Switched from a heavy canvas tent to a silnylon one and it changed everything

I used to drag my old 12 pound canvas tent on every trip, thinking more weight meant more durability. After a 3 day hike in the Smokies last June, I finally swapped to a 4 pound silnylon tent and my back let me know I should have done it years ago. Has anyone else made a similar shift and found it made or broke their trip?

3 comments

3 Comments

drew69029d ago

My buddy convinced me to try his Zpacks Duplex on a trip to the Smokies last fall. First night I set it up in like 5 minutes versus the 20 minutes my canvas tent took. The weight savings alone let me bring an extra liter of water and my chair, which made camp way more enjoyable. Only catch is you gotta be careful with the ground sheet cause that silnylon tears easier if you set up on sharp rocks. Definitely worth the switch but don't go cheap on the stakes.

lilyg8329d ago

Oh man @drew690 I feel this hard. My first time with a silnylon tent was a disaster. Forgot the ground sheet entirely. Woke up with a pebble poking through the floor. Just a tiny hole but it drove me crazy all trip. Had to patch it with duct tape. Felt like an idiot. The weight savings are real though. I swapped my old 6 pound tent for a Duplex and suddenly I could bring a real pillow. Camping changed forever.

hart.cora5d ago

A pebble poking through the floor drove you crazy all trip? That seems a bit much. I've had rocks and sticks under my tent for years and hardly noticed. You just shift over a few inches and move on. The duct tape patch worked, so what's the big deal? It's camping, not a hotel stay. And swapping a 6 pound tent for a Duplex just to haul a real pillow sounds like you traded one problem for another. That pillow probably weighs more than the ground sheet you forgot.