Cabelas XPG Dash Solo One Man Backpacking Tent Review

Good review. Stakes? Steel or aluminum? One of my first customizing of any tent I have bought has been to replace steel stakes with aluminum ones. Vestibule? I have gotten spoiled by the vestibule on my Mountainsmith tent. A good place to keep gear out of the weather without taking up room in the tent. My tent is a three man suited for two. Or one with inside storage of some gear and a riverdog. I have a one man and a two man and find both to be too small for one man. But that is just me and my preference for extra space. And use that is mostly canoe camping where I don't have to carry the tent any real distance. One does wonder who the maker of Cabelas' tents is.
 
TheJeepster said:
You are welcome.

I doubt many others will check this review out since I did not mention the BK16 or ZT folder. Maybe next time.
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Wrong! I don't need or want another tent but I always read well written detailed reviews! Thanks!
 
I think everyone is aware that all aluminum stakes are not created equal. There are quite a few different designs an alloys. I usually buy a variety of designs as I find them useful in different situations such as sand, clay, loose gravel etc. And of course there are different alloys of aluminum, some not much better/stronger than a k-bob skewer. I did choose my tent (discontinued when I bought it lightly used) for it's ability to freestand without staking at times. I often camp on river gravel bars where no stake will hold. I used small nylon bags filled with rocks/gravel/sand to secure the fly. Unsecured, it lies against the tent and doesn't do it's job in rain or. more frequently, heavy morning dew from river mist.

I've seen some add-on vestibules made for some tents and have toyed with the idea of getting one for my tent, a common four pole dome shape. So far the factory vestibule has sufficed since it is a three season tent. Having been in non-bear habitat for many years, it has been great for overnight storage of my assorted riverbags. Now though I am in mixed bear territory and will have to change my ways of storing foods and cookware. Still it will be an adjustment not being able to cook a meal in the vestibule on a rainy day.

I get the impression that other than a few cottage makers, very few tents are made here in the U.S. any more. Most brands share foreign makers and specify the materials and construction details. Of course like knives, they will make a tent to whatever specs and pricepoint a customer orders. And as with knives, neither the domestic seller nor maker will say just who is who in the zoo.
 
Great review! I enjoyed the details and I'm always on the lookout for great gear :thumbup:
 
A couple of thoughts. I've found that any 3 season tent with netting such as this one really starts becoming an issue when the wind starts blowing. Here on the edge of the plains and even in the tree lines once the wind starts blowing any tent with open netting such as yours which goes down as low as yours does will suffer. Unlike rain blowing snow will make it's way underneath even a fly that comes down as low as this one will allow blowing snow underneath and make for a miserable if not dangerous experience.

Nothing wrong with your tent (it actually looks pretty nice!) just an important point in knowing where you're going with your gear.
 
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