Kelty Tallboy 4 Review

The Kelty Tallboy 4 is a down and dirty classic dome tent built for the minimalist camper. This tent is super fast to pitch, comes with great stakes, and the pre-attached guylines with tensioners keep it securely planted to the ground. Weighing in at only 11 pounds, the Tallboy could also be hiked farther out from the car without too much effort. Kelty did cut some corners with the fiberglass poles, thin storage bag, and clunky zippers, but overall, this tent is a solid value pick.

Performance Comparison

Space and Comfort

When it comes to space and comfort, you won't find much of that here. At only 57 square feet, the Tallboy is pretty small to bring car camping for a family of four. That said, the four pockets on the bottom sides of the tent are helpful with storage, and the 5' 10" max height does allow for many to stand and change. The open mesh top and two mesh sides also help make the space feel larger when the fly is off.

Weather Resistance

The Tallboy faired well against our tests here. The dome shape and included guylines held up to the wind, and the double-walled door and fly kept the inside dry. When it comes to fair weather, the open roof and sides allow for good airflow. The same is true when the rainfly is on and properly staked.

Ease of Use

Thanks to the simplicity of the Tallboy, the tent pitched in just 5 minutes 44 seconds. The color-coded fly clips and pre-attached guylines help with the speed. Kelty is one of the few brands that color-code only one clip, a genius and simple option we are surprised more don't do.

Family Friendliness

It's hard to give a small four-person tent a good score in this category, especially for car camping, where weight and size aren't as much of a barrier. That said, we managed to cram four people and two dogs into this tent. As mentioned before, storage is limited, and with no vestibule, your only other option is to keep extra stuff in the car. However, as the name implies, the additional height of the Tallboy does give it a little extra space.

Quality

Quality tends to take a hit when you get into the cheaper tents, and the Tallboy is no exception. Several of the seams and stitching looked poorly done, and our zipper stuck and was clearly made from cheaper material. The poles are fiberglass and heavy. The stakes, however, are surprisingly awesome, as is the mesh used on the sides and ceiling. For the price, we were decently pleased.

Should You Buy the Kelty Tallboy 4?

The Tallboy is as simple as it gets for a four-person tent, offering adequate weather resistance and exceptional value. If you are looking for an inexpensive camping tent you can maybe even lug on a short backpacking trip, this is certainly one to consider but it is not one of our top-rated camping tents. This is also a great budget option to have around as an extra for visitors or festivals.

What Other Camping Tents Should You Consider?