is walmart the new place to go for cheap lightweight gear?

see, for instance, this two-person 2 1/2 pound tarp tent for $34

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4697882

i met a guy over the weekend in the otter creek wilderness who had a little tent that cost $17. it probably weighed a coupla pounds. not bad.

That's pretty impressive. I'll be really impressed if it actually weighs 2.5 lbs, though. Sounds like the fleece bag from Bass Pro that's listed as 8 oz but really weighs 2 lbs (IIRC). Someone gonna buy one and weigh it?

Methinks it depends on what you are looking for.

For example, I bought a 6-LED headlamp for $16 (1.6 oz net wt.) that I am very happy with.

On the other hand, I would not waste my money on a cheap tent made with "water resistant" (i.e. not waterproof) fabrics and fiber glass poles.

The tarp tent mentioned above looks like a Wengel -- a very, very cheap brand. Single wall tents are extremely prone to condensation. Notice that Henry Shries and Six Moon Designs tarptents all feature perimeter vents in addition to smaller vents higher up? This Wengel looks like it has 1 small foot vent plus 2 small vents higher up -- no perimeter vents at all. May as well wrap yourself in plastic cellophane and save the $35???

Edited by ben2world on 05/30/2006 10:37:50 MDT.

you people need to get down with the common folks, stop being so *BEEP* snotty. you just assume this walmart gear is no good. you don't know. if that tarp tent is really roomy enough for two people, that 2 1/2 pound weight is great. who says their material isn't water proof?

No need to be defensive -- it's not that WalMart equates to cheap. Get beyond the low price and analyze for yourself whether the gear you are looking at is well designed / well made.

As for Wengel, take a drive to WalMart and read the label yourself. Maybe it's a great tent -- but I doubt it for the reasons stated above.

jeff - you'll find that people here aren't so much snotty as they are intolerant of gear that doesn't work. There are lots of great options that are also very cheap - why waste your time on cheap options that don't work?

Ben

with the united Ben's! :)

i wouldn't throw down on this walmart gear unless i knew what i was talking about. for thirty bucks, it doesn't have to last very long. we don't have any problems wearing $16 dropstoppers even though they shred a little more with each use.

Setting aside the issue of "you people" vs. "common folks," whatever that means... It could be a good tent if it works. I don't know. Having seen the product on the shelf, I'm not interested in carrying the bulk/volume in order to test it out.

I look at it this way: I shop at WalMart quite a bit, but I invest my hiking-dollar where I can find a better [subjective*] value. For me, that means WalMart provides me with some great hiking clothing, sleeping pads, kitchen/hydration stuff, and occasional sundries. For shelter and sleeping--having looked at the models that WalMart carries and used competitive products--I shop elsewhere.

-Mark

jeff - I own the Wenzel tent you're talking about. It sucks. If this is not the exact model you're referring to, my apologies - it was enough to sour me on Wenzel gear. No knock agains the company - it's just not designed with serious users in mind, so it doesn't work for serious users.

http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?memberId=12500226&productId=66486

Ben

I try to avoid Walmart for reasons other than those class-based. I think they're well documented enough so I won't go into a dissertation. That being said, I bought an Energizer head lamp there for $13 that works great, provided it doesn't get turned on accidentally in my pack or pocket.

jeff - took a closer look - it appears that I have the previous model of the tent you're referencing.

Ben

I don't mean to be picky, but there are some things that just tick me off.

In the Walmart add for the tent described above it says "just stake it out and your all set".

I'm sorry, but in America we say "just stake it out and you're all set". I wonder what country maintains the ads for the Walmart web site.

Ben - too funny! I totally missed that this time...

Ben

It actually looks interesting.

Edited by thehikingdude on 05/30/2006 11:50:01 MDT.

I looked that WalMart listing and they show 2.5 pounds shipping weight and the Wentzel is listed on other sites as 4 pounds shipping weight. There's little doubt they are the same tent and I'd put my money on the WalMart weight being wrong.

I don't care who puts their name on a product unless it is spendy and warranty comes into the issue-- I'm all for finding less expensive alternatives.

BUT, I've painted myself into the "cheap corner" more than once and many times it is easier and less expensive in the long run to buy something that works. Any items that can put you in a life-threatening situation go first on that list.

BUT, fiddling with cheap junk is perfectly acceptable as a past-time--- you just need to be honest with yourself. Every once in a while we come up with a nice practical, cheap, solution. If it works, it works.

There seems to be some confusion regarding the two tents in question. They don't appear to be the same tent. They look different. The dimensions are different. The weights, if accurate, are different. They don't even seem to be from the same manufacturer. The Campmor tent is manufactured by Wentzel. The Walmart tent is manufactured by Wenger, one manufacturer of Swiss Army Knives.

Looks like the Walmart/Wenger tent might work in some dry environments with a nice breeze. Now if we could only control the breeze. Would be nice if it had side awnings covering more vents like in the Six Moon Designs single-wall tents.

I suspect that the Walmart weight isn't right but sooner or later it is going to happen. We all want more companies to pick up the lightweight philosophy and design better, lighter products and eventualy they will and when companies like Walmart get in on that particular act, the price will come down too.

So, eventually, cheap, lightweight and effective will be the case.

What will we all do then when everyone on the trail says, "So your pack weighs that little, so what, so does everyone elses!!!"

I guess we'll have all find something else to be fanatical about :-)

Scott

What sometimes happens is that a european manufactured tent gets its specs converted from metric to english. Could the weight have missed conversion and it's really 2.5kg, not 2.5lb?

well, somebody at walmart is thinking about lightweight backpacking and ways to tap into that market, at least. otherwise, they'd never sell a tarp tent that uses a hiking pole. this tent may be shoddy, but it wouldn't take a genius to check out the best lightweight gear and mass-produce it overseas and then sell it cheap back over here.