If you’re looking for a tent that’s built to be reliable and you don’t need to be impressed by a bunch of bells and whistles, the Marmot Limestone 6P may be right up your alley. With the Marmot Limestone 6P, you can confidently bring the whole family without being overly concerned about running out of room. Its uniquely designed vestibule can act as either a storage space or even a covered patio, it’s made of high-quality materials and should hold up well in rain and wind. However, it does have a few drawbacks: quality doesn’t often come cheap and this $545 tent is just a bit pricier than others we’ve found that deliver a similar value. In addition, its vestibule is small when sealed off, and the storage bag isn’t our favorite design.

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If you’re looking for a tent that’s built to be reliable and you don’t need to be impressed by a bunch of bells and whistles, the Marmot Limestone 6P may be right up your alley. At $545, the Limestone 6P is one of the most expensive tents in our review (albeit $100 cheaper than the NEMO Wagontop 6), but there is a great deal of value attached to that price tag. It offers loads of interior space with storage to spare, as well as a uniquely designed vestibule that can act as either a storage space or even a covered patio.

Comfort

The main body of the Limestone 6P sports excellent dimensions, measuring 10’x8’4” (83sqft) and a peak height of 6’4”. Although it doesn’t sport quite as much square footage or headroom as similar six-person tents like The North Face Wawona 6P, its pre-bent poles give it more of a cabin-style design than the Wawona’s dome-style, and as a result, it has much steeper walls that make it feel much roomier on the sides. This is a much-needed update from previous models of the Limestone that had more sloped walls.

The top and front of the Limestone 6P are primarily mesh, and these will serve as your only windows, which will be covered when the rainfly is on or the front vestibule is closed. Both the front and back of the tent feature quad-zippered doors that connect in the bottom-middle, which enable them to be opened completely for easy access when you’re hauling things in or out, as well as half-opened for quick access. You could also potentially set up a room divider down the middle of the tent with front and back entrances for each side. On top of that, there are eight small mesh pockets littered all throughout the tent for your miscellaneous gear (two up top, one in each corner, and one below each door).

You’ll find a 16sqft vestibule at the back of the tent and a 25sqft vestibule at the front. The front vestibule is an intriguing feature that has several strengths and weaknesses. Starting with the good news, it’s a fairly versatile design thanks to the large front door. If you’ve got a pair of hiking poles laying around, then you can open up the door from the bottom and extend it directly outward, then use the poles to hold up the corners of the door to convert it into a covered veranda—though, you may also need a pair of guy lines to keep everything locked in place. We recommend you roll up the side walls of the vestibule to make this veranda even more spacious. If you’d prefer to keep things simple, the vestibule door can also simply be rolled up for easy front-door access while still providing wind protection on the sides. When this door is closed, we did find that the front vestibule was quite slanted and really only serves as a dry space for storage, unlike other tents with roofs that extend out a bit further and feel more like a “guest room.”

Ease of Setup

Though far from an instant tent, the Limestone is reasonably easy to erect. It should take no more than 10 minutes with a bit of practice and even less when tackled by two people. Two main poles will crisscross at the top from all four corners, which are fed through a combination of hooks at the bottom and sleeves at the top. You’ll then need to attach two smaller brow poles that run from the front door to the back door, wrapping around the sides to amplify the interior space. Our only real issue with these secondary poles was that it made attaching the rainfly just a bit more cumbersome since it tended to catch on the ends of the poles. Having a second person to assist with this portion of the setup should alleviate any of these “ring-around-the-rosie” situations.

Total weight of the Limestone is 17lbs 3oz, making it one of our lightest six-person tents, just behind the Coleman Sundome 6. The tent packs away into a tube-style bag measuring 28”x10.5”. We weren’t exactly thrilled with this style of travel bag since it opens on one end rather than at the top or on the sides, but it’s roomy enough that there’s a bit of forgiveness should the tent not be rolled up as tight as possible.

Weatherproofing

The Limestone lives up to its three-season rating, and its rainfly, made of 68D polyester taffeta, does an excellent job of blocking heavy wind and keeping out rain. It also has deployable vents at the top to keep air circulating and prevent excessive moisture buildup inside. Unlike some other camping tents, the Limestone has a full rainfly that extends to the ground, so there’s no cause for concern even if the rainfall gets a bit horizontal.

Durability

It should come as little surprise that Marmot did not skimp on quality with the materials used for this tent. The floor of the Limestone is composed of 70D polyester taffeta, while the canopy is a combination of 68D polyester taffeta and 40D polyester no-see-em mesh. All the tent poles are made of DAC DA17 aluminum, with a 14.5mm diameter for the main poles and 12mm for the smaller brow poles. Considering its high price, we would have liked to see an included footprint, but this was not the case. You’ll need to spend an extra $64 for the Marmot Limestone 6P footprint at REI since we did not see it listed on the Marmot website.

Other Features

Besides the versatile vestibule and quad-zippered doors, there really aren’t a lot of bells and whistles associated with the Limestone. Much of its value is rooted in the quality of its workmanship; this tent was clearly built to last many years and for those with kids and pets who like to spend time in the great outdoors, it will be a valuable addition to the family.

The Bottom Line

With the Marmot Limestone 6P, you can confidently bring the whole family without being overly concerned about being short on space. It’s also made of excellent materials and should hold up well in rain and wind. However, it does have a few drawbacks: quality doesn’t often come cheap and this tent is just a bit pricier than others we’ve found that deliver a similar value. In addition, its vestibule is just a bit small when sealed off and the storage bag isn’t our favorite design.

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