Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

CHAPTER VITYPES OF LIGHT TENTSLocal conditions, means of transportation, and sizeof party, are to be considered in choosing among themany tent models that have been designed for camperswho travel light. All depends on where you go,when you go, how you go, and what you want to do.The perfect all-round tent is a myth, like the perfectall-round gun. Of one thing, though, be sure: thatwhatever rig you choose shall be stanch againstwind. The utmost pinnacle of comfort is reachedwhen one lies at night under canvas, with a stormroaring toward him through the forest, and chortlesover the certainty that no wind can blow his tentdown. And it takes just one second of parting guysand ripping cloth to tumble him off his perch andcast him headlong into the very depths of woe.Light Wall Tents.— A wall tent is the favoritecloth shelter of soldiers, engineers, explorers, naturalists,trappers, loggers, and other practical menwho live away from civilization a great deal of thetime. For one thing, it gives the most head-roomfor a given amount of material ; and that counts,especially in continuous bad weather, or when onecomes in wet all over and wants to hang up hisclothes to dry. It is the best form of tent if a stoveis carried ; and that may be necessary in a thinlywooded country, late in the season. The verticalends permit large ventilators or windows that maybe kept open in almost any weather. There is nowaste space, as in tents without walls.Wall tents for flying camps should be muchlighter, of course, than those mentioned in Chapter'76