View Full Version : "Mateable" tent?
berninbush
12-11-2008, 14:26
Just had an odd idea and wondered if anyone's ever tried it before.
I know there are "mateable" sleeping bags where two people can zip together and make one bag that holds two people.
Has anyone ever tried this idea with tents? I.e. make a tent that can come apart into two single-person tents or be put together to make a bigger two-person tent.
I guess the application would be for hikers doing a long distance trail together, who are not sure that they will ALWAYS end at the same place every night (or who prefer to each carry a shelter for safety reasons). It would give some flexibility to stay together or split up, and make it easy to split the weight between two people.
I have no idea how it would be designed. Some bright designer could probably figure it out.
Tried that once. You don't wanna go there.
You end up with whole bunch of little tents you can't get rid of.
It can and has been done with car camping tents, but it is not that practical with hiking tents. The problem is that a zip is not an ideal connection where you need tensile strength, also you would need an extra pole to keep one of the separated sections up, that would negate the weight saving. Note that a solo version of a double tent is only about 1/3rd lighter, so building more or less two solo shelters that can be joined is not efficient.
Theoretically one of the two halves could use trekking poles or simply guylines to stand up but I think it would be too niche to make as a commercial product.
Franco
berninbush
12-11-2008, 17:29
Well, I've seen a lot of two-person tents that use two trekking poles for support, and one-person tents that only use one.... so if each person carries one pole, wouldn't that work?
I'm thinking you'd get two solo tents that are very small, utilitarian shelters, but joined together they could make a nice roomy two-person shelter. "Ultralight" is not the goal here. If you have two A-frame tents, the same material that forms two walls on the single-person version would be unfolded and form one wall on the mated tent. Or you could just join the tents end-to-end. I agree that the material would have to be joined by something stronger and more waterproof than a zipper.
Maybe the market is too "niche," but it seems like I've seen a lot of people posting on here with concerns about tents when hiking with a partner.
Burninbush
Before Henry started to sell his version of the Double Rainbow, I made my own...
Somehow HS did not appreciate the "out of the square" designed and opted for a more traditional version.
But here it is . My idea was to have twin sleeping arrangements for couple that are nor ready to or past sleeping together, also same sex couples that are not too confident about their sexuality. Note the neutral green zone in between
Franco
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e389/Francophoto/Rainbow%20mods/2-Rainbows.jpg
Rockhound
12-11-2008, 18:38
when you said "mateable" tent i was going to vote for the Hubba Hubba. roominess and all that. then i realized you meant something else.
MaineSurveyor
12-11-2008, 18:49
How about the Army Shelter Half.:-?
http://www.mainemarksman.org/mmfileserver/Shelter half 1.jpg http://www.mainemarksman.org/mmfileserver/Shelter half 2.jpg
Each enlisted man was issued a "half" to mate with a buddy's "half" and officers were issued two "half"s. First used prior to WWII the shelter half is still issued today as NSN 8340-01-026-6096. It is now made of "Cotton Sateen Fabric", 8.25 oz. per square yard. The pup tent is still supplied with 3 wood pole sections and 5 aluminum pins, plus a guy rope (with each half). NSN 8340-01-026-6096 is called Tent, Shelter-Half and is mildew resistant and water repellent with an overall length of 12 feet, 9 inches (with flaps).
--Mike.
Tent, Shelter-Half and is mildew resistant and water repellent with an overall length of 12 feet, 9 inches (with flaps).
Didn't they used to use down bags as well?
MaineSurveyor
12-11-2008, 19:04
Didn't they used to use down bags as well?
The bag used down inside a sateen cover...actually it felt more like feathers as the quills poked into you at night...and it didn't keep me warm. It came with a sateen sleeping bag cover that I used to cover up my fiberfill civilian bag (blue in color) that I used in the field.
Feral Bill
12-11-2008, 19:15
If you are tarping, you could use two smaller units and rig them together as a bigger one. Might not be worth the bother
The Army tent well illustrates the problems. Apart from the difficulty in making it "waterproof" (regardless of the material used) you either start with two very large single pieces or you have a very minimalistic tarp when you split. So my point is that it would be very difficult not to end up with a heavy double and two very small singles.
Nevertheless it can be a good challenge for designers (and DIY tinkerers)
Franco
i never had one leak through the seam between the two halves, and lived though some really heavy rainstorms. the army design does work. there's about a 2''-3'' overlap between the two sections. and it is made to set up solo too. you just need to cut a branch for the second pole, and carry an extra bit of cord for a guy-out. looks like a lean-to when you're done. (i looked for a photo or diagram, but no luck.) just have to back it to the wind. you can also set it up sort of like a flying diamond. no, it's not the ideal to set up solo. but what really hurts the whole idea is the weight. i hated carrying even the single half, let alone both, the 2 poles, 10 pegs, and 2 ropes. but i think it would work if the halves were made of silnylon, or even something a little heavier. with a treking pole and some thin aluminum pegs, it would work fine.
what i never did solve was the mosquito problem... :D
MaineSurveyor
12-12-2008, 10:05
I'm a 'tenter'...but in the field with the Army I've lived under an army poncho in a manner similar to tarping. If I was going to try the OP's theory I think I'd have to convert to 'tarping' in order to have enough room for myself and keep down the weight but possibly allow for joining with a second tarp to create the 'taj mahal'.
OldStormcrow
12-12-2008, 10:15
Back in the 70's there was a company that made a backpacking basecamp type of tent that was basically a large dome tent with removable sleeping compartments. It was shaped like a starfish where everybody could hang out in the main section and each person carried their individual sleeping compartment. I guess the guy with the most testosterone poisoning got to carry the main section as well as his own compartment. Haven't seen one like it since.
I bet you could make a pretty light and weatherproof shelter If you carried two big silnylon tarps with tieouts both inside and outside, one 10 foot aluminum or carbon dome tent pole each and a handful of grip clips (http://shelter-systems.com/gripclips/ultra-light-silicon-tarps.html) (by the inventor of the dome tent)
The grip clips could be used to create a fairly weatherproof seal between the two tarps and the tent poles would add structure to keep things up and add headroom. You could use the inside tieouts to keep the poles from sliding.
Sounds like a fun thing to try out, and with some practice you could probably get pretty good at setting up a bomber shelter that you could hold a party under.
berninbush
12-12-2008, 15:09
i never had one leak through the seam between the two halves, and lived though some really heavy rainstorms. the army design does work. there's about a 2''-3'' overlap between the two sections. and it is made to set up solo too. you just need to cut a branch for the second pole, and carry an extra bit of cord for a guy-out. looks like a lean-to when you're done. (i looked for a photo or diagram, but no luck.) just have to back it to the wind. you can also set it up sort of like a flying diamond. no, it's not the ideal to set up solo. but what really hurts the whole idea is the weight. i hated carrying even the single half, let alone both, the 2 poles, 10 pegs, and 2 ropes. but i think it would work if the halves were made of silnylon, or even something a little heavier. with a treking pole and some thin aluminum pegs, it would work fine.
what i never did solve was the mosquito problem... :D
Fascinating stuff. :) I figured *someone* must have had this idea before. I'm sure the army version is terribly heavy, but I bet a creative designer with lightweight materials could make a nice version. The real challenge would be figuring out a configuration of bug netting that would work with both arrangements!
Franco, your version looks fun too, even if not quite what I had in mind. :D
If the reason for splitting the tent is to share the load, then I'd suggest that one individual carry the tent body, and the other carry the rain fly and ground sheet.
berninbush
12-12-2008, 17:12
I'm sure a lot of people do that, Peaks. On a long-distance hike, the issue is that if the two people don't end up in the same place at night (or run into a weather emergency), they don't have a usable shelter. The person with the fly might use it as a tarp-style shelter, but the tent body without the fly isn't going to be very satisfactory in bad weather!