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REI Half-Dome 4 HC tent


This is the tent that Peter and I take when we camp together. For the tent I take for solo camping, see my review of the Sierra Designs Sirius 2 tent.

From REI's website:

  • Season: 3-season
  • Design type: Freestanding tent
  • Sleeping capacity: 4
  • Average packaged weight: 8 lbs. 3 oz.
  • Floor dimensions: 94" x 86"
  • Floor area: 57 square feet
  • Vestibule areas: 11 + 11 square feet
  • Peak height: 51"
  • Doors: 2
  • Canopy fabric: Nylon ripstop
  • Floor fabric: Coated nylon
  • Rainfly fabric: Coated polyester taffeta
  • Number of poles: 2
  • Pole material: Aluminum 7001
  • Pole diameter: 9.5 / 11.1 millimeters
  • Packed size: 8 x 22 inches

  • MSRP: $249 (USD)

Here are some photos of our tent:

The tent is a perfect size for me and my Aerostich High-Tech cot plus my 6'4" husband and his Big Agnes sleeping bag and pad. In fact, there's even a little bit of room left over. The tent is much more spacious than it looks.

The vestibules are great for shoes or boots; Peter takes one and I take the other.

I wish that it had a little bit more ventilation as summer camping can get a bit warm, especially with two people in the tent. A small battery-operated fan would probably help a lot.

The tent includes an attic, which I love. I always buy an attic for my tents, so I was really happy that this tent comes with one.

The Half Dome 4 HC is really easy to set up due to the clip system of the poles (no sleeves). It takes me about 5 minutes to set up, including lining up the footprint and clicking together the poles. The rainfly is also possible for a short and clutzy person (me) to set up alone. Color-coded straps make it pretty easy to put on the fly.

The coldest weather I've camped in with this tent so far had an overnight low of 47F. The warmest so far has been an overnight low of around 70F.