Codger_64
Moderator
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2004
- Messages
- 62,324
A couple of years ago, all of my tents and sleeping bags went AWOL. Since then, I have been replacing them one piece at a time, keeping in mind my two main outdoor pursuits, canoe camping and hopefully returning to backpacking.
The bigger tent for canoe camping I came across thanks to a member here while he was working for an outdoor shop (he has since started his own outdoor shop). It was a used (very slightly), discontinued Mountainsmith Sanctuary two man tent. Just what the doctor ordered and at a very reasonable secondary market price. It is easy to erect and quite roomy for one, but plenty of room for a tentmate. Perfect for canoing, but as a backpacking tent, for me solo, it is just too heavy at 6#.
So I went searching for a smaller, lighter solo tent. I thought I found it but, having pursued a Tarptent Moment for some time to no avail, I gave up. Tarptent is a cottage industry and production is sold out months in advance.
So I bought a substitute, a Eureka Solitaire ($60+ on sale). It is like a cross between a bivy and a tent and weighs a more reasonable 3# 2 ounces (after ditching the steel stakes and replacing them with aluminum ones). But it is very small inside with no room to sit up, no vestibule for pack and boots.
Last week I struck a deal to trade a custom knife I don't use for a Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1 (MSRP $250+/-). It is a bigger (true) tent with features missing in the little Eureka like a vestibule for my boots and pack, room to actually sit up, aluminum poles with clips instead of sleeves, and a carry weight of 3# 2 ounces, same as the Eureka. Also, it is light gray.
I'll still pick up a Moment if and when I run across one, but in the meantime, I won't have the excuse of my tent being too heavy (like the Mountainsmith, which I love for space), or too small (like the Eureka which was a good deal). Plus, it isn't bright yellow or orange!!!
So now that I've been thru the "three bears" of tents... baby bear, mama bear and papa bear, I'll see if I can do the same on a shoestring with my sleeping bags. So far, I found a good deal on a midweight Marmot Mistral with climashield insulation on "that auction site" (seller was P.O.'d because I nabbed it for c. $30!). Is is an older bag in excellent condition, but the fill has lost some of it's loft, so I consider it a 35-40 degree bag at 3# 8 ounces, not exactly "state-of-the-art", but it will do until I can find a lighter synthetic summer bag and a light down winter bag.
The search continues!
The bigger tent for canoe camping I came across thanks to a member here while he was working for an outdoor shop (he has since started his own outdoor shop). It was a used (very slightly), discontinued Mountainsmith Sanctuary two man tent. Just what the doctor ordered and at a very reasonable secondary market price. It is easy to erect and quite roomy for one, but plenty of room for a tentmate. Perfect for canoing, but as a backpacking tent, for me solo, it is just too heavy at 6#.
So I went searching for a smaller, lighter solo tent. I thought I found it but, having pursued a Tarptent Moment for some time to no avail, I gave up. Tarptent is a cottage industry and production is sold out months in advance.
So I bought a substitute, a Eureka Solitaire ($60+ on sale). It is like a cross between a bivy and a tent and weighs a more reasonable 3# 2 ounces (after ditching the steel stakes and replacing them with aluminum ones). But it is very small inside with no room to sit up, no vestibule for pack and boots.
Last week I struck a deal to trade a custom knife I don't use for a Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1 (MSRP $250+/-). It is a bigger (true) tent with features missing in the little Eureka like a vestibule for my boots and pack, room to actually sit up, aluminum poles with clips instead of sleeves, and a carry weight of 3# 2 ounces, same as the Eureka. Also, it is light gray.
I'll still pick up a Moment if and when I run across one, but in the meantime, I won't have the excuse of my tent being too heavy (like the Mountainsmith, which I love for space), or too small (like the Eureka which was a good deal). Plus, it isn't bright yellow or orange!!!
So now that I've been thru the "three bears" of tents... baby bear, mama bear and papa bear, I'll see if I can do the same on a shoestring with my sleeping bags. So far, I found a good deal on a midweight Marmot Mistral with climashield insulation on "that auction site" (seller was P.O.'d because I nabbed it for c. $30!). Is is an older bag in excellent condition, but the fill has lost some of it's loft, so I consider it a 35-40 degree bag at 3# 8 ounces, not exactly "state-of-the-art", but it will do until I can find a lighter synthetic summer bag and a light down winter bag.
The search continues!
