Kingdom 8 vs Flying Diamond 8

The Kingdom 8 is an 8 man tent from REI.



The Flying Diamond 8 is an 8 man tent by Big Agnes.



The REI tent is about $100.00 cheaper than the Big Agnes, but REI would have a fairly stiff shipping charge.

The Big Agnes would be shipped free, so the price would be about equal in the final analysis.



Do you currently own either tent?

Have you ever owned either tent?

Your appraisal of either or both tents would be helpful.

Usage would be multi night base camping.



Thanks,

BOB




Flying Diamond 6
Bought a Flying Diamond 6 in October to replace an 8 man Coleman. Only had it up one time in the yard, but it seems much more durable than the Coleman. We are a family of five, and it’s a little more cramped, but hopefully it will stand up to more severe wind and snow, which was the reason for the purchase of a new tent in the first place. We chose the Diamond 6 over the 8 because we were trying to reduce the footprint a little. It’s hard to find enough level ground for an 8 man tent. Plus, the Flying Diamond 6 had the same diameter poles as the Diamond 8, so I figured it would be more secure. I looked hard at both tents you mentioned. I liked the lower profile of the BA, and in all the comparisons I looked at, it received great reviews. Hope someone else can contribute more information than me.

Kingdom 6
Same thing as the 8 except ~2’ shorter. We bought the ‘Garage’ as well. We bought the tent to replace the 20 year old pop-up the the new Forester shouldn’t pull. We had it out twice this year and find that it works well for us (two adults & an old corgi). So far we like it - lots of room, we can stand up in it, and pretty easy to set up. The air bed fits in one end while clothing & stuff goes in the other. We put a table up in the Garage for kitchen stuff. We didn’t have any foul weather when we had it out so I can’t speak to how it works there. We did buy the garage so the we could drop wet gear off there before coming into the tent.



Ventilation seems good. We didn’t roll the fly back off of the front section be did roll it up some from the bottom to get more air.



Rich

Decision?
Did you make your decision?

No decision…
No decision has not been made yet, but the Kingdom 8 is definitely near the top of the list, as is the Flying Diamond 8.



We want plenty of room. It’s just my wife & I, but we’ll be sitting up 2 cots inside, and also have a small chair & fairly good sized table inside too.

I’m sure both of those mentioned would work for us.



The tent we chose will be strictly for multi day base camping. We have both a Eureka Timberline outfitters 2 man, and a Eureka Timberline outfitters 4 man for camping on the river banks or gravel bars. We both solo; so 2 boats can easily carry all be want or need.



I did the minimalist routine for a couple of decades. What I want now is lots of space & comfort when I get into our base camp tent. I no longer enjoy suffering needlessly.





BOB




Kingdom 8 experience
I’ve had a Kingdom 8 for quite a few years now. It gets used maybe 10-15 days a year for base camping, mostly at Paddler’s Lane in CoFlo, which means nights that are cool to cold with 90-100% humidity/fog and super heavy dew.



It’s reasonably easy to set up - can be done solo, though it’s easier with 2 people. The design sheds wind decently - mine has survived multiple violent thunderstorms with no leakage or pole damage, but I do attach guy lines if there is severe weather predicted.



Last season, I got a few drip-through spots during a week when it rained nearly every day. Unclear if a seam needs to be sealed or if it was just condensation overload. In my experience, just about any tent will have at least some condensation troubles in an environment like Confluence.



Build quality is mid range - not junky like Coleman/Kelty/etc, but not bombproof, either. The floor is nice and thick, but I wish the fly was a slightly heavier material. I got mine for something like $300 through one of those REI ‘single item’ promo deals. It definitely was worth that price, but I’m not sure it would be worth the $500+ retail cost.

We have the Flying Diamond 8
We used it for a total of about 20 nights in 2015 and love it. We’re a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 young children) and the tent fits us just fine. The girls sleep in the back “bump-out” portion of the tent on a queen airbed, and my wife and I have a queen airbed up front. That still leaves us with plenty of space for duffels, bins, gear, etc.



We also looked at the Kingdom 8 and–frankly–you probably can’t go wrong with either. We’ve done some coastal camping in really windy environments, so we preferred the dome shape for its greater stability. The straighter sides of the kingdom will definitely give a greater sense of volume inside though.

If
you are not stuck on the models you mention, contact Marmot stores as they often run 50% their excellent tents this time of year. Note that they sell out quickly at this discount. Call around to their stores as not all will discount them. We have two: Limestone 6 for camping and a Limelight 4 for backpacking…outstanding quality.

Here’s their 8 person: http://marmot.com/products/details/limestone-8p