Re: [Paddlewise] TENT HUNT - "PLEASE"

Peter said (with mostly snips):

While I appreciate your sincerity Doug, it looks to me like your two
lists are comparing good tent designs to poor ones and not free- vs.
non-freestanding.
----------------
That is true Peter, and thank you for pointing this out. Funnily enough,
after I hit send on my last post, I had an afterthought that I should
have ended "All things being equal".  Of course, things never are "all
equal". Case in point: one of my paddlemates uses a Gortex tent. Instant
pitching, no leaking, no condensation, no supplemental fly; and while
the tent is not freestanding, it only has a couple of guidelines and can
be moved rapidly to a different location (as he is prone to do to get
away from, uh, certain snore-loud camping mates!

Much of my last post and points were due to inductive reasoning and
hatred for my old NFS tent (so somewhat subjective), though objective
observation of other campers (and their particular NFS and FS tents)
also helped confirm my strongly felt opinions. "Generally" (here we go
again), I find a good FS tent superior in every way, but that has been_
my_ experience. You beg to differ, because that has not been your
experience, and this is what makes Paddlewise such a useful place to log
into, where we can have civilized discussions about how to escape from
civilization (well, except ralph who paddles in the shadows of
skyscrapers :-)  )..

There must be a lot of different tent designs out there over the years.
Ultimately, the thing is to get out there and enjoy wilderness while
one's health is good and we still have diverse wilderness. As Scott
wisely said, a pup tent will suffice (heck, a good tarp is all a true
wilderness adventurer needs, though here on the west coast, we have had
wolves pull untented paddlers out of their sleeping bags in the middle
of the night (well, one big bad wolf who enjoyed being fed high-caloric
camper's food -- or was that high-caloric campers?). I'll be keeping my
tent however, and retaining the freestanding design characteristics that
I've come to appreciate and luxuriate toward.

On a technical note, some freestanding tents don't stand very free at
all until fully staked out (which begs the question, "Are they really
freestanding?". Once unstaked, they collapse readily with the slightest
provocation. Definitely, not all tents, of whatever design, are created
equal. In the end, price points, clearance sales, and things like
availability might prove more important to the perspective buyer. Good
gear isn't cheap anymore, but the cost of avoiding wilderness excursions
because one doesn't have the latest and greatest gear might prove
immeasurable. So grab that aluminum polled, canvas heavy, mildew ridden
crustaceous contraption and get out and enjoy nature.

In terms of "looks of derision" from fellow paddlers (point #10), proves
again that my experience has been different from yours. Of course, with
my old inferior (designed) NFS tent, it may have been mostly looks of
concern, not contempt. Paddlers, after all, are a decent bunch of
people...and apparently decent lunch to some animals.   :-)

Doug Lloyd (back on his feet and freestanding again)



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