Search for a new winter base camp tent

[Moondog55]

I can see that for next year if I can get the tent and stove weight reasonable, The stove really is needed to reduce cold stress tho as is the large tent to allow the use of a decent sized cot and I consider the cot essential for a good nights recuperative sleep.
Being occupied tho is no guarantee of safety as I had wands snap in the middle of the nite twice so far and one of reasons to come home for a break is to buy more spare parts and get more repair materials
Strong lightweight/ affordable. Pick two; the winter campers dilemma and i do appreciate comfort a after a hard days skiing

[walkon]

I think that this old saying 'a poor man pays twice' applies in this case Moondog. Except it might be trice here plus the gear that you have lost. Went and had a look at those colemans. It seems that you are asking a boy to do a mans job so to speak.

[Moondog55]

I guess that depends
I did go into this knowing full well that older tents have very short life spans and why the search for something that could be be made suitable with the input of time and effort perhaps
Until I get them dug out tho I won't know why the bigger tents failed although I am guessing domino effect after a weak point gave way
Possible the steel poles as they were not doubled or reinforced.
Which Coleman tents are you referring to Walkon ? I haven't taken any Colemans away in winter and those I looked at are far too weak/flimsy or otherwise unsuitable due to extensive use of mesh
Perhaps I should restate the base camp tent specs I think I need, tall enough to stand up in so excess of 1950mm and with enough room to use a full sized camp cot and a small wood fueled stove
The Big Agnes Flying Diamond 8 is close to the budget limit but a little too low to the ground in the sleeping alcove
Being a very poor man these days I may end up paying quince

[Moondog55]

I am happy to do a major part of this as a DIY rebuild if needed
I need some help from forum members here on presenting Cecile with an argument as to why I should spend money on Aluminium alloy wands and poles rather than fiberglass
She wants a cost /benefit analysis presented to her
ANSCO have some Easton 12.4mm sections left at what I still consider a reasonable cost
A large tunnel tent is within my sewing skills I think using one of my existing S/H tents as a base to work on

[tastrax]

I am a scrounger from way back and I reckon you need to think big. The rugged army / weatherhaven shelters all seem to have hooped frames. Collapsing poles seems to have been a common problem so I reckon they need to be scaled up.

http://www.weatherhaven.com.au/military ... nstall.php

What is something that is often on Gumtree for free or cheap - trampolines!

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/roxburgh ... 1117561590

They seem to come with a few features that might be useful - those uprights could become supports between hoops (if this oval trampoline was cut in half).

Now for a tough fabric cover - what about a truck curtain - good length to run over the top of the hoops.

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/south-la ... 1079358538

the same material is often used for fancy billboards....

I can see the possibilities already.....

[Moondog55]

A while ago I asked a theoretical question about adding an extra pole to a Caddis with an enlarged central section
The cheap tent I am currently using has that design.
Good points
4 wands to share the load, easy to add or remove inner tents at need [ has 2 and I'm only using one] only 2 sizes of poles to deal with, plenty of room for 1 or 2 people in winter
Bad points
Cheap fiberglass poles Not quite enough headroom Very lightweight fly fabric full of pin holes that leaks. Insufficient tie down points, doors in the centre section not usable when the tent is tied down tight due to poor zipper design and installation

This is the tent BGM mailed down to me from Gosford

At the moment I'm using this tent with the small sheepherder stove vented out the side

I'm also using it with some extra FG wands to give some clearance and a cheap polyester fly over the top
I have 9.6metres of very good quality 150 GSM cotton japara 1500mm wide; I was thinking of replacing the whole of the centre with this cotton and still use the secondary fly over the top.

[tastrax]

What length are the poles you need?

[Moondog55]

What length are the poles you need?

~4/5000 each I think so 7 to 8 sections of 12.4mm for each wand

[Onestepmore]

Have you seen the basecamp hunting tents that Cabelas sells? Three sizes, designed for a wood stove.

http://www.cabelas.com/browse.cmd?categoryId=153410580

[Moondog55]

Yes
The steep walls add room but catch the wind

I'm coming around to Ceciles POV that a shorter stay and not making any dumps in advance would work out cheaper so the tent and sleeping gear would need to fit neatly on a Paris sled and be as LW as practical
Experience over the last years tells me that pole/wand strength is the issue.
Even cheap LW fabrics can handle a lot
Going back a few posts worth of queries modifying one of my existing tents with alloy wands seems to offer the best compromise between cost and strength; which leads me back to those 12mm Easton wand sections at ANSCO

[Franco]

Those Cabela type tents are designed for forested areas , so they are very good with rain and snow not so much with wind.

[Moondog55]

Those Cabela type tents are designed for forested areas , so they are very good with rain and snow not so much with wind.

That is true of the wall tent type but I was more interested in the large dome tents they also have.
It would be much easier if I didn't want to sleep on a big cot but I find I need a cot these days for an extended camp; also a cot is much much warmer than sleeping directly on the snow; true no matter how good the mattress system
Part of me is still amazed at how BAD the pole sets of cheap tents are tho