|
Lightweight
Expedition Tents
TENTSMITHS offers classic wilderness tentage for the
experienced and discriminating outdoor person. Our tent designs are based on
original structures proven to be effective in extreme environments. This
section of our online catalog lists some of the many styles we can build.
TENTSMITHS “designs” very few tents – we are copiers. We believe our job is to learn from
the past and repeat it. Our
tent designs have come from such notable outdoor writers as RUTSTRUM,
NESSMUCK, WHELEN, CONNOVER, CABOT KEPHART and the many indigenous peoples
that roamed the roamed the northern reaches of the earth.
Please remember that
we are a custom tent making company.
We would be happy to construct a tent you will be happy to use and
proud to own for many years to come.
Sincerely,
Peter & Deborah
Marques
TENTSMITHS
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A
word or two about Egyptian Cotton...
Fabric for our offerings of
lightweight tents has stabilized at one; Egyptian cotton. Why? Because it works!
History repeats itself and so will the
wonderful properties of this fabric.
Famous and not so famous travelers have extolled its virtues for
over one hundred years. Unable
to find Egyptian cotton suitable for making tents we contracted to have it
woven for us. Our 4.5 ounce ELS
(extra long staple) cotton has over two hundred threads in each direction
per square inch. This ELS
cotton is very strong, abrasion resistant and has a natural tendency to
turn water. The tight weave
builds a fabric windproof but still able to breathe. More threads per inch means it is
time consuming to weave and therefore more expensive than a lesser quality
cotton. We believe it is worth
it. Nothing else compares to
the naturally “hard” finish of Egyptian cotton. This hard finish allows snow to
slide easier and has less tendency to attach itself to the frozen ground.
At first a 4.5 ounce per square yard
seems excessively heavy, twice as heavy in fact as a nylon tent with its
2-3 ounce floor and 2 ounce roof.
A waterproof coated nylon floor may be fine but not a coated
waterproof roof, so a breathable roof is necessary with the addition of a
waterproof coated fly adding more weight. The weights become similar the
performance never comes close.
While both tents will hold the wind and snow outside, the cotton tent
will be a great deal more livable.
Cotton is more breathable so in a winter situation it rids itself of
moisture faster. Nylon (good
nylon) has an industry expected life of six weeks in the sun (longer in
winter and northern climates)- a short life for the investment in raw
materials. Cotton, if card for,
can last many years. Nylon is a
terrible choice for any tent that may be asked to hold the heat from a wood
stove. A tent fire is always a
possibility and while no fire is ever going to be a pleasant experience,
cotton burns up fast and is gone where nylon catches easily, melts, sticks,
and continues to burn with toxic fumes.
In fact we have had all of our
Egyptian cotton fabric treated with a durable water resistant and flame
resistant finish. Our fabric
has been delayed almost a full year while we waited for a new finish to be
developed, one which would not alter the wonderful properties of the
Egyptian cotton we spent so much time looking for. We have done this to be able to
produce a safer tent. Our
intention is also to be to provide to people living in the states and
countries which require flame resistance for all tents sold. All of our Egyptian cotton expedition
tents meet CPAI-84 flame resistance standards. Nothing is flame proof but the degree
of safety this finish adds is remarkable. We are proud enough of this new
standard in cotton performance to trademark the name “Pathfinder
Performance Finish”.
You
will see PATHFINDER on many more TENTSMITHS
tents in the future.
|
