Prospector16 wrote:
Glad to hear that about an Alpine Meadows - we just had one donated to the Scout troop in like new condition, but we have not tried it out yet.
As economical A-frame tents go the Alpine Meadows was an improvement over the standard (not Outfitter version) Eureka Timberline. The long flexible center wand pulls the walls out, creating more useable headroom space inside the tent, and it performs better in rain and wind; the fly doesn’t get damp stuck to the tent wall further collapsing the interior space when the coated nylon fly damp sags.
Prospector16 wrote:
So you've had that tent for 20 years and never had to re-waterproof it? That's pretty amazing. Our Scout tents had about 8 years of hard use before they started to absorb water and eventually leak. MEC Wanderer 4 about 10 year old model. So last summer we tossed them all in the washing machine and re-waterproofed them.
We still have two of those Alpine Meadows, a two man and a four man, bought on the same day 20 years ago. Hell, until a few years ago we had even older Timberlines still going in loaner use.
The two-man Alpine Meadows has twice the number of nights on it as the four-man, and still gets used occasionally. The four-man not so much these days, and almost never in the last few years. None of us needs a 4-person tent (although one son prefers the much newer 3-person Sierra Designs on glamping trips, just for himself)
Guess which of those old Alpine Meadows tents is in better shape?
I think several things contribute to the longevity of some gear. Oddly, with tents and tarps, not-too-infrequent use probably helps. I know there is wear and tear on tents in use no matter how carefully a site selected, but I think that use wear is offset by having them out and set up, taut and unwrinkled, uncompressed and breathing, getting some sunshine (or rain).
Everything is put away clean and absolutely dry once home. Everytime, no exceptions. That can be a PITA.
We have two permanent drying lines that span the dehumidified gear room (which are really handy is it is still raining), and a half dozen eye bolts on the house walls or well spaced trees, with sized lines and mini-biners for quick connect (and take down) clotheslines. On a sunny day after a damp trip our clotheslines, deck rails and yard look like an REI exploded, damn near everything is hanging outside to dry.
Beyond that fully dry before packed away I am convinced that humidity in storage matters; our gear is stored in a humidity controlled room, which absolutely helps in our moist air locale. When the dehumidifier in that room died (for longer than I would have liked) there was a noticeable difference in the dampness our stored tents and tarps.
I do not tightly compress stuff in home storage. Sleeping bags are hung loose in a dedicated closet, and yeah, we have some really old sleeping bags. Like 35 years old and still used.
Our tarps are in compression bags or ridgeline sacks, which are expanded to max volume in storage, so the fabric isn’t tightly smushed together and suffering. That tight compression is storage seems eventual death to fabrics.
I have started attaching the pole bag to the outside of the tent bag while at home, which creates more “breathing” room inside the tent bag, some of which are pretty tight with everything stored inside. Attached so that the poles can not be forgotten, I stick them back in the tent bag when packing.
Last, maybe silly, I don’t actually know helps; I started saving the little silica gel packs that come with so many things. Those previously went in the trash, now they go in the tent and tarp bags. Gawd know my wife orders enough clothing on-line to keep us in new silica packs forever.
Last, last silly bit that I absolutely know helps. We have accumulated a lot of tents and tarps and sleeping bags and dedicated stuff/compression bags over the years, despite giving some away. My son grabbed what he thought was a lightweight sleeping bag from the closet for a solo summer trip. It was a brand new only-I-had-yet-seen-it 20F down bag. It was not 20F during his summer trip.
My wife and other son have grabbed the wrong tent for their adventures; not that it didn’t work to keep them dry, it just wasn’t the tent they intended to bring.
I bought a bunch of little key tags, the 1” plastic things with a clear window. Then I bought a bunch more. Typed up labels for every sleeping bag stuff sack (hung with the appropriate bag), tent bag, tarp bag, hammock bag, food bag, etc bag.
Just read the label and pull what you want/need off the shelf. Even the stuff bags in the food barrel, which is where that tagging practice started.
http://www.canoetripping.net/forums/for ... f-bag-tags