably used this tent 10-12 times so far in various conditions.
Bought this tent after reading hundreds of reviews and visting about 5 stores. For the price, I am convinced this is the BEST quality you can get.
SETUP: Really couldn't get much easier, I can do this alone in 7-10 minutes. I love the way the poles clip in instead of sliding into fabric. Taking down is about 5-7 minutes. Also the tent bag they give you is HUGE; I can fit the tent plus an inflatable mattress AND a sleeping bag in it! If you've ever tried stuffing a tent into a tiny little storage bag, you will appreciate this!
FIELD TEST: First time I used this tent, it got hit by 5 INTENSE thunder showers in two days and NOT A SINGLE DROP got in my tent. Thats straight out the bag with no sealant added to the fly; it was like water off a duck's back. VERY impressed.
On nights with no rain I leave the fly off and the skylight is great in the morning. I also do not use an Foot Print and the ground still stays dry.
FIT: Fits two people with TONS of room for gear. I could see this fitting 3 comfortably but not 4.
OVERALL: I love this tent. My friends all have bigger tents but I've seen them leak and not fit back into their bags. In twenty years they will be on thier 3rd tent but I'm quite sure I will still be using my Kelty. I highly recommend both this tent and this brand to anyone looking for exceptional quality. I don't backpack much anymore but I've done it with bulkier tents than this so it could be done if you didn't want to spend big bucks on a backpack tent.
MODS: I use a tent candle lantern and two hanging "swag bags" for extra storage of loose items.
 Pretty good tent but could be betterAug 23, 2010
I almost rated this 4 stars because I am sure it is better than most tents but I had very high expectations for the price. I like it. It is OK. The longer it holds up the more I will like it. I camp in the Northeast part of the country.
For 10 years I used a cheap 3 person Winnebago tent. I loved it. Was perfect and would have bought it again if it was available. The floor finally wore through and wasn't waterproof. I stepped up (in price), did my research and selected the Kelty Trail Dome 4 person tent based on the company reputation and these reviews.
I've used the tent 4 times (2x in back yard with kids in perfect summer weather, 1x in heavy rain and 1x in chilly weather). These are my thoughts for your consideration.
Things I like... 4 corner mesh storage sacks which are good for keeping things in easy reach. 4 hanging loops which can be used with a clip to hang lanterns or fans. Tent is light because of the materials used in stakes and poles which even though light are thick and seem sturdy so far. Tent storage bag is well designed with pull handles and clips. Easy to set up. First time took maybe 20-30 mins in the back yard and now I could set up in between 5-10 mins depending on how motivated I am. The tent stakes are light and thick and took the mallet pounding so far. The tent stakes never loosened, came out of the ground, were easy to pull out and have not bent under easy conditions to date.
Things I'm not sure about yet... The rain fly design is new to me. Don't count on figuring it out for the first time under the gun. A tip to shorten the learning curve is the fly poles go under the rain fly in the front and back of the tent attached by velcro straps and slotted into each corner of tent about 3/4th's of the way up the tent poles. The front of the rain fly is curverd different than the back to provide cover for the door. The manual provided could have covered that better. Not small enough in storage bag to be packed in an extra large Dry bag for river trips unless you sacrifice other things you want to bring and keep dry. Used a separate 2x ZipLoc storage bag for the tent in my canoe. Floor material is thin enough to feel every twig or pebble but I assume and hope it is made with durable puncture resistance material. I bought the footprint that is available after the first use and found that material also thinner than I expected so be sure to have some sort of mattress to be comfortable sleeping and be careful kneeling on the bare floor of the tent. During heavy rain the tent stayed mostly dry (faired better than any of the other 8 tents at my campsite and some of those tents were thrown away after the trip by unhappy and wet campers who stopped by Target or Walmart on the way to the launch site). There was some drops and condensation that seemed to come through seams of the tent that were in contact with the rain fly which were easily mopped up with a paper towel. I would have preferred not to see any water via the seams and I hope the tent holds up for future rain. The ventalation seems about right. With the rain fly off I got cold in my fleece bag when the temperature dropped below 60. With the rain fly on I would have liked a tent fan in 80 degree weather. Not much visability out from the roof or door with the rain fly off and hardly any (small view though top of door) with the rain fly on. Would have preferred another foot of mesh down from the roof to see stars and a zipper window on the door when not raining for camping views. I like the zipper pull cords attached to the door zippers although I had to keep making sure the inside ones or outside ones stayed on their respective sides and confirm via flashlight in the dark to keep the tent 100% bug proof. The tent when assembled seems to have a lot of stress on it when attached to the poles which keeps all sides arched up off the ground which is good for wet weather but causes concern for long term use. A section of each tent pole seems to have a slight bend already. Tent seems smaller than the 3 person I used to have. Technically you could sleep four kids. Will be tight with me and my two children. You can fit either 2 twin mattresses or one queen mattress. The material on the door is really streached tight which makes zipping the door open or closed not as easy as it should be and I hope the stress does not cause zipper failure. There is a material flap along the zipper that velcros down over the length of the zipper which I assume protects against water. The zipper flap material can catch and stick in the teeth of the zipper which requires extra care to avoid any undesired damage.
I recommend the tent as the best I know of and hope it lasts as expected.
not worth the $Aug 23, 2010
I purchased this tent about a month ago after reading extensive reviews for 4-person tents under $200. This tent has been a disapointment for us. BOTH of the rainfly poles broke during its third use. Though water doesn't run across the floor, the rainfly is not sufficient for keeping the tent walls dry. My sleeping bag and pillow have ended up wet just from touching the wet/dewey tent walls. When it actually is raining, the rain pours off the door and into the tent when you unzip it. I've had a lot of tents in my day and this one really is not worth the money. Trust me, don't buy this tent.
Poor Quality Rain Fly PolesAug 05, 2010
I purchased this Kelty tent because of reputation and previous experience with Kelty tents. The Trail Dome 4 met all my expectations except for the flimsy rain fly poles. They are made of plastic and one broke the first time I set up the tent. It couldn't handle the bend radius across the door. Luckily, these are not structural poles, but only designed to keep the rain off the front/back of the tent. I'm very surprised Kelty did not fabricate these out of fiberglass - the plastic is worthless - not to be expected from a reputable company such as Kelty. I contacted the warranty department and yet to hear back - it's been about a week. To be honest, I don't want another plastic pole, I am hoping to get some type of fiberglass replacement, but it looks doubtful at this time. Next step is to just buy some generic fiberglass poles and make my own replacement. Too bad, otherwise I would have given this tent a 5 star rating. By the way, I also advise folks to follow other feedback regarding a strap to relieve the stress on the door/zipper - good idea.
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