TENT QUALITY

[Northern Dancer]

It's been pouring rain for the entire day and I need some "campy" things to think about.

A QUICK LOOK AT TENT QUALITY
[Non-Canvas]

After a lot of costly mistakes in buying tents, I finally learned my lesson and began to focus on quality that can be seen and measured.

I don't care who made it.

The first thing I want to know is the ❶ denier, especially the rain fly/tarp if there is one. I want to see the ❷ seams taped. Having the seams taped reduces the possibility of the tent leaking. This is especially true of the floor. Manufacturers of good tents [didn't say best] will list these items on their products.
Speaking of floors I prefer a "bathtub" design that has a ledge height of two to four inches or more.
It is understood that some ❸ tents with jacks may not have a floor.

Zippers are a pain. I look for top-quality zipper designs that are strong and durable and work in snow conditions. Replacing damaged zippers can be an expensive job.

Fabric stitching is important and I'm not impressed with threads dangling all over the place. I want the tent to be proportionally correct without things being off-centre.

❶ Denier is used in determining the thickness of the fibers in a tent fabric. It's a unit of density based on the length and weight of a yarn or fiber. A single strand of silk is considered 1 denier. So the high denier is better.
❷ Taped seams are a method used by manufacturers in everything from tents, waterproof jackets, to gaiters and tarps to improve waterproofing in gear doubling down on protection in the fabric's most significant point of weakness.
❸ Tents with jacks are the ones designed to receive a wood stove. It is the hole in the roof that permits a pipe to go through to eliminate smoke from the stove.

 

[ppine]

Quality matters. Good tents hold up. Spend the money and never look back.
Canopies on nylon tents need to cover the whole tent. Avoid any tent with a partial fly and odd pop-outs over the doors and windows.

Canvas tents are heavy and not suited for backpacking but warm and sturdy and they last a long time, longer than nylon.

 

[Northern Dancer]

Quality matters. Good tents hold up. Spend the money and never look back.
Canopies on nylon tents need to cover the whole tent. Avoid any tent with a partial fly and odd pop-outs over the doors and windows.

Canvas tents are heavy and not suited for backpacking but warm and sturdy and they last a long time, longer than nylon.

=====> You make an excellent point "Pine" referring to the canopy. I sort of smile when I see tents with "bonnets" on the top - was never really sure what they were supposed to do.

 

[Roybrew]

My big tent is a basic dome with the 2 end pop outs, and a partial fly. I don't like the ends sticking out. The fly will sag in that area when it rains. Pain in the tail. Fair weather tent only.

The Great Outdoors

 

[ppine]

Last fall I was in the Sierra near above Bridgeport, CA. I brought the big spacious Cabela's dome tent and a cot. It rained for real for 15 hours. I had to move the tent twice because of little creeks flowing through the camp site. Water got in around the doors because of flawed canopy design. It was a good thing I was sleeping on a cot above the water that collected in the low side of the tent.

I just bought a small Kodiak canvas tent to replace it with. I may give the Cabela's tent to the Boy Scouts.

 

[Northern Dancer]

My big tent is a basic dome with the 2 end pop outs, and a partial fly. View attachment 3921 I don't like the ends sticking out. The fly will sag in that area when it rains. Pain in the tail. Fair weather tent only.

The Great Outdoors

=====> Dunno - does the canoe go with it? I've used a canoe as a tent, along with a tarp over top.

 

[Northern Dancer]

Last fall I was in the Sierra near above Bridgeport, CA. I brought the big spacious Cabela's dome tent and a cot. It rained for real for 15 hours. I had to move the tent twice because of little creeks flowing through the camp site. Water got in around the doors because of flawed canopy design. It was a good thing I was sleeping on a cot above the water that collected in the low side of the tent.

I just bought a small Kodiak canvas tent to replace it with. I may give the Cabela's tent to the Boy Scouts.

=====>The standard test instruments that we can only use in the field. Wind, Rain, Sleet, and Snow. I was reading the other day that the industry standard for sleeping bags is a test dummy to measure heat. I sometimes wonder what they use to test a tent.