Tents

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I've done a lot of camping (still do) and agree with a lot of these guys.

I've bought a number of tents from Campmor and they are a good outfit. I would strongly suggest that you actually go to a store that has the tents set up so that you get a feel for the size of the tent and the quality of the materials, as well as see first-hand what's involved in the setup. Campmor does this and it's a great way to see what will work for you and what won't--you won't be able to tell that kind of stuff from a catalog.

Setup can be a PIA and tents that look very similar can be tremendously different in ease of setup. For example (one of my pet peves) is those ubiquitous fiberglass poles. On some tents, these are snaked through a flap built into the edge of a seam. On others, there are just plastic clips that are sewn into the seam. The former require you to place all poles, then using all six of your arms and seven of your feet, manage to pull the weight of the tent up with one hand while placing the end of the pole on a pin--maybe not so difficult for a one-man tent, but for a 4-6 man tent, you'll need help. The clip style allows you to just walk around the tent and clip the tent to the poles which you have already put in position--infinitely easier and quicker. The kind of thing one appreciates most when it's raining as you pull up to the campsite.

But do get the best quality tent you can afford and take good care of it. Quality and waterproofing mean nothing when it's nice and sunny out, but you'll be miserable if it starts to rain in the middle of the night and you start getting wet. Been there... :whoops:
 
REI has some nice 4 person dome tents, one of which I picked up for $120 about 5 years ago, that work great for general car camping etc.

Mountain Rescue I like the North Face Mountain or VE25; however, the new Mountain Hardware tents look o' so nice...

Camping with the cruiser I really enjoy my Hannibal Rooftop tent...worth the expense...

-H-
 
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Looks like a good deal to me. Good tarp coverage, nice size, two aluminum poles and clips for quick easy set up. Looks like the ventalation should be pretty good too.
 
BG,

All look pretty good. I like the full Mummy design of the NF bag. Additionally, remember that you'll want to go 10-20 degrees lower than the temperature you intend to camp in. Possibly more if you "sleep cold"

Go ahead and pick up some closed cell foam pads as well. Ground insulation, even in a tent, is critical for minimizing heat loss. A pad will make or break a night's sleep.

Both bags are synthetic, which classically means that you'll have a bigger "stuffed" size, but the insulation will not lose its warmth when or if, it gets wet.

I have both synthetic and down bags, and use them both for different reasons; however, if my life is going to depend on a bag I use a 0 degree down bag and a gore-tex bivy sack to keep it dry.

The tent looks good, I don't recall, but make sure you "seam seal" all sewed areas, just to make sure you don't have any leaks.


-H-
 
Oxtent is not that much more

You can get the self pop-up oztent for not a whole lot more money. I think I would definitely go that route. I have slept in them and am amazed at the simplicity of the set-up and take down. Also has a full rain tarp.
 
Tent is basically okay, but I have a Eureka with a similar screened opening at the top. When you're in a hard rain, water will hit the fly so hard that it atomizes and starts to accumulate on that screen, and drip on you. I personally wouldn't buy another tent with that "feature". If you tent in the desert, not a big problem.
 
oztent

Check out the oztent's. Two distinct lines of tents; Microfast and RV.

The microfast is your traditional two membrane tent but it is self erecting (did I really just say that). The poles remain integral to the tent therfore no fussing about with poles. Rain fly snaps on in 90 seconds. Tent sets up within 1-4 minutes depending on your needs. If you don't need the rain fly and wind is not an issue you could be inside and snug as a bug in a minute. The microfast line also has a floor saver (i.e ground cloth) that is the exact dimension of the then with the fly attached.

The RV series is the mack-daddy. Designed to erect in 30 seconds and geared more towards the truck camper who sets up and takes down freqeuntly. It also has a large awning that your rig can back up to. The awning can be fitted with side and front panels to make an fully enclosed second room. The RV folds down and is stuffed into a long cylindrical bag about 6.5 feet long. So you will need to carry it on your roof or the back of a pickup or wagon.

The microfast are very affordable and compare in price to you REI/Kelty/etc... variety, however it has a quic setup unlike many in its class. The RV will set you back a few but is a lifetime tent and will also bring the admiration of every camper who sees it.

Just my connected .02 cents worth.


ALF
 
Ended up with the Kelty tent . First use was in the Appalachian Mountains during a very wet and cold night. I think we were in a cloud because the air was extremely moist – we could see water particles everywhere when using the flash light. Visibility was about 10 feet using a Mag light.

Setting up the tent took about 2 minutes. You need about a 12’x12’ area to pitch this tent (tent is 10x10). I used a tarp to cover the ground that was just a few inches smaller than the footprint of this tent, as recommended by some of you. I already had the rain fly attached when I packed the tent, so there was only few drops of water in the tent by the time we were finished setting up in the rain. Used a towel to wipe it dry.

We setup our cooking area and enjoyed some warm soup. By the time we were ready for bed (about two hours later) and returned to the tent, we found that water droplets had formed on the inside of the tent’s roof – it was “raining” inside the tent. It was quite strange because water did not appear to be passing through the fly onto the tent’s roof. One thing I didn’t do was use the seam sealer before hand, but I don’t think it would apply in this case since the rain fly covered the entire roof? We dried the tent with a towel and went to bed.

Around 2am my buddy woke up shivering. He was soaking wet. Upon further inspection we found that his cotton sleeping bag had somehow absorbed a lot of moisture and was saturated with water. Would this have happened because his body heat caused the sleeping bag to absorb the rain water from beneath the tent’s floor and ground covering? He ended up sleeping in the cruiser for the rest of the night. I had a flannel blanket that was folded in a corner of the tent that was also wet somehow. I purchased the North Face sleeping bag and was completely dry.

In the morning, while we were breaking the camp down, I noticed about a cup of water in the tent. Most of the water was formed in little puddles around the sides of the tent. I’m going to use the tent sealer before the next trip but was wondering a couple of things:

1. How do I prevent my tent from “raining” inside it?
2. Why did my buddy’s sleeping bag get wet?

Bottom line – what’s the secret to keeping the tent and its occupants dry? :confused:
 
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BigGunna,

(I am not an expert)

Your tent needs to be vented in order to evaporate the moisture that your body releases as you breathe. Cotton is great for wicking moisture so your buddy's sleeping bag was absorbing as much moisture as it could. Your TNF sleeping bag is synthetic and doesn't absorb moisture.

From the description of the weather that night it sounds like you were in 100% humidity so no evaporation was happening.

-B-
 
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I have bought and returned 4 or 5 cheap ot mid range tents. ALL SUCK
I ended up with Cabelas Big Horn ll. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...=cat550002&parentType=index&rid=&cmCat=srchdx
Its $$$ and heavy but worth the $$$.
It has a place to put a wood stove. I got the pack wood stove. It takes apart and fits on a pack.
I have yet to use the stove in it but I tried the Mr Heat (the single element heater) but the dual element one with fan would of been better.
 
Cruiserdrew said:
I bought a tent last year for 4wheel drive trips I really like. It is heavy duty and waterproof. Check out Cabels line of "Alaskan Guide" tents. In my opinion these are great tents, very heavy duty, and most improtantly, water proof in a big storm. The price is reasonable for what you get. Here is the URL:

Stayed in one of these for a week in Siberia. Nice, dry, no probs. There are many good brands. a large cheap Sears tent has served me well for years of car camping. Now I have nicer ones, but don't necessarily need them. Invest the $$ in a zero degree bag; I have a North Face Snowshoe and like it. Be sure to get the Xtra long if you are over 6 foot. Here's a pic of the Cabellas tents set up in Siberia. (Yes, I have a pic for everything.) :beer:
Click to expand...
 
The Cabela's tents show by DocB are the way to go when car camping. The dome profile stands up to heavy winds better that the standard square sided tents. It's also nice to be able to stand up when moving around. I have 2 four season tents and they are perfect for extreme conditions. I have a Mountain Hardware Traingo 3.1 and a Sierra Designs StretchDome. Both have been well tested on Everest (not by me), and in pretty nasty conditions, but they are low to the ground and objectionable to the wife. I've been on trips in windy areas where my friends in the Costco 2 and 3 room tents have had walls collapse and wind blown sides that snap with ferocity all night, while I awoke in the morning unaware that it had been very windy at all. The Cabela gives you space while maintaining some of the more proven features found in the mountain tents. Be sure to buy a "footprint" which is a template groundcloth of the base shape of the tent, that stops just short of the tent edge, preventing rainwater from pooling under the tent.
 
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