Springbar Tent - noob questions

[latinaburner]

I was fortunate to have been able to camp in an RV last year for my first burn, but this year I have come to the decision to put my creature comforts on hold for a week and tent it - I get the full burning man experience while saving a boatload of cash AND i get to keep everything I paid hard earned cash for instead of feeling like I threw my money away on a rented RV.

I know absolutely nothing about tents other than what I've read so far in the eplaya & tribe forums! I read about building shade structures and terms like PVCs, Rebars, aluminite, etc etc everybody makes it seem so easy while im sitting here clueless...It's too bad there's no "Burning Man for dummies" book out there!

After weeks of searching for the perfect tent for this years burn, it looks like the Springbar Vagabond 7(with either a zip on canopy or portico awning, havent decided yet) is the perfect tent for me.

Here are my questions:

1. I've read that these sell out in the Summer months - do you think if I waited to June to purchase it would be too late?

2. What would be the ideal shade structure for this tent? I was thinking of covering the tent with camo net over it and attaching it to the truck & car we're coming in. I remember seeing some setups like this at last years burn. I've also heard talks about emergency blankets as shade(mylar?), or aluminet, which I have no experience with. I'm completely clueless on how to build some of the shade structures from scratch so the simpler the better...I just want to make sure the tent isn't an oven by 9am!

3. I hear rebar for tents is a must, but from the looks of it everybody keeps saying Springbar tents are very sturdy, do i still need rebar for my springbar tent or will it be burning man ready right out of the box or should i buy the There's also a selection of stakes to get, 15' & 18' sand stakes, 12" angle stakes or 9" nail stakes?

4. Is it worth buying the ground tarp?

Sorry for such a long post, but I really want to make the best of my experience and make sure I'm as informed and ready as possible as it might be a few years before I get to go back home. :(

Any help will be 100% appreciated!

[justfred]

I'd skip the rebar, get sand stakes and nails, either will work BETTER than rebar and not be sticking out of the ground waiting to grab your shin.

And I'd get the ground cloth, if only for keeping it cleaner and use in wet conditions.

I plan to use an easy-up with sides to cover mine.

[latinaburner]

what's an easy-up?

Sorry if the question is silly, still learning here :)

[mdmf007]

what's an easy-up?

For me its, Jennifer Aniston, Katie from the Coffee Shop, Natalie Portman, Princess Leia, and many others. Those are the easy ups for me.

[Sham]

I have posted before about my $40 tent that I bought for my first visit 7 or so years ago. I expected it would last one time, but I find that it has held up well and I am using it again this year---with a few minor patches on it.
The only time I need to use rebar is on a shade structure tent in which the air would get under it and tear it from the ground. I use 10" stakes that grip really well and have never pulled out, even in last years sandy ground. I also sit a jug of water on the inside corners of the tent for extra anchoring.
There are so many opinions on tents, but for me, this has worked perfectly and I wouldn't be really upset if the tent go ruined since it was so inexpensive.
You also need to take into account transporting the tent. I have to pack mine in a suitcase, so the light weight is important.
Others in our camp have brought tiny, one person tents that they have used for backpacking and one campmate brought a huge tent meant for a family of ten that someone loaned to her. Pick the right tent for the location and you will be very happy.

[gyre]

The biggest problem with the Springbar is the very heavy weight.
It is also not double walled which is an advantage in the cold.
I haven't examined one closely, but everything else is supposed to be good.
A four or five season tent is what you want.
It's nice to be able to stand up in a tent out there.
A taller tent is colder at night and harder to heat.
A sealed up tent with a full fly is amazingly warmer at night and oddly cooler in heat too.

I like real stakes, three or four edged type.

You don't have to use a factory ground cover, but something is a good idea.
Someone mentioned using the fitted cover to line the interior of the tent.

They do actually make tents rated at 100 knots minimum, like my last Jansport.
Lesser tents flop around and make a deafening racket in the wind, if they survive at all.
In an enclosed area, you may get away with a lot.

Mesh- If you can't close it, it's not a tent.
Some glue seals in place.
This seems reasonable to me.

The best shade is shade that blocks the sun.... totally.
Solid aluminet, silvicool, reflectix, light blocking tarps, double layered and vented all work.
Camouflage works to a degree and holds up in wind well but need to be away from abrasive points.
And it only blocks some heat.

[AntiM]

We do make sure to have something under the tent to protect it from rubbing against the ground. You don't have to buy the expensive groundtarp, we use hunks of old carpet or currently a sisal rug.

We use rebar for our carport, and military surplus tent stakes. We use 12 inch landscaping spikes to nail down out big groundcovers under the rugs (cut up billboard vinyls).

An EZ up is a pop-up shade structure. Cheap ones are Notorious for breaking in the wind if the canopy catches too much stress. We use the frame of a very sturdy one between our carports covered with doubled-up camo netting.

[Elderberry]

A four or five season tent is what you want.

Five Season tent?

JK

[CapSmashy]

After weeks of searching for the perfect tent for this years burn, it looks like the Springbar Vagabond 7(with either a zip on canopy or portico awning, havent decided yet) is the perfect tent for me.

Good choice. I wish we would have gotten the 10 x 14, but the 10x10 Kodiak works well too. We never deployed the awning last year due to issues with really securing the poles for it, and we were under a full shade structure.

2. What would be the ideal shade structure for this tent? I was thinking of covering the tent with camo net over it and attaching it to the truck & car we're coming in. I remember seeing some setups like this at last years burn. I've also heard talks about emergency blankets as shade(mylar?), or aluminet, which I have no experience with. I'm completely clueless on how to build some of the shade structures from scratch so the simpler the better...I just want to make sure the tent isn't an oven by 9am!

If you have room to transport it, really simple is a sturdy, 10x20 portable car port. We ditched the side walls and replaced them 80% shade fabric (Home Depot, Lowes and found it at Wal Mart too) and added a silver tarp to the roof. Kept it nice and dark all day.

A simple scratch built that can be made modular and infinitely expandable is to use electrical conduit pipe. Comes in 10 foot sticks and uses simple connectors. Start building 10 foot cubes, wrap your outer walls in shade fabric and a solid tarp on top. You can do the same with PVC pipe, but its a little bulkier.

3. I hear rebar for tents is a must, but from the looks of it everybody keeps saying Springbar tents are very sturdy, do i still need rebar for my springbar tent or will it be burning man ready right out of the box or should i buy the There's also a selection of stakes to get, 15' & 18' sand stakes, 12" angle stakes or 9" nail stakes?

I used the stakes that came with the Kodiak and had no issues, but I also had it enclosed in the shade structure. I used 18" radio mast stakes and ratchet straps to hold it down.

4. Is it worth buying the ground tarp?

YES! We did the reverse, I used a folded over cheap blue tarp under the tent that I staked through and laid the ground tarp inside the tent. On top of that went a carpet remnant. At the end of the event, all we did was roll up the carpet and carefully fold the ground tarp to trap all the dust and "stuff" that was on the floor. This allowed us to fold up a tent with a clean interior.

[gyre]

A four or five season tent is what you want.

Five Season tent?

JK

Too many "three season" tents barely manage July.
It refers to a real four season tent.
http://www.adventuresportsonline.com/tentexpedition.htm

[klondike_bar]

A four or five season tent is what you want.

Five Season tent?

JK

spring, summer, fall, winter, and apocalypse?

[wedeliver]

I had a couple tents that you threw on the ground and pushed down in the middle and, stand back the tent would set it selfup. I think it was coleman, sears.. smaller 2 or 3 man tent.

[latinaburner]

Thank you for all of the helpful answers and suggestions!

Somebody mentioned weight....i've heard some people saying its better to have a heavier tent because it avoids the tent potentially flying away, then others say it's better to have a lighter weight tent to pack in your bag due to space issues. my boyfriend and I are bringing the tent and our gear in a pickup truck. I'm guessing there should be enough room to carry both the tent and the shade structure. I have a couple of other friends that will be coming in a separate SUV that can bring the food & other supplies as well.

The 10x20 carport was suggested, however I'm wondering how I would be able to fit a 10x14 tent inside of it when the door is on the side of 14?

[gyre]

Use the 20 x 20 foot version or larger.

A lighter tent is better, but you can't get equivalent quality for Springbar prices in dacron.
North Face has a nice triple wall tent for adverse weather.
Tad pricey.

Shade
http://www.shelsys.com/

[CapSmashy]

The 10x20 carport was suggested, however I'm wondering how I would be able to fit a 10x14 tent inside of it when the door is on the side of 14?

Place the tent width wise at one end so it makes a T shape with the door centered in the middle of the carport and 2 feet or so of tent overhang out of each side.

Drape shade fabric/tarp/etc from the top rail of the car port over the exposed ends of the tent and down to the ground and stake it in. I would also say for shade fabric, double the layer over each of the tent for maximum coverage and light blockage.

This would leave you with a 10x10 area out front to set up a kitchen, etc. If you park the truck alongside, you can easily extend the roofline out for a larger area by running camo netting, shade fabric, etc from the top rail of the car port over to the truck and if you do it right, the truck can either act as an early morning sun block or a wind break.

A carport has the advantage of giving you a solid, dimensional base to to expand from.

[Hoolie]

I've used a Springbar at two burns now, and I've been very pleased with it. I got the "Campsite 3" model, which is 7x10. I've found it's plenty roomy for two people. We keep a full size mattress on one side, our gear on the other side, and an open path in the middle. The thing I like about this size tent is it's more manageable, and I have used in on several car camping trips year round. I doubt I would use one of the larger tents for anything other than Burning Man.

I haven't put it under a shade structure yet, but I imagine it would fit perfectly at one end of a 10x20 carport and leave ample shade/living space. Still, I didn't have much trouble with heat. The weather has usually been good enough in the morning so that I could just open up the giant screens, and it stayed cool enough inside to sleep. I can't speak for the Vagabond 7 though.

Rebar was unnecessary. I used 12-inch metal stakes which held the tent just fine, and I was there for the major wind/dust storms of recent years. I did not use a ground tarp. The playa is pretty smooth, plus I use a throw rug on the floor inside for comfort, and it helps protect the floor. When I go camping other places where rocks and branches are present, I do use a cheap poly ground tarp. Just make sure it's slightly smaller than the tent floor so it doesn't collect water in case of rain.

The Springbar tents zip up completely. Even after the dust storms, it was nearly dust free inside the tent. It does get a bit cold inside at night as someone mentioned above. Due to its size and single-wall, breathable fabric, it just doesn't retain heat as well as a nylon tent. But that also means it stays cooler in the daytime.

I've noticed in the past that Springbar had winter sales. Usually this meant throwing in a lot of extras for free like a ground tarp, extra stakes, etc. You might check the site periodically before the spring to see if a sale pops up. But you'll probably want to order your tent by spring just to make sure you get one. They have run out of stock in the past during the high season.

[StevenGoodman]

The 10x20 carport was suggested, however I'm wondering how I would be able to fit a 10x14 tent inside of it when the door is on the side of 14?

Place the tent width wise at one end so it makes a T shape with the door centered in the middle of the carport and 2 feet or so of tent overhang out of each side.

CptSmashy, this doesn't work if you have one of the good carports with 4 legs per side? Unless you leave one leg off??? i.e. the legs are only 5' apart?

Martini Steve (who has a Traveler 5, and thinks it is great)

[wedeliver]

The 10x20 carport was suggested, however I'm wondering how I would be able to fit a 10x14 tent inside of it when the door is on the side of 14?

Place the tent width wise at one end so it makes a T shape with the door centered in the middle of the carport and 2 feet or so of tent overhang out of each side.

CptSmashy, this doesn't work if you have one of the good carports with 4 legs per side? Unless you leave one leg off??? i.e. the legs are only 5' apart?

Martini Steve (who has a Traveler 5, and thinks it is great)

You can't usually leave a leg off, unless you have added more legs perhaps. Or sometimes you can wrap the leg in elwire so people don't walk into it.

[CapSmashy]

Oh yeah... dur...

Stupid laws of physics.

[fciron]

Oh yeah... dur...

Stupid laws of physics.

Maybe our new prez can repeal them. That would allow for all sorts of creative solutions to many national and international issues.

[gyre]

"Stop that!
You're in direct violation of the laws of physics!"


You could write tickets for these things, I suppose.

[wedeliver]

Wow, what would be the Penalty for a violation of the "Law of Physics"

and how would it increase if you had "3 strikes"

or might 2 strikes be considered the same as 3 as the law of physics breaks down.

Do you think we could repeal the law through legislation?

If you accuse someone of violaition will the police get a search warrent? And if they did what would they be looking for.

"your honor, inside the house we expect to find another dimension." Or evene worse, "we expect to find NO dimension."

[swingle12]

Last year was my first burn. I took an REI Hobitat 4. I shared the tent with another guy. We each had a full-size cot and plenty of room. I had planned on putting it under a Costco carport, but we managed to forget all the fabric parts of the carport, as well as the rebar stakes we had made. The tent worked fine, even just using the stakes it came with. We did use a van as shade (set up on the west side of it) and tied off to it as well. The tent held up well, not bending down too badly. I did get quite a bit of dust in it, but I just covered my cot with a sheet while I was gone and pulled it off before bedtime. I used a warm blanket-style sleeping bag and was just fine. I doubt it got below 40 degrees at night, this really doesn't count as cold to me. I don't think it's worth considering how "cold" the tent itself will or won't be, just bring enough clothes and a warm sleeping bag. I wasn't wanting to sleep all that late, I was probably up by 9:00 or 9:30 every day. Given that, I didn't have any problems with the tent getting too hot during the day. It would depend on how much time you plan on spending in it. Most of the time, I was under our shade structure, not in the tent. I definitely enjoyed being able to stand up in the tent, I'd try to get one big enough to do that. The Springbars look really nice and are probably quite durable, but if you find a nylon tent you like - with aluminum, not fiberglass poles- you should be fine, especially if this is the only event you'll use the big tent for. Also, my tent weighs less than 20 pounds and fits into a med size duffel, if size and weight matter to you.

[Bob]

Cots are great. Toss a tarp over it when you aren't sleeping & keep dust off your bed & whatever you store underneath.

[gyre]

Nothing wrong with good fibreglas poles.
My last 100mph tent had fibreglas poles.

And for comparison, I slept under a sheet in the double walled tent in freezing weather.
And I sleep cold.
It makes a huge difference.