wind can be diminished with a good shelter, or by blocking the prevalent winds with your vehicle, or other structures - so get something larger... the extra space will be put to use and will make you more comfortable

ventilation is a double edged sword out there.... get good air flow and you'll have dust. block dust, and you'll block airflow.... the later is my preference

any new tent will be waterproof enough for standard playa conditions.... if it's wet enough that your tent is not sufficient.... we'll be having wetman

i'd recommend checking out Big5 or some of the other 'discount' stores. REI has good stuff, but they are expensive

Whatever keeps the most dust out is the winner.

In order of general recommendation by many:

1. Tents that can be completely sealed

This would be 4 season tents and Expedition tents. They tend to cost a bundle (~ $500 for quality stuff) but are generally considered a good investment since they last a long time.

Also popular in this category are the old-timer canvas tents, like the Springbar. Pricey but with great longevity.

2. Quality, name brand 3 season tents.

These are a one/two/few hundred and are also of good manufacture. This is the category where you find the multi-room, stand-up, luxury space... The one downside is that these tents cannot be fully sealed since they incorporate a mesh top that is covered by the rain fly.

If you are crafty, you can install filters into the mesh, such as batting that you can pick up at an arts n craft store on the cheap (Michaels, Joann fabric etc) and get both ventilation and some dust protection.

3. Cheap Target/Walmart/Kmart tents.

These gems can be had for well under a hundred clams and for the most part you get what you pay for. If choosing a tent from this category, at least select one that has a three pole dome design and not just a two pole. Also, buy two, because the odds of the zipper exploding at the first gust of wind are pretty good and having a backup is almost necessary. Do not expect this type of tent to last more than a couple playa visits.

These tents also suffer from the open screen top problem so get something to stuff in there and block as much dust as possible.

Unless you really want a backpacking tent to go backpacking don't bother. You are paying for them being light. You can get something almost as good (but heavier) for a lot less money.

I loaned a friend an "OK" $50 tent last year, and it was fine. (With a snow camo tarp over it to help with the sun.) Look for deals at Sears, Target, etc.

If you want an expensive, but very heavy tent that will last forever, even on the playa, get a Springbar or similiar. Tough as nails and they zip up well. I have a Traveler 5:
www.springbar.com/explore/d..._tent.html

But I would actually recommend a Vagabond 7:
www.springbar.com/explore/v...bond7.html

The extra features of the Traveler aren't really worth it (especially at BM). i.e. extra windows, which just stay zipped closed at BM, etc.

Martini Steve
Apokiliptika - Art for the last day of the rest of your life

I've used an inexpensive Target tent for the first three years on the playa. It faired decently out there, as it had screen windows that could be zippered up. It did fine through out all of the elements.

However, if you know you'll be going camping more often than Burning Man, spend the extra money on a decent tent. If you are just using the tent for Burning Man, go cheap.

I'll admit that I've been only been on the playa once, but I am the odd one among my friends who are decade long burners. I used the REI half dome in 2007 duststorms very happily but wished I had had a sunshade in addition to put my tent beneath. This year I'm taking the NorthFace Trailhead 8. My friends all camp with cabin tents, a well placed shade screen can slide winds up and over your tent, and you can use your vehicle as a windbreak. Too much is made of profile. Its the guy wires/ropes and the quality of the attachment points, the poles (metal best). Springbar in my opinion is more expensive than needed, less available, and not significantly better quality than some others.

Don't rule out three season tents just becuase that is how they are classified. An encompassing fly, zipable windows covering netting from the outside are what you're looking for. But gaffer tape and furnace filters or silk scarves over netting will help. Be sure that you have air between your fly and your tent , provide a shade tarp if you want to sleep in the day or recuperate there, protect people from your guy wires, and keep your guy wires taut, your stakes driven in.

disclaimer: I work part-time at REI, and i bought my tent before i started working there. there are about 10-12 Burners who work at my REI store. we talk (a lot) about which tents are the best to take to the Playa.

this is my approach, my experience

i don't spend much time in my tent. I sleep there (for a few hours at least). I sometimes undress there. most of my gear sits in big plastic tote boxes right outside the tent, with two camp chairs tethered to the gear boxes so they don't fly away. tents are handy for smoking in (if you don't have a nicer place in camp to do that) because they block the wind. mostly the tent is the least interesting place to be at Burning Man, so I opt for a smallish tent that i don't have to worry about. good zippers don't get stuck when you're stumbling out half-asleep to find a portapottie.

my 6 year old REI "Camp Dome 4" has survived 3 trips to the Playa, and a lot of other camping trips as well. You get what you pay for. The Camp Dome is a "car camping" tent, so it isn't designed to be lightweight. I think it cost $169 when I bought it, and now it is $199 (maybe it will go on sale for Memorial Day?). I can't quite stand up in it, but it is usually too hot or too cold on the Playa for me to spend much time standing in my tent. i can sit inside it (in a chair) and i can put my inflatable kingsize air mattress in it and get comfy.

It is fairly easy to set up, is self-standing (that means it stands up even without the stakes), and if it blew to pieces (the way some $50 tents have) I could take it back to REI and they'd give me a new one.

Always set up your tent with stakes of some sort. I do not use rebar for average size tents (but I do use it for shade structures and other, larger things.) Stake it down before you put the first pole up.

It is easier to set up smaller tents. Some people have a tent for sleeping, and a tent for their gear. Circle the wagons - two tents with a car blocking the wind and you have a nice outdoor patio to sit and enjoy the sunset. (even better, set up some shade between or over the two tents.)

I've seen plenty of people trying to "fix" cheap tents on the Playa. Duct tape doesn't work in a dust storm. Get a tent you don't need to fix. Smaller tents are inherently stronger. I've camped with people who bring 12' and 14' long tents for two people. It takes up a ridiculous amount of room in our camp, and those tents usually seem to be the ones snapping a pole.

if you're worried about the cost for a one-time use, use Craigslist and sell the tent next year to somebody else who's going to Burning Man. (they won't mind the dust. you'll never get the dust out. don't even bother.)