Talk about green! Tent without Poles

phil · Post by **phil** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 10:34 am

No, not Lech Walesa Poles, TENT poles:
http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/,881 ... _with_AST)

Instead of poles, you fill up bladders that hold the tent up; they call them air-filled beams. "Beams are easily repairable," they note forebodingly, and the price includs a spare air bladder [Insert witty comment here] and a Nemoid (?) foot pump.

They claim the tent sets up in 45 seconds, and I'd actually consider a tent where I wasn't trying to put poles in it in 100-degree heat on the playa with the wind blowing and those color coded poles and the color coding on the tent somewhere I can't find it RIGHT NOW DAMMIT!!!

Lassen Forge · Post by **Lassen Forge** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 10:56 am

phil wrote:
Instead of poles, you fill up bladders that hold the tent up; they call them air-filled beams. "Beams are easily repairable," they note forebodingly, and the price includs a spare air bladder [Insert witty comment here] and a Nemoid (?) foot pump.

They claim the tent sets up in 45 seconds, and I'd actually consider a tent where I wasn't trying to put poles in it in 100-degree heat on the playa with the wind blowing and those color coded poles and the color coding on the tent somewhere I can't find it RIGHT NOW DAMMIT!!!

I had one of those damn things. WHen iit gets too hot the bladders expand, then when it cools at night the air in the tubes condense and it collapses on you. Real PITA. And it takes a while to pump up, takes a while to deflate, and while I'm at it, those bladders go bad in about 5 years as I remember which are expensive (but not as bad as a whole tent - Ay yii yii, over $600 for a 2 man tent??!! Are you KIDDDING?? when I got mine, it was all of $129 for a tent that 4 of us could sleep in. Did I mention that they take up a lot more space than a conventional tent of the same size? And they tend to be wobbly in the wind? And cold at noght (not counting when it's sitting on top of you!)...

MikeVDS · Post by **MikeVDS** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 10:57 am

I have never used one myself but I've know many who have used self erecting tents. To take them down there is a trick or two that takes a few minutes to figure out, but it takes less than 10 seconds to set up. Here is an article on some or google works well too.

http://www.gadling.com/2006/07/10/self-erecting-tent/

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 11:53 am

I've got a better idea -- sleep in a zeppelin.

phil · Post by **phil** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 1:16 pm

> sleep in a zeppelin.

Did your voice go up a few octaves after your night in the zep, Bob?

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 1:38 pm

I've had a self erecting tent for years.. Taking it down has never been a problem

phil · Post by **phil** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 1:47 pm

unjonharley wrote:I've had a self erecting tent for years.. Taking it down has never been a problem

Did you ever get that Nemoid foot pump? And a spare bladder?

5x5 · Post by **5x5** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 2:12 pm

saw one once. helping friends putting it up (for the first time) took as long as a regular tent. cold weather led to it falling in on them overnight. i'm NOT impressed with what i saw of it and wouldn't recommend it!

probably ok for kids who want to sleep in the backyard, but not for BM with the winds!

MikeVDS · Post by **MikeVDS** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 2:16 pm

I've had a self erecting tent for years.. Taking it down has never been a problem

I've seen people trying to fold those back up and it took a few minutes. Still faster than a typical tent but they looked like once you got the knack of them you could put them away just about as fast as you set them up.

Toolmaker · Post by **Toolmaker** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 1:04 am

I'm kinda lookin forward to tryin out this 8x8 tent I got from Sportsmans Guide. It's cheap, white, and has windows on all 4 sides. The one pole it has for the center is not fiberglass.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 9:33 am

Toolmaker wrote:I'm kinda lookin forward to tryin out this 8x8 tent I got from Sportsmans Guide. It's cheap, white, and has windows on all 4 sides. The one pole it has for the center is not fiberglass.

\/
How tall is that sucker??

frenchblue1 · Post by **frenchblue1** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 10:15 am

i have a self erecting tent every morning

MozyBonz · Post by **MozyBonz** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 10:16 am

frenchblue1 wrote:i have a self erecting tent every morning

Me too...

Talk about green! Tent without Poles

Talk about green! Tent without Poles

Re: Talk about green! Tent without Poles