Wilsons Sandbox

> On Fri, 6 Jul 2007 07:09:07 -0700 (PDT) Terry Taylor > writes: > > I am looking for a good tent somewhere in the $150 range that is > > capable of sleeping 2 people,easy (quick)to put up and take down & > > > when stored will measure about 20" from side to side so it will > fit > > inside my bag.Any suggestions would be appreciated..... > <><><><><><><><> > <><><><><><><><> > > Terry, > > Short answer is I've just purchased a Eureka Pinnacle Pass 3XTA > three season tent. It should arrive today or Monday. > > Longer story... > > I've just gone through a camping equipment upgrade phase since all > my gear was about 25 years old. I looked at tents a bunch last year > but just couldn't make up my mind what would probably work well for > me. I went so far as to get Steve to set up his tent at the end of > De Tour just so I could take a good look at it and see how much of a > foot print I was wanting. I also hid a large bolt in his tent when > we were done as I tend to give Steve rusty bolts near the end of our > trips together. He does the same to me sometimes and the last one I > carried for about 7 months before I found it. : ) > > Anyway, back to tents. On my recent trip to the Hole In The Wall in > Wyoming, Hugh Kenny showed me his new Eureka Pinnacle Pass 2XTA > tent. He'd recently bought it and he allowed me to put my air > mattress inside to see how much room it had. It was a little tight > for what I wanted. But I looked at the 3XTA last year and last > winter in catalogs. The Pinnacle Pass is a 3 season tent which is > 19" wider and with poles that are held to the tent with clips > instead of sleeves. I've had tents with sleeves for the last 35 > years. The clips are much easier to use from what I've observed. I > also like the fact this is a three season tent. My last couple of > tents were four season tents as I used them in the winter and on some > mountaineering excursions. They really work well in very high winds > and cold weather but I don't tend to camp in the winter anymore. So > looking for a tent just for spring, summer, fall camping I think the > Pinnacle Pass 3XTA is what I want. It's also pretty light compared > to a four season tent and packs to about 20" if I recall correctly. > > Hugh may have more input on this as he's used his a couple of times > now I believe. > > I did a bit of research and found www.eurekatent.com and they have > an outlet store. The Pinnacle Pass 3XTA is available in an "A" > Class second for $103.99 plus about $20 shipping. The A Class > second means it has something wrong but you'll probably never figure > out what the problem is. MSRP for the 3XTA is $179. Best I found > on eBay was $130 plus shipping. There is a $20 rebate on a new tent > until the end of July I think. > > I ordered the 3XTA and expect it to arrive today or Monday. It's > 19" wider than the 2XTA and combined with the two vestibules should > give me all the storage area and room I'll ever need. It's also > large enough for a second person if needed/desired. I've been in a > very small mountain tent with a very large climbing partner for > three days and don't ever want to have that happen again. > > So I bought the 3XTA and expect it's gonna work very well for > motorcycle touring. > > Along the same lines I just bought two Wiggy's Nautilus sleeping > bags without hoods. www.wiggys.com These pack smaller and are > larger bags than the North Face mummy bag I've used since the early > 80s. They will mate i.e. zip together and in the compression sack > they are about 6x7 inches or just a tad larger. I'm very impressed > with them and they can also be washed in the home washing machine. > They also come with a lifetime warranty. They are rated to 40 > degrees which is a little warmer than some of the higher altitude > camping I've done on my KLR. But with a sheet liner I think they'll > be good. I can also carry a light fleece blanket if I think I'll be > in cooler temps. I wish I'd bought a Wiggys bag years ago when I > first heard about them. > > Hope you find something that works well for you. > > Best, > > Jeff Saline > ABC # 4412 South Dakota Airmarshal > Airheads Beemer Club www.airheads.org > The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota > 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650, 79 R100RT