The tent walls get drenched and leak. I went to this well known camping gear store and hooked up

with a young salesperson. After all, that is about all you use a knife for in the bush now days.

The walls breathed too well, so the tent was not enough of a heat trap for the cold, late season

nights we were going to experience - whatever. It had a big chrome blade, spikes sticking out of

the guard and a hollow handle. Inevitably they have a link to a store that sells the same tents

that the kitchen appliance and patio furniture stores have in stock. That is all those tents are

good for.

The other important part of the tent, that you need, is a good fly. Think about that as you lay

in a soggy sleeping bag in the dark not realizing that there is a pool of water forming in the

corner where you put all your clothes. When they are having a back yard sleep over, and the storm

comes, they can come screaming and giggling into the house. Get a real tent. If it is just two of

us then a two person tent it is, not an inch larger.", you say. I had reason to believe that he

had some camping experience. You have little or no protection from the rain. Most tents are not

so specialized and are something in between. When I wander around the big stores, the ones that

sell dish washers, ceiling fans and gardening tools, and make it to the camping section, I tend

to shudder. In spite of that I dumped three thousand dollars worth of gear on the living room

floor and said, " Look what I got honey!" Now if it was a cheap 0 guitar or even a kitchen

appliance she would have freaked out. I want happy, repeat customers. The fly is supposed to

cover the whole tent.

Where the water flows off the fly and falls to the ground is your drip line. It pours directly

onto the tent wall. No repeat customers there. And of course the family grows and I am loath to

carry more than I have to.

Today I know my way around gear. I buy a tent that is custom designed for the circumstances I

expect to find myself in. I am sure that the people selling the gear think it is wonderful. Not

only does it cover the whole tent but it should be big enough to come down to inches from the

ground and reach well away from the sides of the tent. For awhile it seemed like I always had a

tent for sale. It might help to understand that my wife and I go into wilderness regions for as

much as a month at a time, and then we do lots of short outings, so our tent is our home for a

good piece of each year. And remember, rain rarely falls straight down. They discuss the size of

tents and which size would be right for you, but there are fundamental features that a tent has

to have to be worth anything. During my college years I got away from camping, but as soon as I

graduated I ran out and bought a pile of camping gear. They would be just like my friend with the

knife, but far worse. He unscrewed the cap off the handle to reveal a cheap compass on the

underside of the cap, and inside the handle was a little sewing kit complete with needles, thread

and a few buttons along with some fishing hooks and other useless paraphernalia. Not only does it

pour onto the tent but there is a heavy concentration of water at the drip line. The water

flowing off these absurd, little flys doesn't fall to the ground.. "We can't afford that!!"

Instead she said, "Cool! Where are we going?" I knew I had married the right woman. They are

going to have a less than stellar experience and probably be turned off the joys of camping

forever. Right away I knew that this monstrosity, that was designed to fight a war, that my

"expert" consultant thought I had to have, was the last thing in the world that I needed to slice

my freeze dried food packages open, and perhaps trim a few lengths of rope. When you go into the

back country you want to be well protected and comfortable. I realized I needed a knife. They

tell you to pay attention to the ease it takes to put up and take down the tent. He was the pro.

An hour later you awake, because the thunder is louder and you see lightening flicking as the

storm grows closer. However, there is supposed to be at least one other part to your tent.

When I bought that gear a lot of things in the camping world had changed since I had last looked.

Most fabrics that breath are not waterproof. If you see that the rain is going to be pouring off

the fly onto the tent walls, don't buy it. I don't just buy a tent. There are lots of variations

on a theme. They make excellent kites. This gives shape to the inner walls and stretches out the

floor. When we had pretty well finished selecting everything I needed we took a moment to we

ponder if anything was missing.

And this is where I see the design flaws everywhere.

I don't sell tents, but I do facilitate people who are going into the wilderness, and I would

hate it if they had a lousy experience because they were burdened with poorly designed equipment,

so I am going to give you the straight goods on tents.

I suppose that many people are smart enough to know that the sales people can't be relied on for

guidance, so they turn to the internet for some insight. Get a real tent. I know why those people

don't mention these features. I don't know why so many tents are designed this way, but I suspect

the main reason is to save money and keep the price point down.

What I see at the paint and wallpaper, swimming pool and office supply stores are flys that only

make it half way down the side of the tent at best, or even silly little things that look like a

kid's umbrella perched on the peak of the dome.

Those cheap tents with the ridiculous flys on them are kid's, back yard tents. There is the dome

that is held in place by the flexible poles. Have a look at the well designed tents that they

sell to see what I mean. That way, as the rain pours off the fly it drips to the ground well

beyond the tent. The tents don't need to be pegged to the ground, although watch out if a wind

comes up. At the time my wife and I were poor as the proverbial church mice, having just

graduated, and being strapped with student loans. However, they so rarely warn against selecting

a tent with these common flaws. Not all are perfectly dome shaped. It is sad when you realize

that so many people who are new to camping go to these stores for their gear. The fly is supposed

to be good, sturdy, water proof material, and when you hear that storm coming you better get that

fly on your tent. One friend said, "What is it? You don't like the smell of mildew?" No, the

tents I sold were pristine. On a good tent with a good fly the walls will always stay dry right

down to the ground. Even if it isn't made of mesh, most tents are made of fabric that is light

enough to breath, otherwise condensation in the tent can be a big problem. People who answered my

ads would be amazed when they saw what I had to offer.

When I look at the tents in the power tools, roofing material and soccer balls store I am

appalled at the designs. I have no reason to believe that the people in the car tire, plumbing

and paint store have ever been outside of a city.I grew up camping. "But the tents at the vacuum

cleaners, big screen television and pet supplies store are so much cheaper. The flexible poles

create an arch on the outside, so they don't use any internal space or create an obstacle. They

are almost universally flawed and flawed badly. That is what our family did.

Tents typically have a few parts. I've noticed there are a lot articles on how to pick a tent. He

ran off, and came back all excited about a knife that was about two feet long and weighed about

four pounds.

I would never buy at tent until I have seen it set up. The walls didn't breath quite well enough

for the warm, humid nights that we expected to experience. Anchor your tent to at least one solid

thing. I don't work for the Mountain Equipment Co-op, although I am a member. Piece by piece we

selected each item, and I leaned heavily on his advice. It is perfectly fine to use it like this.

We like to be comfortable.

I admit I am a bit of a snob when it comes to camping gear. Large openings in the fly, to

accommodate windows, are just as bad. Fundamentally, the dome, held up by the flexible arching

poles, is your tent. You know you are in for one heck of a summer downpour, but you are all nice

and snug in your tent, right? Hold it - it is made out of thin gauzy mesh. Suddenly I was filled

with anxiety and apprehension as I eyed the great pile of gear that he had recommended.

Dome tents are the status quo today. Where the drip line is on a tent is one of the most

fundamental issues that has to have been well thought out when the tent was design. The walls can

be a fine gauze, for camping when summer nights are hot and muggy, or they can be thick denier,

tough nylon that can withstand razor sharp ice crystals lashing the fabric driven by a 90 km/h

winds on the side of Everest. They tend to be easy to set up, light and fit nicely in a backpack.

Over the years I have had many tents. They would say, "So you bought it and never went camping,

so you want to sell it?" No, I had probably lived in the thing for a couple of months in total.