So one of the earliest things I looked at in the SCA right after clothing was a tent. The beautiful photos of period encampments, the catalogs full of canvas tents and then those who were brave enough to make their own. The glamor of spending a week or more camping was part nostalgic and part challenge.
As a child, we spent most of our youth camping. When you camp with a Boy Scout who has everything camping is a lot of fun! You get to sit smugly under a dining fly with a cool camp stove and eat yummy food out of a dutch oven (fruit cobbler anyone?). With time and age, we soon sat in a nice camp trailer and watched tent campers scuttle between southwest thunderstorms to make dinner.
Now having to camp without said boy scout, and the trailer long gone, the age of just looking at tents is at an end and now comes shopping to buy.
Where to start?
The requirements:
One- The tent needs to fit in a Toyota Avalon. (and possibly
Two- We need space. She is a fighter, and I like my comfy big cot. (Hey getting old sucks!) That and I very much like having space to host people. And if/when the tiny monster chooses to camp with us he will need some space.
Three- We have to be able to set it up and move it on our own. We are a far cry from delicate ladies but, I don’t want to have to play damsal in distress to get our tent up.
Four- More on my end but I need/ would very much like to stay under 200 for the whole kit. Price has kept me from buying before.
The Contenders
I will spare you the hours spent looking and reviewing tents, along with the many rabbit holes I managed to stumble down. Here are the top tents that made the list.
Fall Creek Suttlery- Small Wall Tent
10′ long, 8′ wide, and 7′ tall. $379.95 and needs 14 steaks and 3 poles and an optional 10 extra for the side. We can set it up with just the rope, but with that, it ups our footprint.
Fall Creek Suttlery- 9′ long “A” Tent, 7 Feet tall – Two Doors,
8′ 6″ wide Requires 3 poles and 8 steaks. $299.95 This is a simple A style tent. I have seen several of these and
Midwest Tent- 10×10 base slanted-wall tent, white, $385.00. Requires bare minimum 7 poles and 18 stakes. The big perk on this tent is the fact it comes with a sun-shade built in. We had been advised the canvas on these tents can be extremely heavy when wet. Thus it becomes a 2 person job to move it. It also will need set up to dry.
So what did we end up with?
The Wall Tent was our winner. As far as space for price along with the ridge pole and up rights it just made sense.
Updates to follow once we get said tent and have a chance to set it up and give a better review.
