litterbug
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
So, incredibly, it's time to toss my beloved and much-abused Eureka Halfdome into the dumpster. It makes me tear up just to say it!! :( I bought it while I was at SUNY Binghamton, and it's served me well, but at Arches a few weeks ago I found that the waterproofing has broken down, which, as it turns out, makes it smell like vomit even after two weeks airing out in the living room. Sure, I could take drastic measures, like spraying waterproofing on the whole floor and fly, but it would still stink, and the truth is that it's stained and homely and frayed and it's time to let go. I'm heartbroken. :Cry:
But before I give in, let me sing its praises:
It's been a true freestanding 4-season tent. The entire front door and back window could be opened for no-see-um mesh ventilation or have the fabric be zipped up, or left a little open for privacy. Staked down with the fly it was bombproof. It had a 50" peak height and was spacious for me; I've spent many long winter evenings with a few candle lanterns or even my propane lamp keeping it cozy with the mercury below 10 degrees outside.
Here are some of the places this tent has been:
My first backpacking trip, in the high peaks of the Adirondacks (thundrous storms for 4 out of 7 days); looping through Fish and Owl Canyons on Cedar Mesa north of the San Juan River; River trips on the San Juan and Green Rivers and in Ruby/Horsethief and Cataract Canyons; a week on the Tonto Trail in mid-December; a bear-season trip to Yellowstone NP with flaky hippy friends; a February trip to Yosemite with a bunch of other rangers, in which we camped on ice in driving rain in the valley and snowshoed in the high country; all-season camping excursions in the Canyonlands Needles District, Arches NP, etc; and a mosquito-ridden bivouac outside the Okefenokee Swamp.
Just to add insult to injury, the only affordable replacements I've found are the REI Cirque or Arete. Both are at least as nice, though their rainflies include vestibules that require stakes. :mad: Aside from expensive lightweight mountaineering tents and Springbar's siliconized canvas behemoths, I haven't found other tents with less than 1/3 mesh bodies, which couldn't possibly stay cozy in a shoulder-season storm, even with a great fly design. And privacy without the fly on? Hah!
OK, I've been through a few of the stages of grief here (anger and bargaining), and I still have the mostly-mesh REI Quarterdome I bought for next to nothing a few years ago, so I'm not completely tent-less. Once I've saved enough for a new apartment and my 2011-2012 season pass I can start saving for a new tent for the other three seasons. Meanwhile I'll set it up once again in the living room, take a few pictures, and then, without much ceremony, carry it to the trash room.
But before I give in, let me sing its praises:
It's been a true freestanding 4-season tent. The entire front door and back window could be opened for no-see-um mesh ventilation or have the fabric be zipped up, or left a little open for privacy. Staked down with the fly it was bombproof. It had a 50" peak height and was spacious for me; I've spent many long winter evenings with a few candle lanterns or even my propane lamp keeping it cozy with the mercury below 10 degrees outside.
Here are some of the places this tent has been:
My first backpacking trip, in the high peaks of the Adirondacks (thundrous storms for 4 out of 7 days); looping through Fish and Owl Canyons on Cedar Mesa north of the San Juan River; River trips on the San Juan and Green Rivers and in Ruby/Horsethief and Cataract Canyons; a week on the Tonto Trail in mid-December; a bear-season trip to Yellowstone NP with flaky hippy friends; a February trip to Yosemite with a bunch of other rangers, in which we camped on ice in driving rain in the valley and snowshoed in the high country; all-season camping excursions in the Canyonlands Needles District, Arches NP, etc; and a mosquito-ridden bivouac outside the Okefenokee Swamp.
Just to add insult to injury, the only affordable replacements I've found are the REI Cirque or Arete. Both are at least as nice, though their rainflies include vestibules that require stakes. :mad: Aside from expensive lightweight mountaineering tents and Springbar's siliconized canvas behemoths, I haven't found other tents with less than 1/3 mesh bodies, which couldn't possibly stay cozy in a shoulder-season storm, even with a great fly design. And privacy without the fly on? Hah!
OK, I've been through a few of the stages of grief here (anger and bargaining), and I still have the mostly-mesh REI Quarterdome I bought for next to nothing a few years ago, so I'm not completely tent-less. Once I've saved enough for a new apartment and my 2011-2012 season pass I can start saving for a new tent for the other three seasons. Meanwhile I'll set it up once again in the living room, take a few pictures, and then, without much ceremony, carry it to the trash room.