# buying a tent advice....



## pasotami (Jun 1, 2006)

I need to get a tent for packing... there are too many out there so let me hear what you like about the ones you have and what you hate.
I need to be able to pack it in on my mule so the weight is important, large enough for at least two people, big is better. I just love this one but the price is through the roof, so to speak.
http://www.outfitterssupply.com/prodinfo.asp?number=WT BASECAMP
I like the fact is can have a stove but would I need that, really????
I really like this one but it does not tell how much it would weight....
http://www.outfitterssupply.com/prodinfo.asp?number=WT SPIKE2
Got any other places to look? :help:


----------



## CGUARDSMAN (Dec 28, 2006)

i would think any canvas tent especially cabin style is going to be heavy and hold more than 2 people.


----------



## TNHermit (Jul 14, 2005)

I camped for 20 years and Eureka tents are the bet for my dollar.


----------



## JGex (Dec 27, 2005)

www.rei.com

A $25 one time membership fee allows you to return merchandise any time for any reason, i.e., the tent didn't work out on excursion or a part broke or whatever, you can return for exchange for credit or other merch.

If you shop for outdoor gear often throughout the year, you will get a rebate on your purchases the next year towards more merchandise. Dollar for dollar, we've found REI to be a little more expensive on some items, but tents are reasonable. We've had a basecamp model for 4 years that has performed well in all sorts of conditions including a storm with 50+mph winds. The non-canvas tents are far easier to assemble and easier to maintain and carry.


----------



## EDDIE BUCK (Jul 17, 2005)

Heres a few to look at http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/browse/browse.aspx?c=80&k=tents Eddie


----------



## Goatguy (Aug 23, 2007)

Just by a cheap tent, go to your local outdoors store and get something in the $50-75 range. Expensive tents get holes, rip, leak, sun bleach, ect. just as easily as cheap tents. No tent will last forever. You could spend $500 on the top of the line, 4 ounces lighter, name brand, everest ready tent, or you could spend $50, get basically the same tent that will do %95 of the things the expensive one will do. 

Save your money on the tent, and put it into a really nice sleeping bag and pad, THOSE are worth the money. So is having a very well fitting backpack, but if your mule packing, then I suppose it doesn't matter about a backpack. 

After a long days hiking, riding, packing, what your sleeping ON is will be MUCH more important than what you are sleeping in.


----------



## shiningpath (Mar 27, 2008)

Wow, after looking at that tent I'm not sure what to say. I can't imagine sleeping in something like that, much less lugging it around --even if I had a mule. I guess he could sleep in there with you. 

Probably not what you're looking for but I'll recommend a couple brands anyway:

Mountain Hardware
Northface
Walrus - (My favorite --was bought by MSR) they are known for good backpacking stove systems and cookware. I haven't tried their tents.

These are good quality tents. I have carried a Walrus 1.5 for over 1000 miles, camping every 12-16 miles of it. It's still in good condition and ready to hit the trail again. My tent weighs about 2 pounds (I think). Your mule will love you for choosing something a little less "retro."


----------



## catahoula (Dec 14, 2005)

pasotami said:


> I need to get a tent for packing... there are too many out there so let me hear what you like about the ones you have and what you hate.
> I need to be able to pack it in on my mule so the weight is important, large enough for at least two people, big is better. I just love this one but the price is through the roof, so to speak.
> http://www.outfitterssupply.com/prodinfo.asp?number=WT BASECAMP
> I like the fact is can have a stove but would I need that, really????
> ...


 Are you looking for a wall tent or are you looking for a backpacking tent? I have a North Face four season tent that is tight as a drum just about bombproof, I think it would float. I've had it about fourteen years, it's a great piece of equipment. 

I also have a 12 X 12 wall tent I purchased from Cabelas. It's a synthetic so it dries faster than canvas and weighs less. It has a floor, windows, and a hole for a stovepipe. I bought the tent for car camping, but as it turns out I've been using it as a motorcycle garage. It has been set up for about four months now, it has weathered high winds, sideways snow and rain. It sheds snow pretty well, the snow does tend to pile up around the door, but it stays dry inside. The sun heats it up pretty well too, I was going to put a stove in it but it has stayed warm enough without it. It's nice and roomy for sure, if I had to choose a tent to spend a day in playing cards because it was raining cats and dogs, it would be the wall tent.


----------



## catahoula (Dec 14, 2005)

Goatguy said:


> Just by a cheap tent, go to your local outdoors store and get something in the $50-75 range. Expensive tents get holes, rip, leak, sun bleach, ect. just as easily as cheap tents. No tent will last forever. You could spend $500 on the top of the line, 4 ounces lighter, name brand, everest ready tent, or you could spend $50, get basically the same tent that will do %95 of the things the expensive one will do.
> 
> Save your money on the tent, and put it into a really nice sleeping bag and pad, THOSE are worth the money. So is having a very well fitting backpack, but if your mule packing, then I suppose it doesn't matter about a backpack.
> 
> After a long days hiking, riding, packing, what your sleeping ON is will be MUCH more important than what you are sleeping in.


 I've seen cheap tents fold under heavy snow, and lay flat in high winds. I've also seen them hold water better than they shed it. A good tent, a good sleeping bag, and a good backpack. The holy trinity of backpacking.


----------



## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

I have had good luck with eueka i have a 2 person dome and equinox 8 good for 2 and gear for a week and a "10 person " that does the 5 of us ok 

it is hard to beat the timber line 2 or 4 for a hard working pack tent this is what all the canoe outfits i have worked with on variose trips with the boyscouts over they years use , in the boundry waters , and canada 

http://www.eurekatent.com/p-54-timberline-4.aspx


----------



## Tom Bombadil (Mar 25, 2008)

I can't help you on tents. I use a portable hammock, some 550 cord, a surplus poncho, and a surplus poncho liner. If it was REALLY cold, I would bring the sleeping bag too. 

I have found that carrying a full size tent any further than out the back door or from the trunk of the car is a waste of time. If I am actually moving across wilderness and have to be truly portable then the setup, keep up, and breakdown of a tent proved that it was not worth it. I was more comfortable in a hammock that took 5 minutes to setup, 1 minute to break down, weighted about 4 pounds for the whole deal, and fit in two outside pockets of the backpack (one pocket for poncho liner, hammock, and cord; the other for the poncho - by itself in case it rains).


----------



## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

I lived in an 11x11' Eureka tent for 5 months one summer/fall. worked really well. heavy sewn in tub floor, lighter weight walls, with a rainfly over the top. had an awning. 7'8" high in the center. 5'9" at the walls. That tent stayed up during some really heavy storms next to the Mississippi. 

however..if you're talking a pack tent for hunting? something you might want to use as a base camp....the Eureka one would do, but couldn't have a good stove inside. You might want to take a look at Cabela's. they make some real nice base camp tents. CABIN tents. and OUTFITTER tents. I've been inside the Alaknakâ¢ II and that is one SWEET tent. *the smaller one weighs in at 54lbs, btw. but you don't have to carry the center pole if you are camping in trees...it has a D-ring that you can tie to an exterior support. the duffles it comes in are meant for pack animals or an ATV


----------



## hunter63 (Jan 4, 2005)

What are you going to use it for?
We use a 12 X 12 wall tent, for rendezvous, also double use it for an outfitters tent.

Has 12 X 12 awning/side curtains, floor, divider, stove hole.
Supports 2" X 6" , for snow load, mountains get a lot of snow.
Not light, not cheap but comfortable.

Made by Spring Vally Lodge's, don't know if they are still in business.
P.S. Might be for sale.


----------



## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

I've had el cheapo tents and the best on the planet.

Both will fail.

Difference is the el cheapo will fail at any time, without any warning... the best on the planet will progressively get worse. If it's in excellent shape when you start out a trip, it'll still be in excellent shape, after the trip.... as long as you treat it right.

I've spent months at a time in AK, 200 miles from the nearest town. Guess which tent I used. Not a no name tent. North Face. I've also put my life on the line before, in Arctic winter weather... one night we had 4' snow fall... believe we were in a North Face that week too.

The tent you showed looked like a cabin. I'd pass on that design... guaranteed to get moisture inside, if it's raining or snowing, unless you have a very large rainfly protecting at least the door.

No matter what you choose, choose quality... if your life depends on it, go with the best. I'll skimp on a lot of things, but my shelter against the elements, in the wilderness, is not a place to save money.


----------

