Necrobumping because I want to talk about tents.
So while I was away it was the start of the westher turning mild enough in old Blighty to get back outdoors.
The slight downside to this is that it's also been one of thw coldest and wettest Springs here for bloody ages.
Which meant, in the middle of the night, on the first trip out, stuck at the bottom of a steep hill that buggered up the underside of our car, the wife and I were awoken to find our MSR Elixir 3 tent was no longer waterproof. Infact it seemed to be holding the water just long enough to pool and then pouring it through in steady streams, evenly across the entire inside of the tent.
Que a mad scramble to get everything packed into the car, soaking wet, at which point we discovered the aforementioned being stuck, which took us close to an hour to eventually scramble out from, thanks to my legendary 'offroad in a sensible hatchback' skills.
Now my tent is about 8 years old by this point, so I should have redone the waterproofing yonks ago regardless, but for it to completely fail so spectacularly was a shock even with it needing refreshing. So I decided to check with the manufacturer and see about whether they do a rewaterproofing service.
MSR do not. In warranty or your on your own, the cunts.
Now the missus needed a tent the following Friday for an all ladies camp out she had arranged with her friend, so I decided that, rather than risk waiting for the waterproofing gear and then finding tome to do it myself, I'd just bybher a budget, reliable, smallish tent we can both use for solo camping.
Long story short, Vango Nevis 200. Cheap, reliable, down to £90 from £150 because I'm a penny pinching old miser.
However...
I bought the Elixir back when I'd not been camping for the best part of a decade, because it had taken that long to persuade my old lady that camping was fun and not just foolishness for the unclean.
I know a lot more now than I did back then, and while I did a LOT of research before buying, and hot a really good deal on a highly rated tent, looking at it with my experienced eyes,
American tents are a bit shit.
Or rather, to be fair, a bit shit for Europe.
If you want something light weight, well ventilated, warm and tough, they're pretty good. They're designed primarily with through hikers doing long treks, like the Apalachan trail, in mind.
What they are not designed for, is variable weather.
For Europe, and particularly Great Britain, which will often experience multiple seasons in a single week, they just do not cut the mustard.
Particularly in regards to waterproofing and wind resistance.
Now waterproofing is measured by hydrostatic head ratings. 2000 is recommended in Great Britain as the minimum to aim for, 3000 is the ideal middle ground, 4000 or more ideal. The cheap Vango is 3000, with a 4000 groundsheet.
The MSR Elixir, which costs £440, and 90% of American tents I looked up, are 1500.
So I also bought another new tent!
The British £360 Terra Nova, Wild Country, Helm 3 Compact! A mid range, 4000 waterproofed, free standing, double doored and combined inner and outer tent, ideal for wet weather and high winds, roughly as big up but pqcking dowm smaller and lighter than the Elixir 3.
Obviously I got a 25% discount on the RRP price too because, again, skinflint.
We've been out in it twice, both in the local woods and up a tor on Dartmore. Great tent, easy to set up and pack down, plenty of room inside for my giantness, the wife, our bags and with a vestibule that you can comfortably cook in and keep your shoes out the rain.
So yeah, American made outdoor gear is designed for the American outdoors. Who ever would have guessed?
