My buddy Ron laughed at my tent setup on our first trip together last spring

So Ron watches me unpack this brand new 4-person dome tent and he just goes 'you're gonna hate sleeping in that thing by night two.' I was pretty proud of how fast I got it up too. Turns out he was right... the fabric was way too thin and I woke up with dew all over my bag. He handed me a beat-up old canvas tent he'd had since 2010 and told me to try that instead. Has anyone else had a friend totally change their gear lineup with a single comment?

2 comments

2 Comments

felixfisher14d ago

Canvas is heavier but it breathes right and keeps the moisture off. My dad gave me an old Eureka tent from the 90s and I haven't bought new gear since. Sometimes the old stuff is just better made.

troyreed14d ago

That old canvas tent is probably built like a tank, my buddy Dave had one from the 80s that weighed a ton but you could sleep through a hurricane in it. Ron sounds like the kind of friend who knows his gear, maybe a little too well (like the guy who shows up with a hammock setup that takes 45 minutes to hang). The funny thing is, I've seen guys spend four hundred bucks on a lightweight tent only to have it rip on a branch, while the beat-up stuff just keeps going. One time I borrowed a tent from a neighbor, an old Coleman from the 70s, and it smelled like mothballs but I slept like a baby in a rainstorm. There's something about gear that's been through a few trips already, it's got that lived-in feel a new tent just can't match.