Kodiak Canvas Flex-Bow Canvas Tent Deluxe

Good strong well made tent

I normally don't write reviews but for this tent I will. It has met all my expectations. The size is perfect for my wife and myself even with the large cots that we have. We've used a Kelty dome tent in the past that was just too crowded but we are not only able to fit the cots but there is room to spare with the Kodiak. It is not really hard to set up at all. I've owned about a dozen or better tents in the past, from one person A frames and pole/sleeve tents to the large dome tent and this one is simple and easy to set up and take down. I especially like the strap bag that it comes with. The poles are heavy duty and should last for years. It is heavy and bulky but that's what I would expect from a canvas tent of this size. A lot of the weight comes from the poles but the floor of this tent is heavy duty and adds a great deal of weight itself. I would not want it any way but the way it is. We did encounter some winds on our first outing and there was no problem with the stability or strength of the tent. Staking the tent takes the most time but once down it is secure. The amazing thing we found is that when it was hot during the day as long as the tent was shaded it seemed cooler inside than out. Then as the nights grew colder it was warmer! We were in West Yellowstone for the duration of this vacation with the days being in the mid 80's and one night it got down to 34 (F) degrees. Our 20 degree bags were fine although we did add a small blanket inside for added a little additional warmth. I had planned to purchase a Spring Bow tent made in the US but they just did not have one in stock that met our schedule even though we we planned for more than a month in advance. I will say I am not displeased with the Kodiak tent in the least. I'm somewhat picky about my gear and spent some time going over every seam and the entire tent and found nothing I did not like. I believe this tent will be with us for a long time. It is just like anything else, if cared for correctly there should be no problem. I'm definitely pleased with my purchase so far. We are planning an extended trip this fall so if there is anything else to report I'll post it here.

REALLY! Over $700.00 (can) for this beautiful tent and you send those useless pegs. Come on you can do better.

Edit: Since first posting this review - I've had this tent out on three more camping trips. All of them have been 5 - 7 days. The last two (one in Fall 2018, and 2019 Memorial Weekend/Week) I've experienced many days of rain, and a few days of all out storms. Last fall, I lost my canopy and some other equipment, but the Kodiak held up. This past camping trip, I forgot the ground tarp. We had several storms roll through with heavy rain and wind. The tent held up fine, and when packing it up, I was absolutely stunned to find the bottom of the tent totally dry. It seemed to fare better without the ground tarp in that aspect. I can't say enough about this tent - it's really holding up to all the conditions. I've since added carpet and even a 4 foot table to the interior of the tent. This fall we are planning an island camping trip where I'm going to be forced to drop some of my gear to be able to fit it on the boat --- the tent is coming though - because it's the most important part of my camping trips other then water and food. My first canvas tent. I've always wanted one, but most are hard to impossible for 1 person to setup. Being a single dad with small children, I've stuck with easier nylon tents. This year, after blowing through a 3rd nylon tent in 3 years, I decided to look for something better quality. I first was on the fence with the price. I knew canvas cost more, but I wanted a good size, stand up in tent. After reading reviews and watching videos, I knew the Kodiak Canvas 14x10 was what I wanted. When I saw a weekend sale on it, I got it for a decent price on Amazon. Delivery was quick. I did the initial setup and seasoning on a stretch of warm and sunny days so I knew I could put it up, get it wet, and dry it out quick. Setup was pretty easy, only requiring a little muscle to get the two support poles in. Everything else was a cinch. The quality of the tent stood out - everything from the tent stakes to the structure itself speaks of quality. The windows are great - my only complaint would be the awning poles - I think telescoping poles would be much more appropriate to adjust height - rather then having to angle them during rain. They also could've used a little more height - I have to duck under it a little to get in and out of the tent. It's not taking off a star, or even a half, it's one of the only things they could improve on in my opinion. Everything else is so well thought out - and the storage bag is definitely a step in the right direction. 40 years of stuffing stuff into storage bags that don't fit right - Kodiak got this one perfect! I did get the tent out on a week long camping trip this past week. It performed great, and sleeping in canvas is so much more comfortable then nylon. We got a variety of weather - hot and humid, cold, rain (although not a downpour). The lowest was around 45F, the highest was 87F. I ran a small Mr. Heater to warm the tent up during the coldest night, and it worked great in the Kodiak Canvas. I also ran it at the end to help dry out the tent after rain the previous day. Worked like a charm - although the awning was still a little wet due to water pooling on it - so be careful of that - even a little rain will puddle up in the awning - with just goes to show how waterproof the material is. Great investment - I expect this tent to last for years.

I purchased this tent from Amazon in Feb of 2016. My Son and I used this tent for our vacation to three national parks this summer. We camped a total of 9 nights in this tent through all kinds of weather. We encountered temps as high as 90F and as low as 35F. We were in blistering sun and two nights of rain, with one of the nights including thunderstorms and camp ground flooding. Below are my opinions on the pro's and cons of this tent. Pro's 1. Completely waterproof: We had no problems with water leakage. The treatment on the canvas keeps water out period. I will say that we did have the slightest amount of very fine mist/condensation in our tent during the night that we had thunderstorms and multiple inches of rain at our campground. But nothing inside the tent became saturated with rain water. 2. Setup: Once you get your routine down setup of the tent takes about 10 min from start to finish. I'm not including organizing items inside your tent, I'm only speaking to the actual tent set up. All you need to do to get this tent up is stake the four corners, get the roof/flex bow installed, and then raise each side. My Son is 11 and so he was able to help by laying out stakes and pounding them in, but he isn't quite strong enough to help raise the tent. I was able to do this myself, but I'm a 6'2" male in decent physical shape. 3. No rain fly to attach and guy line. This saves a ton of time! 4. Space: I can stand up easily in this tent. On our trip there was only two of us, but our gear included two camping cots (mine is an oversized Cabelas guide cot) and luggage. We had tons of room. I think the fact that you don't have to crawl in on your hands and knees is a huge plus for those of us who are over the height of 6 ft. If I was a 5' 7" person, I would see how a 4 man dome would have been a great option for my son and I for our vacation. Cons 1. Heavy: This tent and poles do weigh a lot. I bought this tent specifically for car camping. My son and I do not backpack. The poles for this tent are very strong, but they also add considerably to the weight of the tent. And the stakes are also quite heavy, but they won't bend!!! 2. Transport: The bag that the poles are stored in is quite long. I was able to lay the pole bag across the floor of our SUV in front of the back seat (normally where back seat passengers would put their feet. I would estimate that the pole bag is about 3.5 - 4.0 feet long. If you have a small car, you may have problems fitting the poles into your trunk and you may have to resort to a roof topper or something. I'm sure the poles would fit nicely into those long aerodynamic Yakima roof toppers. 3. Strength needed to erect the side poles. Like I stated above, the side poles do take some strength to get into position. Two adults working together shouldn't have a problem, but it can be a bit of a chore. Overall, I love this tent!! The quality and durability are top notch!! The tent holds up well to weather and I think that everything will last a long time if taken care of properly. The tent is heavy, but it IS a car camping tent. The stakes in particular impressed me very much! Of the three tent pads that we encountered on our trip, two of them were very packed down and rocky. The tent stakes included with this tent didn't bend. In fact I broke a mallet while pounding stakes at the first campground, and had to go to a hardware store where I purchased a 4lb sledge to pound in stakes at the future camping sites. I'd like to address that I do have some mold on the roof of my tent. That mold came from storing the tent wet between initial set up in my back yard and the camping trip described above. I plan to clean the tent with mild soap, some peroxide and then buy water proofing agents to treat the roof as needed. While mold and mildew is gross to look at, I don't get as worried about it as some folks. The fact is that you are around all sorts of mold spores everyday! Lastly, seems to be a few bad reviews based on the fact that the tent is made in China. There are lots of products made all over this world and quality control vastly depends more on the company than it does the country of origin. I didn't really look at the American made option/ spring bar tents before buying this tent. I did look at multiple reviews for Kodiak tents from multiple sources. I would estimate that I watched about 20 videos on youtube showing set up and tear down. As well as discussing the pros and cons of each individual buyer. I bought this tent with my own money and I have no relationship with the producer of this product.