My ideal color combo would be Double Apex Blue and red/black interior, but I know that’s not offered. So if you were me, which route would you go?
A) Double Apex Blue with black interior
B) Platinum White (my 2nd most preferred exterior) with red/black interior
Just camped in the REI Westward 6 over Memorial Day weekend in Pinnacles National Park and wanted to share some thoughts on it since it’s a new tent model that doesn’t have a ton of info about it online yet.
It’s a REALLY close clone to The North Face’s Wawona 6, but in my opinion addresses a lot of the concerns/issues that I had with the Wawona 6.
Interior space feels similar to the Wawona 6, but a bit roomier and the walls felt a bit more vertical especially toward the front of the tent where the wall fabric is pulled outward by one of the support poles.
The main door is solid tent fabric when zipped up and has a large mesh window that can be zipped open/closed (the window is about 1/2 of the door). The Wawona had much more mesh (maybe 2/3 of the entire front wall/door) and there was no way to seal off this mesh…this would allow the tent to be too drafty when it was windy and was my main concern with the Wawona 6.
The rainfly is a similar half rainfly style, but the overlap with the tent body is much more on the Westward 6 (about 6”). The rainfly overlap on the Wawona is only about 3-4”.
The back door is larger on the Westward and has a decent sized awning to help keep the interior of the tent dry when you open the back door. You can also open the window on the back door without actually having to open the whole door first.
The Westward 6’s vestibule while still large enough for lots of gear, is noticeably smaller than the Wawona 6’s vestibule and the ceiling feels a bit lower too. The vestibule opening is straight in front of the main tent door which I liked because it allows air to blow directly into the tent for ventilation. The door to the vestibule can be rolled up to stay open or you can use tarp poles to prop it open as an awning. The vestibule openings for the Wawona are on the sides of the vestibule and can only be rolled up/zipped closed.
There is a strap with an easy to use clip sewn into the middle of the ceiling where you can hang a light from. I don’t recall this being available on the Wawona.
There are 9 total pockets. Four along the back wall above the back door. Three toward the bottom/middle area of the front wall inside the tent. Two toward the bottom of the front wall outside of the tent (but inside the vestibule).
It has a small zipper at the bottom front of the tent that you can pass through a power cord for inflatable mattresses or whatever.
The aluminum poles come pre-bent in certain sections and are noticeably less robust than the poles that come with the Wawona 6. They still felt solid, but you can tell the Wawona poles are of superior quality.
All seams are taped on the Westward 6. I don’t foresee any leaking issues, but have yet to camp in rainy weather so this is TBD.
The carry bag is the same design as the Wawona, it’s like a big duffle bag that is fully open at the top with a cinch cord to close it. It’s super easy to pack away the Westward tent.
The light blue color of the Westward is easy on the eyes when inside the tent. I found the bright orange of the Wawona to be too harsh during the day, like I would come out of the tent and my eyes would need to adjust to normal light…but this one is more personal preference. A forest green, light yellow or burgundy would be cool alternative color options.
Ventilation was solid, there were two adults and two kids in the tent with everything zipped up and the walls were dry in the morning. I did notice a little condensation accumulating on the inside of the rainfly towards the top of the tent, but it was minimal and I think wouldn’t have been there if I used all the guy lines to properly pull the rainfly away from the tent body as designed.
I really wanted to love the Wawona 6 because of the massive vestibule, tent design, and warranty (plus everyone else seems to love it), but I had a few major concerns with it, mainly having a mesh front wall that couldn’t be sealed off, and not being able to open any windows without having to go outside of the tent first. The Westward 6 does everything the Wawona does, but better in all the ways that mattered most to me. I bought it during REI’s recent annual sale and think it was well worth the price. Overall I am very satisfied with REI’s Westward 6 and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a 6 person tent, especially those considering the Wawona 6.