Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

34 CAMPING AND WOODCRAFTfereiice In prices for what is ostensibly the samething. There is a legitimate margin of variationin tent prices according to local cost of production;but when " bargains " are offered, keep your weathereye open. There are many different qualities ofduck in grades that nominally are alike — all theway from honest clear cotton to weighted stuff thatis almc^t shoddy.A tent may be stunted in height to deceive thepurchaser, since most buyers consider only theground dimensions. A flattened roof and low wallsnican less head-room and greater danger of leakage.V'ery ciieap tents may have worthless jute ropes, insteadof hemp or sisal, and their poles and stakesmay be defective.Low prices generally go with Interior workmanship.Look out for single seams, chain stitching,insufficient stay-pieces or reinforcements where thechief strains come, and machine-clamped brass grommets,that tear out easily, instead of galvanized ironrings sewed in by hand.High prices, on the contrary, may mean refinementsthat ordinary campers do not need. Betweenthe two extremes there is wide room for choice.For example, at the time of this writing, you canget a new 9x9 wall tent of single filling duck(29-inch), complete with fly, poles, stakes, andropes, for as little as $11.50. For the best grade ofU. S. Army 9x9 officers' tent you would pay^Si.50- Of course, the army tent is of far bettermaterial than the cheap one, and it is higher at centerand walls, but a good part of the difference inprice Is due to hand sewing and hand workmanshipthroughout. In the officers' model, even to finishingevery becket and door-string with a MatthewWalker knot.Wathri'Roof Tents.— A waterproof tent need?no fly to shed rain ; but it should have eaves to carrydrip free from the walls, if there are any. It costsless than a plain tent of equal quality with fly,