EMS Big Easy 6 Tent, 2012

Comments about Eastern Mountain Sports EMS Big Easy 6 Tent:

I ordered this product from EMS after being assured by two customer service representatives that all the tent openings had zippered over the screen enclosures, which is what I was looking for to keep out wind and keep in warmth in colder climates. It did not. Like most typical "3" season tents these days, including the Kelty tent that I was replacing, it has large screen openings that cannot be covered except by the rainfly. This allows some wind to enter and doesn't allow the tent to maintain any heat from bodies, heater, the sun during the day, etc... . This is particularly troublesome when camping at higher altitudes where evening temperatures can drop 40 plus degrees as they do in the Rockies or High Sierras. After conferring with EMS about the fact that the product I received failed to meet my expectations, they generously offered to let me use this product and return it in any condition if I wasn't satisfied. As I expected it did not retain any heat, and we were a lot colder inside the tent then we wanted to be. The fly is also rather difficult to set up and, as it's so big and has uneven lengths, almost impossible to neatly refold and pack. The instructions for setting up the tent contained no illustrations, were missing at least two steps (I had to redo part of the set-up process), and contained no instructions for refolding the tent and the cumbersome rainfly. Once set-up the tent was spacious, seemed solid and secure, and I liked the vestibule and the way the rainfly could easily be secured to the ground from the sidewall corners of the fly. I did find the door zippers a bit difficult to open and close. (I believe this is because of the angle or curve of the zipper on the tent wall.) I can't comment on how waterproof it was, as it never rained during our two week camping trip. EMS was wonderful in refunding our purchase and [...] the whole transaction apart from the initial misinformation I received from their customer service representatives.

Comments about Eastern Mountain Sports EMS Big Easy 6 Tent:

Bought this tent to replace a cheap, leaky Coleman behemoth. After doing extensive car camping tent research, the Big Easy seemed roomy without leaving a humongous footprint and the fly seemed more sturdy than most car camping tents. Looked at a much more expensive, highly reviewed REI tent but decided to save a few bucks (hundreds, actually).

Took it on a 13 day trip through Dinosaur, Grand Teton, and Yellowstone National Parks where it proved to be a sturdy, comfortable tent for two adults and two kids. We endured one very wet and windy thunderstorm and the tent was totally dry. The fly and wind tie downs inspired a high level of confidence when high winds really blew and rain was pounding the tent. We never saw a drop.

Some advantages we appreciated: big, but not huge; fits two queen air mattresses; two doors; very sizeable vestibule provided excellent dry storage space, high enough for average sized adults to stand. The only disadvantage is that with the fly off, there is no privacy as the windows do not have zip-up flaps. Two big doors and two big windows make this tent a bit of a fishbowl.

Overall, we were extremely satisfied with this tent. A great deal for the money and totally secure from bad weather. Excellent tent. 4.5 stars.

Comments about Eastern Mountain Sports EMS Big Easy 6 Tent:

This tent stood up well to the few times we ended up camping in heavy wind and rain. It's nice to have front and rear vestibules to keep our stuff dry. It is very well vented, which is great in the summer but I don't think it will stay warm in colder nights. With 2 vestibules, you can put the zippers part-way down in a rain storm for ventilation, and still stay dry. So far, we haven't had any condensation on the inside of the tent.

Comments about Eastern Mountain Sports EMS Big Easy 6 Tent:

I researched tents and we have used this on several cross country trips hiking and camping in national parks, beaches, etc. We practiced setting it up before we used it the first time and then it takes 5 to 10 minutes max. The material is very durable and there were time the ground was very rocky and I thought the material would rip but it has held up for several years now,

Comments about Eastern Mountain Sports EMS Big Easy 6 Tent:

We bought the Big Easy 6 to replace our 13 year old Coleman family tent. On our first outing with this tent we weathered a major thunderstorm with 60 mph winds and torrential rains with nary a drop of water in the tent.

Needless to say we love this tent.

Comments about Eastern Mountain Sports EMS Big Easy 6 Tent:

Can't stress how easy this is to setup...very large interior without too large of a footprint. After one long weekend of use (in torrential downpours) the tent stayed completely dry!

Comments about Eastern Mountain Sports EMS Big Easy 6 Tent:

Very easy to set up, even though I am not a regular camper. Lots of room for the 3 of us plus luggage. The domed roof makes it so easy to stand up. This tent even kept us very dry during some major thunder and rain storms in the Catskills last summer. No leaks at all!

Comments about Eastern Mountain Sports EMS Big Easy 6 Tent:

Easy setup, great design, but requires a large footprint.

Comments about Eastern Mountain Sports EMS Big Easy 6 Tent:

I rented this for my 10 year old's backyard "campover". Not only was the tent a hit, but it was an easy set up for the boys and even though it rained during the night, they stayed dry! We loved it so much that rather than renting, I think we'll be purchasing it!

Comments about Eastern Mountain Sports EMS Big Easy 6 Tent:

We got this tent to replace a much loved Kelty from the late 90's that we actually still use!

The Big Easy 6 was quite a bit larger. There is actually an amazing amount of space in this tent. Not to mention the vestibules.

The tent is relatively easy to set up once you figure out that the pole for the fly must go over, not under the other poles. The directions actually say against the tent which would be under. However, you'd need super human strength to be able to bend the pole against the tent to fit the grommets. Over is very simple.

The stakes are the cheapo standard ones you usually need to upgrade. It would be nice to see someone actually include stakes that don't bend immediately.

The foot print comes right to the edges of the tent which is seems like a good idea. The tent is waterproofed well which is great. However, when it rains...the water pours off the fly and puddles at the edges of the foot print. No idea why footprint doesn't have a cut that curves a bit inward, especially towards the center of each of the sides. Fortunately, the floor of the tent seems to keep the water out, even when it has puddles underneath.

There is absolutely no privacy with this tent if you don't have the fly attached. It boggles my mind that the doors don't have any kind of zip in shielding in case it is a nice day or just showers and you don't want the fly on.

When the fly is on you need to stake down the vestibules and you are completely enclosed. The only compromise is rolling up the vestibule(s) half way or all the way. There are no windows on the tent either.

Obviously, a lot of thought went into the the insides of the tent. There are lots of gear pockets, a gear loft, a ring for lantern at the center, and even "glow in the dark" zipper pulls.

I'm not sure if the thinking just stopped at the small stuff or if EMS was trying to save money by skipping windows and zip in shielding in the doors.

We definitely expected more of an EMS product.