Kelty Wi-fi 6 Assessment | CleverHiker

Backside Line

The Kelty Wi-fi 6 is a feature-packed, six-person tent with a spacious inside and powerful construct, all at a surprisingly low value. With tents at this value level changing into more and more uncommon, the Wi-fi 6 stands out as considered one of our prime budget-friendly tenting tents. To completely check each side of this tent, we packed up the household and launched into a six-week, eight-state highway journey.

We’re genuinely impressed by the standard and usefulness of this tent. Its excessive peak peak will delight taller campers, and the twin vestibule design provides 14 sq. ft to an already spacious inside. It additionally holds up nicely in opposition to the weather, together with driving rain and excessive winds, and is straightforward to arrange because of its color-coded tab system.

Nevertheless, the Wi-fi 6 does have its drawbacks. Air flow is restricted, resulting in stuffiness and potential condensation points. Regardless of its high-quality building, there are considerations in regards to the longevity of the poles, and at over 22 kilos, it’s fairly heavy.

Consolation

The Wi-fi 6 boasts a spacious inside with 70 sq. ft and a 76-inch peak peak, providing greater than sufficient room for a household of 4. Tall campers will respect the beneficiant headroom, eliminating the necessity to crouch whereas standing. The lengthy forehead pole enhances stability, protecting the inside tent taut and the partitions almost vertical to maximise house. Whereas the tent can theoretically sleep six individuals, gear storage is restricted inside.

Nevertheless, the twin vestibule design provides 14 sq. ft of additional house for storing tools outdoors the primary space. Total, the Wi-fi 6 is well-suited for households and gives a cushty and purposeful dwelling house. We should always observe that this tent doesn’t ventilate nicely and that may have an effect on the local weather inside. It may well get stuffy, particularly throughout hotter days and humid nights. You’ll be able to assist mitigate this by opening and rolling again the vestibule doorways however then your gear may be uncovered to the weather.

Sturdiness

The largest downside of this mannequin is the poles. They’re produced from fiberglass quite than extra sturdy aluminum. Whereas fiberglass generally is a good materials for tent poles, we’d favor them to be a bit thicker for added energy.

After our twelfth night time utilizing the tent, we skilled a shock wire break in considered one of them whereas taking it down. We have been in a position to restore it and proceed utilizing the tent with out additional points, but it surely’s one thing to remember. We don’t consider the poles are of poor high quality, but it surely’s essential to deal with them with care. Keep away from pulling on them as this may stress the shock wire; as a substitute, push them gently out and in of the pole sleeves to make sure longevity.

The material supplies used within the building of the Wi-fi 6 are surprisingly good for the worth. Kelty has totally taped the entire seams for added safety, and the mesh feels sturdier than another tents we’ve examined. The stakes appear sturdy, although we bent a number of in Colorado’s rocky soil. Total, the Kelty Wi-fi 6 presents mid-tier high quality, however for the worth, it’s exhausting to beat.

Climate Resistance

Total, the Wi-fi 6 scores nicely within the climate resistance class. We examined this tent in some intense Colorado thunderstorms, and it held its personal in opposition to reasonable winds and torrential downpours. It’s essential to notice that the Wi-fi 6 doesn’t embody a footprint, so we examined the tent each because it arrived and with a floor tarp. And not using a footprint, we did expertise some leakage by way of the underside of the tent, which wasn’t shocking. We all the time advocate utilizing a footprint or floor tarp to guard essentially the most weak a part of the setup. When examined with a floor tarp, we encountered no leakage regardless of comparable rain circumstances.

On scorching days, when you possibly can sleep with out the rainfly, the Wi-fi 6 is nice, because of ample mesh that enables heat air to flee. Nevertheless, with the rainfly totally deployed, air flow is restricted, which might result in scorching and stuffy sleeping circumstances. The tent’s form and wall angles shed rain nicely, and when totally guyed out, the Wi-fi 6 handles mild to reasonable winds successfully. Like all tent of this measurement, it struggles in high-wind situations, so should you’re anticipating robust gusts, it’s greatest to pitch the Wi-fi 6 close to a windbreak.

Ease of Setup

We discovered the Kelty Wi-fi 6 to be remarkably simple and intuitive to pitch. At the same time as a solo camper, you possibly can arrange this tent in below 10 minutes, and it’s even faster with a associate. Not like many tents that use grommets for pole attachments, the Wi-fi 6 options small pole sleeves on the corners, which simplifies the setup course of.

Kelty additionally consists of color-coded tabs for one nook of the tent and rainfly, eliminating the guesswork of orientation. The tent’s design ensures that the whole lot matches collectively properly. Though the tent is on the taller aspect, which could make it a bit difficult for shorter campers to achieve the middle clip as soon as the poles are up, general, the setup is easy and hassle-free. The considerate design makes the Kelty Wi-fi 6 one of many simpler tents to pitch in its class.

Options

In relation to the options of the Kelty Wi-fi 6, we really feel it leaves just a little to be desired. Beginning with the nice: we love the fast nook sleeves and color-coded webbing that make pitching the tent simple and intuitive. The twin giant vestibules are additionally a plus, providing further house for gear storage when the rainfly is deployed. It might appear minor, however we actually respect the carrying case. Packing up camp is all the time a trouble, and it’s worse when your gear doesn’t simply match again into its stuff sack. The Kelty Wi-fi 6 makes this course of a bit much less irritating. The case has a zipper working the size of the bag, so you possibly can merely roll up the tent, place it inside, and zip it closed. The case is spacious sufficient to comfortably match the tent and all its parts, eliminating the battle of packing.

Now for the not-so-good: the Wi-fi 6 solely has 4 small pockets, which appear to be they could stretch or tear over time. For a tent designed for six individuals, we’d wish to see extra storage choices. Moreover, the tent suffers from poor air flow. With out sufficient airflow, moisture can construct up inside, resulting in condensation and a humid night time’s sleep, even with out rain. Extra air flow flaps on the rainfly would considerably enhance airflow and assist with the condensation difficulty.

Ought to You Purchase the Kelty Wi-fi 6?

The Kelty Wi-fi 6 is a superb funds purchase, superb for these with value constraints or these on the lookout for their first family-friendly tent. Its spacious inside is nice for taller campers, and the additional vestibule room is ideal for storing extra gear on prolonged journeys or for establishing a base camp.

At roughly 17 kilos, it’s not suited to backpacking, and should you anticipate heavy use, you may take into account a extra premium choice. Nevertheless, for informal tenting and household adventures, the Wi-fi 6 presents spectacular worth and performance.

What Different Tenting Tents Ought to You Take into account?

REI Skyward 4 Assessment: The Skyward 4 is smaller than the Wi-fi 6 however is made with high quality supplies, presents wonderful livable house, and includes a tall peak peak to keep away from crouching whereas standing.

NEMO Aurora Highrise 4 Assessment: For just a little more cash, you may wish to take a look at the Highrise 4. Whereas it’s technically a four-person tent and pricier, it presents the same inside livable house with higher-quality supplies. If you happen to plan on spending extra nights below the celebs, the NEMO Highrise may be a better option. 

The North Face Wawona 6 Assessment: The Wawona 6 is on the other finish of the funds spectrum and presents the same quantity of inner house. The distinction is that the Wawona 6 is filled with a few of our favourite options and features a large vestibule that’s virtually as giant as among the tents we examined.