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MYOG Tunnel Tent (The Frankenstein Tent: Old Materials Come Alive Again)
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Home › Forums › Campfire › Editor’s Roundtable › MYOG Tunnel Tent (The Frankenstein Tent: Old Materials Come Alive Again)
- This topic has 19 replies, 14 voices, and was last updated 1 year, 9 months ago by Warren McLaren.
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Dec 7, 2022 at 8:06 am #3767115
Companion forum thread to: MYOG Tunnel Tent (The Frankenstein Tent: Old Materials Come Alive Again)
An MYOG tunnel tent project using re-purposed fabrics from used gear.
Dec 7, 2022 at 7:24 pm #3767179Warren, this post is amazing on many levels. The idea and the workmanship is amazing. Also, your level of detail in this post is outstanding. Take care. Alan
Dec 8, 2022 at 12:50 am #3767208Thanks for the kind words, Alan. Much appreciated, especially from a fellow vintage gear aficionado.
Dec 8, 2022 at 7:56 am #3767214Nice looking tent. Great you’re re-using old materials.
I’ve seen my mom use a treadle sewing machine, but then she bought an electric machine which I first used.
Dec 8, 2022 at 5:13 pm #3767275Hi Warren
Wonderful stuff! Really!
I prefer tunnels for their ease of pitch and ability to deal with high winds.
You and me too.The finished tent looks simple enough, but belies the inordinate time that went into its design and construction.
Chuckle. I spent years on this. And I was not constrained by existing bits of fabric from older tents, which made it easier. Eh, but designing is fun, no?The idea of a removable front vestibule is something I had not considered. Interesting. I went for the integrated vestibule.
Windward end anchor: my designs have a nearly full-width windward end so I use two anchors at that end. I have played with a Warmlite 2R but I was never happy with the single point of failure it represented. I imagine you need a really good deadman anchor for this in the snow? I may be guilty of a slight overkill here, but camping on top of the Main Range in a 100 kph winter storm left us happy with the reliability. (Less so with the decision to camp there though!)
Broken Line-Locs: we have even managed to break a 50 mm buckle once – my wife jumped a large cornice and somersaulted. Her pack went thump. I do not trust those prongs at -10 C: the plastic goes brittle.
Long snow platforms: yeah, true, but we think they are worth the extra effort for the vestibule space and comfort. Compromises, always.
I have never camped ON Consett-Stephen Pass, always on on the Rolling Grounds nearby. But the position looks ‘interesting’. Wonderful photo.
Cheers
Dec 9, 2022 at 9:49 am #3767319Very inspirational about the joys and challenges of rehabbing old tents!
I personally dream of getting an old North Face Morning Glory, and/or Sierra Designs Octadome for cheap and making them functional again. Rotting floors are not that hard to replace but when big panels are sloughing off their coatings or badly Sun damaged, it is too big a project for my skills.Oh, and I got to sew on my grandma’s pedal powered Singer, too! That thing could punch through anything!
ScottDec 10, 2022 at 4:33 am #3767358Thanks Jerry. Oddly my mum couldn’t sew, but my dad could, hence why he showed me the ropes with the treadle.
And yes, Scott, treadles were amazing machines, sewing webbing and thick vinyl that would cause many a modern domestic sewing machine to cough and complain. Good at sewing fingers too, I discovered! The North Face Morning Glory had great aesthetic appeal, almost nautical in its swooping lines. As you say, a lot of fabric to content with, tho’ the individual panels themselves probably no bigger that the ‘mids that are popular today.
Thanks for your thoughts, Roger. Long been impressed with your own designs. Congratulations on those. Regarding the single windward anchor, yes, it does required this to be very secure, but I have never found that to be an issue. It does help with this design that the end of tent facing into the wind starts quite low. Less internal space, true, but also much less ‘sail area’ to be buffered. Because the tent rises gradually from ground level to a peak, wind has very little in the way of flat surfaces to push against. You enquired about deadman anchors. I have a pair of aluminium sheet snow flukes I had my dad make for me, back in 1981. They are still going strong, though I have lightened them by swapping out the original 25mm (1 inch) webbing with Lawson Glowire cord. 19cm (7.5 inches) tall x 17.5cm (7 inches) wide with a strengthing fold in the middle. 90g (3 ounces) each with clip. This year I tried some DutchWare Titanium UL Sand/Snow Anchors for side guy lines, but not yet convinced they are any improvement over long snow pegs, except maybe lighter at 30g (1 ounce). Pitching on grass I have always relied on my 8 inch (20 cm) Chouinard T-Stakes that I bought in 1985. Best tent pegs every made, in my opinion. Except I lost mine earlier this year. Until I can find some more, I have been using DAC J-stake in the longest 20cm (8 inch) length. All that being said, as redundancy, I did also add peg-out loops at the two back corners of the tent, in case I felt the need of extra security in big blow.
Dec 11, 2022 at 5:56 am #3767454Hi,Warren!
Beautiful design and amazing craftsmanship!
I am very impressed with your craftsmanship.
I would also like to push forward with my project!
Dec 11, 2022 at 7:36 am #3767458Excellent article and tent. I remember wanting an Early Winters tent. Eventually I bought a Stephenson. I have always believed that this style of design holds up well in snow storms and have experienced it staying up when others around me collapsed.
Some people criticize the workmanship of the Stephenson but mine is still working after more than 40 years and at least a hundred setups later.
The use of only three guy out stakes has never failed. I just use the proper stake for the situation. Sometimes I use my ice axes, skis or poles.
You put a lot of thought into your design and significant effort to build it. In my book you checked most all of my boxes.
Dec 11, 2022 at 7:43 am #3767459Very nice, and truly inspirational with what you created with recycled fabric/gear.
Dec 11, 2022 at 11:52 am #3767469Your achievement is beyond words. It clearly was a labor of love on many counts. Hope you get the leaky floor resolved. Old, coated nylon seems to be irredeemable once it starts leaking. You are an inspiration to us all.
Dec 11, 2022 at 12:21 pm #3767472Wow! An inspiring effort. I am curious about what the Gore fabric brings to this tent, especially in cold weather. Randall Osczevski published a paper in 1993 called Diffusion of water Vapour Through Cold Gore-Tex. This paper concluded that a hydrophilic film, included on most Gore-Tex membranes (not the early membranes or present Pro membranes) shows increased resistance to vapor transfer as membrane temperature drops. Have you gotten a feel for how well condensation is controlled approaching and below 32F by the Gore-tex membrane in your Frankenstein tent and its predecessor Gore tents? Do you feel the membrane or the tent venting provided better moisture/condensation control?
Dec 11, 2022 at 12:26 pm #3767473Is it only me that wonders what it is about Australia? Is it the sun or maybe something in the water? I would call it inspirational but I know I would never tackle something that hard.
Dec 11, 2022 at 2:09 pm #3767475Australia: the home of the tunnel tent!
One of the reasons is the utterly unpredictable and violent weather in our Alpine regions. We can go from a clear blue sky to a thunderstorm or sleet in the space of half an hour. Seriously, it is due in a large part to the local geography which can focus a mild wind into storm.
Cheers
PS: New Zealand has the same weather problems and is the home of the iconic Macpac Olympus tent.Dec 12, 2022 at 1:14 pm #3767531WOW! This article bears many re-reads to fully appreciate your creation. A modular tent foe all seasons that does all of them justice. The US Army would love this tent since there mantra for gear is “MODULAR”.
And I see that “a certain Australia BPL member” who also makes tunnel tents likes it as well. ;o)
Thanks for showing us your “Precious”.
Dec 13, 2022 at 9:54 am #3767584Thanks everyone for your supportive thoughts. It is very encouraging.
Tim, I have also used ski, poles and/or snow shovels, when windy conditions warranted some extra purchase in the snow. Congrats on having a 40 year old tent. That stills works.
And Chris, just start with smaller projects working up to more complex ones, as confidence increases.
Stephen, I tracked down a copy of the article you mentioned https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA279939 for a future read. Of course, your zero degrees and mine may differ. Australian alpine temperatures can drop to −23 °C (−9.4 °F) but more typically are not colder than −15 °C (5 °F).
My non-scientific experience, following a cold, still zero degree night is that the inner surface of the soft, fuzzy, non-woven Nexus lining of the Gore-Tex canopy can sometimes feel moist. But rarely to the point where it drips back on you. As the day (or tent) heats up, the moisture held in the lining layer diffuses through the Gore-Tex and the inside becomes dry again. I think it’s worth remembering that – condensation occurs when water forms into liquid from vapour. A Gore-Tex tent inner can be damp from vapour, but it is very unusual to see beaded liquid water in the canopy. Nothing like you’d experience in a typical single-skin coated nylon shelter. And not those heavy beads that fall when your condensation-laden single-skin is shaken by rain, strong winds or both. (For the record, when not extolling the virtues of tunnel tents, I am also a fan of single-skin pyramids, having used them for traverses of the French Alps, Swiss Alps, Corsican Haute Route, Pyrenees’ coast-to-coast, UK’s Pennine Way and Isle of Skye, Norway’s Rondane, Joutenheimen, Filefjell, and of course, the Aussie alps.)
From my research, it appears that Early Winters sold over 18,500 Gore-Tex tents, (models for 1 to 4 persons) over about nine years, which would suggest they performed pretty well for most users.
Todd Bibler, of Bibler Tents, made the first Gore-Tex dome tents in 1977, and later in the mid/late 80’s (when Gore exited the tent market after many US states required tents to be flame retardant) his propriety ToddTex – also a ePTFE laminate with Nexus lining. He wrote in his catalogues, “your ToddTex tent has minimal or no condensation, certainly less than any double wall tent.” Elsewhere he says, “A human body gives off 1/4 cup of water in one hour! This water must be able to dissipate through the tent walls or escape through vents to avoid condensation.” Noting, “ToddTex is breathable enough to prevent condensation.” He published test results on moisture vapour transmission rates indicating ToddTex achieved 1,210 grams/square metre/24 hours, whereas three competitor’s fabrics gave rates of 262, 643, and 876 grams/square metre/24 hours.
Marmot Mountain Works didn’t claim their tents were condensation free, rather that they condensed less. They advised, “When some inevitable dew or frost forms the highly textured Nexus liner traps it — acting as a built-in frost liner.” They advocated for the reduction of condensation via flow-through ventilation.
Wintergear, who pioneered Gore-Tex tents in the UK, and would later morph into Wild Country/Terra Nova, wrote “it isn’t a miracle fabric giving 100% condensation free performance in all condition, but to date nothing better is available.” In a later brochure they advised: ” ‘Frosting’ on the inside of the tent due to the freezing of condensation and breath in very cold conditions can also be a problem although it must be stressed that is also occurs in any tent to varying degrees no matter what its design or materials.”
The now sadly defunct Phoenix Mountaineering, of the UK, made award-winning Gore-Tex tents. They wrote “we cannot claim Gore-Tex tents to be totally condensation free they are however far and away the best form of single skin tent.” They also observed that the Nexus layer prevented drips.
In short, the Gore-Tex works most of the time, the fluffy Nexus liner greatly extends this performance and comfort range, as does low-to-high ventilation. But sometimes condensation still happens. No solution is perfect – all the time.
Dec 19, 2022 at 11:42 am #3768053Warren, I hope you’re not using any of that first generation Goretex. I bought an Early Winters bivy tent of that in 1980 and encountered a heavy rain in Georgia–went right through it as though it were a mesh tent. An Early Winters parka made from it also proved worthless.
Dec 19, 2022 at 11:59 am #3768060Warren, I forgot to commend you on your outstanding construction. I am in awe and wish I had your skills and knowledge.
Dec 19, 2022 at 5:21 pm #3768078Hi Warren,
Just spotted this discussion and your other thread with photos. That is one awesome tent. Can imagine from my own project how much time and thought must have gone into this. Really special!
Juup
Dec 22, 2022 at 9:15 pm #3768357Thanks heaps for the kind words. Appreciate you taking the time to read the article, and to comment.
Moab Randy, sorry to hear you had problems with some Early Winters Gore-tex. Gore did refund millions of dollars worth of first generation fabric products that leaked from contamination. Most of those issues were solved by about 1979-80. Sounds like you were unlucky.
Juup, yeh, they are time-consuming aren’t they! I dug and around and found your project. https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/myog-1p-trekking-pole-tent-for-demanding-conditions/ That is a very impressive tent you have there, yourself. Great lines and cat curves. Love how they follow the stress lines, should significantly reduce flapping in wind. And cool how you have the top vent tensioned to the main guy lines. Curious why you didn’t do the same for the low vents, instead of tying off to the short poles. But great work. Imagine you are rather chuffed with the final result.
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