Tent Suppliers

[pondoro]

I'm looking to buy an A frame tent. What suppliers have you had good experiences with? I'm especially interested if you bought one and have used it a few years - is it holding up well? Thanks

 

[Black Hand]

Try "Wedge" rather than A-frame.

Tentsmiths - About 10 years and still going strong. A little soiled around the stake loops and door flaps, but no signs of wear, fraying or loose stitches.

 

[nhmoose]

Tentsmiths.com, I agree because I go by their shop weekly to get groceries and their products are great!!

 

[Calum]

'evening,

Panther Primitives. I've had multiple styles over the years (started reenacting doing medieval back in the 80s), but all have been from Panther. Currently have three of theirs - a big wall, and two different bell back wedges.

As Black Hand said, a bit of soiling and dirt, but fantastic workmanship and durability.

I have a couple other wedges, and while they don't have the bells and whistles that I have on my Panthers (no door overlap, sod or bell back), they've held up fairly well. I got them used, cheap, unknown makers. They're just used as loaners.

Calum

 

[Coot]

Tentsmiths - you can find cheaper tents but not better tents. My first Tentsmiths is now on it's 3rd owner & still strong at 17 years. Our 2nd Tentsmiths is in great shape at 8 years. Now we only do 10-12 events a year & some vendors that do 30+ events a year get new tents more often. It also helps if you take good care of them.

 

[tenngun]

Delt with tent smit, Panther and Townsend over the years, all offer top notch. TOW also carries tents. Rk is another top notch company, from Thier products I have seen,

 

[necchi]

TOW also carries tents. Rk is another top notch company, from Their products I have seen,

Track of the Wolf tents are RK tents.
RK Lodges!! I have two now and sold a 3rd one a while back. I know of some of their tents that are 20+yrs old and still going strong.

It's really a tough call friend, there are several very good tent makers out there and anyone is hard pressed to say which is better and none are simply the best.
What you need to do is look at/compare each of the features and shipping costs.
I know of excellent tents from Don Strinz, Panther and RK, I can't speak of the others.

 

[coloradoclyde]

If the company has been in business for 20 years or so, they probably make a good tent....Most are extremely reputable...
Where it comes down to brass tacks is, your choice of fabric and the manufacturer's choice of design...
There are subtle differences between designs made by different manufacturers .

How much you use the tent and how you store it will affect the overall life.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

How much room do you need?

There are a plethora of "A-Frame" or Wedge tents out there. Are you doing military encampment, or civilian at some sort of event? Is weight a factor? How about the length of tent poles? Are there strenuous time-period restrictions.

Because you can go from a small "1850 Thoreau"
to a "1830 Factory Tent",
to a Monster or even a Giant Wedge Tent
and even a Medieval Wedge Tent
and then if you add a "bell" on the end you can go from a 1751 French Bell
to a Double Belled Wedge ,
and still be talking' about an "A Frame" tent. :grin:

LD

 

[pondoro]

I hesitate to broadcast this but I'm not a pre-1840 re-enactor. Nor a Civil War re-enactor. I'm just tired of plastic. I watched a serious re-enactor and his wife set up a wedge or A-frame tent that was about 7' at the peak, it seemed easy enough. They had inside 2x4's as supports.

I'd probably try to put a rustic cot inside and sleep between flannel sheets and under a wool blanket. This is how I camp now but my plastic tent is worn (it was cheap and the zipper is wearing out).

I car camp so weight is not an issue.

As I get older I like cast iron and leather and wood and cotton a lot better than stuff that used to be petroleum. I'm trying to get rid of as much plastic as I can.

 

[pondoro]

How much room do you need?

There are a plethora of "A-Frame" or Wedge tents out there. Are you doing military encampment, or civilian at some sort of event? Is weight a factor? How about the length of tent poles? Are there strenuous time-period restrictions.

Because you can go from a small "1850 Thoreau"
to a "1830 Factory Tent",
to a Monster or even a Giant Wedge Tent
and even a Medieval Wedge Tent
and then if you add a "bell" on the end you can go from a 1751 French Bell
to a Double Belled Wedge ,
and still be talking' about an "A Frame" tent. :grin:

LD

Nice site. This one looks like a good size for me: http://tentsmiths.com/period-tents-wedge-tents/american-civil-war-4.html

Any good events to look at new (or used) tents? I live in Ohio and if any midwestern events (like Friendship, Indiana) have actual sellers I'd be willing to drive three or four hours. I'd like to see the tent and talking to the seller is important to me.

By the way that Tentsmith British Conical from their WW2 series matches one I used as a Boy Scout in the 1960's (we had a motley assortment). I expect it was war surplus. It was a blast.

 

[coloradoclyde]

I hesitate to broadcast this but I'm not a pre-1840 re-enactor. Nor a Civil War re-enactor. I'm just tired of plastic.

That's how it begins.....Next thing you know, you'll be giving up blue jeans for buckskins.... :wink:

One year for deer camp, I got tired of the tent thing...So I built a cabin that disassembled and fit into the back of a pickup truck.....complete with door and stove.... That was a very comfortable year...:haha:

 

[coloradoclyde]

Be sure to get the "sod cloth" attatched....I think it is what they call "mud flaps" .....it's about 8 or 10" of extra material where the tent meets the ground......very nice to have.

 

[necchi]

RK 10x10x7/bell back with sod cloth $50 less. http://www.rklodges.com/Lodges/A-frame/bell.html
A basic is even less.
(you don't need flame resistant from any supplier, it's overkill)

 

[tenngun]

Panther offers a doublebell wedge. The door is in the side, lots of room and still only three poles.
As far as I can tell they are a little early for my time, although I have seen them at events being used even later then my time.
Since you are not going for an HC look right now (yet) this might be a good option for you.
Take a look at one pole also. Pryimides are roomy, easier to set up even then a wedge, and very stable.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Actually the double belled design was used from Henry VIII through the ACW.

Any of the really large wedge tents should do fine, though to maximize the interior room, you may want to set up pairs of poles from the corners to the ridge, thus /\, instead of the age old single uprights.

LD

 

[tenngun]

Yes I'm a little later then that1810/20. Am making a new weskit and short coat For a 1790 event I was invited to, so I use a simple wedge.
The op was t concerned about time frame, so practical is the key and them double bells be pretty neat.

 

[pondoro]

That's how it begins.....Next thing you know, you'll be giving up blue jeans for buckskins.... :wink:

One year for deer camp, I got tired of the tent thing...So I built a cabin that disassembled and fit into the back of a pickup truck.....complete with door and stove.... That was a very comfortable year...:haha:

I'd love to see a picture of your portable cabin...

 

[coloradoclyde]

I new you were going to ask that.....I built it back in the day, before digital cameras. I had or have a regular old fashioned picture of it somewhere...But I haven't seen it in years....
Picture a wooden wall tent with a tarp roof, front door and a stove pipe coming out the front wall....The whole thing was held together with a handful of 1/4" bolts and wing nuts...It disassembled and fit neatly in the back of a full sized truck bed.
It was made out of 2x2's and 1/4" plywood with a heavy coat of black paint.
Took less than a Half hour to set up.
Got down to zero degrees hunting that year.....but it was nice and toasty in the "cabin"

 

[Vaino]

The tent that's used while elk hunting was made by the Colorado Tent Co. and has the sod flaps for attaching the tent floor. The tent is 12'X14' and is a very comfortable "home away from home" and a double burner propane MR Heater quickly supplies the heat...mainly at supper time.

After the first hunt, a need for addt'l rain protection was realized and a "rain tarp" was ordered and installed 10" above the top tent surface and it eliminated the condensation problem and any leakage from the tent.

Our elk camp has in addition to this main tent, satellite tents used for sleeping and storage.

This tent is large enough to have lawn chairs for relaxing and eating for up to 6 hunters.

It's truly a "house of paradise" in the Rockies at 10,200 ft elevation.

Don't know all the styles of tents the Colorado Tent Co. makes, but their quality is excellent.....Fred