How do they rate tents for number of people?
Question:
Just wondering. When I look at the diagrams for how many people they will sleep, I wonder. How do they arrive at these figures? It seems like they would have to be very small people or very friendly. And absolutely no room for gear. It doesn’t look like there would be room for a pack of cigarettes, let alone several pairs of shoes, a light, etc. Your thoughts? Steve Next time – sleeping bag temperature ratings.
Response:
Simple: pack all the possible people they can into the tent, then the advertising department doubles that number and rates the tent. See, very simple. Will I drive a Kia. My cell phone is a NOkia. I am so confused.
Response:
>Just wondering. >When I look at the diagrams for how many people they will sleep, I wonder. >How do they arrive at these figures? It seems like they would have to be >very small people or very friendly. And absolutely no room for gear. It >doesn’t look like there would be room for a pack of cigarettes, let alone >several pairs of shoes, a light, etc. >Your thoughts?
The ratings seem to be from people who have never met an full-grown adult. My favorite was the catalog that showed three people side-by-side in the square Chouinard Megamid tent, even though there is a pole in the center. The person in the center apparently had to rest the end of the pole in their navel. The other catch is that some tents have gradually sloping sides. Although technically having a large floor area, much less is actually usable. Happy trails, Gary (net.yogi.bear) at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom
Response:
> Just wondering. > When I look at the diagrams for how many people they will sleep, I wonder. > How do they arrive at these figures? It seems like they would have to be > very small people or very friendly. And absolutely no room for gear. It > doesn’t look like there would be room for a pack of cigarettes, let alone > several pairs of shoes, a light, etc.
The upside to this is that it seems all tent makers are equally skewed on this. So no matter how stupid the system, at least it appears to be consistent. Every compared sleeping bags? Now that is a pain in the arse… BV.
Response:
For reference the BSA sets the minimum of 30 square feet per person for a long term camp. (long term camp is open for interpretation but if you are on one, you better have this much room!) We end up using a 4 man timberline for two boys on most campouts as a result. They can put all the gear they carry in with them this way. A lot of times they rate these things with no gear, which you can’t do and they assume that somebody is shoved against a wall which will make th thing leak like a screen when it’s wet out!
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Just wondering. > When I look at the diagrams for how many people they will sleep, I wonder. > How do they arrive at these figures? It seems like they would have to be > very small people or very friendly. And absolutely no room for gear. It > doesn’t look like there would be room for a pack of cigarettes, let alone > several pairs of shoes, a light, etc. > Your thoughts? > Steve > Next time – sleeping bag temperature ratings.
Response:
>For reference the BSA sets the minimum of 30 square feet per person for a >long term camp. (long term camp is open for interpretation but if you are on >one, you better have this much room!) We end up using a 4 man timberline for >two boys on most campouts as a result. They can put all the gear they carry >in with them this way. A lot of times they rate these things with no gear, >which you can’t do and they assume that somebody is shoved against a wall >which will make th thing leak like a screen when it’s wet out!
Long term camp I would interpret as something like a "week at summer camp" situation. This would be a good ballpark for a car camping situation, although a bit more if you are using cots would make sense. Backpacking tents figure around 15-18 sf per person, which is essentially just you lying down, no gear. Shape of the space, and slope of the sides, will reduce the USABLE space in a tent. Happy trails, Gary (net.yogi.bear) at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom
Response:
>The person in the center apparently had to rest the end of the >pole in their navel.
God, thanks fer the belly laugh, I sure needed it.
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I always look at the number and half it. Never been disappointed that way Bill
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The only time I ever consider the rating to be interesting would be if I STeve
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