Lots of opinions on Canopies

Alan here;
Operative word... FOLD. Not stuff, no one ever said to fold exactly the same way each time, but I am not aware of any company saying just stuff it in and forget it.

 

you know, "Alan" is short for Anal Retentive....



(that's MY name, too - so please don't take the joke as a criticism)

I think if someone "folds" their tent they ARE going to fold it nearly the same each time. Seams are natural fold lines. You should not fold a tent along the seams (or along any line) time and time again, which is what lots of people do.

Again, unlikely it matters unless you fold the thing 50 times per year

I do think it's funny that Sierra Designs says not to fold it the same way each time, and it then gives instructions which encourage folding it the same way each time...(sort of)

-Al

 

Alan here;
Anal Retentive? Yea I can by that, and I agree one shouldn't fold along seams, etc. But there are many ways to fold and I guess I have never been smart enough to fold a tent or tarp the same way every time.

 

You can argue, present data on various fold, stuffing methods, as for me, I will continue my method because it works very well for me.

 

After I take the poles off, I arrange the tent so that it is about the same width as the bag and then role it. I slip the bag over the role. I have always done this with my tents. Too late now to change.

 

I can see people sitting around campfires years from now. Telling fabled stories about an almost Utopian Society known as the Camp Inn Teardroppers. They were a gentle and caring community who looked out for each other. They gathered periodically in great numbers. They held magnificent feasts. Dinners were prepared in cast iron chambers. Breakfasts were prepared (in a manner that archeologists and anthropologists believe to be some sort of religious ritual) by boiling eggs in plastic bags. The Camp Inn Tear Droppers lived a peaceful and harmonious existence.

That is until a newer member of their group, the one they called "Rick", unleashed an apocalyptic chain of events that split the clan up forever. No one knows exactly what took place. All that is known for sure is that when the dust settled, there was no longer one clan but now three: The Folders, The Stuffers, and the Rollers.

The Civil War was long and bloody, but eventually the three separate tribes of Teardroppers learned to live separately but equally. Three separate CICO outings had to be held to avoid further bloodshed. When CampInn Teardroppers randomly came across each other in National Parks, a carefully choreographed ritual of hand gestures was necessary to self identify, and to avoid violence. Eureka was forced to manufacture their Northern Breeze tents in three separate vivid colors so that users could more readily avoid inadvertently setting up next to a known enemy combatant.

Numerous attempts at reconciliation of the groups were attempted by various pillars of the society. There was the Bear-Jenn Peace Talks, and the Craig-Carry Accord. Evan, the founder of the original Unofficial CampInn Website (now divided into three separste forums) took a leave of absence from his seminary training to spend a year negotiating amongst the factions. Unfortunately all failed.

And that is how we came to have the Three Separate Tribes of CampInn Teardroppers.

 

hahahaha

funny stuff



-Al

 

Evan will have to resort to the old tried and true method of decision making: Rock, Paper, Scissors.

 

Hmmm.. might have missed this one... I'm a 'Roller' and a "Folder", was 'Cruncher' then a 'Folder' (short lived) and now a "Roller-Folder".

During my Back Packing days I was told to always "Stuff" the tent/sleeping bag in the "Stuff Bag" to prevent creasing wear, but the canopy was too Big...

When I got the first Canopy, I tried taking it off and then folding it 'Nice and Purdy like' but immediately saw the error in my ways, creases but more to the point it was a PITA to fold/unfold each time to put back on.

I then noticed that I could fold the legs and leave the canopy on/attached. I did that for a long time, then started noticing little holes/crease marks. At that time I was in transition to the bigger, more "Manly-man' canopies, 16x16 (Gawd what was I thinking at 98 lbs) and that brought me around to the "Holy Rollers" of Canopy Storage. I use it when the wind is at Hurricane levels and it's quick n'easy, and thought to myself, "Self, dohh!! - just leave that way for storage", so I do.

So now I roll the canopy up, bunge around so it doesn't unfold, fold it in thirds and just place it on top of the legs for storage. I used to put canopy a better spot, due to trying to balance it on top, but suddenly realized I might pack the legs but forget the canopy part, sigh, a more than common thing for moi to happen...

So, I'm a "Holy Roller-Folder" and so far, so good.

Duplicate pic but you get the idea. Just drop the legs and it's real easy. Like furling a sail on a windy day.

Pic is Furled for wind, but next step for storage is to unwrap the bunge from the frame and then just fold it into thirds, put on top the frame for storage.
Voila'

 

Ha Ha Frank!! Oops - I mean "Heh heh heh."

Your descriptions started to beautifully sound like a Dr. Seuss book!

I've already admitted to being a "Stuffer" - but now must admit to feeling somewhat Agnostic. I now see that it is possible to be a Folder AND a Roller. Sadly, I do not see an easy way to be a Stuffer AND a Folder. It seems that us Stuffers are not easily able to Fold or Roll as we Stuff.

 

And that is how we came to have the Three Separate Tribes of CampInn Teardroppers.



And that is a true story children.
There were Raindroppers in their great big teardrop, 550's in their mid-sized teardrops AND the 1 Door 500 (really Special) teardroppers who became an endangered species!

 

Rick,

STUFF IT.

Regards,

AsheWolf

P.S. My middle name is Alan. Part of the club...

 

Rick, very well done. Sounds like it might be a pilot for a reality tv show....Camp Inn, The Last Frontier.
Mike

 

Oh Sarah!! Right On!!

"I'm a Stuffer - I'm a Roller - I'm a Miiiiiidddniiight Folder..."

 

You get me Rick! I love that!

 

Yes, Sarah, that was the song that came to mind, well sorta, after I typed it.. It was rattling around, but couldn't come up with the Rhythm right then...

ps. got the "Mud Slides" heheh, stay tuned eh?? ;-P

 

Re: Canopies (once again)

I was having this very same thought. I'm spending over $20,000 and still have to set up a freaking tent....maybe I'll just buy the tent and sleep in it and save $19500. Hmmm....I can stand up in the tent, I could use cots in the tent, the tent doesn't need walbernizing or woody waxing after all the gawkers come putting their greasy hands on it. I am having a serious crisis of faith here....

 

Re: Canopies (once again)

Charlie, Your statements are absolutely true.

As for me, I do not plan on returning to tent camping anytime in the future.