Time for a New Tent
I learned a hard lesson in November. First time I ever had to learn this one, and I’ve learned many.
I took a tent I’ve had for years and set it up in the beautiful Witchita Mountains National Wildlife Preserve during a campout with my son’s Boy Scout troop. I had it to myself, being the only woman in camp, so stationed my sleeping bag in the center and all the paraphernalia conveniently around it.
Well, it was pretty cool weather, and it rained. And rained. Apparently, my poor old dome tent hasn’t seen a lot of rain in a long time. Somewhere around 1 a.m., I woke up when my feet sloshed into a puddle of water. Yes, in my sleeping bag. The one dripping place in the tent was at the very top, where a puddle of water had accumlulated in the slack where the poles crossed, under the fly. Needless to say, the rest of the night was not happy. Luckily I didn’t drive, so I got to sleep on the long drive home the next day, but now I am tent shopping.
I know I must find a smallish tent with two doors. This is a requirement. I have shared a tent several times with another adult, and they are lying when they say it’s a two-man tent unless it has two doors. I am not claustrophobic until I am zipped in with another person crowded up against me and I start to get a little too warm. Then I can’t get out of a tent fast enough. The backpacking tent we usually use is a great quality Flyte tent from REI, though it has only one opening at the head of the tent. It’s fine for one person, but I can’t stand any more than that, even if it is my 6-year-old.
So I have been watching the REI Half Dome and trying to talk myself into springing for it. It has two doors, weighs in at 5 pounds 11 ounces, and seems to have the right balance of space and weight. A couple of friends who camp with their sons regularly can’t say enough good about the REI Taj as well. Either way, I can’t do without the custom footprint for the tent. They aren’t cheap, but they make a world of difference in wear and tear, appearance, and protection from the elements. There are other good brands of tents out there, of course, but REI makes them well for a good price. The store here in the Dallas area has a fantastic reputation for treating its customers right.
Looks like my procrastination may pay off, as they are briefly offering 20% off a single item for members. That’s a good savings off of$169 (plus the $25 fly for the Half Dome) or $229 (plus the $30 fly for the Taj). This would be a great excuse to get a membership, too.
So the boys and I are off to spend money sometime this week. The new tent will probably wind up in the backyard with at least one person sleeping in it that night. Of course, there could be more.
