The quality of your tent can make or break your camping adventure. When you venture out into the wilderness looking to relax and recharge your batteries, the stress of a faulty or inefficient tent can ruin the entire experience. Imagine that you, along with some of your friends, have decided to embark on a long and painstaking hike to an absolutely breathtaking camping spot somewhere out in the hills. That’s why we carefully created this Wenzel tents review.
This specific camping spot has been praised by so many people that you’ve lost count. You take minimum supplies with you, including a tent you just bought. After completing the arduous hike, you reach the spot, and to your surprise, it is just as mesmerizing as you had heard. However, right now, the only thing running through your mind is giving your body some much-needed rest. Hence, you decide to pitch the tent, but to your dismay, it’s nowhere near what was advertised to you.
It’s either too small or not waterproof enough to survive long spells of rain. That mishap can replace all the excitement of your journey with disappointment. To save you from that let-down, we’re offering an honest review of one of the most preferred options when it comes to 8 person tents, the Wenzel Klondike tent.
Pros
- The peak height of the tent is 6.5 ft, meaning the average person can walk around upright
- The roof, the back, and the windows are made of mesh to keep the mosquitos out and keep the tent well ventilated
- It has a large front screen awning for your equipment or room to sleep for extra guests
- A removable fly covers the awning and inner tent to protect from rain and harmful sun rays
- The material used in the tent is a polyester fabric and polyurethane coating to make the entire tent water-resistant
- It contains a spacious interior that can fit up to two queen size air mattresses
- Extra pockets are sewn into the tent for important items
Cons
- It weighs 27.3 pounds, making it difficult to carry on foot for a lengthy period
- It does not contain sufficient insulation to use in cold weather
- For eight people to fit inside, the awning must be used, and still, there won’t be enough space for each individual. Thus, we recommend using it for four or a maximum of six people
About Wenzel
Wenzel remains one of the most reliable camping equipment and tent manufacturers in the world, as you’d expect from a company that has been running since 1887. The company is based in the US, with factories located in Missouri, Texas, Utah, and most recently, Haleyville. Furthermore, they’ve got millions of loyal customers across the US and other countries all over the globe who can’t help but keep coming back to them.
The reason for their consistent success is their motto to never compromise quality for profit. Moreover, their primary goal remains: making the outdoor environment more accessible by providing better gear. The unique aspect of their equipment is that although they provide high quality, it is at a lower price than their competitors.
So, if you’re looking for affordable but sturdy tents, Wenzel is the safest option.
Setup and Design
Although the Wenzel 8-person klondike tent is advertised as suitable for eight people, its floor area begs to differ. The total space the floor occupies is 98 sq ft (9.10 sq meters), and when divided by eight, each person gets approximately 12.3 sq ft (1.14 sq meters) of room to maneuver. But, as you may guess, this is nowhere near enough for a comfortable experience.
Therefore, we recommend having a party of four or a maximum of six people. Even in this case, two individuals will have to sleep in the screen room/awning area. Additionally, this tent is quite heavy as it weighs around 27.3 pounds. Due to its weight, bringing a car or truck with you to the camping site is essential to carry this tent for long distances.
Regardless, we now look at the tent’s easy setup and positive aspects. The overall structure of this tent is round, which proves that the people at Wenzel are not willing to sacrifice comfort for style. This round structure ensures that its height of 6.5 ft remains relatively the same throughout the tent. As a result, even people with a height of 6ft can walk upright easily, which could make a big difference if you’re in a tent for a long time.
The roof is made of a shock-corded fiberglass frame. Meanwhile, steel rods placed upright provide support from the outside. On top of that, the steel corner elbows are relatively easy to set up because of their pin-and-ring system.
The extra support effectively ensures that the tent does not get blown away during heavy winds, increasing its sturdiness. The tent consists of two rooms with a curtain-like wall separating them. You can open these through a round flap in the middle to traverse both rooms. In addition, the entirety of the tent is covered by a fly which is removable for all you stargazers out there.
Material and Specifications
The most important thing to consider when buying a tent would be how much shelter it provides. Well, we have some good news in that respect because, as explained above, the tent’s steel offers excellent protection against heavy winds. Furthermore, the whole tent is made of polyester fabric with a polyurethane coating that increases its waterproof rating.
Aside from that, the removable seam-sealed fly covers both rooms making it virtually impossible for raindrops to sneak in. Hence, there’s no need to worry even if you’re going camping in the rainy season. In fact, even if you’re thinking about setting up camp on a beach with the water rushing towards you, this tent would not allow you to get wet.
Wenzel’s specialty is making spacious awnings/screen rooms, so it comes as no surprise to anyone that they provide a magnificent one in this tent. The screen room is larger than the other one and comes with three large windows that let the sunshine in. The awning could also be used as a place to dump your camping supplies so that you can be carefree and relaxed in the other room. However, this arrangement is only suitable for groups of 4 individuals.
During the daytime, you can fully or partially close the flaps of the windows in the screen room to not let the sunlight in. In addition, mesh vents in the tent are strategically placed, with some at the back and some in the roof to allow high-low air circulation. Placing the vents in these two locations ensures that the people inside stay cool. This is because even the warm air from outside coming in through the vents converts into cool air when passing through the roof vents.
The Perfect Option for a Short Camping Trip?
Well, we certainly think so. Because after getting feedback from a wide range of people, we realized that this tent might not be very durable and probably won’t last an extended camping trip. Continued use for a long period can decrease its longevity substantially. Regardless, for those of you thinking of going on short two-three day trips, the Wenzel 8-person klondike tent would be the perfect option.
The reason is the excellent use of mesh vents to increase ventilation, along with the unique screen room. Additional features include two mesh windows to keep the breeze in and the mosquitoes out and storage pockets stitched into the tent for important items like flashlights, lighters, etc.
Moreover, what sets Wenzel’s tents apart is their superior craftsmanship and the reliability they cultivate. For example, this specific tent possesses double-stitched, lap-felled seams which have a shingle effect against water. In addition, every single thread, zipper, and webbing is treated with water repellency.
Regardless, what we like most is that the screen room is big enough to keep a queen-sized air mattress inside, which is suitable for at least two people. The further icing on the cake is that its price is considerably cheaper than several other tents available, which also boast about having the same amount of space.
For all these reasons, our choice for a short camping trip with around 4-6 people would, hands down, be the Wenzel 8-person Klondike Tent.
