Car camping~$489REI Co-op
REI Co-op Base Camp
No citable rating — see why we hide some.
The Base Camp is the car tent people buy when the weather is the problem. It is a geodesic dome — more pole crossings than a standard three-pole camping tent — which is why it stays up in wind that flattens vertical-wall cabins, and why it gives up the standing height those cabins offer. Sixty-three inches in the 4-person means you sit, kneel or stoop. Seventeen pounds, two doors, two vestibules, and a shape that is still standing in the morning.
Floor area per person
14.8 sq ft
Standard — 14 to 17 sq ft each — the normal two-pads-and-no-spare-room fit
Weight per person
3 lb 12 oz
from the trail weight of 15 lb 1 oz
Peak height
63 in
Approx. price
~$489
Pads: 21.5 in of floor width each — 4 × 20 in pads fit, 25 in pads do not.
Length: a 100 in floor leaves room for a sleeper up to about 7ft 10in once you allow six inches for a foot box and a pillow.
Best for
Exposed, windy or shoulder-season car camping where a cabin tent would be the wrong shape.
The size run
One design, 2 capacities. The numbers at the top of this page describe the Base Camp 4; every size has its own figures below.
| Size | Sleeps | Floor area | Sq ft each | Vestibule | Trail weight | Packed weight | Floor L × W | Approx. price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base Camp 4 | 4 | 59 sq ft | 14.8 | 38.5 sq ft | 15 lb 1 oz | 17 lb 6 oz | 100 × 86 in | ~$489 |
| Base Camp 6 | 6 | 84 sq ft | 14.0 | — | — | 20 lb 12 oz | — | ~$569 |
Specifications
- Type
- Car camping
- Rated capacity
- 4-person
- Floor area per person(estimated)
- 14.8 sq ft (standard)
- Floor area
- 59 sq ft
- Vestibule area
- 38.5 sq ft
- Peak height
- 63 in
- Minimum trail weight
- 15 lb 1 oz
- Packed weight
- 17 lb 6 oz
- Weight per person(estimated)
- 3 lb 12 oz (trail weight)
- Packed size
- 9.8 x 20.3 in
- Interior floor length
- 100 in
- Interior floor width
- 86 in
- Pad fit(estimated)
- 4 × 20 in pads fit, 25 in pads do not
- Fits sleepers up to(estimated)
- 7ft 10in tall
- Doors
- 2
- Vestibules
- 2
- Freestanding
- freestanding
- Poles
- aluminum
- Wall type
- double wall
- Season rating
- 3+-season
- Fly fabric
- 75-denier polyester taffeta, PU coating
- Floor fabric
- 150-denier polyester
- Floor denier
- 150D
- PFAS-free treatment
- stated PFAS-free
- Approx. price
- ~$489
Features
- Geodesic pole structure with multiple crossings for wind stability
- Two doors with vestibules on both
- 63 in (4P) and 74 in (6P) peak heights
- Sold in 4 and 6 person on the same geometry
In its favour
- Geodesic pole structure handles wind far better than the vertical-wall cabins at this price
- Two doors and two vestibules on a car-camping tent
- 14.75 sq ft per person in the 4-person is a realistic four, not an optimistic one
- Seventeen pounds is light for a tent this storm-worthy
- Sold in 4 and 6 person on the same geodesic structure
Against it
- 63 in of peak height means nobody stands up in the 4-person
- REI publishes no hydrostatic head for the floor or fly
- $489 for the 4-person, and the footprint is extra
Written from the published specification sheet, not from owner reports.
What owners report
Drawn from archived owner discussions, not from a test of our own.
What owners like
- Owners choosing for high wind put it on the shortlist specifically for its pole structure
- It is described as good quality with good rain coverage by owners comparing family tents
- Owners look for other tents with a pole structure like it, which is a strong statement about the design
- It turns up in REI sales — one buyer saw the 6-person at $384
- It handles two cots, which owners raise as a practical requirement the shape actually meets
Common complaints
- REI's warranty is named as the reason to hesitate by two prospective buyers, one of whom says it covers nothing after a year
- Owners worry it will be too hot in summer heat, and raise Maui and Zion by name
- Sleeved pole attachments are described as frustrating compared with clip systems
- The materials are called lesser than some rivals by owners cross-shopping at the same price
- Replacement parts availability is flagged as a concern, along with the colour and the prominent branding
Wind is what the Base Camp is for. When owners describe a shortlist for a windy beach or an exposed shoulder-season site, this is the pole structure they name, and they go looking for other tents that copy it. That is the strongest possible endorsement of a shape, and it comes at the expected cost: 63 inches of peak height in the 4-person means nobody is standing up.
Complaints are commercial rather than structural. REI's warranty is the hesitation two prospective buyers name — one says it covers nothing after a year — and they say so while still rating the tent. Replacement parts availability worries people for the same reason. Those are the two things that decide whether a tent this expensive is a good buy.
The design criticisms are smaller: sleeved poles rather than clips are described as frustrating to thread, some owners rate the materials below rivals at the same price, and there is a persistent worry about heat in genuinely hot places. It is a tent built for weather, and weather is not what everybody has.
Questions people ask about it
Is it really better in wind?
It is the tent owners name when they want a pole structure that will hold. The geodesic-style crossings distribute load in a way vertical-wall cabins cannot, and people go looking for other tents with the same structure after using one.
Will it be too hot in summer?
Owners worry about it for places like Maui and Zion, and the worry is reasonable — the full-coverage fly that makes it good in wind also limits airflow. For hot, dry camping a tent with more mesh and a partial fly is a better fit.
What is the warranty situation?
It is the reservation that comes up. One buyer reports REI's coverage as effectively one year, which is short for a $489 tent, and it makes replacement-part availability a live question rather than a theoretical one.
Will two camp cots fit?
Owners raise this requirement specifically and the Base Camp 4 meets it — 59 square feet with a near-rectangular floor is enough for two cots with a walkway. It is one of the reasons the shape gets recommended for car camping despite the low peak.