No one wants to go camping. That was my life before making the move to Utah. For starters, camping was not as readily available back east. Also, the gear which my friends and family owned was a step above pathetic. The whole idea of going camping sounded fun but setting up camp drove me away from the idea. I wanted to see what the west had to offer, and didn’t want to spend much cash to do it. That’s fair, right?
The Kelty Discovery 4 tent was designed for people like me. The design of this tent can be summed up only using one word: easy. In fact, the 1st time using the Discovery 4, I didn’t even read the instructions. After driving for 10 hours, I decided that it was time to pull over and enjoy stars above me. Problem was it was nighttime which means it was very dark. I found a BLM road and shortly after, an established fire pit. Sweet! With only the light from my fading headlamp (always check the batteries kids), I unzipped Discovery 4 carrying case and removed the tent. The tent comes with 2 fiberglass poles that cross over one another. Kelty uses a clip pole system to attach the tent. Seriously, without trying hard, I had this tent up in less than 4 minutes. It was a windless evening with no clouds in the sky so I opted for no fly. That was it. There was no cursing or second guessing what I had gotten myself into.
The ease of the Discovery 4 tent allowed me to sit back and enjoy myself. The tent has a freestanding design that helps with a quick set up. No-See-Um mesh, was great for seeing stars or a rising sun. Large door and vestibule; I’m a big guy so I enjoy having as much space as possible. Along with many of the features that I’ve seen on tents twice the price of the Discovery 4. When I did use the fly, it was much needed, and much appreciated for how it kept out water.
Before I got married, my Saturday nights were spent at my future wife’s parents home. I slept in the spare room (get your mind out of the gutter.) Anyway, in early fall her grandparents and cousin were in town, filling up the spare bedroom, leaving me nowhere to sleep. Thankfully the Discovery 4 tent was in the back of my SUV. I pulled it out, threw it down on her dad’s lawn, popped it up with ease, but this time decided to put the fly on over the tent. The fly easily attaches using a color coded clip system, which allows you to match up the correct position much quicker.
Around 3 a.m. I awoke to the sound of sprinklers. Yep, her dad never turned them off and my tent was in the middle of a warzone. Abandoning my tent wasn’t an option, so I simply went back to sleep. When the sun woke me, not a drop of water could be found inside the “>Discovery 4. The only thing I might not recommend this tent for is backpacking. It weighs over 10lbs and might take up a lot of room in your pack. For me, this tent did what it was supposed to do. For a low price, it got me outdoors, and took stress away from camping.