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Posted
Planning a trip up Everest soon and thinking I need a new tent for the harsh conditions I will surely encounter. Does anyone know where I can get me one of them $20 WalMart tents I keep hearing about on the interwebs? And, how much do they cost, BTW?

 

well I read this stuff even if no one else does. LOL!!!! :lmao:

Posted
I had a little bit different walmat model that was the shit for several years. Top rolled back to enjoy the stars. Set up a breeze, fairly water resistent out box and about $20.
I've still got the "hotel" model that cost me around $50, if I remember correctly. Sleeps about 20 and has room for couple of cars. Great for the concert scene or family camping. It leaks like a sieve and most of the zippers are broke or very stubborn, but hey, at least it blows over easily and has shitty poles.
Posted
Planning a trip up Everest soon and thinking I need a new tent for the harsh conditions I will surely encounter. Does anyone know where I can get me one of them $20 WalMart tents I keep hearing about on the interwebs? And, how much do they cost, BTW?

 

well I read this stuff even if no one else does. LOL!!!! :lmao:

Yeah but, where can I get one and how much will it cost me?
Posted (edited)

Dec 26, 1973. Eric, Kevin and I set out on a 3 day snowshoe trip into the upper Rattlesnake which is now a wilderness. On the first day we marched 7 miles and 3500 vertical ft up to Stewart Pk. We were planning on descending to "Snowshoe Inn", an old line cabin for trail 52 which was used to run the old phone lines.

As soon as we made the summit, clouds rolled in it started snowing hard. There wasn't much wind but the snowflakes were the size of Hummers. We were getting wet fast. In those days none of our gear cost as much as $20. Wool and rubberized rain gear was what we had. You could let the wool soak up the snow or soak up the sweat. Either way, it was heavy. Our tent was bought at Tempo's, an old chain that resembled K Mart. It cost $6.50. No sales tax. My sleeping bag was a down mummy bag dad got in the marines. It was a really good bag for the day. Kevin and Eric each had some kind of square Coleman type bag that weighed 4 or 5 pounds dry.

Anyway, we were on our way down off the ridge toward Snowshoe Inn in a dense fog that was dropping Hummers when we encountered a big cliff. We knew we had a long ways to go yet so we picked our way down through gulleys and down logs until we hit a ledge we could not find a way down off of. We could not even see the bottom because of the fog.

So we made camp. We were able to pack the tent platform down and cut a bunch of pine bows to pile on top of the snow. None of us had pads. We pitched the tent on top of the pine bows. Next we needed a fire. Wood was easy to find and we had a big blazing bon fire in no time. The snow was about six feet deep so we had to keep digging our area out as the fire sank.

We ate dinner and broke out the whiskey.

It was well past dark when we were out of whiskey and ready for bed. We all climbed into our little $6.50 tent and snuggled in.

It was almost like a Tvash/Ivan thing except there were three of us and we hadn't discovered pot or existential depravity yet.

There is no climax to this story. No real point either. Unless you count the fact that we woke up dry and warm on a clear cold morning deep in the mountains of Montana after a night in a $6.50 tent.

 

Epilouge; The cliff below us was not that high. We were able to find a spot that was about 15 ft and I jumped off without my pack. I sunk in up to my crotch and found the landing quite comfortable. Kevin and Eric threw the packs down and then jumped too. We found Snowshoe Inn a couple hours later. It was a doorless, stoveless shell in the middle of a huge area that had long since been stripped bare of anything resembling firewood.

We felt thankful that we had not made it there the night before.

On the rest of the trip we encountered grizzly bears, a Sasquatch and several oversized wolves, all of which we were forced to kill with Yankee inginuity and pointy sticks. Other than that it was a fairly uneventful trip.

 

Edited by Bug
Posted

You guys are talking pure sh*t about a really simple question.

 

If you can explain how these two items are functionally different (they aren't) then fine.

 

Other than that, y'all are talking through yer hats and saying folks should just burn their money.

 

Native Americans in 1700 didn't know much about steel. Today, they can acquire tool for spreading peanut butter virtually for free.

It's also still possible to spend thousands of dollars on a knife.

 

Point is, in part, that available manufacturing technology changes.

Posted
You guys are talking pure sh*t about a really simple question.

 

If you can explain how these two items are functionally different (they aren't) then fine.

 

Other than that, y'all are talking through yer hats and saying folks should just burn their money.

 

Native Americans in 1700 didn't know much about steel. Today, they can acquire tool for spreading peanut butter virtually for free.

It's also still possible to spend thousands of dollars on a knife.

 

Point is, in part, that available manufacturing technology changes.

 

I love it when people stumble across the difference between "exchange value" and "use value" like they just made it up. Good stuff.

Posted

actual reviews of cheap tents by satisfied users:

 

Puddle, wet Date: July 19, 2009

"I just bought this tent and the first time I used it it rained.

 

The tent leaked a lot, even the fly leaked. There was water dripping in and puddles formed on the floor.

 

I will return this tent and buy a different brand. Great tent otherwise as long as it does not rain!"

Posted
actual reviews of cheap tents by satisfied users:

 

Puddle, wet Date: July 19, 2009

"I just bought this tent and the first time I used it it rained.

 

The tent leaked a lot, even the fly leaked. There was water dripping in and puddles formed on the floor.

 

I will return this tent and buy a different brand. Great tent otherwise as long as it does not rain!"

 

Black Diamond Firstlight? No, wait, you said "cheap".

Posted
Not just making it up.

 

Smart people make distinctions.

 

Dumb people don't understand, and therefore attempt jokes, but lack this ability.

Does this mean I'm not as funny as someone told me I was?

 

Posted
You guys are talking pure sh*t about a really simple question.

 

If you can explain how these two items are functionally different (they aren't) then fine.

 

Other than that, y'all are talking through yer hats and saying folks should just burn their money.

 

Native Americans in 1700 didn't know much about steel. Today, they can acquire tool for spreading peanut butter virtually for free.

It's also still possible to spend thousands of dollars on a knife.

 

Point is, in part, that available manufacturing technology changes.

 

I was just perusing my last gear review issue of Rock and Ice. I could not find a review for this Wal-Mart tent in there. Weird.

 

Posted

Quite frankly, I'm fundamentally opposed to non free-standing tents at any price. Period. I mean, come on, do we really live in a world where you would choose to buy a tent that you have to stake it down in order to survive. That's pretty scary, if you ask me.

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