Table of Contents
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Introduction
In 1981, I bought an Early Winters Omnipotent SL. It took forever to get to sleep on my first night under its canopy, staring up, marveling at the taut architecture and complex construction. This three-pole tunnel tent, with its two Gore-Tex doors and integrated inner and outer, pitched in the blink of an eye, with just two anchors (e.g., stakes) for mild conditions.
Years later, I’d end up working as an outdoor clothing and equipment designer, conjuring up apparel, sleeping bags, packs, first aid kits, etc. But I never brought a tent to market.
Later rebuilding and/or renovating classic tents became a bit of a masochistic hobby, but I still hadn’t scratched that itch of creating one from the ground up.
I moved on from designing commercial outdoor gear, because I didn’t think the world need any new stuff, and worked for decades in the environment and conservation sector.
Yet when friends or businesses were throwing away broken or unwanted tents and parts, I said, “Wait, I’ll take those.” Thinking one day, I might get around to making a tent.
Finally, I bit the bullet. I have ‘Frankenstein’, a tent from the materials I’d accumulated. A new tent, yet one from old reused and repurposed fabric and components.
I couldn’t afford to make full prototypes; I only had barely enough of some materials to use them a single time. Once cut, there was no going back. I couldn’t order more.
Features / Specifications
Features
This two-person shelter can quickly transition from a two-pole three-season bushwalking (backpacking) tent to a four-pole, fully vestibuled winter tent for backcountry ski trips.
The single-skin construction uses full Gore-Tex tent laminate for the canopy and ends. This three-layer cloth has a polyester Nexus inner lining which can hold excess condensation in its fluffy non-woven structure until the Gore-Tex membrane has the capacity to pass it through to the outside. (Even if the poles should collapse, the tent would effectively become a two-person Gore-Tex bivvy bag.) A rear tension cone of coated nylon protects the low vent, so cool dry air is drawn in, to then rise out the much higher front vent where it escapes pulling moisture-laden hot air with it. A simple guyline on this top vent keeps it upright in windy weather.
Only three anchors are required in most conditions – one for the rear tension cone and two for the front tension flap. If wind or snow load is expected, there are plenty of other guy lines and anchor points available.
The completely zip-detachable winter vestibule has arched pole support to cope with snow load. It easily accommodates two rucksacks and two pairs of ski boots with oodles of space for protected and ventilated cooking, with simple egress/access via left or right sides. It only requires one peg to pitch, includes a small floor in the front tension cone, and a high zip-adjustable, hooded vent.
A clip-on summer vestibule, weighing a quarter of the winter option, can alternatively be employed, providing shelter for a vented front door, a weather-protected cooking space, and somewhere outside the tent to store muddy, wet boots. It uses no additional pegs, simply slipping over the existing front tension flap anchors.
Vestibules can be left attached to the tent if required. The summer version rolls up into the front eave, out of the way, until needed. The winter vestibule can be completely unzipped from either side. Its sides can be zipped opened and clipped to the centre vent guyline, but then quickly sealed if weather threatens.
The tent can also be easily used without either vestibule. A toggle on the front Gore-Tex door allows for the top of it to be partially opened for ventilation in all but horizontal head-on rain.
There are two internal mesh pockets for the storage of small items. Webbing loops are positioned to act as internal guylines if conditions warrant it. Metal zipper pulls have been replaced with reflective cord. Peg-out points are doubled loops of reflective cord so they accommodate either a ground peg or a ski as the anchor, without needing to add extra cord. The internal foot and head ends are both vertical, unlike other tunnel designs, specifically Scandinavian-inspired models, which often slope. This provides more livable space, and with both being Gore-Tex, there is less concern about the ends of one’s sleeping bag getting wet.
Although certainly not in the category of an ultralight shelter, the tent does offer huge versatility. It spans from a very spacious one-person, well-ventilated 3 season tent to a secure, windproof, and snow-stable Alpine haven for two people and all their gear.
And it does so in an environmentally responsible manner, with over 85% of the materials having been salvaged and reused from preloved tents and bivvies. Some of them are well over 35 years old. (Only the vestibules and front insect screen door employ virgin fabric.) The centre top ridge seam is the only seam I didn’t subject to my sewing machine.
The tent has been successfully field tested this year, although some refinements are under consideration.
Specifications
Weights (total tent weights do not include stuff sacks or tent pegs, but do include guy lines):
- Main tent body – 1,668 g (58.8 ounces)
- Front pole – 200 g (7 ounces)
- Rear pole – 75 g (2.6 ounces)
- Centre pole – 108 g (3.08 ounces)
- Winter Vestibule – 357 g (12.6 ounces)
- Winter Vestibule pole – 105 g (3.7 ounces)
- Summer Vestibule – 108 g (3.8 ounces)
- Summer tent, with two poles & no vestibule – ~1.9 kg (4.2 pounds)
- Winter tent with four poles & hooped vestibule – ~2.5 kg (5.5 pounds)
Pegs (stakes):
- Minimum pegs required (Summer) – 3
- Minimum pegs required (Winter) – 4
- Additional storm guylines – 4
- Additional base peg points – 8
- Maximum possible peg-out points – 16
Packed size:
- Tent without poles, pegs, or vestibules – 7 litres (427 cubic inches) / 33 cm high x 16 cm diameter (13 inches x 6.3 inches)
Dimensions:
- Length – 208 cm (82 inches)
- Front width – 140 cm (55 inches)
- Rear width – 97 cm (38 inches)
- Front height – 120 cm (47 inches)
- Rear height – 48 cm (19 inches)
- Winter vestibule length – 155 cm (61 inches)
- Winter vestibule height at pole – 60 cm (24 inches)
- Winter vestibule width at pole – 110 cm (43 inches)
- Summer vestibule length – 120 cm (47 inches)
- Tent body floor area – 2.46 sq. m. – (26.48 sq. ft.)
- Winter vestibule floor area – 1.55 sq. m. (16.68 sq. ft.)
- Summer vestibule floor area – 1.1 sq. m. (11.8 sq. ft.)
- Length – rear peg to front winter peg – 465 cm (183 inches)
- Collapsed pole folded length (longest) – 55 cm (22 inches)
- Span between tent poles – 94 & 119cm (37 & 47 inches)
Materials
Fabrics:
- Floor – Nylon Taffeta 160 x 90 TC 170 psi 7.5 lb warp x 7 lb weft (Chocolate Brown)
- Rear cone – Nylon Taffeta 160 x 90 TC 170 psi 7.5 lb warp x 7 lb weft (Chocolate Brown)
- Front tension panel – Nylon Taffeta 160 x 90 TC 170 psi 7.5l b warp x 7 lb weft (Chocolate Brown)
- Canopy Ceiling – Polyester tent Gore-Tex (polyester Nexus inner) 91 x 96 TC 15,590 gms/m2/24hrs (Desert Tan)
- Canopy Lower walls – Nylon tent Gore-Tex (polyester Nexus inner) 86 x 110 TC 3.2oz/sqyd (Yellow)
- Front door – Nylon tent Gore-Tex (polyester Nexus inner) 86 x 110 TC 3.2oz/sqyd (Meadow Green)
- Rear vent cover – Nylon tent Gore-Tex (polyester Nexus inner) 86 x 110 TC 3.2oz/sqyd (Yellow)
- Front door mesh – No-see-um style Mosquito Net, Polyester, 45g/sqm, 155 meshes/cm2 (Black)
- Rear vent mesh – Micro-knit netting (Lime Green)
- Winter vestibule – Sil/Sil polyester 30d 45 g/sqm 2,000 mm, tear 5 kg/4 kg tensile 37.5 kg/35.5 kg (Sand)
Notions:
- Front Gore-Tex door zipper – YKK No. 5 coil with double pull slider
- Front mesh door zipper – YKK No. 3 coil with double pull slider
- Rear vent cover (Gore-Tex) zipper – YKK No. 3 coil
- Winter vestibule & tent joining zipper – YKK 5C zipper, coil, separating, two-way with double pull slider
- Winter vestibule vent stiffener – 3 mm (0.12 inches) Delrin rod
- Winter vestibule vent zipper – YKK No.3 coil with double pull slider
- Front Tension guyline rings – 15 mm (0.59 inches) stainless steel welded ring rated to 7 kN
- Centre pole & summer vestibule clips – 12 mm (0.47 inches) nylon tent ring, & slotted nylon T-Bar (for 10mm [0.39 inches] webbing)
- Winter vestibule pole sleeve – Taffeta 160 x 90 Thread count 170 psi 7.5 pound warp x 7 pound weft plus 210d packcloth
- Winter vestibule reinforcements – X-Pac Kevlar clear
- Front tension panel guy adjusters – 15 mm (0.59 inches) Line Lock Lite & 15 mm (0.59 inches) Line Lock Lite side release buckle
Guylines:
- Front guy lines – Lawson 2.3 mm (0.09 inches) Reflective Glowire, Orange
- Side and rear guy lines – Lawson 2 mm (0.08 inches) Reflective Glowire, Gold
- Rear shock-cord – 8 mm (0.32 inches) marine-grade, multi-strand elastic core with polyester fine plait cover
Poles:
- Rear and centre pole – 8.5 mm (0.33 inches) Easton aluminium
- Front pole – 9.6 mm (0.38 inches) Yunan aluminium, with floating connectors.
- Winter vestibule pole – 8.88 mm (0.38 inches) Yunan aluminium, with floating connectors
The provenance of re-used materials
- Marmot Twilight 2P bivvy tent – taffeta floor, tension flap & vestibule pole sleeve, canopy Gore-Tex, vent zips, & tension flap grosgrain
- Mountain Designs Burrow bivvy tent – canopy side walls Gore-Tex
- Early Winters Sleep Inn bivvy bag – front door Gore-Tex
- Sierra Design Divine Light bivvy tent – Front door zip facings (SD Hocus Pocus—a 2 layer waterproof breathable fabric)
- The North Face June Bug – Easton poles (rear and centre pole)
- Wilderness Equipment Second Arrow – main front Yunan pole and winter vestibule’s Yunan pole, and guy lines
- Wilderness Equipment i-Explore – winter vestibule grosgrain and t-bars (& prototyping fabric)
- Black Diamond Equipment Mesa – webbing, reflective pullouts, pole velcro, reflective cord
- One Planet Wurley – delrin rod for winter vestibule vent
I also drew upon a personal collection of materials I’ve hoarded over many years: cords, webbing, fabric swatches, plastic hardware, and the like. The Lawson Glowire guyline cord was left over from previous tent renovations I’d undertaken. In a reuse shop, I found an Aldi inflatable, something or other, that had long lengths of seam-free polyester fabric. I used it to fashion a prototype winter vestibule instead of cutting up my Silpoly. The original Marmot Twilight bivy tent stuff sack I trimmed down to become the new pole bag.
New materials
The ripstop silicone polyester, no-see-um netting, two-way separating zip, nylon and steel rings, etc., were sourced from Extremtextil, out of Berlin, Germany. Other zips, mini line locs, etc., were found at Tier Gear from Tasmania, Australia. I was pleased with the service from both suppliers.
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Discussion
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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.
Warren, 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
Thanks for the kind words, Alan. Much appreciated, especially from a fellow vintage gear aficionado.
Nice 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.
Hi 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
Very 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!
Scott
Thanks 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.
Hi,Warren!
Beautiful design and amazing craftsmanship!
I am very impressed with your craftsmanship.
I would also like to push forward with my project!
Excellent 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.
Very nice, and truly inspirational with what you created with recycled fabric/gear.
Your 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.
Wow! 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?
Is 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.
Australia: 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.
WOW! 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”.
Thanks 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.
Warren, 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.
Warren, I forgot to commend you on your outstanding construction. I am in awe and wish I had your skills and knowledge.
Hi 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
Thanks 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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