Ozbow

I'm feeling very chuffed at the moment. I've been considering buying myself a new tent for some time. My old tent is well over 20 years old and even though it's still in fairly good condition, it's a real pain to put up and it's not well ventilated with just two small windows.

I want a tent that's going to be sturdy and one that's quick and easy to put up. It has to be tall enough for me to stand up inside, as it's much easier to do everything. I also wanted a tent that had lots of big mesh windows for ventilation on those hot summer nights.

Today, I just happened to be near Rays Outdoors and I saw that they were having a sale. I popped in especially to check out their touring or tourer tents. These are the tents that have a single pole that goes right in the middle of the tent. I knew they were priced at well over $300 from when I was last in there, a couple of months back.

I was totally amazed to find that they were on sale and selling for just $139. This is for a good quality canvas tent! Needless to say, I bought it on the spot.

I tried to find the actual tent on Ray's website, but I could only find the same tent, but in the next size up, which is just another $20. Here it is ... http://www.raysoutdoors.com.au/online-s ... 1917#Cross

This tent will be excellent to take to trad shoots, as it's very quick and easy to put up. It will also get lots of use on fishing and hunting trips.

If you are looking to buy a new tent yourself, this deal could suit you too.

Hi Mick

I have a tour tent 4, not sure if it’s the same brand. I like the fact I can stand up inside, witch makes life easier as we get older

http://www.bcf.com.au/online-store/prod ... 1385#Cross

Hi Prof.

I was certainly interested in a tent the same as yours. Actually, Tony S had one at the Ballarat shoot and it immediately took my attention. I had a close look at it and I came to the conclusion that it had lots of complex parts that could possibly break in time, making the tent next to useless. They would probably last forever, but they are a possible weakness that might cause problems down the track. I do like the tent however. It's an excellent size and they're very quick to erect.

The tent I chose has no mechanical parts what so ever, so there's nothing to break. It's also made of a heavy canvas, which IMO, is more durable than the lighter synthetic tent material. It's doesn't tend to flap in the wind as much either. It was a lot cheaper too.

I erected my new tent in the backyard last night, mainly to make sure everything was there. It was. I was slightly annoyed this morning to find that every bird in the neighbourhood had used it for target practice. I gave it a good hosing down, which washed the crap off, as well as serving the purpose of shrinking down the seams, etc which should now make it totally waterproof for it's first use.

They are a good design Mick and should be ideal for your intended purposes.

Jeff

Mick,

Hosing tents down to close the weave and seams is not something which many people know about today. In my backpacking days, I always did it even with synthetics. I used to season all my tents by pitching them in the back yard and hosing them down to look for leaks initially, apply seam sealer if necessary but usually did it anyway and left them to see how they stood up to wind and weather for about a week. Canvas tents in particular, need seasoning so they become properly water tight through shrinkage of the material. If you don't, you can get significant leakage in your first rainstorm when you don't want it.

Mick, you did very well on the purchase.

I have purchased a few tents over the years and found that for room and comfort halve the number of persons they suggest.

Not being a large person I have found a tent to 'sleep four' is barely large enough for two.

Daryl.