[Artemisia] Tent Opinions

[Sue Clemenger]

Hey, Artemisia....! ;o)
There have been some good comments for this lady, and I thought I'd throw in
my two pence, just for the heck of it.
I'm a person with 10 years professional tent-making experience, and right
now, I still choose to sleep and camp in what I heard so charmingly referred
to as "earth pimples."  Even after 11+ years in another job, I could still
pretty much build a nice, comfy canvas tent blindfolded...do something that
much, and it *stays* with a person!
Some thoughts on the topic.
1.  Some of us (myself included) find ourselves *koff* fortunate enough
*koff* to have or to develop chemical sensitivities.  If you're getting a
canvas tent worth having and keeping, it's going to have at least some sort
of mold/mildew resistance added to it.  In certain states, it's also
required that tents be made of fabric that has some degree of flame
retardant added.  I'm sure that's probably not such an issue with a
make-your-own-tent, but it's a fact of commercial production.  In my case,
prolonged exposure (like, overnight....) to these chemicals will make me
pretty sick.  Yeah, it was the job that did it....:o(
2.  Small, commercial tents may not look period, etc., etc. but they have
distinct advantages of their own.  If your vehicle and/or off-season storage
space is limited, they're great.  When packed up, they're not heavy or
awkward to carry.  And it's usually possible to put them up on one's own,
instead of taking a whole crew.
I have spent most of my mumblety-momble SCA years in one or another small
tent or cabin tent.  Cabin tents are handy for folks with multiple people
staying in the same tent, or having a lot of stuff, etc.  The smaller, popup
ones like I have now are handy if you've got less stuff,  and/or are only
one person.  I've not used the particular brand Aurora asked about, but
Aurora, I can offer two bits of advice if you go with that type.  One, make
sure it's a multi-season tent.  Artemisia can, and has, expressed all four
seasons in the course of any given weekend at any point during the calendar
year.  And two, make sure it's tall enough for you to stand up in.  My
pimple tent is 6 ft+ at the peak, and it makes it *so* much easier to get
dressed! ;o)

If you  *are* making your own tent, go with the best materials you can
afford, at the time.  Doesn't mean bankrupt yourself, but it doesn't mean
you need to go with some leaky canvas dropcloth wannabe, either.  For
threads, choose, if you can, a nice, strong thread--my boss used to say that
a poly core with cotton on the outside was best.  Poly for strength, and the
cotton so that when it got wet, the cotton fibers would swell, and make a
nice, little plug for the stitch hole.
--Maire, beginning to wonder if she and HE Ugg should get together and work
out a class on this......[in one of those odd life coincidences, we ended up
working for the same guy, but at very different times....]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dawn Tavares" <dtavares1 at hotmail.com>
To: <artemisia at lists.gallowglass.org>
Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 10:30 AM
Subject: [Artemisia] Tent Opinions


> As long as we're prepping for the camping season--
>
> Does anyone have experience with the Ozark Trail brand of camp gear? I'm
> leaning toward their 8x10 "vacaton home." (A period pavillion is several
> years in the future for me.)
>
> Evaluations on its wind resistance/ fire proofing / ease of set-up, etc.
> welcomed on or off list.
>
>
> Aurora de Portugal
> transitioning hotel-dweller