I really really struggled over giving this tent a 4 star vs. 5 star. Maybe it doesn't matter in the end, but I carefully consider other peoples reviews when making purchases that are a bit pricey and I won’t have an opportunity to change my mind once in the woods so I’m hoping my review helps you in deciding on this tent or not. I needed a tent that would last me for several weeks and not fail. I had a limited budget and a lot to consider such as size, durability, rain resistance and ease of set up. If all you want to know bottom line up front, is this tent worth the $200+/-, yes, yes it is. It is big, allowed me to fit a queen size bed with a ton of room to spare, is tall enough and utilizes space well enough that is was truly a joy to go camping. There was no bending over or loss of space due to size. The cube shape is fantastic! Okay, so here are the benefits: • Extremely ventilated!!! The large windows and vented ceiling is a HUGE bonus, allowing for a maximum airflow you just don't regularly experience in tents • Rain flaps around all the windows and door frame. Wow, it rained A LOT while camping and we stayed totally dry. The front rain flap is also a con but I’ll explain why later. • Tub style bottom. While it came with a very water resistant bottom, we still added a ground tarp for extra security. But again, as mentioned above, we had a couple days of non-stop rain and it stayed very dry in the tent. The floor stayed dry and the sides stayed dry. • Tall! I'm not huge at 5'8 so I had no problem. But even if I was a few inches taller I would still have plenty of head room. • Big! When we had several others camping with us we had a queen size and twin mattress side-by-side and still had room for all our bags and gear. • Material - The material is light but strong. It is also sewn very well, with even stitches and a clear adhesive tape over all the stitching to keep water out and protect the thread. The tent is pretty darn well made and while the material is a light weight tent material, I saw no signs of weakening by the end of the trip and that is with falling against the sides several times for various reasons - late night bathroom breaks and tripping and what not. • The straps and tie downs: I read several reviews about the tent not fitting peoples pop-up canopies but I just don't see how that could be a problem if you got a straight leg 10x10 or as I got, a 10x20. The ceiling strap offers two options to accommodate whatever style pop up you have. So if you need it taller, it's got that option. You need it shorter, has that option too! The side clasps for hooking onto the bars were easy to put on and take off. The velcro allowed enough wiggle room to make it tighter or looser. All around it should pretty well fit any pop up and you can adjust. Cons: *and as you’ll see, are pretty few* • THE FRONT ZIPPER!!!! All the window zippers were fine. Let me be clear, I had no issues with those. But the front door.... and this is why I struggled so hard with giving a 5 star rating... Not one time in the entire two weeks of using this tent did the front zipper not get caught while trying to open the doorway. EVERY SINGLE TIME it got caught. Major design flaw. It got caught right at the top or bottom where the rain guard was stitched. I was so close to just cutting the damn thing off from frustration. This is also where it makes a difference however if you don’t have an awning which if you have a 10x10 pop up and it rains, you’ll want that guard. But with my tent and pop up, I just wanted to rip it off with my teeth I was so frustrated. The zipper really sucked. Don’t get me wrong, it's heavy duty, but is stitched terribly. • The ventilation could also be a negative. On cold nights there is no way to cover the ceiling vent. So in the summer, under a sturdy frame, it's a blessing. But don't be fooled, this is NOT a 3/4 season tent. It's only really good for warm weather. Not positive or negative, just my thoughts: • The dog door. It's not really a con, but I don't know anyone, including myself, who will just open the door for a dog while camping and say, go ahead pooch, go on out there yourself. Or leave a dog in the tent alone and let them out the dog door. It was just kind of stupid. I can see why it might be helpful in some situations, such as if you had a cooler or shoes there, but why would you leave your shoes on the side where they could get rained on? And you really wouldn't be able to reach inside a cooler from the bottom of the tent. I could live without it and I have dogs. I think it’s just a silly marketing ploy for people who have dogs but it’s not actually practical. • One the "benefits" is the front door mat they say comes with the tent. < I'll be honest with you, I laughed when I saw it. I would just throw it out. Useless. Too cheap of a material to withstand being walked on and not really a secure way to stake it down. I got a tarp large enough that I just made my own front walk to park my shoes. Next year I'll be adding an outdoor carpet and that should really do the trick. A note on popups: If you haven’t figured it out by now, this tent does not include a pop up. You have to buy that separate. And, you get what you pay for. I'll say it again. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR! I would not recommend using this tent with a cheap pop up canopy. I actually looked at a few EZUP's (the same brand as the cube tent) - which this tent is made for, and thankfully decided against it. They are cheap cheap cheap. I paid $400 for my pop up and it was worth every single penny. I also took a gamble because I couldn't find anyone else that had tried it, but got a 10x20 so I would have an awning. It was so worth it. I know it's a different company and a different product, but I got the ABC Canopy Pop Up 10x20. It works really well with the tent. It's heavy duty, and while you can't really see it in the picture, the canopy itself is a much sturdier material than the cheaper EZUP and Walmart Ozark Trails versions. The frame was solid, the canopy was solid and it withstood extreme winds and rain at our campground while I saw a lot of cheaper pop ups collapse or bend or leak. I guess that’s it and up to you now and what you want to do. I hope you found this review helpful and happy camping.
