View Full Version : what color is your tent/shelter
i was researching some ultra light shelters earlier and noticed that every single one i looked at was some funky bright color, except for black diamonds beta light which is still earth tone blue and grey. why? i'm sure a whole bunch of marketing geniuses have all of this figured out, but why do folks that hike want a colorful shelter? so, what color is your shelter and why did you choose it? i prefer grey or camo myself, cause, well for a bunch of reasons.
Country Roads
04-02-2011, 19:54
All my tarp style tents are gray. I like to stealth camp sometimes.
Campmor tarp is green, which is way too bright, but I already have it.
Only advantage I can see to bright colored tents, would be in winter camping, when you need to be able to see through snow storms. Or maybe if you are returning to your camp in the dark and the bright colors would be easier to see.
#1 breen
#2 green
#3 yellow
TallShark
04-02-2011, 19:59
Blaze Orange, and not too long ago there was a post saying something along the lines of; bears are interested in bright colors that are out of the ordinary against the natural landscape. Well, thats just great, now I'm going to die. My assumption on the whole why manufacturers make them these bright colors is from a rescue/ safety standpoint, but i don't know. I actually like the bright colors, but I'm like a moth to the flame when it comes to gear that catches my eye. And maybe that's just it, the companies know that some ignorant people are attracted to bright shiny stuff.
harryfred
04-02-2011, 20:00
I like bright colors. In some circumstances I have hiked away from my camp site even bushwhacking and it makes it easier for me to find my tent. I hike during hunting seasons and I want hunters to know I am there. If something happens it will make SAR easier to find the body.
Nearly Normal
04-02-2011, 20:06
i was researching some ultra light shelters earlier and noticed that every single one i looked at was some funky bright color, except for black diamonds beta light which is still earth tone blue and grey. why? i'm sure a whole bunch of marketing geniuses have all of this figured out, but why do folks that hike want a colorful shelter? so, what color is your shelter and why did you choose it? i prefer grey or camo myself, cause, well for a bunch of reasons.
I agree, but white tarp, yellow 2 man, gray single.
The gray is a SMD solo and I like it pretty good. I just need to use it more.
There are four aspects that I can think of that come into play, and not in my order.
1) differentiation. Generally each manufacturer likes to stand out from the opposition, so it will choose a different shade of say yellow..
2) availability. Not all colours are available in a particular fabric/laminate
3) safety. Already mentioned above
4) comfort. Colours (like it or not) play a very important role with our moods.
You will never see a hospital or clinic with dark green or dark blue walls.
Light yellow/orange and green shades tend to make us feel better .
Same reason why a day of sunshine makes more people happy than a dull day...
Franco
from a marketing perspective, i think it boils down to coolness factor, what colors are en vogue in general. i find it hard to believe that gear manufacturers think about your safety at all. if it doesn't make em' some money, they ain't interested. i might be wrong though, i'm sure there are some money folks with a conscience, but not all of em'.
Rocket Jones
04-02-2011, 20:37
from a marketing perspective, i think it boils down to coolness factor, what colors are en vogue in general. i find it hard to believe that gear manufacturers think about your safety at all. if it doesn't make em' some money, they ain't interested. i might be wrong though, i'm sure there are some money folks with a conscience, but not all of em'.
They care enough about your safety to use the bright color as a safety selling point.
very true. well as a side question, is it more important to have a safety color or stealth capability.
sheepdog
04-02-2011, 20:50
My hammock tarp is gray and blends in well with the woods. I like to stealth camp.
Keep in mind that the safety aspect is usually only related to mountaineering/expedition tents.
So for example Sierra Design use bright yellow for those but a subdue green and grey fly for the 3 season version.
And the same for MSR now.
BTW I always find it somewhat a curious aspect that many that do "stealth" camping imagine everybody else doing the same. The last thing some want is to blend in (IE coming down a mountain and wandering where the tent is gone or directing a rescue squad/back up team to a tent that looks exactly like a boulder).
Franco
HeartFire
04-02-2011, 21:54
LightHeart tents, I can make it in any color (well choice of about 20 colors) you want, bright, subdued, hot pink, olive drab, multi-colored etc. A common choice lately has been forest green with a tan floor - it's easy to see things on the lighter colored floor.
Judy
www.lightheartgear.com
Nearly Normal
04-02-2011, 22:19
You are awesome.
I just got the green Hubba. I definitely like the more natural colors better.
I have a Gatewood Cape in Forest Green to be less obtrusive.
trailangelbronco
04-03-2011, 02:18
The Light heart tents come in all kinds of custom colors. I ordered mine in Forest green with a tan floor.
LightHeart tents, I can make it in any color (well choice of about 20 colors) you want, bright, subdued, hot pink, olive drab, multi-colored etc. A common choice lately has been forest green with a tan floor - it's easy to see things on the lighter colored floor.
Judy
www.lightheartgear.com
I know on other boards anyone using the board for advertising was required to pay. Here I know if I open a thread about tents you will have slammed it.
trailangelbronco
04-03-2011, 12:26
I like Judy's posts and many of us have bought her tents. It is hard to stay silent on a subject when you feel passionately about it like she does.
I do understand your point, though.
Tipi Walter
04-03-2011, 12:32
There are four aspects that I can think of that come into play, and not in my order.
1) differentiation. Generally each manufacturer likes to stand out from the opposition, so it will choose a different shade of say yellow..
2) availability. Not all colours are available in a particular fabric/laminate
3) safety. Already mentioned above
4) comfort. Colours (like it or not) play a very important role with our moods.
You will never see a hospital or clinic with dark green or dark blue walls.
Light yellow/orange and green shades tend to make us feel better .
Same reason why a day of sunshine makes more people happy than a dull day...
Franco
This post comes the closest to the thoughts of designing a bright tent in yellow or orange to make long in-tent blizzards endurable, as a bright canopy lightens up considerably the inside of a tent. In the old days many of the antique A-frame tents had dark blue canopies with dark brown flys. I spent years in one of these tents. Drab and dark inside, esp on cloudy days. Then NF came out with the Westwind hoop tent in bright yellow and the diffference was, uh, night and day.
But here's my question to Franco: Hilleberg uses a darkish green for their tents, but with bright yellow inners, and so this seems to brighten up the shelters on long days. Question is, is it the bright fly that makes the difference, or the bright canopy under a dark fly??
Thats why I moved to Arizona Franco!!
Same reason why a day of sunshine makes more people happy than a dull day...
Franco[/QUOTE]
Tipi Walter
04-03-2011, 12:53
Thats why I moved to Arizona Franco!!
Same reason why a day of sunshine makes more people happy than a dull day...
Franco[/QUOTE]
There's SAD---seasonal affective disorder---and then there's NADs: No Apparent Dogs, or Napsackers Apparently Disappearing. I suffer from NADs on long winter trips.
Sierra Echo
04-03-2011, 13:07
Here is my tent!:
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=45874&catid=member&orderby=dateline&direction=DESC&imageuser=27623&cutoffdate=-1
garlic08
04-03-2011, 17:15
I agree with all the above, and one more reason I think you see mostly light- or neutral-colored tents is solar absorption and overnight blackbody radiation.
Blaze Orange, and not too long ago there was a post saying something along the lines of; bears are interested in bright colors that are out of the ordinary against the natural landscape. Well, thats just great, now I'm going to die. My assumption on the whole why manufacturers make them these bright colors is from a rescue/ safety standpoint, but i don't know. I actually like the bright colors, but I'm like a moth to the flame when it comes to gear that catches my eye. And maybe that's just it, the companies know that some ignorant people are attracted to bright shiny stuff.
At least the SAR folks will be able to find your tent when the bear finds you. ;):)
4) comfort. Colours (like it or not) play a very important role with our moods.
You will never see a hospital or clinic with dark green or dark blue walls.
Light yellow/orange and green shades tend to make us feel better .
Same reason why a day of sunshine makes more people happy than a dull day...
Franco
Again I disagree. If that's the case them your spending way to much time in your tent!
I have spent the better part of days inside a green tent and the color didn't affect my mood.
Blue skies, green forests never made me sad, just the opposite. A red sky could though.
My living room, where we spend a good part of our time in, is mostly blue, some gray, but darkish blue walls. We are not by any means depressed people, actually very happy.
Anyway, I think it comes down to what you like/prefer, or what is available. My TNF tent is that nasty yam orange/tan with the brown floor. I don't like the colors, but love the tent. My Sierra Designs Astroid is green, my preferred color. We just got a Marmot Twilight for base camping. They now offer a choice between the orange and a dark green. We went for the orange. We like the orange material in the tent body (it's different). The green has a white tent body (have enough of those) and a dark green fly. We're not going to stealth with it. We just wanted bright, but in no way were we thinking that the green would get us all depressed after a while. One of my favorite colors is that of my Eureka Zeus 2 LE. It's a mint greenish aqua of sorts.
Hi Tipi Walter
Yes I am pretty sure that the yellow inner in the Hilleberg is there to soothe the mind.
Note that almost every Arctic/Antarctic expedition will opt for the red canopy.
BTW, a problem with prolonged stay inside a blue or dark green tent (with that colour coming through the inner...) is that when you get out you see everything with rose tinted eyes.
(your brain inside the tent will add red to compensate for the lack of it)
MYKL, feel free to disagree, it doe not change a well known fact...
Franco
TallShark
04-03-2011, 19:06
At least the SAR folks will be able to find your tent when the bear finds you. ;):)
:banana:banana:banana:bananadancing bananas
mykl
"Blue skies, green forests never made me sad"
We are actually "wired up" to perceive green more than any other colour (a little problem with space travel...)
That is for example why most can spot more different shades of green that say shades of blue and a reason why a plain green tent almost never blends in with the surroundings, provided that there is enough light.
And here is where you did not get the point.
I was talking about dark colours (dark blue and dark green)
In nature too, in a bright sunny day , a green forest and a blue sky is indeed a happy sight, however there is a reason for the expression "a dark forest" and "a dark sky" and those are not used to describe a happy situation.
BTW, I worked around photographic colour labs for over 30 years so I am very well acquainted with the fact that some will always disagree about colours. In fact some will see one colour for another...
Here is a simple colour test, similar to the ones we used to test our would be lab assistants..
http://www.toledo-bend.com/colorblind/Ishihara.asp (http://www.toledo-bend.com/colorblind/Ishihara.asp)
Franco
One of my tarps:
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/2/5/0/2/dscn0271_thumb.jpg (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=42191&c=member&imageuser=2502)
and another one:
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/2/5/0/2/dsc01643_thumb.jpg (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=38474&c=member&imageuser=2502)
And My Hilleberg tent:
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/2/5/0/2/dsc01428_thumb.jpg (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=38717&c=member&imageuser=2502)
My MLD poncho/tarp is coyote brown and the RAB bivy I just bought is brown also.
I guess I like blending in (more or less).
this is the what color is your tent thread, not what the color gives you a chubby thread.
Pedaling Fool
04-03-2011, 20:10
I got two tents:
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/6/9/3/6/p1030579.jpg (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showimage.php?i=24271&original=1&c=member&imageuser=6936)
skinewmexico
04-03-2011, 20:17
Doesn't sound to me like you're looking at ul tents. Tarptent, MLD, SMD all come in greys / greens.
Yes, see my post N12.
Tinker
I think that you just cleared up that bit about green and blending in. Can't see your shelters at all.
Franco
I got two tents:
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/6/9/3/6/p1030579.jpg (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showimage.php?i=24271&original=1&c=member&imageuser=6936)
Relax, John. :)
modiyooch
04-03-2011, 21:51
I was told it was so they can spot climbers on the rocks.
Kia Kaha
04-04-2011, 08:01
My SMD shelters are grey, I have honestly never given much thought to color when getting a shelter, I have had orange, blue, yellow, white/red, and more. I would say there is something to mood, my wife prefers our yellow shelter because she thinks it is brighter. I have heard the same thing about sleeping bag colors, I just get what appeals to me in terms of performance.
mykl
"Blue skies, green forests never made me sad"
We are actually "wired up" to perceive green more than any other colour (a little problem with space travel...)
That is for example why most can spot more different shades of green that say shades of blue and a reason why a plain green tent almost never blends in with the surroundings, provided that there is enough light.
And here is where you did not get the point.
I was talking about dark colours (dark blue and dark green)
In nature too, in a bright sunny day , a green forest and a blue sky is indeed a happy sight, however there is a reason for the expression "a dark forest" and "a dark sky" and those are not used to describe a happy situation.
BTW, I worked around photographic colour labs for over 30 years so I am very well acquainted with the fact that some will always disagree about colours. In fact some will see one colour for another...
Here is a simple colour test, similar to the ones we used to test our would be lab assistants..
http://www.toledo-bend.com/colorblind/Ishihara.asp (http://www.toledo-bend.com/colorblind/Ishihara.asp)
Franco
I have experience working with color, and it sounds to me like you are referring to what you perceive through a color/shade or what a color suggests. Maybe you have been "hard wired" to think....that way.
My family is living proof with our dark blue living room, green hallway and even my dark blue pick up. No one is depressed about it at all.
I understand your opinion, I just have my own thoughts, not a studies.
this is the what color is your tent thread, not what the color gives you a chubby thread.
That would be pink ;)
So what color is yours Franco?
LoneRidgeRunner
04-05-2011, 11:40
My MH Trango 2 is Apricot (orange to me) and some off color of grey..Because that's the color it came in at the time..( and still does I think) I found it to be great for returning to camp in the dark after Deer hunting when I used no trails and I bushwhacked by following ridge lines hollers..etc.. I was easy to see from a good distance away...as far as bears being attracted I think that's just so much BS.. I used it for years and never had a bear lounging in it when I returned.. bears are attracted to the smell of FOOD and if it's a male bear he will be attracted to the smell of the local hot sow..... not a "pretty" tent.... This has been brought up before and a man posted on here that he worked in Grizzly country of Alaska for years and they ALL used brightly colored tents...
Funkmeister
04-05-2011, 11:57
Years ago, when I bought my TNF Westwind tent, the rep there told me the yellow color was to make the tent more cheery on drab and gloomy days. The tent was yellow and the fly was grey, presumably to blend in a bit. It was a great winter tent for it's time. I also bought a TNF Dragonfly tent, and that was similarly yellow and grey. Another great tent for it's day.
mykl
The colour of my tents is irrelevant to the explanation of why bright colours are used for winter/mountaineering/expedition tents.
For some reason you make it your business to post a contrarian opinion but that is all it is , your opinion. I posted WHY it is , that is why manufacturers do that, I was not guessing. "tents" is my "hobby". If you do not like the facts that is not my problem.
Franco
LoneRidgeRunner
04-05-2011, 18:03
Now..if we could get a bunch of bears to sit at their computers and take that color blindness test maybe we could know for sure if and why they (bears) like bright colored tents..lol.. I think not...
Years ago, when I bought my TNF Westwind tent, the rep there told me the yellow color was to make the tent more cheery on drab and gloomy days. The tent was yellow and the fly was grey, presumably to blend in a bit. It was a great winter tent for it's time. I also bought a TNF Dragonfly tent, and that was similarly yellow and grey. Another great tent for it's day.
I almost bought a Westwind way back in the 1980s. If it was reintroduced with modern materials I bet it would be a strong seller for TNF.
Btw: How are you doing these days? I haven't seen you at the store, but I'm not quite a "regular" there.
The Macpac Olympus is not all that different from the Westwind ;
http://www.macpac.co.nz/shop/en_nz/gear-and-clothing/tents/tents-mountain/olympus.html (http://www.macpac.co.nz/shop/en_nz/gear-and-clothing/tents/tents-mountain/olympus.html)
About 6lbs in silnylon
Franco
Tipi Walter
04-05-2011, 22:23
Years ago, when I bought my TNF Westwind tent, the rep there told me the yellow color was to make the tent more cheery on drab and gloomy days. The tent was yellow and the fly was grey, presumably to blend in a bit. It was a great winter tent for it's time. I also bought a TNF Dragonfly tent, and that was similarly yellow and grey. Another great tent for it's day.
I almost bought a Westwind way back in the 1980s. If it was reintroduced with modern materials I bet it would be a strong seller for TNF.
Btw: How are you doing these days? I haven't seen you at the store, but I'm not quite a "regular" there.
The Westwind is still being sold new in England, I think:
http://www.supertent.co.uk/images/North_face_westwind.jpg
Website:
http://www.supertent.co.uk/product_info.php?pName=the-north-face-westwind-2-man-silicone-flysheet-tent
Tipi Walter
04-05-2011, 22:35
The Macpac Olympus is not all that different from the Westwind ;
http://www.macpac.co.nz/shop/en_nz/gear-and-clothing/tents/tents-mountain/olympus.html (http://www.macpac.co.nz/shop/en_nz/gear-and-clothing/tents/tents-mountain/olympus.html)
About 6lbs in silnylon
Franco
I'm no authority on Macpac tents, but the Olympus looks to be a single wall?? The Westwind is a standard double wall tent as the below fotog shows---Lindal Newbius on Roan Mt with the unflyed Westwind---long ago---1990. (NOTE: I was distracted by a beautiful woman, of course, and so I missed a sleeve on one pole:-?
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_b401C2NJk-Y/TIJ7KmyIbdI/AAAAAAAAA7U/R-bhVBg8glw/4444444.jpg
At the time the Westwind was a near perfect tent and fairly light and nearly bombproof.
Tipi Walter
When you look at pics on any non US tent site what you see is what "we" (the rest of the world...) calls a tent. That is the fly and inner (if any) pitched together.
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e389/Francophoto/odds/143629_macpac_olympus.jpg
What you call a tent we call the inner.
The Olympus like all the Macpac tents is a two wall shelter.
There are several versions , it has changed slightly over the last 30 or so years.
(single/double vestibule and fly material)
It can be an integral pitch just like your beloved European brand, or fly only if you like.
Franco
mykl
The colour of my tents is irrelevant to the explanation of why bright colours are used for winter/mountaineering/expedition tents.
For some reason you make it your business to post a contrarian opinion but that is all it is , your opinion. I posted WHY it is , that is why manufacturers do that, I was not guessing. "tents" is my "hobby". If you do not like the facts that is not my problem.
Franco
No man, take it easy! It's your "facts" that you read about against my facts that I think and live and have working knowledge of. You listen to your so called "facts" and that's fine, go for it. You just believe the what someone else calls the WHY and I instead just go with whats in my head. We all have our own ways of seeing/doing things. Its OK. Really.
Seems like "color" is more your hobby than "tents" right now.
But you STILL never answered the Q, that's what I'm getting at. All you have done is try to tell people how they see because you see it that way or were taught to see that way. What is actually in your head? What color is your tent/shelter? That's were it all started and you are to busy with your facts rather than joining the conversation and answering the Q.
Again Franco, Your tent/shelter color is..................?