Warehouse tent

I just picked up a warehouse "3" person dome tent for half price @ NZ$35,-

it is a real simple design appears to be pretty solid and pretty light weight for its size! @ 2.8kg out of the packet. and 2.5 kg now after my modds.

I'll mainly be using it on my own and will have a ton of room!

(Good luck fitting 3 people in there by the way pfffff.. yeah maybe two hot girls and me in the middle :-D!! )

I swapped the glassfibre sticks out for my aluminium ones from my bigger 4person expensive 6kg tent and the steel tent pegs for the glassfibre ones. I also cut some fabric instruction leaflets that where sown onto the tent off.

I Then wrapped the whole thing in a waterproof bag and put it back in the protective bag it came in.

I managed to get the weight down by 300 grams about 10 % lighter then original.

see link for picture : http://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/is-bin/intershop.static/WFS/TWL-B2C-S...

I have used many cheap tents before and never had major problems with them even in some pretty bad stormy wet weather.

What do you reckon?

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NewbiePermalink Reply by Talbert de Jong on July 20, 2010 at 16:38

I found another cheapy warehouse tent I bought years ago in the ceiling I have used this one quite a few nights in the back yard in hot summers. and have spend some rainy night in it without leaking.
http://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/is-bin/intershop.static/WFS/TWL-B2C-S...
Picture is of 3 person mine is 2 person.
I've got the day of (yay for self-employment) and modified the tent sticks. original are steel, I replace them with some old fibreglass ones I had lying about. wrapped the tent in a waterproof rubish bag.
Weight after Modd 1.9kg 300 grams saving yet again! this will probably be my preferred "on my ownsome" shelter.

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TohungaPermalink Reply by Te Hopo on November 6, 2010 at 19:57

How's the tent been working out for you?

I have one very similar which has done me proud, I've been caught out in some real bad weather and found it has performed great.
The only mod I have made to mine was to re-waterproof it with a reputable product (forgotten what it was called now) and since then it has been great.

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ShrafterPermalink Reply by new caveman on January 8, 2012 at 13:03

Switching the poles was a solid idea. I've destroyed a couple of cheapo tents (the wairarapa coast can be fairly unforgiving at times, wellies south coast isn't much better)) and with one exception it was the poles that broke. Years back I read someplace the measure of a tent is it's poles, something I'll go along with. My main moan about cheap tents is the bug mesh that will stop anything larger than, say, a sparrow. My last cheapie was Sunshine Yukon (killed 2 sets of fiberglass poles then relegated it 'the one I loan out' pile, finally died for good at a Cold Kiwi), the bug mesh was hopeless, sandies would somersault through the mesh. In the end I kept the door zipped up and run a needle and thread vertically in and out through the meshes of the small triangular roof to reduce the mesh size. Te Anau sandies are merciless. Bit sweaty in summer but better than being bitten to death.

I think most of the problem with cheap tents falling/blowing down is not enough thought put into the where and how you pitch them. As I've found out the hard way, a lovely view of the sea means no protection from a southerly buster that rolls in over night.

Then I put a Macpac Olympus on my student loan and haven't looked back since.