Some tent advice:
If you are camping for one night only:Unless you’re hardcore backpacker (as I used to be more years ago than I care to admit), a 1-person tent isn’t. If you’re camping solo, go for a 2-person tent (typically 5’ x 7’) If there are two of you, make it a 3-person (7’ x 7’ or dimensions that work out to approximately the same area). With three or four who all love each other very much, you could go for a 4-person tent (60+ sq. ft.) or 5-person tent (80+ sq. ft.), but two smaller tents are a better bet—they’ll be less likely to blow down if it’s windy unless the larger tent is expedition-quality.
If you’re camping in the same place multiple nights (such as at Wanee):Even if it’s just you alone, you’ll be much happier spreading out in a 3-person tent than trying to keep your clothing and gear organized in the small amount of leftover floor space not occupied by your sleeping gear in a 2-person tent—especially if you’re in an altered state of consciousness or recovering from one. For two people, a 4-person tent is the minimum size and a 5-person is better. Three or more of you, bring two tents.
Price versus quality:
Unless you are into camping in extreme conditions in the deep wilderness where a tent failure could be life threatening, don’t waste your money on an expensive tent. They’re just as vulnerable as cheaper tents to the kind of human-caused damage such as burns, rips and broken poles that is most likely to occur at crowded, drunken events like music festivals. You’ll mourn a whole lot less if you wreck your $80 Coleman Sundome 4 than if your $400 Marmot Halo 4P bites the dust at Wanee. Regardless of the price of your tent, bring along a $10 tent repair kit and you'll be fine.
Other considerations:Regardless of size, a tent with a fly that forms a closable vestibule is a real advantage in rainy weather; bringing wet stuff into a tent makes everything damp. Unfortunately, tents with that feature are typically 150% to 200% more expensive than equivalent tents with open flies unless you can snap one up at a clearance sale of last year’s models.
If you can afford it, a sturdy popup canopy with screen sides (such as this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Swiss-Gear-Smart- ... B000N5395U) is a beautiful thing. When it’s rainy, you have a dry patch to cook, eat, relax and hang up wet stuff. When it’s hot and sunny, you have shade. When it’s buggy, the screen sides are a lot more effective than citronella candles and much preferable to gumming yourself up with insect repellent. But beware of those el cheapo canopies with legs made of several segments; setup is a pain and they are vulnerable to anything stronger than a light breeze.