tents...

yea, i am being a bit of a toddler with so many questions, but as far as tents go what type, and price range should someone with my experience(NONE) be looking to find? the VA/MD area can get hot, and cold.. not as cold as Canada, or other parts of the north, but come fall it can get down there. so maybe you guys can help me out in finding a nice tent. i have already got a sleeping bag from rei, that makes me sweat when i am in there for even 5mins. so i don't think i'll have any problems with that.

well as for hot/cold environment that really falls onto your sleeping bag. If you are too warm then unzip it, if too cold bundle up in it. Don't forget a winter hat! i wear one in the summer at night b/c it gets so much colder during the day and my head gets too cold. umm as for tents your options are only limited to what you want to spend. I have a Woods or a Coleman tent, have had it for at least 11 years. It does not leak, and was not expensive. What you need to do, though, is get yourself a tube of seam seal. Then put your tent together on a warm day and coat the seam seal on all seals (both on the tent and the fly if it has one). This will make it nearly water tight! My tent was seal'd twice and i have duckt tape over the fly where the pole goes in simply because the pole rip'd through. I think i have some duckt tape on one of the walls too, but still it doesn't leak. You could spend a ton of money on a tent, but unless you plan on being in crazy rain/wind then you should be ok with just about anything. Look at the size of the tent. Mine is 9feet X 9 feet and 6 feet tall in the center. It is big enough for 3 people with some gear comfortably, but it is best for 2 people. This tent was rated at sleeping 5-6 people. Basicly, if you look at the suggeted amount of people it will sleep you can cut it in half if you plan to take any gear/extra clothing with you. Any other questions, just ask. There are no stupid questions, only stupid people to answer them Razz

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Never explain. Your friends don't need it and your enemies won't believe you anyway.

thanks again. everybody on these forums rock.. quick responses to all my questions. you guys are better than google. Razz

dude i just can't sleep lately, so i come on here and do some housekeeping/posting. but yea, seam seal will cost you like 3 dollers or so and save you a bunch of soak'd gear.

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Never explain. Your friends don't need it and your enemies won't believe you anyway.

Gah I cant sleep either I end up watching survivorman and packing up my gear and stuff Mad

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"There dosen't look like there's much shelter over in those mountains, but that's the only choice I got right now, this is gonna be a long week" - Les Stroud Arctic

Yeah tents are more of a windbreak/rain shelter to me, than a place to stay warm in. I've found that tents with the shock poles are much easier to setup than the adjustable poles are. Also, the ones with individual poles tend to be really hard to setup alone, I have one that almost needs all nine people to set it up right. Personally I havn't used that tent in about three years now because of how hard it was to setup.

But I have limited my tents to two different styles for differnt needs. First I have my wall tent. It's 10'X8' with four foot walls, and an eight foot peak. It's big enough for the two large cots that I put in it, and hunting gear. I put a small heater in there, and leave it on for the night when it's cold. The top has two opening so hot air/fumes can leave, as well as leaving the window slightly open and the door a little open. There has been snow on the ground and I've slept in my boxers with a couple blankets. It's awsome, but I got a good deal on it from another hunter and only paid $300 for it, they can sell up around $800 or more so that may be out. Mine also weighs about 120 pounds, plus what ever all the poles, stakes, and ropes weigh in at.

On the completly other side of the spectrum I have a one man tent that can be said to be half a man tent. Laughing

Or our favorite the "two man tent by Brokeback industries" (sorry it's a backpack hunting camp joke). With that tent I have woken up cold in the middle of summer a little chilled with a sleeping bag, and later that fall with the rain fly on woke up nice and warm with 3" of snow on the ground and a mummy bag. I have to leave my pack outside because there is no room inside for it. I make room for my bow, or my gun but there really isn't any room in there for them either. When I lay on my back there is about two inches of space between each of my shoulders and the wall. I can just about sit up, but I have to stay hunched over to keep my head from touching the top. Also, because it's so small condinsation is a huge problem if the rain fly is zipped up. Everything has a light mist on it each morning. Very Happy

The major plus, is that the entire tent, with poles, ground tarp, and stakes weigh in at just under six pounds. Cool

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Where the Eagles fly, and the Caribou lie is where I want to be, the Wolf waits there for me.....
-Les Stroud

Cool tents Azarcher Very Happy

I didn't now it snows in AZ Confused

eric

	turd wrote:
	Cool tents Azarcher I didn't now it snows in AZ eric

Arizona is not just a huge desert! We have low land deserts, high land deserts, tundra, mountains, and pines. Laughing

We can get snow in the desert, and it makes for some cool photos with the sagouros coverd in snow and decorated like a christmas tree. Cool

Those photos are from different trips with friends over the years.

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Where the Eagles fly, and the Caribou lie is where I want to be, the Wolf waits there for me.....
-Les Stroud

thanks.. so i guess anything that'll keep me dry.

	Bob Loblaw wrote:
	thanks.. so i guess anything that'll keep me dry.

*ding ding ding!* Have you looked into the bivy shelters? I mean, if you want to go ultra light those are pretty cool. A guy who use to go with us used one of those things. It's like a sleepingbag with a tentpole to keep it off your face. I guess they are supose to be pretty warm. I've never used one because I like to roll over during the night and I never could get a straight answer of it it would roll over too. Laughing

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Where the Eagles fly, and the Caribou lie is where I want to be, the Wolf waits there for me.....
-Les Stroud

check out the cabelas bivy 1 man tent around 65 bucks with rain cover ill try to get ya a link

Bob,
Everyone's giving you good advice. Including that it's O.K. to ask any question that crosses you're mind. I, personally, am in the running for the "Dumbest Question Ever Asked On The Arctic Cove"... and I'm really trying to win, so don't mess with me! Laughing

Are you mainly going to solo? Or have a private tent? Then I'd say go bivy shelter for the good season, as has been recommended. Very lightweight.

TrooperMax has a nice tutorial in the "Shelter" thread for using 2 tarps and some cordage to make a decent 3-season shelter... very low cost, very light, and quite functional it appears.

For Virginia, another option would be a simple tarp strung between trees for rain protection, and a mosquito netting coccoon underneath with your sleeping bag protected inside. As long as you're not facing a major storm off the Potomac, this would be a really nice and comfortable ultralight alternative. Cheap but very functional.

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"Asinus sæculæ maximus."

gearjunky, is this or this the one?

eric

The first one is the one I was talking about. Outdoor Research is very well respeted and a ton of people love them.

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Where the Eagles fly, and the Caribou lie is where I want to be, the Wolf waits there for me.....
-Les Stroud

Well Bob i wouldn't buy nothing less than a 3 season tent myself. Depending on what brand you get the cost could be anywere from, $ 150 to $ 1000.00 Just look for good stiching, & taped seams. Cool

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A Knifeless Man is a Lifeless Man
Canadian To The Core
We are Known By The Tracks we Leave Behind
Carry Less by Knowing More
Knowledge Weighs Nothing

thanks for the info, again... i'm probably gonna head over to wal-mart or something to pick up a tent when the time comes. but until then, i'll just have fun looking at this one.

http://www.rei.com/product/731430

what do you guys think?

rei, is a store i just can't get enough of.

that is defonatly a nice tent. I was looking at a 4 season tent for a while there, never got it but still want it. I think it was a 2 person sized tent, which to me means 1 person and some gear.

_________________
Never explain. Your friends don't need it and your enemies won't believe you anyway.

Ya, thats what i find to with tents, a 2 person is for one & gear so i got a 3 person for me & my girl & some gear room. Or some times just me & a whole wack of room Very Happy

its like a queen size bed in there. Laughing

_________________
A Knifeless Man is a Lifeless Man
Canadian To The Core
We are Known By The Tracks we Leave Behind
Carry Less by Knowing More
Knowledge Weighs Nothing

I've got a Kelty Teton 2 person tent for backpacking. Its lightweight (for a framed tent) and relatively inexpensive. Its been throughout the southeast with me from the AT in February to Folly Beach, SC in July. I've never had any problems with it. http://www.backcountry.com/store/KEL0384/c3/s28/Kelty-Teton-2-Tent-2-Person-3-Season.html

http://www.backcountry.com/store/BLD0632/c3/s28/Black-Diamond-Lighthouse-Tent-2-Person-3-Season.html

Link to my new tent. Had to return my backpack, and my other tent to afford this one. It's a 2person tent(really 1person) and super lightweight. It folds up smaller than my sleeping bag, and super quick to set up. One of the coolest things is that it sets up from the inside! A bit pricey, but I consider myself a luxury backpacker. And I got it from REI, but they don't seem to have it on their website anymore. I'll try and get some pics up once I'm able to go camping. I've got 2more weeks until softball season is over. And then I'll be able to get out on the weekends again.