Backpacking Tent, a three man
weighing less than 1 lb. 3 oz and standing 3.5 feet tall.
Or even better, at 1 lb. 11 oz. 6’ tall 5 man
(Yes!)
That’s right! These are
serious tents at as light a weight as we could
make them. Solid 185T polyester!
PU1000 coated.
Backpacking Tents. Light!
And yet great for short trips, too.
What does a
tent do for you? It keeps off the rain,
the dew, the wind. And it keeps in
heat on a cold night. What more do you need?
Especially when weight is an issue.
Modern tents
have become monuments to manufacturing. Bathtub
floors and bug netting and stakeless setup and
zippered windows and multiple pole sets are all standard. Whether you
need them or not.
I was over
25 before I ever saw a tent with a floor built
in. Neat. Heavy. With lots of poles. And you
always carry a ground cloth to go with the
tent. As a Boy Scout I camped many a night
without any such bells and whistles. Trips on
the Appalachian Trail, in snow, wind, rain, more
snow… this type of tent did it all.
With modern
materials, a good tent can be built light and
strong. That’s what we have done here. We have
shrunk a tent’s weight without compromising the
basics.
Speed…
This is a
different concept to consider for tents. But
there it is, the thundercloud on the horizon
moving rapidly your way. How quickly can you
get under cover? How about 3 minutes? Try that
with other tents. Find a flat spot, unpack your
bag and you can be inside a tent in three
minutes. If no thunderstorm is on the way,
that’s just convenient free time.
And packing
up… instead of packing from the inside, just
remove the tent and pack it, then gather your
stuff up from on top of the the groundcloth, then pack the
groundcloth. No ducking into the tent and
fighting with your gear. Do it from the top
down. Much quicker. Off and trucking.
Boy
Scouts…
Yes! The
Mark V is a new variation of an old BSA type design.
Instead of handing the Scout five or so pounds
of tent to carry (his share with groundcloth and
stakes and poles and tent and rain fly and
vestibule…) let’s get it down to under 1 pound
each for two guys, or less for three or four! And a
tent that can be set up easily and quickly. Philmont, here we come! As well as many
camporees, klondikes, and overnights… as
well as long backpacking hikes and short.
Think about it… doesn’t your conscience bother
you when you ask a Tenderfoot that weighs 87
pounds to carry a pack of 40 pounds? This
is one good
step for cutting that down to size.
Carry poles or tie lines or
nothing…
Before a
backpacking trip you need to decide how you will
set up the tent. Your options are not
complex. First, if you are using a
trekking pole, you can opt to take along an
extender (needed for the five man tent, only) and use the
trekking pole for your center pole. If you are
going to be camping in a wooded area then you
can opt to find a six foot pole (or three and a
half foot) in the woods (never cut live trees
for this). In the Eastern woodlands this
is really easy to do. Or you can opt for
no pole and take 50’ of nylon twine to hang the
tent from a tree branch or two. This
requires some basic knowledge of knots and the
same skills you might use hanging a bear bag.
Or for trips close in to the trailhead you can
carry a six-foot pole. The last option can
be
carrying the jointed pole made specifically for
this tent.
Groundcloth…
A
groundcloth is required with all tents. You put
the fancy tent on it to protect your floor and
to keep it dry. With this tent you use the
groundcloth directly. Lightweight groundcloths
are great for a day or two out in the wild, and
weigh ounces. For extended outings you
should use a heavier plastic for your ground
cloth, or a Space Blanket. Concerned about not having a
bathtub floor? On a rainy night, make
your own. All you need are a few sticks of wood
tucked under the ground cloth on the uphill or
vulnerable side.
Headroom and Elbow Room…
Tired of
trying to get dressed laying flat on your back,
while elbowing your tent mate and banging
against the roof of your shelter? You will
love the five man tent! You can sit up, even play cards on a
rainy night… you can walk in (stooped) if it
starts raining… you have room to bring in your
pack and other gear… Two people have room to
lay out their bags and still not be shoulder to
shoulder. The feeling of claustrophobia is
gone! Lots of room left in the entrance to set
your packs for night access. And if you need to
you can put FIVE people in there, but
they have to be friendly.
Venting…
A stuffy
tent is a pain. So would one be that acts like
a solar still and has moisture condensation on
the inside. To prevent this we have built in
two venting windows with netting to keep out the
bugs. With flaps, of course. This gives
ventilation thru the top of the tent when you
want it, like a chimney with a flue. In the hot
summer I have hung the tent higher and extended
the stake loops so that the whole tent is a foot
off the ground. This works great on a hot and
stuffy night!
Fire
Retardant...
Despite the
extra weight, this is a good idea. So the
tent is treated to CAPI-84 standards. With
this type tent, you are not trapped inside if a
disaster occurs like with most tents. You
can rip your way out under the sides if you
really have to.
Warranty…
Try it. If
you don’t like what you see, send it back for a
full refund. After that, if anything fails on
the tent over the first year we will repair or
replace the tent. Can you ask for more?
When are these tents perhaps not your
first choice?
If you are
going into a black fly or mosquito infested area
during the “bad” season…
If you are
mountaineering into extremely rocky areas, where
stakes can not be driven…
If you plan
to camp on a flood plain in the rain…
If you
expect a whole bunch of snow…
If you are
taking your girl friend and she is paranoid
about the outdoors…
If (to avoid
being sexist) you are taking your boy friend and
he is paranoid about the outdoors…
Your options
are to take the tent and adapt to the rock (tie
off your stake points), slather on the DDT, keep
off the flood plain (or the drainage channel,
which is less obvious), and shovel off some snow
in the middle of the night if necessary. Tell
your partner to tough it out, and take the tent
anyway. Or tell him (her) to carry the OTHER
HEAVY tent
and poles...
Guarantee – ten day return for any reason.
One year guarantee for manufacturing flaws.
Obviously excludes abuse or fire (sparks) or a
tree fall or other acts of God.
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