Guide Gear 8-Person Hub Tent vs Bass Pro Shops 8-Person Hub Tent

The Guide Gear 8-Person Hub Tent and Bass Pro Shops 8-Person Hub Tent look very similar, but there are some differences. Read here which of them is better.

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Why this comparison

These two tents have the same basic shape and design, and you can realize this from the pictures, so it is easy to get confused.

Here are some of their common features, or features where they are almost the same:

• Both belong to the group of pop-up or instant tents. This means that the frame is pre-attached to the tent. But there are a few poles at the door that must be added manually, and this is the same in both tents.
• The tents are of cabin type, with steep walls and plenty of volume inside.
• They have numerous windows that are of the same shape in both tents.
• The area is almost the same in both, around 10 square meters of floored space. The official capacity is the same, 8 people, but clearly both of them are too small for such a number of users.
• Both tents have two rooms.
• In both tents the front room is a floored screen room with mesh on all three sides, and with separate panels for protection and privacy.
• In both tents the bathtub type floor is sewn-in.

The tents are described in detail in my separate texts, so follow the links to Guide Gear 8-Person Hub Tent and to Bass Pro Shops 8-Person Hub Tent.

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My rating and the main differences

I have summarized my rating in the table below. Farther in the text you will read more about the differences that are behind the rating.

 

Weight: The Guide Gear 8-Person Hub Tent weighs 60 lb (27.2 kg), while the Bass Pro Shops 8-Person Hub Tent weighs 50 lb (22.7 kg).

Clearly, both of them are heavy, but note that the area is the same, so I give the advantage to the Bass Pro Shops tent.

But there are reasons for the weight difference, more below.

Height: The Guide Gear 8-Person Hub Tent peak height is 78 inches (198 cm). The Bass Pro Shops 8-Person Hub Tent offers 82 inches (208 cm), so if you are a tall person, this is a lot of difference.

Hence my better rating for the Bass Pro Shops tent, it is taller but still lighter.

Packed size: Here too the Guide Gear 8-Person Hub Tent is inferior, its packed size is 65 x 12 x 12 inches (165 x 30 x 30 cm). The Bass Pro Shops 8-Person Hub Tent packs into 60 x 10 x 10 inches (152 x 25 x 25 cm).

Fabric: In the Guide Gear 8-Person Hub Tent you have 210 denier Oxford weave polyester. Its waterproof rating is up to 2000 mm, and they also claim it has a UV50+ rating.

In the Bass Pro Shops 8-Person Hub Tent you have 150 denier polyester with a 3500 mm waterproof coating.

You will see a bit more below about awnings and panels; the Guide Gear tent offers more protection because it has separate flaps on the front screen room, plus the fly.

Now you can understand at least partly why the Guide Gear tent is much heavier; its fabric is stronger and thicker, and it gets my advantage here although its waterproof rating is formally lower, but you do not need more.

Doors: There are two external doors in the Guide Gear 8-Person Hub Tent. This is convenient in view of the fact that there are two rooms. 

In the Bass Pro Shops 8-Person Hub Tent you have only one external door.

Awnings: Here, I give thumb up to the Guide Gear 8-Person Hub Tent. The fly of this tent is designed so that you can create awnings on the side, while the windows and the main door still have their own panels, see the picture below.

This implies lots of extra fabric and zippers, and this increases the weight of the tent.

In the Bass Pro Shops 8-Person Hub Tent you can create awnings with the side panels that are a part of the fly, there are no separate flaps in the front room of tent, see the picture below. But this cannot work when it rains, this is why the former tent is better from this perspective.

Vents: In both tents you have the same number of mesh windows, plus mesh panels on the ceiling. But when it rains, you need low vents.

Now, in the Bass Pro Shops 8-Person Hub Tent you have two low vents in the rear room. One of them is visible in the picture above, the area with the horizontal yellow line.

The Guide Gear tent is without any, so it is inferior regarding ventilation. However, you have seen its side awnings; you can use them and keep the from room window flaps open even when it rains. This may create some air circulation even in the rear room, not optimal but doable.

Storage options: You have far more in the Bass Pro Shops 8-Person Hub Tent. It has two sets of pockets on the divider between the two rooms, see the picture, plus a gear loft and a few wall pouches.

Price: As of the moment of writing this text, for the Bass Pro Shops 8-Person Hub Tent you will pay at least $100 less than for the Guide Gear tent, so the former is far more affordable, and see its features.

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Conclusion

So, you have seen my rating and the reasoning behind it. Formally, the Bass Pro Shops 8-Person Hub Tent gets more thumbs up than the Guide Gear 8-Person Hub Tent.

However, not all the features are of the same importance for everybody. For example, if you are not very tall, the height will be fine in both tents. Also, the packed length is bad for both, none of them will fit in a standard car trunk, so this may not be important for comparison at all.

It is best that you make your own list of priorities. The comparison given here should be used as a guide only. Please follow the links given above to my full texts, and then decide which tent might work better for you.

Thank you for reading. If you have questions or comments, please use the comment box below.