Mark M
I've done a lot of scout camping in my younger days, was our pack's campmaster for 15+ years, and continue to do a lot of camping every year, sometimes with larger groups of family and friends. I often hear stories about how this or that model tent stinks, but upon listening further, I realize that the problem primarily is due to the user not setting-up the tent properly or not preparing/maintaining the tent properly.
So what are some of the tent setup and maintenance mistakes you've seen, and how do you prevent them from happening. For example:
Do "modern, high-quality" tents need to have their seams sealed before use? Exactly which seams need to be sealed? Do you apply sealant to the inside or outside? Do the seams need to be periodically resealed? What about tape?
With heavy-duty, sealed, waterproof, bathtub floor designs, is a ground sheet still a necessity, and if so, what kind? Is a larger ground sheet better than a short one?
Orienting your tent versus ground features, the sun and wind?
Protecting against water, animal and overhead dangers?
Anything else you've experienced.
So far some great answers. I like to make my own ground sheets as well, but they do need to be shorter than the floor of your tent, or tuck the excess under, to avoid rain from running down the tent walls, collecting on the ground sheet and then possibly pooling between it and the tent floor.
Making a nice layer of dried leaves, leaf duff, pine needles or dry grass not only protects the floor of the tent, it adds insulation and padding while crawling around on your knees. I don't trench; on hard ground I think it's too disruptive, and on loose or sandy ground it's generally unnecessary. But I will take advantage of existing trenches if aligned conveniently.
I'll admit the rolling vs. stuffing argument is new to me. I've seen a few fathers stuff their tents back in the bag, but always chalked it up to laziness. I've always been anally-retentive enough to try and roll my tent as neatly and compactly as possible. Maybe it's why my tents have lasted so long?
Haven't seen anything
... about cheap or incorrect type of stakes. Are they all the same?
Answer
I've seen more tent damage from mis-use, carelessness than anything else, here are some off the top of my head (Scout Leader)
#1) Tent not fully dried when packed. Mold will destroy a tent fast.
#2) Not fully opening zippered doors prior to entry/exit. My little twits can not get out of the habit of opening the fly with the double zipper juuuuusssst enough to step through. At best this puts a lot of stress on the zipper and eventually they will no longer close the zipper coils. Worse, though, the little buggers overestimate their grace and frequently trip on the small opening, causing a tear.
#3) Along the lines of grace, tripping over guy lines.
#4) Tent pole jousting (rolls eyes and sighs)
#5) Food in tents (including other objects that smell like food to animals). Ever see what a determined squirrel can do to a tent? I hope to never see what a Bear would do after seeing a tent destroyed by a small furry mammal.
#6) Failure to pin and guy the tent. I've been in the middle of a 50 mile long lake when a tent went rolling by. I was impressed with it's ability to shed water, but never did locate the owner. My Scouts frequently are running after tents, but have never lost one...yet.
We do use ground tarps cut from large sheets of plastic, seems a good practice.
I have read, but am unable to locate the source, about a test between high end and cheap tents pitched in direct sunlight. The gist was that both were functionally destroyed within 150 days.
Seam sealer, if it is not broke, don't fix it. About every other year we gently hand wash the tents and re-apply nickwax as per the instructions. We only seam seal if there is a leak noticed as we begin the wash process.
I've seen more tent damage from mis-use, carelessness than anything else, here are some off the top of my head (Scout Leader)
#1) Tent not fully dried when packed. Mold will destroy a tent fast.
#2) Not fully opening zippered doors prior to entry/exit. My little twits can not get out of the habit of opening the fly with the double zipper juuuuusssst enough to step through. At best this puts a lot of stress on the zipper and eventually they will no longer close the zipper coils. Worse, though, the little buggers overestimate their grace and frequently trip on the small opening, causing a tear.
#3) Along the lines of grace, tripping over guy lines.
#4) Tent pole jousting (rolls eyes and sighs)
#5) Food in tents (including other objects that smell like food to animals). Ever see what a determined squirrel can do to a tent? I hope to never see what a Bear would do after seeing a tent destroyed by a small furry mammal.
#6) Failure to pin and guy the tent. I've been in the middle of a 50 mile long lake when a tent went rolling by. I was impressed with it's ability to shed water, but never did locate the owner. My Scouts frequently are running after tents, but have never lost one...yet.
We do use ground tarps cut from large sheets of plastic, seems a good practice.
I have read, but am unable to locate the source, about a test between high end and cheap tents pitched in direct sunlight. The gist was that both were functionally destroyed within 150 days.
Seam sealer, if it is not broke, don't fix it. About every other year we gently hand wash the tents and re-apply nickwax as per the instructions. We only seam seal if there is a leak noticed as we begin the wash process.
Need a New Motorcycle Camping Tent?
Jack
This Summer I am taking a seven or eight day trip up the coast of California and then across the state into The Sierras to meet up with family to fish the lakes and streams. I currently have a 5x7 Alps Taurus 2 which is fine for a night or two, but not for a week. Iâm 6â2â and 250 lbs and with my bedroll there is not enough room to bring in all my MC gear out of the elements.
So, Iâm thinking maybe an 8x8 4-man tent with at least a 5â center height. I donât need to be able to stand straight up to change clothes, but I donât want to have to bend at the waist, either.
The packed diameter is not that much of an issue, nor is the weight. But, the main compartment of my duffel is 24â long and I need my tent to fit in that.
I have a small Coleman Cat Heater that I would use to take the chill off when up in the mountains. Weâve tried that heater in our trailer and in a 10x10 tent. Useless. But it does work well in my 5x7. Maybe it will work in a 4-man, too.
A vestibule would be good, but not necessary. One or two doors; doesnât matter. Aluminum poles are preferable.
Iâd like to stay under $200; $150 or lower would be better. But, Iâll spend more for the perfect tent if needed.
I think I like both the Kelty Trail Ridge 4 and the Big Agnes Jupiterâs Cabin 4. The Kelty is $50 cheaper but the Big Agnes packs a little smaller.
Any recommendations? Or comments on the two mentioned above?
Answer
I have a four-person 9x8 Pacific Crest Rock Creek dome tent that I used on my solo motor camping trip to the Arctic Circle in AK two years ago, and that I will be taking on my planned ride to Panama this spring. I really like it. It works great, and to me is the best combo of price, quality, size, weight, packability, and ease of one-person deployment (I have no trouble putting it up or taking it down alone). It's also very light and compact for its size, measuring right at 24" when in its carry bag.
I use a twin air mattress when I travel by bike (a comfy, good night's sleep is critical), and it has plenty of room inside for that and all of my gear with room left over for changing clothes or whatever. The height at the peak at 52" is a little less than five feet, but I'm 6-2 and it works fine for me.
My previous tent was a three-person dome, but one of the main ridge poles broke while putting it up one evening and I had to replace the whole tent in a small town on the road. I couldn't find another three-person tent since there was only one sporting goods store in that town, and it was kind of a small family-run place with a very limited selection (not complaining - there could have been no selection at all). I was a little worried about bumping up to a four person tent as I thought it might be a little too big and bulky for MC camping, and my three-person had worked so well (other than a balky main zipper).
In reality, I like the four person tent even more than my three, so the broken ridge pole was a blessing in disguise. Aside from being a bit roomier without being TOO big, the Pacific Crest is also higher quality than my last tent, which probably explains the broken ridge pole and balky zipper on the old one.
Best of all? The Pacific Crest Rock Creek is less than $60 from several sources online. I paid $69 for mine at the small town store two years ago, which I still consider a good deal for what I got, especially in a pinch.
I have a four-person 9x8 Pacific Crest Rock Creek dome tent that I used on my solo motor camping trip to the Arctic Circle in AK two years ago, and that I will be taking on my planned ride to Panama this spring. I really like it. It works great, and to me is the best combo of price, quality, size, weight, packability, and ease of one-person deployment (I have no trouble putting it up or taking it down alone). It's also very light and compact for its size, measuring right at 24" when in its carry bag.
I use a twin air mattress when I travel by bike (a comfy, good night's sleep is critical), and it has plenty of room inside for that and all of my gear with room left over for changing clothes or whatever. The height at the peak at 52" is a little less than five feet, but I'm 6-2 and it works fine for me.
My previous tent was a three-person dome, but one of the main ridge poles broke while putting it up one evening and I had to replace the whole tent in a small town on the road. I couldn't find another three-person tent since there was only one sporting goods store in that town, and it was kind of a small family-run place with a very limited selection (not complaining - there could have been no selection at all). I was a little worried about bumping up to a four person tent as I thought it might be a little too big and bulky for MC camping, and my three-person had worked so well (other than a balky main zipper).
In reality, I like the four person tent even more than my three, so the broken ridge pole was a blessing in disguise. Aside from being a bit roomier without being TOO big, the Pacific Crest is also higher quality than my last tent, which probably explains the broken ridge pole and balky zipper on the old one.
Best of all? The Pacific Crest Rock Creek is less than $60 from several sources online. I paid $69 for mine at the small town store two years ago, which I still consider a good deal for what I got, especially in a pinch.
Powered by Yahoo! Answers
No comments:
Post a Comment