****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
We have purchased several tents in our large family and most are difficult to assemble and ultimately break. This tent is the largest we've ever purchased but was the easiest to assemble by far! We ordered it close to our party date and the delivery date was the day of the party. I reached out to Amazon who reached out to the manufacturer and they delivered it a week early! Great tent, great company!For $199, I didn't expect to get a military grade tent but an outdoor tent should be able to withstand some rigor. This tent is very fragile i.e., the support rods, canopy and the tiedown ropes. We were putting it up and one of the support rods broke (see pics). I duct taped the rod and continued, gingerly putting it up, hoping that another rod didn't break. We got it up, tied it down and put down sandbags. It was fine but I took it down as soon as the event was over. Any tent that gives me caution about leaving out for a couple of days is not worth keeping.Observations:1) The middle of the tent is low. I kept hitting my head on the middle support bar -- I'm 5'11". I had to put white streamers on it to warn others to "duck".2) The tarp is very thin. After the bar broke, I was afraid that the tarp would tear as we were pulling it across the frame and tieing it down. Thankfully, it did not. However, that was due to the extreme caution we took at every step after the rod broke. (I don't give my other small tent a 2nd thought when putting it up).3) One of the tiedowns broke. They are run of the mill, and not really designed to hold down a tent. I have another tent that I've had for 10 years and none of the ropes have ever broken.4) I was concerned about the wind because of a warning in the instructions. The statement to "put the canopy away when you have these (wind or storm) conditions" is so matter of fact, as if you can take down or put up this tent with ease. The opposite is the case.For those reasons and the fact that a support rod broke, I am sending this tent back.It served its purpose but it's not as sturdy. You can tell as the metal is not heavy. It would be good to store right away after use. I thought the price fit the quality. It wasn't as easy as the video with only 2 people setting it up. We needed a third person to fully set it.We bought this exact one last fall for our annual family reunion. It worked perfect & it rained that evening and kept us dry. My Dad is having a huge garage sale at his lodge this weekend, so we bought a 2nd one (we wanted another for the reunion as well). We set them up yesterday and even tied all of the poles down to cmu blocks. There was a light breeze, probably 5-10mph most of the day. In the afternoon we got a gust around 20-25 mph and it totally destroyed both tents. A mangled mess up against the building, beyond repair. The canopies are ok, but the metal is just too thin & flimsy at the joints. For very light winds or no winds, this would be ok to own and for the price. But, I won't buy again. I will upgrade to something more rigid.The tent went up pretty easy. There are two cross pieces that are head height so you have to duck. We left it out overnight and it rained. The rain pooled in the canopy and pulled it down, bending a half dozen polls and breaking some. I don’t recommend this tent for other than sun protection.I originally bought this for a 4th of July bbq. I was unable to assemble due to what seemed like a defective piece and planned to return it. Before I could return it, the seller saw my review and reached out right away. They replaced the whole thing within days and reached out to make sure I was satisfied! Beyond their exceptional customer service, this is an amazing product; affordable and sturdy. A far wiser option than the expensive rental alternatives out there. I am very pleased! Highly recommend!Ok, we received the tent on Wednesday of last week. We opened it on Saturday to use for a party on Sunday. I have never used this kind of tent before. After taking out the tent from the cover I had difficulty slowly pulling it apart( stretching it open) as per the directions. I was surprised that the directions said it could be done by 1 person. Not really. You need at least 2 or more to stretch it it. We put the tent cover on, then had difficulty getting the tent to lock in with the buttons on the top. We used a screwdriver to push the silver buttons to slide them into the hole to lock. We were able to raise the tent and spike the legs down on the grass fairly easily. Recommendation- you will need 2 small bags of sand( like patio sand) from Lowes/ Home Depot) so you can fill up the sand bags that are provided with the tent. This helps hold the tent in place. It looked great and held up well . The break down- was fine this morning- Monday . We lowered the tent first from the feet, then released the buttons on the top , then took off the tent cover, then slowly pushed in the frame till it was compact. Put the cover on the top and flip the tent over and zippered the case. We really liked the tent and would buy another one if we need more space.Don't try to set this up by yourself. While it seems easy, it'll be a lot quicker and less stressful if you have someone else help you. With that said, its a nice big tent, had a few damages upon arrival and first use, but customer service has been great and quick to send replacement pieces without hesitation. I wouldn't leave this up 24/7 but its definitely good for a few hours at party.
