Favorite lightweight tents

I'm with Steingar on the sturdy, low profile tent thing. I've been through some really nasty storms there and haven't had a tent collapse or leak yet. On the other hand, I've gotten up after an overnight storm and seen all of my neighbors with Coleman family camping tents carrying their broken tents to the dumpster and turning their airplane into a drying rack for all of their crap. It ain't worth it.

On the other, other, hand (compared to Steingar), I've never had a camping pad leak (OK, once when i loaned one to a buddy, who's kid apparently used it as a trampoline.). They sleep well and would keep you out of any minor water that entered the tent.
 
denverpilot said:
Not if they know how to FedEx. :)
Click to expand...

Ah, far better IMO to be self-contained and not have to deal with the expense and pick-up/drop-off hassle of shipping. I like the thought of dumping all my stuff right out of the plane and starting to set up immediately.

So,

Three-person tent........8.8 lb
Sleeping bag...............4.2 lb
Air mattress................2.0 lb
Folding chair..............10.0 lb

The chair is a beast but super sturdy and comfortable as folding chairs go, so it's worth toting some extra weight for something I'll be using all day. So fun just to sit on the flight line for an hour and watch landings of widely varying skill levels. :D My co-pilot might flake on me, so that frees up 200 lb for the Weber grill, folding Tiki bar, karaoke machine, etc. :)

The air mattress I've got now is pretty minimalist, so I'm thinking to allot an extra 8 lb. and buy a queen-size mattress that has a battery operated inflation pump. It's more than 8 in. tall, so if a minor flooding event takes place, it should keep me dry.
 
SoCal RV Flyer said:
It's more than 8 in. tall, so [bold]when the flooding event takes place, it will keep
me from sleeping in water but everything else will be soaked anyway and any bedding that had slipped off the mattress will have wicked up a few pounds of water. [/bold]
Click to expand...

FTFY.
 
Where the rain comes in is the floor when the tent is in a low spot which turns into a mud puddle. Solution is to put the tent on a high spot, not a low spot.
 
SoCal RV Flyer said:
...Folding chair..............10.0 lb

The chair is a beast but super sturdy and comfortable as folding chairs go, so it's worth toting some extra weight for something I'll be using all day. So fun just to sit on the flight line for an hour and watch landings of widely varying skill levels. :D My co-pilot might flake on me, so that frees up 200 lb for the Weber grill, folding Tiki bar, karaoke machine, etc. :)

The air mattress I've got now is pretty minimalist, so I'm thinking to allot an extra 8 lb. and buy a queen-size mattress that has a battery operated inflation pump. It's more than 8 in. tall, so if a minor flooding event takes place, it should keep me dry.
Click to expand...

You aren't kidding about the chair being a beast. I have two extremely comfortable camp rocking chairs that each weigh half that.

You won't regret having a good air mattress. I use an inflation pump that runs on 2xD cells. Reverses to deflate the air mattress completely flat in seconds.
 
Lachlan said:
Is that the Patriot brand pump, or the Kraft Tawmyboy Signature model?
Click to expand...

I'd have to dig it out of my tote full of OSH camping gear. But I am certain its not the latter long winded name. It might be the former, or more likely its a Coleman iirc. I used to have a 12 volt pump but after buying the Aztec, with its 28 volt electrical system, I ended up with this little D-cell pump that really works well.

Edit added: It's a Coleman, and I was mistaken. It takes 4 D-cells:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-4D-Battery-Quick-Pump/895617
 
GRG55 said:
I'd have to dig it out of my tote full of OSH camping gear. But I am certain its not the latter long winded name. It might be the former, or more likely its a Coleman iirc. I used to have a 12 volt pump but after buying the Aztec, with its 28 volt electrical system, I ended up with this little D-cell pump that really works well.

Edit added: It's a Coleman, and I was mistaken. It takes 4 D-cells:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-4D-Battery-Quick-Pump/895617
Click to expand...

You could just camp near @denverpilot. He’s seriously long-winded.
 
SoCal RV Flyer said:
Ah, far better IMO to be self-contained and not have to deal with the expense and pick-up/drop-off hassle of shipping.
Click to expand...

The fedex spot is very close to HBC, and the van guys will run you over there and back on check in and check out. It's about a 5-10 min walk.

So, ain't no hassle.
 
Ravioli said:
The fedex spot is very close to HBC, and the van guys will run you over there and back on check in and check out. It's about a 5-10 min walk.

So, ain't no hassle.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but.... It's an extra step. Depends a lot on how much gear you've got, how lavish you want your campsite, etc.

To each his own.

Tent should arrive today via the UPS Treasure Truck. I'm setting it up on my front lawn for fun, and to get strange looks from the neighbors. :)
 
I give your Coleman 2, maybe 3, years of Oshkosh weather before you upgrade. I guess we all have to figure it out for ourselves.
It took me 3 years (amazing when I look back on it) before I got tired of d-cking w/ my $40 Wenzel tent during an Oshkosh windstorm/downpour (in the middle of the night) or dealing w/ the invading water, even with a tarp under it. And I've pregame'd every tent in the back yard each year before Oshkosh and weather proof it.
Moved up last year from the 4 man Cabela's Alaskan Guide tent to the 6 man version, for 2 of us. As we age the novelty of Oshkosh camping will probably diminish so we might as well make it comfortable while we can still do it!
 
So, what other cool gadgets do you like for camping? This one was ultra-handy last year to recharge the iPhone. 8000 mAh, about .7 lb. I've used it to jump-start a dead car battery twice (!), and it keeps the smartphones charged for a looooong time. Two USB ports and a flashlight too.

IMG_2861.jpg
 
It eats into the useful load some 50lbs but we bring the Honda EU2000i generator and recharge everything (devices and battery packs) while watching the airshow under our wing every afternoon
We found some clamp-on umbrellas for our bag chairs in the Fly Market last year. Small footprint folded up. Nice sitting down by the runway watching landings/departures and not getting as sun burnt!
2 Thermacells to help keep the bugs down
Headlamps. I like the Black Diamond brand for a nice balance of price for performance
I've got a couple battery powered fans meant for camping that have helped trying to sleep in the heat numerous times.
 
I'll definitely get a clamp-on umbrella. Good call!

Did a trial set-up on the tent, and bought a HF 9x7 tarp to use as a blast shield if (when?) the nasty storm hits at Osh.

IMG_2863.jpg
 
REI has a sale that begins on 5/18 with most of their REI labeled stuff discounted substantially. It is a good opportunity to pick up a decent tent for a lower than normal price.
 
kyleb said:
REI has a sale that begins on 5/18 with most of their REI labeled stuff discounted substantially. It is a good opportunity to pick up a decent tent for a lower than normal price.
Click to expand...

Cool. I might fly solo, so that'd free up quite a bit of space/load capacity. I'm thinking camping stove, a couple of lamps maybe.

Will check out REI for sure.
 
SoCal RV Flyer said:
I
View attachment 62635
Click to expand...
Sorry to be a gadfly, but that'll blow down wit the first big storm. Someone said it, we all have to learn. My only remaining campaign problem comes from the only disadvantage I've ever seen for a low wing airplane, which is you can't camp under the wing (at least not comfortably). Oshkosh has destroyed two canopies, there isn't a complete set of poles between them. They can't stand up to the wind. I've found a steel framed canopy that ight fit in the back of the airplane, if so I'm going to get it. Nice to have a place to get out of the sun.
 
steingar said:
Sorry to be a gadfly, but that'll blow down wit the first big storm. Someone said it, we all have to learn. My only remaining campaign problem comes from the only disadvantage I've ever seen for a low wing airplane, which is you can't camp under the wing (at least not comfortably). Oshkosh has destroyed two canopies, there isn't a complete set of poles between them. They can't stand up to the wind. I've found a steel framed canopy that ight fit in the back of the airplane, if so I'm going to get it. Nice to have a place to get out of the sun.
Click to expand...

We shall see. Full report to be issued after Osh. :)
 
murphey said:
Remember to get better stakes that those that come with the tent. For the fly, too.
Click to expand...

I use Flyties® on each tie down point. The tent may head to Oz, but I'll damn sure still have the lines to use on the next one.
 
murphey said:
I'm taking bets.

Remember to get better stakes that those that come with the tent. For the fly, too.
Click to expand...

Hope you didn't lose too much money. :) I did get the heavy-duty stakes; good call!

Tent worked awesome. Held up to Wednesday night's wicked T-storm with only one issue...a slight amount of water got into one corner (and that was largely because I had to open the door during the downpour...bathroom run) but I was high and dry on my queen size air mattress. Amazing tent for $50!


IMG_3075.jpg

IMG_3071.jpg
 
SoCal RV Flyer said:
...a slight amount of water got into one corner (and that was largely because I had to open the door during the downpour...bathroom run)
Click to expand...

Empty quart sized gatorade bottles are handy...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top