Shelter Nostalgia

[Lucas Boyer]

I had to double check the magazine name on Rick's wayback thread, the advertisements had me thinking I was perusing an adult publication. A few gems I found:

Alpenlite Packs

"Isn't it time you let your hips shoulder the load?" (photo of woman in tight jeans w/ hip and hind quarter prominently displayed as leg is lifted.)

Alpine Products Inc.

"In the dark they all look alike. But looks aren't everything. At some point you'll have to use your sleeping bag."

Madison avenue Madmen! So dirty.

This thread doesn't make me feel so bad about holding on to a Eureka Timberline 4 man. It mostly collects dust in my basement, but I hate parting w/ gear.

[Sebastian A]

I still have my old west wind from North Face. 24 years old and going strong. Know anyone who’ll replicate it for me in DMF?

[Sebastian A]

Sorry I meant DCF !

[Franco Darioli]

I love that Malcontent name :

the other great name was Impotent (abbreviated to I tent) given as a joke on the Omnipotent.

Henry Shires managed to sneak in one with the ProTrail , a play on words for the Contrail.

BTW, the original idea of the StratoSpire tents was very similar to the Sierra Designs 3 man tent that Mark Verber posted .

Not that I had seen that tent at the time….

[Nick Gatel]

Holy Thread Resurrection!

I miss Miguel being here on BPL. A real class act.

[Franco Darioli]

Yes Miguel had a very unconventional approach to tent design

 

[Edward John M]

I had a Flashlite and also the Eureka Firelite clone, both excellent tents for my type of walking and I used to drool over the SD SuperFlash, although in hindsight the SuperFlash should have been a 4 pole design with an extended vestibule [even if it would have weighed more] I’d buy one if they brought it back in new UL but stronger modern fabrics

[AK Granola]

My shelter nostalgia has nothing to do with the quality of the shelter or its function. I fondly remember our family tent when I was little, which my mom sewed from a Frostline kit, sorry no photo; I think it was pumpkin orange but not sure. It wasn’t especially weather proof nor was it comfortable, with an A-frame style you couldn’t avoid bumping up against the damp side. But snuggled between my parents, it was a temporary home, where I heard loons calling for the first time. It was a respite from the relentless bugs in northern Minnesota, and where I could sip a cup of cocoa handed to me early in the morning before I was even out of my sleeping bag. Great memories! That tent disappeared long ago.

My mom made a lot of our gear, including ditty bags, like this one for cooking utensils, made from what I think was a pair of my brother’s old pants, complete with Velcro closure (still in perfect shape!). It’s not lightweight and I’ll probably never use it again, but I’ll keep it forever!

[Tipi Walter]

Karen—OregonPhotos is a great website for this kind of discussion!

http://www.oregonphotos.com/Frostline1.html

[jscott]

The North Face Tadpole served me very well for years. And that Sierra Design’s Flashlight solo was a good design too. The North Face came out with a single hoop center pole solo tent that I loved for some years; I forget the name. That replaced the Tadpole for me. they all kept me dry!

I bought a Walrus solo tent new at a local second hand/seconds store for cheap. It was barely larger than a bivy. When an unexpected three day Sierra soaker rolled in one year I hiked out early and that was the end of that. the tent was too much like a coffin.

[Ken Thompson]

Sounds like a Micro Swift Jeffrey.

[jscott]

“Sounds like a Micro Swift Jeffrey.”

Yep, that’s it–Walrus Micro Swift. I think Walrus was being bought out by someone and the store was selling discounted left over inventory. At 3 1/3 pounds I thought Man that’s light! In fact it was too heavy, not enough space and didn’t work all that well in rain. Other than that….

[Ken Thompson]

Fast-Light-Beautiful, Walrus. Should have known from the slogan that something was amiss.

[Pierre Descoteaux]

My favorite gear nostalgia site… http://www.outdoorinov8.com/keltyimages.html

[jscott]

“Fast-Light-Beautiful, Walrus. Should have known from the slogan that something was amiss.”

For the time, that tent WAS light. Or, maybe I just didn’t know any better.

[Tipi Walter]

Jeffrey—“single hoop pole tent”—That would be the North Face Canyonlands.  A buddy of mine had one back in 2004—

[jscott]

Tipi: That’s the very tent! Actually, not a bad design. But like everything North Face, sorta heavy (but not for its day.) Thanks for reminding me! Nice memories with that tent for sure.

[Dave Heiss]

I came close to buying a NF Canyonlands back when they were available but instead went for a MSR Zoid 1 – which I believe was MSR’s re-interpretation of the Walrus Micro Swift. That Zoid 1 was a snug fit for me but I really liked the small footprint. Sold it years ago, not long after MSR discontinued it, but I still wonder sometimes how light the Zoid 1 would have been if done in today’s UL fabrics. It was a great “just enough” kind of design.

[Tipi Walter]

In tandem with Shelter Nostalgia comes this fact—That perfectly good shelters made by North Face and Mt Hardwear and many others are DISCONTINUED and left to rot in the dustbin of history—and so if you find something you really like you better buy 4 of them new because in 2 years the company will dump that tent from their product line like a hot potato drenched in syphilis.

Canyonlands is gone.  Westwind is gone.  Mt H’s Muir Trail and South Col and Light Wedge and Mountain Jet and Hammerhead tents—all gone.

[Arapiles .]

“Holy Thread Resurrection!

I miss Miguel being here on BPL. A real class act.”

Maybe reach out to him – a quick search shows that he’s been around here in the last year or so and failing that I think that his blog (Laughing Knees) is still up.

 

[Ben H.]

I am surprised by people saying they still have and use some of these tents.  I still have and use a couple of 40 year old down sleeping bags, but after about 10 years or so tents turn into rain sieves in stead of rain stoppers.  I guess you could use them where there are bugs but absolutely no chance of rain…

[Nick Gatel]

I am surprised by people saying they still have and use some of these tents.  I still have and use a couple of 40 year old down sleeping bags, but after about 10 years or so tents turn into rain sieves in stead of rain stoppers.

If one uses a shelter every single day on the trail and isn’t gentle, they won’t last. On most of my trips the shelter usually stays at the bottom of my pack or strapped to the outside in a sack to protect it. I take it out when the weather threatens. Headnets, gloves, long sleeves and DEET usually take care of insects. This is why I have a couple old shelters and still use them on occasions, but they are heavier than the new stuff. I would say the problem with modern shelters is they don’t last long in comparison to the old stuff. Generally the lighter things get, the less durable they are.

The biggest problem with old shelters is sometimes the PU coatings degrade and peel off. Some of this is due to poor storage practices.

After every trip, if I used the shelter, I set it up and clean it when I get home. This helps too.

[Tipi Walter]

TENT BRANDS AND PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE
Tent companies as mentioned are notorious for getting rid of great tent models because they are no longer wanted but STILL WORK.  It’s sort of EVIL.

On the other hand, tent deterioration is a fact of life.  Most backpacking gear is disposable and needs to be replaced on a cyclic basis—socks, t-shirts, boots, bic lighters, clothing, EVEN TENTS.  Yes, tents are disposable and therefore must be replaced, even Hillebergs.  Knowing this it shouldn’t be a surprise that we have to replace our tents on occasion.  Keeping an old tent alive is like trying to keep a pair of old socks alive—don’t bother.

To a dirtbagger it’ll be possible to keep an old tent alive by using duct tape and safety pins and adding a blue walmart tarp to cover the thing—or going to walmart and buying a $28 dome Ozark Trail tent which leaks on the first night.

But with a little cash we can keep our shelters somewhat new.

[Paul S]

My experience is that all PU coatings eventually fail, even if tent is in a low humidity storage (closet in my living room). The urethane just starts to decompose, and smells bad! So, all tents (and backpacks) that use PU coatings have a limited life. Kinda sad.

 

[bradmacmt]

My old VE24… got it in 1979.

 

[Author]

Posts