The North Face - Wawona 4
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Reddit Reviews:
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Based on 1 year's data from Jan 28, 2026 How it works
Liked most:
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1
"aluminum poles over fiberglass ... good quality screen ... the seams are still solid after a decade ... It’s just made really well"
"It's a seriously sturdy aluminum frame"
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8
"The best part is the huge vestibule. ... On super rainy days we can set up our camp chairs in there and cook with the stove no problem, the dogs sleep out there and it's a great place to dry stuff."
"Love the vestibule. ... I put down astroturf in the vestibule. ... Have cooked inside it when the weather was unfriendly and a great place to store gear."
"The vestibule is one of the defining features of this tent."
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3
"I’m pretty tall so I really appreciate the standing room. It made getting changed or just moving around so much easier than ducking in a tiny pup tent."
"Set up two cots, with plenty of room to stand and dress or whatever."
"I like to have enough room to stand, and bring a chair and small table inside incase it rains."
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15
"Best shoes for the pnw! What I use as well"
"I love the huge open screen on the front and the fact that it angles forward. It meant that even if I was in the tent in the rain, I could usually have the fly in front rolled up and still “feel” outside, without any rain getting in."
"They got me through an entire bandon dunes trip where it rained for 3 days straight."
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1
"The ventilation was so great. Never got too warm, never had an issue with condensation."
"I love the huge open screen on the front and the fact that it angles forward. It meant that even if I was in the tent in the rain, I could usually have the fly in front rolled up and still “feel” outside, without any rain getting in."
Disliked most:
7
12
"I just ordered and received one and it's been the worst out of box experience I've ever had. ... The minimal quick start and lights on the device didn't match the documentation and it went downhill from there. ... It wouldn't connect to the app, then I eventually got it connected manually and it wouldn't play because it needed an update. ... Of course the update would fail to install every time. ... I spent an hour with support to learn that the battery needed to be at a minimum charge level to update. ... The device doesn't have a way to determine the state of charge without using the app, and won't connect to the app if the charge state is too low. ... In retrospect a simple "charge this device for several hours before attempting to setup and use" in the box would have solved all my issues. ... If it was just off and completely dead I would have figured it out quickly, but it actually displayed lights and gave the appearance that something was working at first and started to pair with the app for a bit. ... It wouldn't play the sound to identify the speaker so I had to manually enter the number as an alternative."
"can’t seem to get them to connect to my system. Keeps telling me they need to update and I get an error. I’ve been on the phone with support twice now doing all kinds of things to try and fix them. Apparently they are sending an email with info to return them within the next two business days."
"found it such a pain to set up"
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10
"Personally snapped a three season tent on rainier from the wind a few seasons ago. Granted it was a big Agnes tiger wall."
"Hubba tent has a single top tube, this design is made to be lightweight but it cannot withstand wind."
"These taller tents don't do well in high winds. ... They're like giant sails, and the poles tend to bend."
4
7
"My wawona leaked all over the second time I used it."
"the Sundome only comes down halfway."
"My personal experience is with one of my older tent coleman sundome, where the fly kind of goes just below where the screen material is. In windy conditions, the, due to the gap, the wind finds its way in and make the fly very flap around a lot and hence its very loud."
9
57
"traveling with it is painful. ... The pack size is huge and heavy."
"the packed size, it's fkn big ... You really need to be sure you can fit it in your car or be prepared to strap it to the top. ... When I had a Jeep, it BARELY fit! Bottom right corner. When I shut the tailgate, it would nudge it and that was having to move the passenger seat up as far as I could and still be able to sit in the seat."
"It's about the size of 12 by 12 popup shelter folded up."
canuckalert 1.0I use a Wawona 6 for one person. Mostly because my cot was touching the sides of the Wawona 4. It's the perfect amount of room for me and my stuff.
IHikeandFish 1.0A 4 person like the Wawona 4p or the MSR Habiscape. They are huge palaces compared to the 1p tents you’re used to, but the footprint is small enough to fit into most public campsites. The extra space will be nice to have room to attend to your pup
KyleWanderlust 1.0I have the 4- love it.
OdogPlayz 1.0absolutely love my wawona 4
Present-Delivery4906 1.0The wawona 4 is just as tall and more than enough for 2 ppl. Smaller vestibule but still plenty of room for two.
Buy once - cry once Don't skimp on shelter. A good tent (like the big Agnes) will last you a lifetime. Kelty is a decent second option (but usually heavier) and Coleman is more likely to tear or break a pole (I have one for family car camping and it broke a pote...repaired the pole but still swapped for TNF Wawona 4) It only takes one failure to make you wish you'd just spent the extra $. Buy the Big Agnes and move on.
Thee_Chad 1.0The North Face Wawona 4 has plenty of room and a floorless vestibule in the front. I ditched my coleman cause it leaked at the last scout outing and we were miserable. The wawona was the only tent in this entire shootout(there was a video of like 6 or 8 top brands) that stayed 100% dry through all her tests. I just snagged one. Haven’t tested but I did setup and this thing is solid. Pricey, but man sleeping wet just ruins the whole experience. Any tent is fine for fair weather, if you can guarantee it. I live in Florida, so…. https://youtu.be/G6Y_iXNrJsI?si=O2voTqRF3Jh9pm-4
The North Face Wawona 4. Not the cheapest, but really solid build. It has a front vestibule for the gear too. I haven’t seen any 50 mph gusts yet so couldn’t tell you about that, but its the only one in a shootout of 7 that was bone dry inside while in 2” of sitting water from heavy rains. Very close 2nd place was the base camp. This girl reviews all kinds of gear and is really thorough if you care to nerd out. https://youtu.be/kwXZ4FpvSWA?si=JXrrfvOxIqZnBBeo
TheGeorgicsofVirgil 1.0That Megallan tent is awful. You would be better off sleeping beneath a plastic tarp. The pack weight is like 30lbs. It's an absolute dump truck of a tent. 30lbs and none of the seams are sealed, and the rainfly doesn't cover the sides. You would be better off spending more and getting something like The North Face Wanona 4. Wawona 4 ● 13lbs ● Waterproof seams ● Floor area: 58.13 ft² (5.4 m²) ● Tall / vertical headspace ● Huge vestibule
All of these are car camping tents. The Wanona and Homestead are 13 lbs, and they're absolutely massive when packed. The skydome 6p is enormous and weighs 19 lbs. You wouldn't ever want to hike with these tents. The North Face tents suffer from outdated design philosophies. There are no clips. You have to feed all of the poles through sleeves. The fabric can bunch up, so you have to be mindful while feeding the poles through. Slow to set up, slow to take down. The Wanona 4P performs well in the rain. It's lovely in the rain, but not so terrific to set up or break down in the rain. These taller tents don't do well in high winds. They're like giant sails, and the poles tend to bend. Questions to ask yourself: What type of camping do you envision for yourself? How many people will you be camping with? Do you plan on thru-hiking? Your ideas about camping will evolve as you gain experience with equipment.
Zargwool54 1.0Coleman’s are absolute trash tents. 2 season max until something breaks guaranteed. A similar style tent I’d absolutely vouge for is the north face Wawona 4. One of the best tents I’ve ever owned.
Weak-Specific-6599 0.4I am also partial to Big Agnes, but my current car camp tent is a North Face, and it is built very well. Go to REI and have a look at their various offerings. Nemo, MSR, Big Agnes, the REI brands (half dome series of tents have a great reputation for value) Mountain Hardwear, Marmot, etc... all have great products.
Aggressive_Key5504 0.1Gazelle T4, North Face Wawona or Big Agness Big House. Agree the T4 is a bear to.load and carry. We use our Wawona a ton once we learned how to set it up hahaha
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