thermocouple
02-21-2008, 07:36 PM
Cabela's makes good tents, of modern material and quality manufacture. They a roomy all-season dome-style tent and a modernized versions of a wall tent. They are an interesting line of tents worth your consideration, and despite their modern material manufacture they are designed to accomodate wood burning camp stoves.
The Big Horn II is dome-style but reinforced with steel frame members, making it very rugged and sturdy for it's size. An optional vestibule which can be used as a mud-room dramatically enhances the liveability of this tent, and would be worth considering. The Big Horn II measures in at 12x14 and costs $650 for the tent and another$190 for the vestibule.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v19/cbatson73/bighorntent.jpg
The Alaknak II is Cabela's modernized version of a wall tent. Like the Big Horn, it has additional steel framing for improved support and strength. It has windows along the sides and a door at each end, for summer-time air flow. Like the Big Horn it can accomodate a vestibule which is a very useful and valuable space for that muddy and wet gear that you just dont want hanging around the living space. The large version measures in at 12x20, and a complete package including tent, vestibule, stove jack panel protector and floor liner will cost you around $1200.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v19/cbatson73/ALAKNAK-1.jpg
The benefit to considering these tents is that they include everything with the purchase (many wall tent manufacturers do not include the frame, they give you a cut list and it becomes the customer's responsibility to procure the frame materials and cut them to size). They are well thought out designs and seem well made. Cabela's is very well regarded for their outstanding customer service, they stand behind their products 100%. If you dont like it, bring it back.
The drawback to these tents is that they are indeed modern manufacture, both frame and shell. If you are taking emergency shelter, a broken frame member would be very difficult to adequately repair, and impossible to replace without modern support. Also, while they state the quality and durability of the shell material, the fact is that the material simply has not been around long enough to know how well it will do over so much time. Canvas has been around for centuries, and it's durability is well documented. I can say though that the Cabela's near my home has these tents pitched for months at a time during the nicer (and hotter/sunnier) seasons, and the tents seem to fare decently.
As with any purchase, do your homework.
The Big Horn II is dome-style but reinforced with steel frame members, making it very rugged and sturdy for it's size. An optional vestibule which can be used as a mud-room dramatically enhances the liveability of this tent, and would be worth considering. The Big Horn II measures in at 12x14 and costs $650 for the tent and another$190 for the vestibule.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v19/cbatson73/bighorntent.jpg
The Alaknak II is Cabela's modernized version of a wall tent. Like the Big Horn, it has additional steel framing for improved support and strength. It has windows along the sides and a door at each end, for summer-time air flow. Like the Big Horn it can accomodate a vestibule which is a very useful and valuable space for that muddy and wet gear that you just dont want hanging around the living space. The large version measures in at 12x20, and a complete package including tent, vestibule, stove jack panel protector and floor liner will cost you around $1200.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v19/cbatson73/ALAKNAK-1.jpg
The benefit to considering these tents is that they include everything with the purchase (many wall tent manufacturers do not include the frame, they give you a cut list and it becomes the customer's responsibility to procure the frame materials and cut them to size). They are well thought out designs and seem well made. Cabela's is very well regarded for their outstanding customer service, they stand behind their products 100%. If you dont like it, bring it back.
The drawback to these tents is that they are indeed modern manufacture, both frame and shell. If you are taking emergency shelter, a broken frame member would be very difficult to adequately repair, and impossible to replace without modern support. Also, while they state the quality and durability of the shell material, the fact is that the material simply has not been around long enough to know how well it will do over so much time. Canvas has been around for centuries, and it's durability is well documented. I can say though that the Cabela's near my home has these tents pitched for months at a time during the nicer (and hotter/sunnier) seasons, and the tents seem to fare decently.
As with any purchase, do your homework.