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pitchin' a tent
Jun. 10th, 2011 06:07 pmSo Z and I decided to upgrade our Pennsic getup. We have used my sister's dome tent for three years now and it's kind of a huge pain in the ass. It's a great weekend tent-- 6'5" at the peak, so you can stand in it-- but there's almost no storage space, and for a 17-day event, well, it sucks.
So we got a temporary membership to BJ's and bought the EZ-Up setup they sell there, which is a fantastic deal. (I know, I shopped around a lot.) It's the white one with the upgraded commercial top, and comes with the sidewalls and rolling bag, which are usually like $200 extra, for $200. Yeah. Not at all shabby.
We camp on a sandy, gentle hill. We really don't need a tent with a tub bottom. We'll probably wish we had one, but not nearly as much as we always wish we had straight walls.
The nylon sidewalls are kind of like unto shower curtains, however. Waterproof, yes. Wonderful. But not breathable. So I just took my 40% off JoAnn's coupon, and a giftcard someone thoughtful got me for Christmas, and bought 15 yards of 90" wide muslin-- ended up costing me about $45. I'm going to make really simple sheet-like walls for the thing, with simple ties at the sides and top, and use those as walls for the tent. THe nylon walls will go up first, and roll up to the roof and stay there; if it's rainy or freezing, we'll drop 'em and be snug. Otherwise, cotton, nominally opaque, walls that breathe. I also plan on reinforcing the tie attachments with canvas, and will probably put some cording or something in the hem to make the walls more substantial so they don't just blow around in the breeze. I will also overlap the front door area for privacy. Not that I'm that concerned.
I've set the tent up three times now. It takes two people. I did it solo on the driveway, since the feet could kinda slide on the concrete, but on grass it definitely takes two. But it's easy. So that's nice. It basically does itself.
So now we just need a collapsible bedframe, a clothing rack, and a knock-down chest, a 10x10' tarp, a 7x7' outdoor rug or two smaller ones, and we'll have the most comfortable Pennsic ever.
Now I just need the days off........
So we got a temporary membership to BJ's and bought the EZ-Up setup they sell there, which is a fantastic deal. (I know, I shopped around a lot.) It's the white one with the upgraded commercial top, and comes with the sidewalls and rolling bag, which are usually like $200 extra, for $200. Yeah. Not at all shabby.
We camp on a sandy, gentle hill. We really don't need a tent with a tub bottom. We'll probably wish we had one, but not nearly as much as we always wish we had straight walls.
The nylon sidewalls are kind of like unto shower curtains, however. Waterproof, yes. Wonderful. But not breathable. So I just took my 40% off JoAnn's coupon, and a giftcard someone thoughtful got me for Christmas, and bought 15 yards of 90" wide muslin-- ended up costing me about $45. I'm going to make really simple sheet-like walls for the thing, with simple ties at the sides and top, and use those as walls for the tent. THe nylon walls will go up first, and roll up to the roof and stay there; if it's rainy or freezing, we'll drop 'em and be snug. Otherwise, cotton, nominally opaque, walls that breathe. I also plan on reinforcing the tie attachments with canvas, and will probably put some cording or something in the hem to make the walls more substantial so they don't just blow around in the breeze. I will also overlap the front door area for privacy. Not that I'm that concerned.
I've set the tent up three times now. It takes two people. I did it solo on the driveway, since the feet could kinda slide on the concrete, but on grass it definitely takes two. But it's easy. So that's nice. It basically does itself.
So now we just need a collapsible bedframe, a clothing rack, and a knock-down chest, a 10x10' tarp, a 7x7' outdoor rug or two smaller ones, and we'll have the most comfortable Pennsic ever.
Now I just need the days off........
