Tent Buying Guide (long, print it out)

Mike Rapoport wrote:
Do not underestimate the value of cheap.


Not me. Some of my best dates have been with cheap and tawdry tarts.




--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

VE

"Mike Rapoport" wrote in message
.net...
Good stuff, IF you are going to carry the tent.

I have numerous tents from $40 tents from Costco to a single-wall
mountaineering tent that I will be taking to Mt Vinson in Antartica next
January. I believe in cheap tents for events like bike tours (unless you
are carrying the tent) and airplane camping. You can casually abuse a
cheap tent and not worry about it.

snip


Do not underestimate the value of cheap.

Mike
MU-2

I have a fairly nice 2 person backpacking tent that has a low profile and a
full size rain fly. Despite 30+ mph winds and lots of rain at Oshkosh on
Monday night, the wife and I were essentially bone dry. Our poor neighbor
had a cheapo tent and ended up bailing out his tent the next morning and
having to dry ALL of his stuff - clothes, sleeping bag, etc. He had a
miserable night and said he slept in water (not in damp bedding, but IN
water). Monday was one of those days where spending a few more dollars to
get a decent tent really paid off.

For me, the only good place for a cheap tent is for kids who are "camping"
in their backyard. In that situation, if the tent leaks, you bag the
campout and head inside... No harm, no foul. Otherwise, being stuck with an
inadequate tent really, really, sucks. Trying to sleep in a tent turned
swamp isn't my idea of a vacation... ;-)

"Kyle Boatright" wrote in message
...

"Mike Rapoport" wrote in message
.net...
Good stuff, IF you are going to carry the tent.

I have numerous tents from $40 tents from Costco to a single-wall
mountaineering tent that I will be taking to Mt Vinson in Antartica next
January. I believe in cheap tents for events like bike tours (unless you
are carrying the tent) and airplane camping. You can casually abuse a
cheap tent and not worry about it.

snip


Do not underestimate the value of cheap.

Mike
MU-2

I have a fairly nice 2 person backpacking tent that has a low profile and
a full size rain fly. Despite 30+ mph winds and lots of rain at Oshkosh
on Monday night, the wife and I were essentially bone dry. Our poor
neighbor had a cheapo tent and ended up bailing out his tent the next
morning and having to dry ALL of his stuff - clothes, sleeping bag, etc.
He had a miserable night and said he slept in water (not in damp bedding,
but IN water). Monday was one of those days where spending a few more
dollars to get a decent tent really paid off.

For me, the only good place for a cheap tent is for kids who are "camping"
in their backyard. In that situation, if the tent leaks, you bag the
campout and head inside... No harm, no foul. Otherwise, being stuck with
an inadequate tent really, really, sucks. Trying to sleep in a tent
turned swamp isn't my idea of a vacation... ;-)


A cheap tent, *properly guyed out*, will easily weather anything at OSH that
doesn't send airplanes flying. The $40 tent I took on a bicycle tour of CO
kept me dry through seven evenings of CBs. I'm not saying that a $40 tent
is equal to a Mountain Hardware EV 2, I am only pointing out that for trips
like OSH, a cheap tent has advantages. One problem with tents that have a
"low profile" is that they have a low profile. The El Cheapo tents are
usually pretty big inside.

Mike
MU-2
ATP and Outdoor Equipment Connoiseur

Time out, everyone!
As the founder of this thread, I will add a point in defense of cheap
tents (since I haven't as yet written the full AIRVENTURE TENT BUYERS
GUIDE).

Mike's points are all valid. He has quantified them and they are sound.
If you know what to look for, you can find inexpensive tents that will
do the job.

The information I posted is intended to educate the reader about what
features to look for and why. Armed with that information, you will find
a wide range of prices that may suit your needs.

Short story...
One of my neighbor/campers this year was using a 15 year old Eureka
Timberline 4. During the wind and rain, the fly ripped. The tent and fly
were faded and worn. My neighbor was lamenting that he was disappointed
in the tent. He had bought it because others had told him Eureka was a
good tent and would last a long time.
It did, he just had higher expectations.
He expressed that he would probably buy a cheap $40 tent because if it
only lasted a couple of years, he could purchase another and still be
money ahead instead of spending $160 for a new Timberline 4.
Is his logic flawed? Maybe. Maybe not. It all depends on the features
and materials he selects for his next purchase.

Personally, I have been experimenting with light/ultra-light camping
using just a 10x12 siltarp and a piece of 6'x8' TYVEK.
I am not quite ready for a week worth of AirVenture with it, but it has
potential.

john smith wrote:

Personally, I have been experimenting with light/ultra-light camping
using just a 10x12 siltarp and a piece of 6'x8' TYVEK.
I am not quite ready for a week worth of AirVenture with it, but it has
potential.

Back before I was aware that there was such a thing as money, I used to camp
with just a mil-surplus sleeping bag. I would take along the cheapest plastic
dropcloth I could find and a coil of clothesline. If it looked like rain, I
could string the line between a couple of trees, cut some dead wood for stakes,
and stay pretty dry. Of course, that was in an area where there *were* trees and
deadwood in plenty (GSMNP).

I still carry a cheap dropcloth and some clothesline in my emergency gear pack.

George Patterson
Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to
use the Internet and he won't bother you for weeks.

"john smith" wrote in message
. ..
Personally, I have been experimenting with light/ultra-light camping using
just a 10x12 siltarp and a piece of 6'x8' TYVEK.
I am not quite ready for a week worth of AirVenture with it, but it has
potential.

The bugs will get you at OSH if you use a tarp!

Mike
bug hater

John wrote, "Personally, I have been experimenting with
light/ultra-light camping
using just a 10x12 siltarp and a piece of 6'x8' TYVEK. "

Reminds me of my younger years playing camping in the woods near our
house, we used trashbags cut open and tape.

Bryan "The Monk" Chaisone