MsElui

the REI site actually sold a foorprint for each tent that was the right shape and 'just a little bit smaller' to avoid water puddling on the sticking out part of a tarp and then running under the tent

kins

I just bought an LL Bean tent and one of the reasons was because I know I can take it back for any reason (or none).

Love these sleeping pads - best I've ever found:
http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/63692...1097-sub2&np=Y

Jerseygirl

Just one thing...is there anywhere to plug in the hair dryer?

scrubbedexpat099

I get a lot of campers by, the Big Agnes has very good feedback, this from people who are spending months in them in some interesting weather conditions.

The last lot by had come thorough Steamboat and stopped to get some bits repaired/replaced. Fare wear and tear, they expected to pay, replaced/upgraded at no cost.

Octang Frye

What Kim said about footprints. They should come with the tent, in my opinion.
My tent is really well constructed, very easy to assemble single-handedly, and fairly light, but it's not one of the ultra light tents that weigh 8 grams.
It also packs away easily, too. Something I used to struggle with with my cheapy tent in the UK as a boy.

I think I got it for about 240, plus 30 for the footprint. REI was having a sale, if I recall.

One thing did surprise me - the instructions said not to leave the tent out in sunlight, because this significantly shortens the life of the tent. While I understand it, it's not really practical to take your tent down each day after use.

MsElui, if you're sleeping on the floor, make sure you get good bags, and a good sleeping mat/pad. When my sister and I used to camp in our back garden, we'd always wake up freezing around 2am or 3am. And we could never get warm, despite being in our bags and having a duvet on or under us.
It's because we didn't know about insulation. Of course, it's obvious now...

Anyway, a really cool up-and-coming brand is GoLite, out of Boulder. We only buy their stuff when it's on sale because, to be honest, it can be a little pricey, but it's very high tech gear for people who hike and camp and travel and need high performance gear that weighs next to nothing.

It's funny how The North Face became mainstream and you can see people walking down the street wearing the stuff and you know they've never skied, or hiked or done anything remotely outdoorsy in their lives.
The same is happening with Mountain Hardwear (who have the best logo ever.) Most of my ski clothing is Moutain Hardwear, and the Alchemy softshell jacket is the best piece of clothing I have ever owned.
Used to be that MH stuff was difficult to get, but you can find it in lots of places now. It's following TNF into the mainstream.

It's funny how we don't see that Berghaus brand over here. Every one and his dog in the UK wears that stuff. And Sprayway.

Ooh, oo! I got a GoLite Pertex sleeping bag for Christmas and it weighs about as much as a hanky, and I watched a movie in it with all the windows open and the temperature was -22F. Fricking amazing technology these days.

syed2001

Thanks i too was facing the same problem..

kimilseung

It is funny to think tents are not to be used outside in case they get sun on them, not that its a big problm either in the PNW (for me) or in Britian.

The GoLite backpacks look great, but I have yet to be able to try one for size.

The give away was when North Face put a logo on the back shoulder of a lot of their jackets, just where a backpack would hide it when worn in the non-urban outdoors. Mountain Hardware recently opened a store in downtown Seattle, I have had great NF and MH gear, but I do wonder, when you see some of the more street designed stuff, you know that not everything is designed for performance, so it can be hard in deciding if a piece of gear is up to snuff, a pity they dont follow the differentiated marketing of two related brands with different design specifications, so you knew where you were.

I miss Mountain Equipment clothing form Britian, they made outdoor clothing that really suited my wants for functunality and sizing. I also miss towns like Ambleside where for an hour before heading out to the fells, you could browse a dozen stores for outdoor gear. Do not get that anywhere near me, maybe Boulder is different.

Pertex is a wonder fabric, who would have thought nylon could be so great. I have a Rab wind-break, light and small as anything and keeps the rain out on day hikes, anything short of all out cats and dogs.
Its something like this 75g how light is that?

another bloody yank

I just use a tarp (a "decent" one, not the the cheap blue ones) or a piece of that thick plastic that comes in a huge roll used for weatherproofing windows and such. It works well beause it's easily cut in any shape/size, it's easy to pack and it's so cheap it's damn near disposable. Not quite as abrasion/puncture proof as the tarp, but a few minutes spent picking up sharp rocks and any vertical sticks or twigs and I've never had an issue.

another bloody yank

Manc

Understood on TNF, anything they make I can get REI own brand at 50% of the cost.

Even Dicks sell Columbia hiking shoes for $50 nowadays...........

www.railriders.com is another company I like, they originally started out as a company making tough durable clothes for sailing, but realised lightweight, tough, wicking clothes were good for outdoors generally.

MsElui

i had a few bits og Berghaus gear myself- and had not seen it used round here.

That would require me to know where the hairdryer in the house was- last seen when we moved in almost 2 years ago lol.

Octang Frye

We had a sailing club back in the UK and a couple of times I went out in jeans.
Jeans! Froze my butt off. The same thing when we did cross country against other schools. No rain gear at all. We just didn't get it.