In the middle of May, I decided that I was going to take my entire family of four camping for the Fourth of July weekend. My wife, my six-year-old son, my three-year-old daughter, and our two dogs. This would be the weekend that the four of us, as a family would sleep in a tent for the first time.
My wife and I have been camping together since we started dating – and my son and I have had countless adventures under the stars. When my daughter was less than one year old, we rented a pull-behind camper and took her for a weekend of fall camping. Unfortunately, there were some sleepless nights of crying that prevented us from taking our outdoor overnights to the next level. I decided that now, we were finally ready.
If we were going to make this work, I knew that I had to assemble the ultimate kids’ campsite. This meant: flashlights and lanterns for everybody, a set of bunk cots for the kids, more warm clothes than we knew what to do with – and of course, a tent built for a family. I’d been looking for the opportunity to test out the NEMO Equipment Wagontop 8p Tent – and I knew this was it. I hope you enjoy my review below.
Functionality
The NEMO Equipment Wagontop 8p Tent comes ready to hit the road in a compact zipper-topped carry bag. The Wagontop 8p both came out of and went back into the bag perfectly, unlike other tents I- and I’m sure many frequent campers- have. In addition to the zipper, the bag itself features heavy plastic clips that can be cinched down making for a compact package.
The tent itself features a truly unique pole configuration. With a total of three poles, the Wagontop 8p expands into a truly standing-height tent. Although the kids didn’t have any problems whatsoever, I found myself enjoying the extra height (I’m 6’3”) and could maneuver around the tent with ease. The interior space was more than roomy enough for both the people and the dogs. As I mentioned earlier, I had set up both a pair of Disc-O-Beds as well as a set of Kid-O-Bunks inside – and everyone had plenty of room to move around.
One of the features that I found most appealing, especially on a buggy mid-July weekend was the oversized screened-in front “porch.” This area of the tent actually serves a dual purpose, with its own incorporated rain fly. You have the choice of either enjoying the open air or expanding the size of the tent for more living space. We chose the latter – which left plenty of room for our children to play before bed.
The Wagontop 8p features large screen windows on all four sides of the tent, which made for excellent cross-ventilation at night. On the second night, we decided to close up all of the windows, as there was a chance of heavy rain overnight. My wife went out of her way to comment about how dry the tent was the next morning, as it hadn’t succumbed to the typical damp interior of our other tents.
Appearance
The NEMO Equipment Wagontop 8p tent looks cool. The tent’s namesake definitely says it all, with a rounded arch holding the canopy on both ends. The tent’s lack of pitch is what provides the standing height feature that I mentioned above. The three-pole construction makes for a tent that is truly unique, and easy to find at a dark campground!
Durability
The NEMO Equipment Wagontop 8p tent is really well built. From the seams to the poles. To be honest, I was even impressed with the stakes that the tent came with directly out of the box. A lot of attention to detail went into both the design and construction of this tent. A tent should be an investment – poorly built tents that are falling apart after a few uses aren’t an investment – they’re a liability. The NEMO Wagontop 8p is built for years of enjoyable use.
Cost
Overall – if you’re looking for a large family tent, the Nemo Equipment Wagontop 8p is an excellent choice. Although I haven’t had a chance to try them out, the Wagontop also comes in a 4 person and 6 person model as well – which I’m sure will live up to the standard of the model I tried out.
