Can't find the brand of canvas cabin tent

[phil]

I've searched Q&A, and I get 1,182 hits for
canvas cabin tent heavy
and I haven't been able to find the posts.

People have recommended a particular brand canvas tent with standing headroom. It's said to stand up to all the playa can throw at it. Anyone remember the specific tent I can't remember? URLs, links, clues gratefully accpeted.

[Boijoy]

yeah Phil it's called " your tent " doesn't it come with a label or anything? sheesh.

[Boijoy]

actually I remember the thread from last year.. I want to say Cabellas sells em.. I can picture them in my head & can't come up with a name.. they are around $ 500.

[Boijoy]

AH HA !!! Kodiak® Flex Bow Tent

[mojo]

Is it Springbar?

[gyre]

http://www.springbar.com/explore/springbar/design.html

[phil]

That's it!

Thanks, guys.

[jkisha]

I think I got this link off of one of those threads too:

http://www.kodiakcanvas.com/

JK

[Toolmaker]

tents are overrated

i proved this to myself and highly recommend the experience

a couch on the other hand is an absolute necessity

[phil]

Tents may be overrated, but bacon is not:




http://buzzfeed.com/scott/bacon-hitler

[Knotch]

We did ok for our first year on the playa with the tent we had but decided to invest in a really good canvas tent for future playa years and other camping during the year as well. From all the favorable posts here and reviews on other web sites, I felt fairly certain that the Springbar brand was the tent I wanted. I also looked at the Kodiak at Sportsman's Warehouse. The Kodiaks are really high quality tents but I was told they were manufactured in China and I knew the Springbars are made in Utah. I went with the Springbar 10x10 Traveler 5. They had the tent at my gate in less than a week after ordering.

Everything about the tent from fabric to poles is industrial strength heavy but that's ok because it isn't meant to be a backpacker tent. I put it up in about 15 minutes by myself the first time. I have absolutely no doubt it can withstand the playa conditions. I picked the 10x10 because of the headroom and it will fit nicely under the 10x20 costco.

I also bought Snow Peak #50 ( 19.75") solid steel tent stakes. The standard stakes included with the tent are good but I wanted the extra strength and length of the Snow Peaks and they also have very high reviews.

I have no connection with Springbar other than being a very satisfied owner of one of their tents that should last longer than I will be around to use it.....

People have recommended a particular brand canvas tent with standing headroom. It's said to stand up to all the playa can throw at it.

[phil]

Anybody have a Springbar in the San Francisco Bay Area that Louise and I could look at? We're comparing it to the Kodiak, which is cheaper, so we're interested in the quality of the fabric and construction. We can see Kodiaks at Cabelas.

We've both read threads where people compare the two, and I'm not able to see a groundswell of opinionon either side, so we'd like to see for ourselves if the Springbar is worth it.

[gyre]

The warranty service alone may be enough.

My experience with north face is so good on their coats that I would pay a lot more for that alone.
I haven't heard specifics about Springbar, but they seem like they would back up their product.
They are also capable of custom changes at little cost, something foreign manufacturers can't do.

It is worth considering the different weights and types of material available.
Feathered Friends has done this for me too.

[phil]

> The warranty service alone may be enough.

Kodiak and Springbar both offer limited lifetime warranties.

> It is worth considering the different weights and types of
> material available.

Yep, I'll be happy to consider it when I get my hands on the materials. Both claim to use 10-oz canvas in the roof and 8-oz in the walls. Springbar says its flooring is made from 9-oz vinyl-laminated polyester, while Kodiak says its floors are 16-oz vinyl, polyester reinforced. We camp elsewhere than the playa, so floor strength is definitely on our list of considerations.

It's a shame Springbar doesn't have a retail store presence, as Kodiak does. C'est la vie.

Lacking any immediate responses from Bay Area livers, has anyone had years of experience with either tent at Burning Man?

[justfred]

I've got an old Sears canvas tent, and it's been great on the playa - dust doesn't get through, it stays dark and not too warm in the morning/midday (better with an overtent/car cover), and stands up to the wind pretty well if some idjit (me) hasn't tried to tie all sorts of other shade structures off to its poles (side note: massive silver poly tarp from Harbor Freight worse than worthless - I hate those damned things).

A Springbar or Kodiak is on my list.

[StevenGoodman]

I have a Springbar, and live in Mt View. Although it is currently in storage in East Palo Alto. I can probably arrange for you to check it out.

I checked out the equivalent Kodiak tent at Burning Man this year. If you look for postings from CptSmashy, he had the Kodiak. (We were both camped as part of Terminal City.)

Comparing a Springbar Traveler 5 and a Kodiak 10x10 Deluxe:

Size - virtually identical
Canopy - similar, Springbar is detachable
Frame - similar
Weight - similar
Doors - Springbar 1, Kodiak 2
Windows - Springbar 4, Kodiak 4 (who cares at Burning Man?)
Vents - Springbar 0, Kodiak 2 (useless at Burning Man?)
Construction - seemed the Springbar was slightly better
Setup - similiar, very easy.
Where Made - Springbar, Ogden UT; Kodiak, China.
Where to buy - Springbar (online-direct); Kodiak (retail only)
Add-ons - the ones that come with seem similiar, Springbar has other stuff you can buy on their website.
Cost - Springbar is more.
Wind at Burning Man - they both rock.
Dust - mine did well, but I can't really compare mine to the Kodiak, our setups were too different.

There are slight differences, and whether they matter is up to the user.

If I was buying a new tent now, I would get a Springbar Vagabond 7 with a detachable awning. It is cheaper than a Traveler 5, and having less windows isn't an issue at Burning Man (although might matter for other applications).

Martini Steve

[gyre]

I was suggesting they would do a different material if you wanted it.
Expect a long lead time, unless you pay for hurry up service.
I even sent a zipper from one company for another to use in their vest.
That's accommodation.

[Knotch]

I can't confirm this but there is a thread either on eplaya or bm tribe that talks about the difference in zippers. I remember one negative on the Kodiak was the seams and construction not being quite the quality of the springbar and also one of the most important things was that while both vendors advertised a certain brand/model of YKK zipper, the Kodiak was actually a China "knock-off" and was definitely not the same quality as the zipper used by Springbar. Another point someone made that I can't confirm but is worth checking out is the quality of the "sailcloth" material used for the tent upper. I can say the zippers in my Springbar are the best quality I've seen anywhere.

I noticed the advertised difference in the floor thickness also but decided that did not outweigh any of the other pluses of the springbar over the kodiak. The floor on the springbar is THICK and if you buy their groundcloth (which I did) it is THICK so the two together is thicker than the Kodiak floor. The thing I liked about the custom groundcloth that you can buy with the springbar is that it is just the right size but really really thick. You could get the same thickness from folding up cheaper tarps but you would have to have a huge tarp and fold it several times to just the right size to get the equivalent of the springbar groundcloth....

As for customer service, springbar has been better than any web order facility I've ever dealt with on both my tent order and the separate order for the Snow Peak stakes. They had the order at my gate in just a few days after I submitted the web order. I think the discussion threads I've seen on the "other" BM group had only positives to say about direct contact with springbar also. They have a big showroom and other outdoor supplies at their facility in Utah but I've not been there.

Phil, you probably couldn't go wrong with either of these tents.... but I do like doing business with a long time USA Mom and Pop company that has decided to try to make it for keeps on quality instead of quantity and cutting cost with cheaper components....

[gyre]

Zipper quality definitely matters.
I like the heavier YKK zippers in nylon with a metal slider.
Best with a large metal pull like the custom ones from north face.
Should be large enough to operate with gloves on.

Most tents are using zipper sizes I wouldn't put on a light jacket.

http://www.ykkfastening.com/indexns.html

[Ugly Dougly]

These guys have some cool tents:

http://www.pantherprimitives.com/

Not sure of their playa durability...

[CapSmashy]

I've seen Panther Primitives hold up in some pretty harsh conditions and they last for years with proper care and feeding.


Cabellas sells an accompanying ground cloth for the Kodiak tents as well.

We used ours on the inside as a floor liner and put a carpet over the top of it. Made end of the burn clean up a breeze in terms of the tent.

[digitalether]

How do these canvas tents hold up in the early morning sunshine and heat? Do they do a resonable job of staying cool with the flaps and windows closed?

What about when the flaps or windows are open, do the extra windows matter?

[Absolut Jeenyus]

I think the best way to keep a tent cool is to have a shade structure over the tent. So as to have a shell that absorbs the sunlight and most of the heat. Even with the windows open its insanely hot inside of tents. Hanging with your body halfway out the tent gasping for air in the early morning sun with a hangover is not fun. lol

[digitalether]

Thanks Absolut Jeenyus....but I'm wondering how the tent would perform without a structure like that. I've done the carport+tent thing before and it did work well, but I'd rather not have to set up both this year so I'm wondering if the Kodiak canvas tents are good enough alone.

[StevenGoodman]

I use two of the white snow camo tarps laid over the top of my Springbar. Works pretty good. And since the tent is canvas it gets some air flow.

Nat as good as a shade structure, but pretty good.

Martini Steve

[digitalether]

Thanks StevenGoodman, I even have those snow tarps you are talking about....with the holes to allow airflow.....I think that's how i'll extend the awning.

[CapSmashy]

We're adding a Kodiak 10x14 to our camp this year.

Did a set up run the other day and the 10x10 had been packed and rolled since we left the playa last year. We left a near perfect square of green grass framed in about 2 foot width of white from the playa dust rolling off of it as we set it up.

On note to add to Steve's write up above, the side vents on the Kodiak's work wonderfully. We had them open the whole time and had no dust entry. The heavy canvas also does a wonderful job of holding in cool air from the swamp cooler.

[phil]

We set up our Springbar for the first time; photos on flickr at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/civex/sets ... 973886300/

It's the 10x14, which is big till you get stuff in it. The thing Louise and I like is that it has standing headroom wall to wall to wall. We can also walk into the tent, just ducking our heads. Our other tents required us pretty much to crawl in. At 62 and congenitally stiff, that was getting to be a problem, so I'm happy with the door.

Now we'll see if they're as dust-proof as everyone says.

[peachandpapa]

We have a 16x20 and a 14x12 Montana Wall Tent as well as a 10x12 Denver Wall Tent. They are awesome! We have had them on the Playa the last three years and do an excellent job of keeping both the heat and dust out of the tent. We bring queen size aero beds which makes them even better. Be sure to get the internal frame structures which jack up the price but they make them very stable in any conditions and will last for years! Worth every cent!

[Hoolie]

How do these canvas tents hold up in the early morning sunshine and heat? Do they do a resonable job of staying cool with the flaps and windows closed?

What about when the flaps or windows are open, do the extra windows matter?

I can speak for my Springbar Campsite 3 tent. It does heat up with the sun on it, though not nearly as much as a nylon tent. If I open all the windows, it can be cool enough to stay in there. The back window is huge, and covers a large portion of the rear wall. When I vent the doors and front window as well, I get good air flow going. I just have to be ready to zip up quickly if the wind picks up. In short, it's pretty decent in the sun, provided you can vent it all the way. Obviously, it will stay cooler if you have shade over it though.