Talked to a park ranger about my tent choice and now I feel like an idiot

Ran into a ranger at Yellowstone last weekend who said my fancy ultralight tent was useless for anything but fair weather camping. He pointed to his decades-old canvas tent and said that thing has survived 40 mph winds. Makes me wonder if I've been overpaying for hype.

3 comments

3 Comments

richardharris18d ago

Honestly the ranger had a point but also missed the point. Switched to a mid-range hybrid tent a couple years back and never looked back.

hayden_rodriguez18d ago

30 pounds of canvas? Might as well pack a cinder block and call it a "camping chair." Honestly though, if you're hauling that thing on your back for 10 miles you either hate your knees or you're training for some kind of wilderness endurance competition. Maybe it's just me but I'll take a lighter setup and save the pain for the morning coffee.

ryan_stone18d ago

30 pounds of canvas is great if you're hauling it in a truck, but try carrying that thing 10 miles into the backcountry and see how much you love it. What kind of camping do you actually do most of the time?