When I decided to set up a base camp for my hunting and fishing adventures, I opted for the 16-foot White Duck Regatta Bell Tent.
Without a doubt, this tent is much bigger than I need. I will almost exclusively be camping alone, but I wanted something that was roomy enough that I wouldn’t feel cramped, especially when needing to sit out a storm that keeps me inside for an extended time. I also wanted to have plenty of room for all my gear, no matter what adventure I was getting into.
Sometimes, I will hunt squirrels in the morning, deer in the evening, and do a little fishing in between. Or hunt geese during the early Canada goose season, then fish, then deer hunt. When seasons overlap, I like to keep my options open.
I’m also guilty of hauling my laptop along on my adventures to keep up with work. So I wanted enough room to set up a makeshift work space too.
The 16-foot Regatta Bell Tent serves all these purposes well. And if anyone ever does join me, I’ve still got plenty of room.
I’ll admit, I dreaded setting up a tent this large, and thought it would take half a day. Boy was I wrong! After unpacking it from it’s bag and rolling it out, I realized how simple this task would be. The pins and stakes, along with a nice hammer, are all rolled up in a handy bag. I began hammering in the pins, which was quick and easy, going in a star pattern to get the tent floor spread out evenly and correctly.
Next was the center pole, a three-piece, shock-corded pole that quickly snaps into place. At this point, the tent was shaping up nicely. I added the door pole, which was also quick and easy. Then I hammered in the bigger stakes. Once they were in, I made use of the adjustable guy lines to tighten it all up. And with that, my home-away-from-home was complete. It took about 20 minutes the very first time I set it up, and I’m sure I will shave some of that time off when doing it the next time.
The tent has a diameter of 16.5 feet, so it’s plenty roomy. The single center pole design gives the tent a wide open feel, and that is multiplied by the tent’s interior height, which is almost 10 feet in the center.
It’s much more like being in a good-sized room in a house than it is like being in a tent.
Large mesh pockets mounted on the interior walls provide plenty of storage options for anything you can think of. Multiple mesh windows allow for a good breeze, which gets even better when you have the door open to the full-size mesh panels, which allow the breezes in, bit keep even the smallest of bugs out.
A stove jack is pre-installed, and a very nice feature to have for cold nights. The center pole also has an attachment point for hanging lights, lanterns, rifles, or whatever else you’d like to hang.
Another nice feature is the power port, a small opening that is easy to close up tightly enough to keep creepy-crawlies out, even when passing a power cord through to an outside generator or other power receptacle.
The tent is crafted from army duck material, which keeps the inside cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. It is highly waterproof and sturdy, and naturally resists mold and mildew.
Because I hunt right outside my camp, I opted for the Realtree Camo pattern, one of five colors available for the 16-foot Regatta, which is also available in four other sizes, as well as in a 360 model, which features no-see-um mesh panels all the way around.
The other available colors for this model include Sandstone Beige, Forest Green, Desert Red, and Boulder Gray. The other sizes include 8, 10, 13, and 20 footers.
This tent is easy to set up, highly durable, and roomy enough for my cot, chair, and every bit of gear I need for extended adventures, while still leaving me comfortable and not at all cramped, even when I’ve got all the fishing and hunting equipment I’ll need for multiple species. I look for it to serve me well for many years. For more information on the Whiteduck Regatta Bell Tent, click here.