springbar tents

[lcwizard]

Finally got the chance to use my Springbar tent. I know everyone loves the rooftop but I was looking for an
option that was ground level and made in America. My first travelling companion is a 100 lb Akita and last I
checked she couldn't climb ladders. I have and ARB rooftop that I've not used. I may not now. Here's my
observations.

Pros
Very spacious, headroom for a 6'3" standing straight up ( I really like being able to dress standing up )
Easy set up
Outstanding construction.
Canvas, ( better insulated )
nice list of accessories
great factory support
Made in the USA
In house repairs...If a bear makes a new door, send it in they can fix it
Zipper fails or tears they can repair it
Mosquito net tears they can repair it

considerations
weight... It's well made so it's heavy, 62 lbs with poles

I bought the Traveler 5. It is 10 x 10 inside floor dimensions. It cost 679.00.
There is a Chinese near exact knock off called Kodiak . They are 100.00 cheaper and have a wide marketing
game. For the extra 100.00 for the Springbar you get the better quality you'd expect, zippers, canvas, etc.
And if your drunken buddy falls through your screen door and rips it open you won't be getting any warranty.

I'm pretty happy with the choice and I like the fact they are built one state away

 

[LFD2037]

I have the Kodiak 6014 Deluxe (10'x14'). I got it for $500 delivered w/a free $50 tarp. When I compared it to the SPringbar I could tell no difference. I love mine & would take it over a RTT any day. Had it in a massive 50-60mph downpour for hours & it hold tight & stayed bone dry. I love this style tent!

 

[lcwizard]

They are very much alike. I had purchased a Kodiak through Amazon . I had assumed they were made by Springbar since they were identical and both
companies hailed from Utah. When i saw the made in China label I returned it and called Kodiak and asked him why his product looked so much like the Springbar. He told me he had approached Springbar to build his tents but they couldn't handle both theirs and his production so he sent a tent to China and they reverse engineered it. I payed the extra to get the Springbar only because it was their design and I feel they should get the credit. The thing that sets the Springbar and Kodiak apart from others is the bow design. I would have been more forgiving of Kodiak had they not copied it to such a high degree of detail.
Every American inventor/manufacturer's biggest fear is that someone in China, India, Viet Nam, etc. will take interest in their product if they are building it here. On the plus side, cheaper Chinese tents give our grandchildren a place to live when they can't find jobs

 

[AlaskanWheeler]

How feasible do you think a stove would be in that style of tent?

 

[Nothinghead]

How feasible do you think a stove would be in that style of tent?

You'd need to figure out how to get the combusted gas out of there and keep fresh O2 coming inside. A further complication is that you'd have to probably route your chimney out the wall of the tent because the roof is intensely tight due to the springbar design. If you need to cook under a roof, just use the canopy out front.

On a side note, I grew up in these in the Boy Scouts in Utah where these are made and now use my in-laws' 30 year old Springbar a lot with my wife and, as long as I don't put a knife blade through it or put it away wet, it should last at least another generation.

 

[AlaskanWheeler]

I wouldn't necessarily use it for cooking as much as I would use it for heat. I guess, if you had some sort of support on the outside for a chimney, it wouldnt be a big deal. Then I would just leave the screen open for fresh air.

 

[lcwizard]

It's the same as any canvas tent, a stove jack. However tent manufacturers only recommend it in wall tents. Wall tents have multiple guy ropes on all sides that are designed to prevent ant sway even in strong winds. Free standing tents like Springbar and nearly everything other than a wall tent is designed to give in high winds. A stove pipe through a tent wall would be dangerous if the tent was swaying back and forth. If you did this in a smaller free stander you'd need to make sure fires were out during windy conditions

example, this would be sewn in at a canvas shop

http://www.snowtrekkertents.com/stovejacks.html

 

[lcwizard]

imagine what would happen to your stove in this

 

[LFD2037]

I wouldn't use a stove in it but a Heater Buddy & CO detector & you'll stay warm in 0*F weather!

 

[LFD2037]

They are very much alike. I had purchased a Kodiak through Amazon . I had assumed they were made by Springbar since they were identical and both
companies hailed from Utah. When i saw the made in China label I returned it and called Kodiak and asked him why his product looked so much like the Springbar. He told me he had approached Springbar to build his tents but they couldn't handle both theirs and his production so he sent a tent to China and they reverse engineered it. I payed the extra to get the Springbar only because it was their design and I feel they should get the credit. The thing that sets the Springbar and Kodiak apart from others is the bow design. I would have been more forgiving of Kodiak had they not copied it to such a high degree of detail.
Every American inventor/manufacturer's biggest fear is that someone in China, India, Viet Nam, etc. will take interest in their product if they are building it here. On the plus side, cheaper Chinese tents give our grandchildren a place to live when they can't find jobs

The guy who started & owns Kodiak worked for Springbar for years. When I ordered mine I called them & they seemed real polite & helpful. If Kodiak was a chinese company & all $ went to China then I'd of not bought it.

 

[Wallygator]

Nice choice in tents with the Springbar. Here is my experience with Springbar...I called Springbar to order a tent and the girl screwed around shuffling papers for 10 minutes occasionally asking me a question or yelling to someone in the background, I was then put on hold for 20 minutes while she tried to find an order form. Then they hung up on me. It sounded like a party atmosphere so I must have caught them on an off day. I called back several times and there was no answer. Needless to say the whole experience was pretty irritating.

So i drove down to Cabellas and checked out the Kodiak. Ended up buying the 10' x 14'. It is sweet. I believe the floor is slightly better than the Springbar but the Springbar has slightly better metal in the poles. The Kodiak comes with great stakes, the Springbar doesn't. The tents are virtually identical other than the price. Other than that who cares if it's made in China. 99% of everything you buy is related in some way to China except for probably food. But they are buying those businesses now to. So anyway, I am very happy with my Kodiak and probably would have been just as happy with the Springbar. But it didn't work out and I saved money.

 

[lcwizard]

That'as unfortunate for them. There must have been a change in stakes because I got very good ones. Outside of the Toak's Titanium stakes I haven't seen better. Same stakes that the Montana Tent Co sells. 12 gauge V-shaped , a little under 12" overall length. They take a pounding with a three pound sledge. I only say the Toaks may be better because they use a cool material. I don't think they would actually hold up better. The v-shaped are better in loose soil and sand. Being made of mild steel these can bend and be straightened over and over. If I was going to set up in severely rocky soil I might
choose a nail stake rather than this spade style. Nail types are pretty useless in sandy soil however. It's best to carry both.

 

[Wallygator]

Yes I think those are the stakes people were talking about and they were complaining of them bending in rocky terrain. The Kodiak comes with thick nail stakes so are not ideal for sandy/loose soil conditions. Again, it's six/half dozen the other with these tents. I really like the style and ease of setup. Plan on handing the tent down to my grandkids if I'm fortunate enough to have them.

 

[Haggis]

Love my Springbar. Had to definitely upgrade the stakes. Got mine from Cabela's. I scored my tent barely used from a friend $300. They are heavy, but the top notch zippers and canvas make it worth it. I have the Campsite 3. My only wish is that it came with a canopy like yours. Am trying to find an option. I don't think mine has a shade canopy option.

 

[Brentbba]

I ditched the cheap stakes that came with my Springbar and ordered the same length Snow Peak stakes. Not cheap at $5/ea but darned well worth the money. I bent the heck out of the Springbar stakes and have yet to bend a Snow Peak stake. I did order the longer 15" (I think-maybe 18"?) Springbar stakes for beach camping and they were fine.

 

[snobdds]

I wouldn't necessarily use it for cooking as much as I would use it for heat. I guess, if you had some sort of support on the outside for a chimney, it wouldnt be a big deal. Then I would just leave the screen open for fresh air.

If you're in alaska, get a what they call a "hot tent". It's made out of canvas and is designed to accept a stove. I love winter camping, but in Wyoming, a stove is an absolute necessity. I have a snow trecker tent and a four dog stove and I'm comfortable down to about -15*. A company called seek outside makes a tipi style hot tent that is pretty sweet, with the stove jack right in the middle, slightly offset. The beauty of that design is there is only one pole then the permiter is staked out. Simple.

Here are some random ideas for some tents with stove options.

 

[lcwizard]

Seriously?... camping in the snow, and no floor?. What happens to the snow in that five foot radius around the stove?...
In Az we have "hot tents" too. It's basically any tent set up from mid May to mid October.
I think there's more snow in that second photo than fell on the entire state of AZ in January

 

[spressomon]

Seriously?... camping in the snow, and no floor?. What happens to the snow in that five foot radius around the stove?...

Shower water? Basement?

 

[snobdds]

Seriously?... camping in the snow, and no floor?. What happens to the snow in that five foot radius around the stove?...
In Az we have "hot tents" too. It's basically any tent set up from mid May to mid October.
I think there's more snow in that second photo than fell on the entire state of AZ in January

What happens around the stove...well nothing. Remember, heat rises. The snow is so frozen and cold soaked, it would take a solid week of fires before it would melt through. I do however put the stove on two wood runners through the base to spread the weight on the snow. Then I just put a tarp and some pine bows down and everything is fine. Winter camping is some of the best camping out there.

 

[lcwizard]

That's crazy. When we do get snow here it's never cold enough to do that. It would melt in a short time. I rented a cabin in Yellowstone Park in Feb '84 for my honeymoon. It was a cross country ski heaven. They said there was 80" of base. I remember driving into West Yellowstone and the snow being piled 15~20 feet up on each side of the asphalt. The silence in a snow landscape is wonderfully eerie