The Guide Gear 8-person Hub Camping Tent is exceptionally functional and pleasant, with two rooms, two doors, many windows, and very useful awnings.
Key features & benefits
- Cabin type tent.
- Instant setup.
- Two rooms.
- Two external doors.
- Many windows.
- Awnings.
What this is about
This Guide Gear 8-Person Hub Camping Tent is very similar to the Gazelle 26800 T4-Plus Pop-Up Portable Camping Hub Tent. I would say that there is nothing substantially new or different, no doubt both come from the same factory. But this is an excellent tent as you will realize below.
The tent is a very typical cabin-type construction with nearly vertical and tall walls, and plenty of volume inside. The peak height is 78 inches (198 cm).
Instant design?
The word Hub in the official name indicates the fact that the frame is incorporated into the tent, almost all the walls and the complete ceiling are made of those X-crossed elements where the poles are sewn-in. There are 7 of them in total.
In other words, this is a pull-out and push-up design. They claim the setup time is 90 seconds only, but I think this is a bit optimistic, there are door poles to add, plus the fly. The picture below shows the ceiling, so these are two panels that you push up when you unfold the tent.
Note that there is a large fly that you have to add separately, it is shown in the picture:
Doors and windows
This is the best part of the tent, you have openings everywhere.
There are two doors, the main door is on the left in the picture below. As you realize, it is a full double-layer type with a mesh and an inverted-T type zipper, and with the additional flaps as shown in the picture above.
The second door is D-shaped and you can see it in the picture below, it is on the rear left side in the back room:
Windows are numerous and of different shapes, below you can see the two largest on the right side. The doors also have mesh so these are additional windows.
How many rooms?
Actually there are two real rooms, with sealed floors. The difference between them is that the front room offers more than you normally have. It has mesh on its three sides, so it doubles as a screen room as well (the picture above).
But when it rains, or you are cold, or simply want privacy, this front room is fully closable, see how it looks when closed:
The rear room has smaller windows, and they are all double layer, with zippers for protection and privacy:
The inner door between the rooms is gigantic, you can see it if you go up to one of the pictures given previously.
Awnings
The fly is of an unusual shape, with two extensions on the sides. You can roll them up and keep fixed under the roof, and when needed, you can extend them and create awnings, one is shown in the picture below.
With this you have extra space to store gear, and notice that the windows are protected so these extensions double as storm flaps and you can keep the windows open even when it rains.
But remember that windows have their own separate flaps for rain protection so you can regulate this setup as it suits you. This is a great feature of the tent.
Materials
The poles: The frame is made of fiberglass, and there are many poles in the sleeves, most of them pre-attached and this is all easy to use. The hub elements are made of steel.
The fabric: The walls and the fly are made of a 210 denier Oxford weave polyester. Its waterproof rating is up to 2000 mm, and they also claim it has a UV50+ rating.
The bathtub type floor is made from an even stronger 300 denier Oxford weave polyester for strength and durability.
Ventilation
Mesh is everywhere around, and also on the ceiling which is probably around 10 square meters, so vapor can escape and the tent can have as much air circulation as you want.
But there are no floor vents, when it rains I would love to have at least one in the rear room. It is hard to understand what they were thinking.
You might want to compare this with the Bushnell Instant Pop-Up 8-Person Tent where there are four floor vents. Yet another great example of a very similar shape is this Bass Pro Shops 8-Person Hub Tent with floor vents in the back room.
Who is it for
Regarding the area, the tent is officially for 8 people, and it offers 107.6 ft² (10 m²). Clearly, this makes no much sense, although you can put 8 narrow sleeping pads on the floor, so downgrade it to 4-6 people maximum.
But as usual with this type, there is lots of volume inside. The walls are with those x-crossed panel elements that are concave outwards, and this adds extra volume.
This means you have far more volume than what you would expect from its modest floor area, and this is a part of its charm and what makes it very pleasant and livable.
Regarding seasons & climate, one thing is certain, this tent is not for windy places, it is extremely non-aerodynamic as you realize from the pictures.
Note also that you fold it by puling down the ceiling panels, that is how the tent collapses. Due to this design, it cannot support much of extra weight on the roof, so avoid using it in snow conditions and with chances for snow accumulation on the roof.
But its waterproof rating is good, and it is completely closable, except for the ceiling of course, but there you have a very good fly. So I would describe it as a very good three-season family camping shelter that offer full rain protection.
Regarding the weight, this is a very heavy tent with its 60 lb (27.2 kg), and my rating for this is not high. Older users might struggle to deal with it.
The packed size is also not its best feature, it is exceptionally long when packed, see the numbers below, it cannot fit in a typical car trunk. This also affects my overall rating, see below.
Regarding the price, it is in the range of its closest competitors of this type, so it is normal. Check the links below for updates.
Specifications
- Weight: 60 lb (27.2 kg).
- Official capacity: 8 people.
- Dimensions: 165 x 94 in (419 x 239 cm).
- Inner area: 107.6 ft² (10 m²).
- Inner area per person: 13.45 ft² (1.25 m²).
- Peak height: 78 in (198 cm).
- Packed size: 65 x 12 x 12 in (165 x 30 x 30 cm).
Final thoughts, rating, pros & cons
In summary, the Guide Gear 8-Person Hub Camping Tent delivers a solid option for family camping with its spacious two-room design, instant setup, and robust features like multiple doors, windows, and awnings.
Its cabin-style structure provides ample interior volume and full rain protection, making it a reliable three-season shelter. However, its heavy 60-pound weight and long packed size detract from portability, which may be a drawback for those prioritizing mobility.
Despite these limitations, the tent’s high comfort level, and thoughtful additions like awnings make it a strong contender in its class. It performs comparably to similar models like the Gazelle T4-Plus, offering good value for its price.
For campers seeking a feature-rich, family-friendly tent and willing to manage its bulk, this Guide Gear model is a dependable choice.
Below you can see how this tent stands against my standard rating criteria that I apply consistently to all of them here in the site so that you can easily compare:
Guide Gear 8-Person Hub Camping Tent
Pros
- Full protection.
- Lots of volume inside.
- Great windows.
- Awnings.
Cons
- Very long when packed.
- Heavy.
BEST PLACEs TO BUY:
For more tents of this shape please check in the category Cabin Tents.
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