R. Diaz wrote: Several friends were sea kayak camping in an exposed open area when during the night a gale picked up. The people in normally adequate Eurekas and the like were awakened to the sound of snapping tent poles, collapsed or shredding tent walls, pegs popping, etc. A miserable night of hanging on until daybreak. As the day dawned, most of the group was contending with the wreckage, when over in one corner the occupants of a Northface VE-23 or 24 were awakening and opened their tent door to wonder what was all the commotion going on around camp at that moment. Their tent walls had hardly flapped throughout the night, certainly not enough to rouse them. The Northface had stayed put and totally intact. So sometimes top quality (we are talking about $500 tents!) pays. Yes! I have similar memories of a night, when I woke up at 3 am. and saw the roof of the tent coming close my face :-) We (my lady and me) had put the tent about 30 feet from the shore and a full gale wind was blowing hard to us and packing itself and rain against the cliffs and us. Directly. Fortunately, the water did not rise enough to get us wet. Fortunately, the aluminium poles did not brake. Fortunately, the kayak was is a still and safe place -and high enough. I just went back to sleep again and learnt in the morning from the radio, how the wind had changed itīs direction and speed... Personally, I do value double tents with a very low profile. I have bought a Fjallraeven Foxlite (Swedish, I think), which did last this above mentioned test very well. It might be worth of $ 550 ( I bought a piece which was used and the poles were not original). BUT: the shape of the tent is quite suitable, imagine a plate turned upside down with three poles going to identical direction. Good: put the door to the opposite side of wind and it is really stormproof ( about 3 feet high). Bad: it doesnīt stand without cords so rocky islets might bring some difficulties... two cords is enough, but I can imagine it flying when it is really windy (after all, it takes 8 to 10 cords to make it safe). The tent I had before was a canvas one, my grandmaīs and museum stuff: beautiful, from the early seventies - and as useful as a paperbag. Ari Saarto Kannaksenkatu 22 / P.O. 92 15141 Lahti - Finland - Europe GSM +358 - 50 - 526 5892 fax. +358 - 3 - 828 2815 e-mail: asaarto_at_lpt.fi *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Feb 17 1998 - 08:00:21 PST
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