I used it last year for the first time. I would say that my swamp cooler was not optimized to work its best. For one, the only evap pads I could find at Ace hardware that resembled the ones Figjam recommends seemed to be insufficient. This year I got the natural hay-like substrate that people say is a bit moopy or can clog your pump. I cut it at home, so am not expecting any moop issues -- will have to see about the clogs, but I'm optimistic. As for ducting, I use flexible metal ducting hose, which i slip over the end of the 90 degree elbow that comes off the bucket. A friend of mine, however, overhauled his swamp cooler this year and used flexible plastic ducting (like this http://www.mge.com/images/embed_dryervent_plastic.jpg, which attaches with something like this, which it snaps on to: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4 ... SX300_.jpg). He also used bolts to attach the fan and the various components to the bucket lid, which i found to be much better than using the screws that come with the fan, since those can eventually crack the lid. As for getting the max seal between my tent zipper and the ducting, it never seemed to me like getting a seal around the pipe with the zipper was an issue -- it always seemed fairly tight. I suppose if you wanted to seal it any better, you could just wrap some cloth or a towel around it on the inside where it enters. This all being said, my tent had no shade last year (my friend's plan didnt pan out), and with a sub-optimal swamp cooler, I didnt feel like it was a huge benefit (and with my 10x14x7 kodiak, it may be a bit too much volume to service with just a single bucket cooler). With my improved evap pads and shade this year, I'm hoping for better. Another trick my friends use (they have the same sized tent) is they sewed several sheets together to form a bubble around them and their air mattress, and they attach the ducting to that, which inflates with cooled air. That way they don't have to cool their whole tent -- just the air around them while they sleep. They say it gets so cold they need extra blankets
