Kelty is known as one of the top outdoor product brands. It’s been in business since 1952 & has gained quite a lot of popularity due to its affordable, high quality and premium feature products.
Kelty provides a wide range of outdoor products which serves the need of individual campers, couples & families, providing them with a perfect shelter suitable to the environment.
An interesting fact about Kelty is that it maintains a code of conduct which is to follow ethical standards, employing no child, imprisonment, or forced labour.
List of The Best Kelty Tent
So enough is being said, let’s get to the main idea of this article which is the list of best Kelty tents.
Without further ado, let’s jump right into it…
1. Kelty Salida Camping and Backpacking Tent
Kelty Salida is a lightweight 2 person tent with a separate rainfly so it is a double-layered tent.
The most liked feature of Kelty Salida is its easy setup. It has user-friendly clips making it much easier to clip the inner tent to the poles.
The clips are snap-style so you’ll find them pretty easy to use. Clips and fly have colour coordination which means that you won’t be confused in configuring how the fly is aligned.
Let’s talk a little about its weather resistance. Salida works perfectly fine in dry weather conditions but some of the campers who used this tent complained about the rainfly getting wet in a 2-hour rainstorm and this caused some condensation building up.
The tent also struggles with air circulation in damp weather conditions. So a suggestion of mine is that you should not take this tent in harsh weather conditions instead it is a great choice in mild weather conditions locations.
The length of the floor is 88’’ which is enough for an average-height person but you can’t store much in it.
Now let’s talk about its material. Salida has walls made of mesh upper and the lower part is made up of solid. Poles are aluminium press-fit which is not the fanciest you can get but it’s really solid & durable. It won’t snap or bend.
The best part about this tent is that the manufacturing company offers a lifetime warranty for manufacturing & workmanship issues. So you can contact the manufacturing company if pieces of your tent are failing.
This tent is best recommended for car camping in dry, warm conditions.
2. Kelty Outback Tent Grey
The most highlighted feature of this tent is its ability to resist harsh weather conditions. The official rating says this tent’s fly & its floor is 1800 mm & it is impressive enough. It can handle hurricane-type rains. (Please read here Best 4 person tents)
Positive customer reviews include its extraordinary performance in 2-day heavy rain & it was reported that tent held up perfectly & everything inside was completely dry.
This one is the perfect one if you’re planning to go on a trip to a location where there is a possibility of harsh weather conditions.
Let’s talk a bit about its material, you get an inner tent which is all mesh providing you with much better ventilation.
Poles are made of fibreglass which will require you to handle them with extra care, as they are delicate. Aluminium ones are a bit strong. Walls are made of No-See-Um, so don’t worry about little intruders.
The floor and fly are made of 68 D polyester providing protective shelter.
The one drawback customer mentioned was that the tent is heavy and is difficult to carry in a pack.
3. Kelty Night Owl Backpacking and Camping Tent
As the name suggests & multiple customer reviews, this tent is amazing in terms of how lightweight it is while it offers so many features.
The center of height is 3’7 & you might feel difficulty standing up inside the tent. Also with 34 ft2 room inside of the tent makes it is a little bit disappointing as compared to some other 2 person tents.
This is a dome-style tent having sloped sides & they tend to perform better in the rain as water can’t stay on the tent’s body and slides down.
Another bonus feature you get with this tent is that you can roll the rainfly halfway up and enjoy the night sky or beautiful sunny day & rainfly can be quickly rolled down if the weather plays a trick and goes bad suddenly.
The material of the inner tent is Micro-Mesh/ taffeta & rainfly is Taffeta 1200 mm PU.
The Mesh allows you an extraordinary experience giving you the opportunity to get amazed by the beauty of nature.
4. Kelty All Inn Backpacking and Camping Tent
The highlighted feature of this tent is its spaciousness with low weight. You can easily carry it around.
It is a freestanding tent which means it saves you time & energy. DAC press-fit hubbed poles make setting it up super easy. It comes with noiseless pulls zippers.
You get 1 room with 2 doors for entering and leaving the tent which is a great facility for you.
It also provides you just the right amount of ventilation with its roof & walls that are half Mesh. (please read here how to insulate a tent for AC)
This tent has an excellent reputation for its weather resistance. Users of this tent praise that this tent handles strong winds like a champion. Also, it protects you from rain pretty well too.
Although with all the above-mentioned qualities, this tent is not recommended in cold weather conditions, it won’t hold any heat inside. But you can use it for summer camping.
5. Kelty Tallboy Tent
Kelty Tallboy is a fully freestanding dome-style tent that you can move around easily.
It has 1 room structure & is a one door entrance but you get a wide door opening.
The best & most loved part of this tent is its room area, head area & its roof when rainfly is off.
One user claimed to have witnessed the beautiful night sky & glory of nature. The Mesh top provides you with an extraordinary view of the sky.
It has a peak height of 72 inches & happy customers praised this feature the most. They say they were able to stand comfortably and even change clothes without any trouble.
The ventilation is pretty amazing due to the lots of Mesh on the inner tent. You can keep the window open all the time and you’ll have nice air circulation. Condensation should be minimal.
The area it offers you is 86 ft2 which is enough for 6 people & 57 ft2 for 4 people (you get 2 options in this range, one for 6 people and the other for 4 people).
This much area is enough to fit 6 pads on the floor, although it doesn’t have any vestibules.
It has a brim design so I would recommend you to not use it in harsh weather conditions as it won’t last long but you can use it in mild weather.
The floor and sides are attached leaving no chance of water seeping inside the tent so to keep you and your stuff dry.
It is a super easy setup even a single person can set it up easily. The color-coding in the design makes it easy & intuitive for you.
The floor material is 68D polyester & 1200 mm waterproofing and the walls are a combination of 68D polyester & No-See-Um Mesh.
6. Kelty Trail Ridge 6 Tent
Ok so first of all, its name says Kelty tent with footprint but this tent does not come with a footprint, you have to buy a separate one for your tent.
A footprint protects your floor surface from harmful and sharp objects. It would be nice if this tent came with a footprint included in the package.
It is a freestanding tent & you can pitch it anywhere, on any terrain without having to stake it to the ground but if you can & have a chance it is better to make your tent more robust by staking it.
Another great feature is that it is a double-layer tent type which means that the rainfly covers the entire tent’s body.
It is a very lightweight tent with a packed weight of 15 lb &10 oz only. The trail weight is also minimal which is 12 lb and 3 oz. you can share the separable items with other members of your group.
But it is not a good idea to take this tent on your trip if your group doesn’t have adults in it or if you have many more things to carry with you.
It claims to accommodate 6 people but in reality, with a floor area of 82 ft2, I would recommend it for 4 people only to make your trip comfortable.
The material of this tent is very durable. The floor is made of 68 D polyester & is waterproof. The same is the upper portion of the tent but there is a lot of Mesh too in the upper portion.
The good point is, with lots of Mesh, Ventilation is not a problem.
The best part? The fly can be rolled up & you can have a mesmerizing beautiful stargazing experience.
What To Consider Before Buying Best Kelty Tent (Buying Guide)
There are a few things to consider before purchasing any tent, and that includes but is not limited to:
Capacity
The first thing to consider is how many people will be using the tent. Kelty tents come in a variety of sizes, from one person all the way up to eight. It’s important to find a comfortable fit for everyone that will be using the tent.
Seasonality
Another thing to consider is what season(s) the tent will be used in. Kelty makes tents for all types of weather conditions, from 3-season to 4-season. Consider what type of climate you’ll be using the tent in and purchase accordingly.
Weight
The weight of the tent is also an important consideration, especially if you plan on backpacking with it. The lighter the tent, the easier it will be to carry. But, keep in mind that lighter tents usually come with a higher price tag.
Price
Finally, consider how much you’re willing to spend on a Kelty tent. They range in price from around $100 to $500, so there’s definitely something for everyone’s budget.
Now that you know what to look for in a Kelty tent, let’s take a look at some of the best options on the market.
Conclusion
So as mentioned above in the list of the best Kelty tent, every tent has its own special feature and drawbacks.
Every tent is designed for different special purposes and you can find your perfect tent by matching your requirements with the tent’s specifications.
HAPPY CAMPING!