Black Wolf Tuff Dome

Don't trust the black wolf lifetime warranty – Please note that the lifetime warranty advertised for Black Wolf tents is effectively non-existent. We purchased a Black Wolf tent from Anaconda for around $1300 and encountered significant issues after minimal use. On the fifth occasion of setting up the tent over several years, we were dismayed to find that it leaked not only from the top but… Read more

also from the floor, and the zippers were malfunctioning. Upon approaching Anaconda about the warranty, we were directed to contact Black Wolf directly. However, our hopes were dashed when Black Wolf informed us that these issues were not covered under their lifetime warranty.

This experience has left us deeply dissatisfied, especially considering the substantial investment we made in the tent. We cannot in good conscience recommend Black Wolf products based on our experience.

Best non-canvas tent for 4 people – Had this for 10 years and used 100+ nights. One pole failure after 5 years replaced by B'Wolf no questions asked, height and size perfect, v.robust and watertight and the entry vestibule is a master stroke. Referred to by our camping friends as "The Fortress". It's a 2 person set up, but colour coding hels Show details

Good design but poles are rubbish – I have to agree with the other bad reviews below unfortunately. I really want to like this tent and I do like it a lot when it works. It's a classic, simple design, with good quality materials (mostly) and some good features such as the gusseted windows, plenty of guys with stowaway pockets, good standing room, good ventilation, and good weather… Read more

protection, both wind and rain.

BUT the poles are rubbish. I have owned and used a lot of tents, both cheap and expensive, with both fibreglass and aluminium poles, and I have never had poles break like on this tent. We have used the tent almost every night for the last 5 months and the problems started appearing after just 2 weeks. First we noticed cracks in the poles, then they started just snapping. I managed to get a replacement pole from Black Wolf which means I have some spare sections, and I've need them. We're now up to 7 broken sections. And soon we realised the next major design flaw - there are at least 4 different size and style of section and that's just in the main poles. So we often need to get the hacksaw out to shorten a section or just chop off the split end of a section to get the tent up again.

Anyway, I'm no engineer but it looks to me like the aluminium poles are just too stiff, they don't flex at all like all the poles in my other tents do. There's too much stress on the poles, and not being able to flex they just snap. I'm not talking about bad weather either. Each breakage we've had has been in perfectly still conditions.

Oh and the two main zips are both stuffed. Seriously, if you're trying to make a high quality tent, don't put cheap no name zips on it!

It's such a shame because I would really like a good quality dome tent, but this is not it.

Change the poles – I work for a company that use these tents. They are a nice and large design with plenty of room to stand. I must agree with the other reviewer though in regards to the poles. We are constantly wasting time repairing the poles that instead of flexing like they should they snap and in some cases pierce a hole in the fly. With poles not being an item covered under warranty we waste money also on buying more poles from black wolf direct.

Great tent – Mike, very surprised about the pole issue. We have been using our Tuff dome plus for 5 years and the poles are still perfect. The only issue we have had was a connector that snapped. Called Black Wolf and had a replacement in the mail in 2 days. The poles are prestressed; ie pre bent; so can cope with very high winds. They are not meant to be… Read more

straight when the tent is taken down. We use the tent for about 40 nights a year; winter as well as summer. It's been through a LOT of nasty weather and never leaked. Up in 22 mins, down in 12. A great tent.

This is a great family tent that doesn't weigh a ton – This tent is great. I come from a hiking and trekking background and have had a lot of experience with well made expensive lightweight gear. When we had our baby, we needed to move to a larger family tent, and I couldn't be happier after a years use and about 20 nights. I looked at nearly every tent on the market and this was the best value for… Read more

our intended purpose of family car camping.

The Tuff Dome is effectively a large strong version of a well made hiking tent. It packs up relatively small compared to canvas and other family tents of a similar size, and weighs about 14kg. It'll fit in the boot of your family sedan no problems, leaving room for your luggage and other gear. It's easy and quick to set up (easier with two people, but possible with one) and I have had no problems with the aluminium poles on this tent as they are a very large diameter and strong. Some people can break and trash anything though. I purchased some extra nylon bags to keep the different poles separated to avoid rubbing from Ebay.

It has stood up to downpours without leaks as all seams are sealed with tape. We have had no condensation as it's a double skin with plenty of ventilation. The guy ropes include a quick lock mechanism for easy adjustment.

There is only one room, and it has a very large vestibule to put your esky and chairs out of the weather.

As it is a lightweight tent, I use an Oztrail shade clothe tarp/mat under the tent which improves the protection for the floor against rocks etc. It comes with a lifetime warranty to the original owner that I haven't needed to use so can't comment on.

I bought it from online from Kulkyne Kampers for a great price. A great product, although a little difficult to find on display or in stock. 5/5 stars.

High quality tent puts others in the shade – After using this tent on a few recent camping trips, I can honestly say that this tent is head and shoulders above similarly priced family tents on the market. Everything about this tent surpasses any other tent I have been able to compare it to. It goes up without fuss, the color-coded poles make it so easy to erect; the sturdy guy ropes are… Read more ·  1

unzipped from their handy pouches on the fly and pegged in a matter of two to three minutes; these same guys ropes are also a nice bright reflective yellow to avoid night-time trip ups (not all tents have this pretty useful feature) and you will be confident that you will be well protected from the elements when you feel and see the high quality fly that will be your roof for the night. All in all, a high quality piece of kit. High quality; clever, easy to use features; easy to erect and dismantle.

Tried and true design but decent quality – The problem with review sites is that people generally only review something if they are unhappy with it. Thousands more happy customers generally don't bother reviewing the goods they buy. Unlike the other review of this tent (to date) I am quite satisfied with the product compared to the rest of the competition in this field. This is a basic… Read more ·  2

cross-pole dome tent. What sets it apart is that it has been built with quality materials and workmanship. The tent when erected properly is well shaped, doesn't flap in the breeze, has nice stiff aluminium poles and 22 guy ropes. There is no way this tent is going anywhere in a strong wind. each guy robe has its own zip pocket on the fly to store it if it is not being used.

The poles are anodised and colourcoded to help with setup

The fly is medium weight polyester, silvered on the inside which makes the tent quite dark inside. The ventilation is excellent with 3 rollup flaps on the fly that can be pegged out closed with a wedge zip design to retain some ventilation if it is raining. The floor is from polyurethane coated polyester, not a poly-tarp floor like cheaper models.

Personally, i like this

All my previous tents have been quality lightweight tents with aluminium poles and I have never broken one (Macpac, early Katmandu, North Face, 100's of nights, they all still get used!), unlike quite a few of my friends who continue to pitch their cheap tents with splintered fibreglass poles. You can buy a length of aluminium from a shop and fix it yourself but you cant get replacement fibreglass poles for a cheap tent.

Loses one star because it could be made easier/faster to erect by ditching the pole sleeves for clips, but really it's not that difficult. Quality materials and workmanship, light weight and small packed size, sturdy when set up properly One of the priciest dome tent you will find of this size, not as quick to setup and pack down as fancier "fast tents"

Don't buy one! – Liked it because it was suppose to be tuff, not so within 3 days use the pole snapped , rendering the tent useless , returned the tent for a refund and still no result going on 3 weeks now. Poles need to be fiberglass so they flex , not bend and break like the aluminum one's do and hole the tent ! Absolutely useless . Don't waste your money… Read more

, buy the cheapie like my mates did and it out lasted the tuff dome on our recent camping trip .

True story. Amount of room . The aluminum poles are useless .