RE: [Philmont]: Tents - General Comments on Evaluations

From: Dr. Bob Klein
>
> When people are making recommendations and/or testimonials
> about tents,
> they should include a basic checklist BASED ON THEIR
> PERSONAL, LONG-TERM EXPERIENCES. To whit:
>
I like Bob's list, but let me simplify it to generics. I camp in
Western Washington. It rains less here than you might think (Seattle
gets about the same rainfall as New York), but it rains a little all
the time. Except for the period between July 5 and the day before
Labor Day ("summer"), it ALWAYS rains, snows, sleets or hails on EVERY
(statistically speaking) campout. I bought myself a new tent in
December of 2000 and it was percipitated on EVERY outing until
Memorial Day weekend when it inscrutably didn't rain for two whole
nights. The Washington troops that I've seen at Camporees, Klondike
derbies, and at adult leader training all use the same basic tent:

- Free-standing 2- or 3-pole. Some use the Sierra Designs Clip
Flashlight-style tents which are not free standing, but they still
have...

- Rain flies that go all the way to the ground, all the way around.

- Vestibules.

The most common Boy Scout tents are various REI Half-Dome and Alps
Mountaineering Taurus tents. A lot of us use a variety of personal
North Face, Sierra Designs, REI, and other pricier tents, but they all
have full flies.

I have around 100 nights of camping in my Sierra Designs Meteor Light.
It's a little bigger than most 2-man tents, and a little heavier, but
it stands up to 3-4 inches of Cascade concrete (the local word for
"snow") without bowing and it has only leaked a teaspoonful of water
in nearly five years (the corner soaked through in a 2-day drencher
last year). I've never sealed the seams so it might be time. It also
cost over $200 in 2000 and is pretty pricy for the average scout.

If you set up your new tent in your yard and rain on with a sprinkler
for 3-4 hours, it should be perfectly dry inside, if it isn't, either
seal the seams or return it.

The rain flies that cover part of the door and go part way down the
sides are, in my opinion, useless in a rainy climate. Don't waste
your money.

Rick Tyler
ASM, Troop 575
Philmont 2006!

-------------------------------------------------------
Scouting E-mail Discussion Lists @ usscouts.org
Subscribe/Unsubscribe at http://usscouts.org/lists/
Listserv Commands at http://usscouts.org/lists/lc.asp
-------------------------------------------------------
Send listserv commands to: listserv@troop47.com
Send postings to: philmont@troop47.com
List FAQ found at: http://usscouts.org/lists/faq.asp
List Administrator: philmont_owner@troop47.com
-------------------------------------------------------
As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow
Scouts and Scouters, do your best to be trustworthy,
loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient,
cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
-------------------------------------------------------

 
Received on Tue Oct 11 04:59:34 2005