Outfitting the new Troop

[SMT376Richmond KY 10]

I need some more of that sage advice that I keep commin back to the well for. What advice can you folks give on what to look for in troops tents? Praticular brands styles etc. We plan truck in and pack in trips so we need tents that are capable of both.

[buffalo2 14]

Hardly sage advice but here goes again - We're big fans of Eureka tents; they last and last. We buy the 4-man flavor and they're a bit large to backpack with unless you can get 3 Scouts in one. Newer version has doors on both ends and a vestibule; pretty sweet. We get ours from CampMor at a reasonable price; the 10% Scout discount covers shipping. Good luck

[Eagle69 46]

I second the motion about Eureka tents. My troop has used the Timberlines(an A frame style of tent) and have now switched to the Tetragon 7 which is a dome style tent. Campmor is an excellent place to buy them.

[Tamegonit Arrowman 10]

Of course, the national council would like to have you think that the ONLY gear to get is BSA mucho-expensive official gear.

[purcelce 11]

I like the coleman 7x5 tents. I can get them for about 50 bucks.

[frank10 12]

The Eureka Timber Line... But only the Outfitter version. Cost more but it keeps the rain out of the tent and keeps the kids in the troop.

 

http://www.campmor.com/webapp/commerce/command/ProductDisplay?prmenbr=226&prrfnbr=6466474

[red feather 10]

Ditto with Wingnut, the floors are better and the zippers last longer.

 

yis

[k9gold-scout 10]

Our troop has been able to get quality tents from rei-outlet, your local rei store will also repait their own tents at little or no cost. Other on line stores are campmor and northern mountain supply.

[ozemu 10]

An excellant topic. So good that this discussion was had a little while ago. Try http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=34015 for some good comments.(This message has been edited by ozemu)

[Fat Old Guy 11]

Arrowman, the one advantage to buying from BSA's Supply Division is that everything is guaranteed for life.

 

That said, if you find a Coleman store at an outlet mall, they give Scouts a 20% discount.

[SMT376Richmond KY 10]

Thanks for the advice. Went shopping last night and the troop now(with the help of a good outfitter sales guy)is the proud owners of 4 Coleman Sundomes. Strange the guy wanted to steer us away from the high end North Face and Sierra tents I was dumbfounded. He reccommedned for our new scouts all 11-12, either the Coleman Sundome or the Eureka Apex with emphasis on the Colemans due to the standard alumnanim poles on the Eurekas and extra cost associated with getting the fiberglass poles.

 

I looked at the floor demos of both and for the $30.00 seperation in price. Could find little difference in overall designs of both tents. Actually the rain fly on the Coleman looks as though it covers more area of the tent (especially if blowing rain around the door)and would be easier for new scouts to set up. The deciding factor was price(could purchase 4 colemans or 2 Eurekas for what we had budgeted)and the fact that we will not be doing much heavy backpacking for awhile yet. At 6 lbs each for in and out trips these should be handled ok as these scouts. For now we truck into a site and carry from the road or parking lot. The chuck box weighs more anyhow. Besides we have 1 Eureka timberline and these boys don't like to set it up as they think it too difficult and we almost always end up instructing them several times before the get it up.

 

So thanks again for the info it was helpful.

[SR540Beaver 116]

Just for kicks, go to www.coleman.com and you can find a link to their Europe and Australia sites. some of the tents are very similar to their US tents, but many the Australia tents are like nothing you'll find in the US. Many of them have tent door flaps held up with additional poles and guy lines for shade. Ozemu, any idea why they are so different down under?

 

Actually the links are not that easy to find, so I'll make it easy and provide them.

 

http://www.coleman-eur.com/

 

http://www.colemanaustralia.com.au/(This message has been edited by kwc57)

[dsteele 20]

I like the Eureka tents. They're light, set up easily, etc.

 

Now I'll enter the minority and perhaps show my age --

 

To me, if you're going to be doing car, truck and trailer camping, I think the best tent is the standard canvas Voyager tent. Pitched properly (and therein lies the trick) I've been dryer, warmer and more able to get dressed because I can stand up in a Voyager. Three Scouts can easily fit in one and they take a lot of abuse very well. And, as FOG pointed out, they're guaranteed for life.

 

I also have to admit that I like the old ones with no floor in them. Again, if pitched correctly, they'll take anything you throw at them. Except a match or a lit flare, but then again, neither will any of the nylon jobs.

 

When I was a Scoutmaster, I convinced a couple of Scouts to sleep in an old Voyager. They did because I did. It rained very hard that night and only the three of us stayed dry. The other tents, while very good, had water under them that seeped through the floor and condensation on the sides.

 

The floorless Voyagers had some water run through them, but all you needed to do to stay dry was to shift stuff out of the torrent.

 

DS