What is the best tent color

[omegaman]

I am thinking of making my own tarp or tarptent and I started thinking about tent colors. Any thoughts on which color is technically the best. Does one color (heat absorbtion) work better in the winter or summer? Does one color cause additional condensation? Is visual impact a factor (leave no visual trace) or do you need that bright tent to find your way back at night?
It is kind of a strange question because realistically there are only a few colors of silnylon but I thought I would ask.

 

[ripple]

If you go to this site: http://www.owareusa.com/. That comapny sells fabric. If you click on the fabric you will see a link on that page that decribes the advantages and disavantages to the different colors. Some good info there.

 

[Jay H]

These days, it seems visibility is becoming more the de facto standard. Walrus used to make different colors, one being fairly unobtrusive using greens, greys, etc. the other using oranges, greys, reflective guylines, etc. They stopped making the green ones slightly before they got merged into MSR, much to the dismay of many fans. You don't really need the fabric itself to be reflective unless you plan on camping on the interstate (just kidding), you can get reflective guylines or reflective tape and use that. There are times when you probably want to be obscure and times when you don't so if you get the bright hunter orange fabric for your tarp, you're kind of stuck unless you design it with two sides which might be an option if it's a tarp.

Jay

 

[Pete_Hickey]

These days, it seems visibility is becoming more the de facto standard.

And it's becoming the standard because it sells.

"My tent is blinking Day-Glo pink, because I camp in areas so harsh, that I'll die if I can't find my tent."

Doesn't that sound cool?

Yeah, Ripple's pointer gave some decent reasons for the colors. Uhhh heat absorbtion... Are you in the tent when the sun is out?

BTW, Don't expect to save money making your own. You will get personal satisfaction, and maybe something that has some kind of feature not commercially available, but it won't be cheaper..... Unless, maybe, you add the cost of the dozen or so stuff-sacks you make with the leftover material.

 

[omegaman]

Thanks for the Info

The info on colors on the web site was great. As far as the heat aborpstion is concerned, I was thinking about (noncamping/family cases) where I might have to set a tarp up for shade but you are right, I can't really recall being inside a tent in the daytime. The last part is probably the root of my problem. I am becoming obsessed with making my own gear. It started cutting off the bottom of a bleach bottle to make a basin, then I went to making LED flashlights out of film cannisters, then I started making pepsi-G stoves and making a tent seems like the next thing in line. I think my wife will draw the line when I start buying goose down to make sleeping bags.

Thanks again

 

[Jay H]

I think my wife will draw the line when I start buying goose down to make sleeping bags.

I think she might draw the line when she sees you chasing geese at the local pond!

Jay

 

[DougPaul]

making a tent seems like the next thing in line.

Expect to make at least two--the earlier ones are to learn how to make the "final" one. There are few straight seams in a tent. Tents are made of tensioned stretchy fabrics and if you want it to have a decent shape without too many wrinkles. (Nylon also expands when wet...) One designer was reputed to use a stapler to adjust the seams of prototypes...

An easier and very practical project is a Speer (backpacking) hammock. http://www.speerhammocks.com. Speer publishes a how-to-build-one book, sells materials, and sells completed hammocks. (I have one and feel that it is a rather good design. Disclaimer: no connection, just a satisfied customer.)

Doug

 

[ripple]

omegaman,
Not to talk up another forum, VFTT is the best no doubt about it, but this forum

http://www.backpacking.net/bbs.html

has a make your own gear section and there are a lot of people who know there stuff there w/ lots of great info. A lot of the cottage gear companies belong and post there also. A member by the name of penny could answer any question you might have as far as making your own stuff.

 

[Davehiker]

Frostline Kits

Does anyone remember the Frostline Company that made kits for sewing your own gear? I made a bike pack and a sleeping bag in the late '70s. The kits had everything you needed, with pre-cut fabric and detailed instructions, but required sewing skill to complete. They had different sized pouches of down that you put in the compartment and then turned inside out. I still have the sleeping bag and love it. They also sold fabric and other accessories. I don't know what happened to the company, but I assume they're gone, since I haven't heard about them for a long time.

 

[DougPaul]

Does anyone remember the Frostline Company that made kits for sewing your own gear? I made a bike pack and a sleeping bag in the late '70s. The kits had everything you needed, with pre-cut fabric and detailed instructions, but required sewing skill to complete. They had different sized pouches of down that you put in the compartment and then turned inside out. I still have the sleeping bag and love it. They also sold fabric and other accessories. I don't know what happened to the company, but I assume they're gone, since I haven't heard about them for a long time.

Try google: search on "frostline kits".

Frostline seems to have existed as recently as 2001:
http://sewing.about.com/library/blfrostline.htm but the url http://www.frostlinekits.com/ seems to have been taken over by another company.

Doug

 

[Pucknuts61]

God Bless Google.
Hope this is it Dave

Frostline Kits
P O Box 3419
Grand Junction, CO 81502
970-242-0240
Fax 970-242-0286

The frostlinekits.com address appears to be a search engine of sorts.

 

[kaibar]

It depends what when and how....

In winter I prefer a bright colored tent if we're going to be camping above treeline in case of a white out. One thing to consider sewing into the tent would be 3M reflective tape so at night with a headlamp you can see it. My winter tent has this feature and I have to say that you can definitely see the reflectve glow. When I'm kayaking the Maine Island Trail I prefer the color of my Moss tent so I don't have as much visual impact on the islands. People passing by in boats don't want to be looking at a flourescent colored tent sticking out like a sore thumb. So again it depends what your using it for...

-Kaibar