White Duck Canvas Tents: 10′ Regatta Bell Review
Canvas tents for camping tend to get relegated to the world of backcountry hunting camps and the stuff fancy, boutique glamping dreams are made of.
With White Duck Outdoors, canvas tents are now a practical, durable, portable and spacious option for families looking to go camping or to create a fun outdoor retreat in their own backyard.
With our 10’ Regatta Bell from White Duck Outdoors, my family of 4 now has an awesome tent for camping trips. We have plenty of room to sprawl and sleep comfortably, as well as space to grow into. In addition to a family camping tent, this tent will alternately be used as a day use “fort” in our yard and as an easily portable “base camp” for farm projects on the more remote parts of our farm.
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Why pick a canvas tent?
My husband has 2 larger canvas wall tents for backcountry hunting trips and was initially skeptical of why I wanted a smaller canvas tent of my own for camping in. My reasons for wanting a canvas tent are the similar to why most people want a canvas tent; they are sturdy, durable and can be used across many seasons.
The additional perk of the 10’ Regatta Bell was that it only weighs in at 50 lbs where as other canvas wall tents can easily weigh upwards of 80+ lbs.
To be honest, my husband’s two, very nice, but very large (read: heavy and cumbersome) canvas wall tents rarely get used since they are reserved for back country hunting trips. And for me, they honestly seem daunting to set up due to weight (80+ lbs), size and sheer awkwardness.
The White Duck Outdoor 10’ Regatta Bell is the answer to wanting a sturdy and durable tent for family camping trips without the additional weight, size or awkwardness associated with setting up a typical canvas wall tent.
Best Canvas Tents: 10′ Regatta Bell from White Duck Outdoors
I grew up camping with my family. Although I have fond memories of us camping and exploring Alaska together, I do not miss the four of us being packed like sardines into an itty bitty tent. Your options were to be one of two sleepers wedged in the middle of the tent, or being a sleeper on the outside in contact with the tent wall, potentially waking up damp due to condensation that formed on the inside of the tent wall. Neither option was ideal, let alone comfortable.
It’s probably because of being confined to a tiny tent growing up that I often opt not to sleep in a tent at all when camping. For 12.5 years as a wildland firefighter, I spent a minimum of 1/3rd of the year sleeping outside, and most of those nights were spent staring up at the stars from my sleeping bag without a tent.
However, now that I have young kids, I like having them contained and sheltered within a tent so they: a) don’t get distracted by everything outside while trying to fall asleep, and b) can’t wake up and wander off in the night without anyone noticing.
The 10’ Regatta Bell is meant for 3 people but comfortably sleeps my family (2 adults, two children under 4, and 2 medium sized dogs) with space to sprawl. I’m 5’5” and can easily stand up in this tent, I only need to duck when entering or leaving through the doorway.
With tents, my recommendation is to always size up your tent size rather than purchasing what fits or works for today. That way, if your family is young, you can grow into your tent as your kids grow up, or as your family expands.
The stove port in the 10′ Regatta Bell was another reason why I selected this particular size and model of tent from White Duck Outdoors. My husband already had a stove that he uses when camping in his larger wall tents. Having the stove port option will help to expand the seasons of comfort and use with this tent.
Although I have camped in the snow in colder weather without a stove for warmth, I’d rather have this option available when camping with my kids. Setting the stove up inside the tent definitely cuts down on interior space available for your family to sprawl, but comfortably it would still accommodate 3 people.
Super Easy to Set Up and Tear Down
I love that the tent comes as one piece- the flooring is built into and attached to the upper tent. No separate fly over an interior shell or anything. The flooring is built in which I love since our other canvas camping tents do not have that feature. With this tent you are fully enclosed. Also, all the stakes, guy lines and hammer for staking down all come included with the tent, along with a bag to carry it all in.
Also, this tent was super easy, and in my opinion, fool proof to set up. You literally unroll it, stretch it out flat and stake down the flooring with small stakes. Then you put up the center and doorway poles. Once the poles are in, grab the guy lines (which came attached) and stake them out with larger stakes to open the tent and secure it. That’s it!
I was able to set it on my own easily with the “assistance” of my 3.5 and 1.5 year old (you can speculate just how helpful they were/weren’t). The first time I set it up with the instructions in hand and it took 40 minutes. The second time, without reading the step by step instructions it only took 15 minutes. The tear down process is very quick as well and it was easy to fold and roll everything up neatly into the carry bag that it came with.
What I also like about canvas tents versus say typical lighter weight camping tents is this tents feels sturdy. I’m not as worried about the canvas material getting cut or punctured accidentally by thorns or life in general. Between it being a heavier material and having so many stakes to secure it with, I feel like it would take gail force winds or a tornado or hurricane to blow this way if the stakes were not secure.
Also, the center pole and door way pole are lightweight and large, but I don’t feel like they could break or bend easily.
Other Canvas Tent Uses
My kids have already been enjoying getting day use out of this tent. It works great as a shelter that we can move around our yard and orchard, and makes a great “fort” which to base daily play and games from. I’ve been tearing mine down and storing it prior to rainstorms, but once it’s seasoned (seasoning a canvas tent entails lightly spraying it all down with water and letting it dry completely; the fibers expand while they are wet, and as they dry they shrink and pull tightly together) it should be fairly water resistant. I would just caution anyone planning to leave it out in the rain to have ample time to dry it before storing it.
I see our 10′ Regatta Bell from White Duck Outdoors getting lots of use this summer as a shady cabana to set up next to our stock tank pool or as a shade area to set up within my orchard or next to my garden. This way the kids can dart in and out to play, and maybe be sufficiently entertained to not be plucking all my baby plants out of the ground before they have had the chance to grow.
Canvas tents also can be useful for folks that plan to do “pop up” events. Think vendors a or businesses setting up at a farmers market, the county fair or a festival, or maybe a wedding! A canvas tent that’s quick to set up and tear down is ideal for these type of events since they provide protection from the elements (wind, rain, sun, etc). Over the years I have been a vendor or educator at these type of events and I thoroughly wished I had some sort of shelter on some occasions!
I also plan to also use my 10’ Regatta Bell as a base camp for farm projects across my property. I can strategically relocate it to different parts of the farm, and I can store equipment and tools in it for easy access. I have brush goats that I manage for weed control and unwanted overgrowth on our farm. I move them to new locations every 3-5 days for targeted grazing and browsing, but still have had predator issues.
To deter future predator attacks from mountain lions, bears or coyotes, I envision camping alongside our goats when we are shepherding them on more remote parts of our property.
In the future, one of the ideas we have been considering is opening our farm up to glamping opportunities for visitors who want to enjoy the quietness and beauty we experience daily. Although I think our 10’ Regatta Bell is awesome for my family and easily double the size of anything I grew up camping in, I would want a larger canvas tent for visitors to stay in since White Duck Outdoors says the 10’ Regatta Bell is meant to fit 3 adults.
White Duck Outdoors has many larger tent options, and I just feel that larger canvas wall tents are what glamping dreams are made of and guests would appreciate having more space.
White Duck Outdoors Tents
There are many sizes and styles of canvas tents available from White Duck Outdoors. There is a size and style option for any size family.
Mamas, don’t be intimidated! These are NOT difficult to assemble or set up at all! My 3.5 year old loves helping to hammer in stakes and my 1.5 year old enjoys running around inside once we get the center and doorway poles in. Sure the canvas material may weigh a bit more than smaller tents, but I think the sturdiness and resistance to damage is a major bonus which will provide longevity of use. I am thoroughly looking forward to using my 10′ Regatta Bell more this year for camping trips and daily on the farm!
For those curious, White Duck Outdoors also makes additional canvas gear: tarps, bags and dog beds.
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White Duck Canvas Tents
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