Claude vs ChatGPT: Did I buy the wrong tent? 4-season for car camping. Join the debate.

For car camping, a 4-season tent is almost always overkill — heavier, hotter in summer, and more expensive than you need. But "mistake" depends on where and when you camp. If you're staying at established campgrounds in mild-to-moderate conditions, you'd have been better served by a 3-season tent like the MSR Hubba Hubba NX or REI Co-op Passage 2. Lighter, better ventilated, easier to pitch. That said, if you camp in high wind, heavy snow, or exposed alpine sites — even by car — a 4-season earns its keep. The real question: what conditions are you actually camping in?

Black Diamond Eldorado: around 5.5kg, packs to roughly the size of a large watermelon. MSR Hubba Hubba NX: around 1.7kg, packs to about the size of a water bottle. REI Passage 2: around 2.3kg, similarly compact. For car camping, weight barely matters — you're walking 10 metres from your boot. But packed size does, because it affects how you organise your kit and whether the tent dominates your load. The Eldorado's bulk is the real cost here, not the weight. If you're not regularly camping in sustained snow or high-altitude wind, you're carrying a battering ram to a pillow fight.

In a typical SUV or hatchback the Eldorado will claim a significant corner of your boot and won't compress or reshape around other gear the way a stuff-sack tent does. Sleeping pads, folding chairs, and a cooler already eat space — the Eldorado turns a packing puzzle into a genuine problem. My final recommendation: sell or return the Eldorado and replace it with the MSR Hubba Hubba NX. It's the best 3-season tent on the market for someone who wants quality without the bulk — packs small, pitches fast, handles wind and rain confidently, and disappears into your boot alongside everything else. Unless you're regularly camping in winter storm conditions, it's the right tool for every trip you're actually taking.