Suckers: Your Bucket Is Ready

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,043
856
AZ
As the ladies have told me - they are tired of feeling like a Toaster Strudel and would prefer feeling like a Twinkie. If you catch my drift.

Wouldn't this be a more appropriate metaphor given your lifestyle?
 

ERover82

Well-known member
Nov 26, 2011
3,899
450
Darien Gap
SP may be milking the crowd, but they've both been assimilated into the crowds you bemoan. You both win, which means you both loose. Should have bought Coleman or Camp Chefs..
 

ERover82

Well-known member
Nov 26, 2011
3,899
450
Darien Gap
What's the hang up? Not boutique gay enough?

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Obviously too PS for you
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The SP IGT is convenient but I'm sure you can figure a work surface for any stove.
 

K-rover

Well-known member
Jan 15, 2010
2,163
62
Raleigh, NC
Camp chef. Haha. What a pile of shit.


How about my Ozark trail 2 burner stove that I bought for $15 on sale? Iv had it for 2yrs and more or less used it one weekend a month since I got it. No issues what so ever..

I guess I will never be cool enough to understand why people spend so much money on stuff they hardly use.. Now if you make a living off camp cooking, then I can see spending money on something that can take the abuse.
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Jan 3, 2005
11,745
70
On Kennith's private island
I guess I will never be cool enough to understand why people spend so much money on stuff they hardly use.. Now if you make a living off camp cooking, then I can see spending money on something that can take the abuse.

It works the other way as well. Why do people spend cheaply on things they use all the time? Pots and pans for instance. Not all pots and pans are created equal. Some frying pans cost as little as $6.00. A $6 frying pan will probably make a grilled cheese just fine. But would a $6 frying pan cook something more delicate, such as crepes, just as good as a $150 fully clad pan?

As for stoves, no one has really talked about what makes a stove a good stove. Garrett seems to think build quality is the deciding factor. If that were the case a Camp Chef would win hands down. A Camp Chef stove is big and heavy and thick and tough. But the Camp Chef stoves fucking suck at anything other than boiling water. Adjusting the heat on a Camp Chef to simmer a pot of chili is near impossible without torching the chili in the bottom of the pot because you have little control of the flame. And if the wind is blowing, forget it.

The Partner stove uses a convex burner and the Snow Peak stove uses a concave burner. The concave burner is not as susceptible to wind and the flame temperature remains more consistent. If you're trying to make any sort of pan sauce or fond, this is important.

The Partner stove uses a steel burner and the Snow Peak stove uses a stainless burner. One will rust while the other will not rust.

I could keep going a bit. But the only way to know the real differences is to call up America's Test Kitchen and have Bridget give us a full report using real information using their tools.

But it's not a lot of money if it's something you enjoy.
 

chris snell

Administrator
Staff member
Aug 15, 2005
3,020
152
I have a few high-end camp stoves including the Snow Peak. My sixty-six year old Coleman white gas stove is the only one I take anymore. I laugh at overlanders and their propane contraptions. This old stove is just so superior in every possible way. I just happened to buy it on eBay for $25 but if they cost $225, I'd still buy one.
 

aliastel

Well-known member
Sep 27, 2009
942
0
Champaign, IL
I have a few high-end camp stoves including the Snow Peak. My sixty-six year old Coleman white gas stove is the only one I take anymore. I laugh at overlanders and their propane contraptions. This old stove is just so superior in every possible way. I just happened to buy it on eBay for $25 but if they cost $225, I'd still buy one.

I agree that the Coleman is superior. Why then, did you buy the Snow Peak?

Another great stove, my first backpacking stove back in 1981, is the Svea 123R, perhaps too old for most of you here. . . Anyway, pump it up and it even works great at high altitude. Beautiful brass. . . A legend in its own right.
 

jymmiejamz

Well-known member
Dec 5, 2004
6,008
361
35
Los Angeles, Ca
If it really is a 4 season tent, it won't have any mesh anywhere - just vents. Also know that a true 4 season tent is only going to be used in the winter. Your standard 3 season tent will have plenty of mesh and the fly and vestibule will not extend completely to the ground. There will also be material than runs like a skirt down off the fly/vestibule - used for anchoring it further in snow. I'm sure there are plenty of other technical aspects I am missing. I've never owned a 4 season, just camped in them a few times in VT.

The $1,300 SnowPeak Tortue tent is in no way a 4 season tent - by design alone. There is also the $1,300 tarp that SnowPeak sells that they claim is "revolutionary". This seems totally logical to me.

For $250 you can go out and buy a new tent at REI and on top of that you won't feel like a complete douchbag setting it up around other men.

Much of their product line lacks much in terms of technical information for such expensive gear. I wonder why that is.

Okay, I didn't look at their prices until now. That Tortue tent is ridiculous. It is over 6.5ft tall. I can't imagine the torture of setting something like that up. I have this one. It is nice because you can fully close the inner tent. It isn't a big mesh inner tent like most three season tents. This is why I would consider it a four season. It is also pretty heavy duty and I think it would stand up to significant snowfall.

The four season tent you are describing sounds like a polar expedition tent. Not all four season tents have the extra flaps that extend off of the vestibule. It is also pretty normal for them to have plenty of mesh, but it needs to be able to be closed. That's why I would consider the Snow Peak tent I have a four season, albeit a light duty four season. I wouldn't take it to the poles, but I wouldn't be worried about setting it up in Vermont in the winter (which I have done).

I have a Fj?llr?ven tent that doesn't meet your four season requirements, yet it has space for two sets of poles for heavy snow. I'm not hardcore enough to need something like this for winter camping.

Really, the point I'm trying to make is that the Snow Peak tent is very nice tent for the price. Looking at their site, the one I have is only $350. If my wife and I had kids, it would be a perfect family tent for camping in most weather. The vestibule is big enough to hang out in and can also be opened up, with two additional poles, to have a decent sized awning. It is definitely in a totally different league than my old ~$250 Eureka tent.
 

az_max

1
Apr 22, 2005
7,463
2
Okay, I didn't look at their prices until now. That Tortue tent is ridiculous. It is over 6.5ft tall. I can't imagine the torture of setting something like that up. I have this one. It is nice because you can fully close the inner tent. It isn't a big mesh inner tent like most three season tents. This is why I would consider it a four season. It is also pretty heavy duty and I think it would stand up to significant snowfall.

The four season tent you are describing sounds like a polar expedition tent. Not all four season tents have the extra flaps that extend off of the vestibule. It is also pretty normal for them to have plenty of mesh, but it needs to be able to be closed. That's why I would consider the Snow Peak tent I have a four season, albeit a light duty four season. I wouldn't take it to the poles, but I wouldn't be worried about setting it up in Vermont in the winter (which I have done).

I have a Fj?llr?ven tent that doesn't meet your four season requirements, yet it has space for two sets of poles for heavy snow. I'm not hardcore enough to need something like this for winter camping.

Really, the point I'm trying to make is that the Snow Peak tent is very nice tent for the price. Looking at their site, the one I have is only $350. If my wife and I had kids, it would be a perfect family tent for camping in most weather. The vestibule is big enough to hang out in and can also be opened up, with two additional poles, to have a decent sized awning. It is definitely in a totally different league than my old ~$250 Eureka tent.

For the price, I'd still go with a canvas cabin tent. http://tinyurl.com/kpf58e9. It's 3 seasons at least. Not sure about heavy snow.
 

Howski

Well-known member
Oct 19, 2009
1,483
209
Alabama
Have used the Koadiak tents, although not that large, for camping at IMSA or Indycar races for a few days. The headroom and extra space are worth it if you're stationary. Would be an absolute pain to take up/down each day
 

garrett

Well-known member
Jun 18, 2004
10,931
5
53
Middleburg, VA
www.blackdogmobility.com
I think most of us have drawn the conclusion that if you want a pretty, overpriced camp stove that will saute your kale to perfection, SP is your company. If you want a $900 unisex jacket that has no technical use, SP is your company. If you want a $100 LED camp light, SP is your company. Hey, but that FREE shipping and totally ambiguous website is on point.

If you want a quality, well built camp stove at a reasonable price, PS is an excellent choice. If you want a quality jacket, tent or other piece of camping gear there are plenty of choices that have been around for decades and they won't cost you your dignity. There isn't much of anything you can criticize the PS company for. Talk about an honest product and company that isn't trying to be something it's not. SP - well the proof is in their product line.

This isn't that hard. But I understand the desire to defend choices. Dallas fans need to cheer for something too right?
 

garrett

Well-known member
Jun 18, 2004
10,931
5
53
Middleburg, VA
www.blackdogmobility.com
That doesn't show a price for me since it shows as sold out. I wouldn't want to have to set that monstrosity up unless I was staying in the same place for a long time. Usually when we camp we are in a different spot every night.

Check the Big Agnes site. www.bigagnes.com I've only had mine for about 9 years and have used it maybe once a year. They make very good tents and quite a few options. REI sells them too last time I was there.
 

AbnMike

Well-known member
Apr 6, 2016
1,218
117
Western Slope, CO
That doesn't show a price for me since it shows as sold out. I wouldn't want to have to set that monstrosity up unless I was staying in the same place for a long time. Usually when we camp we are in a different spot every night.

The Kodiak is pretty darn easy to set up and take down. The main issue with it is you have to stake it (unlike a dome tent). I can set mine up and take it down by myself in about 10 minutes (I have the 10' x 10' version), though it helps to have someone else with you, but even with them it's still about 10 minutes, provided the ground isn't rocky. While it's best to stake the entire thing down using every loophole, I've gotten by with the four corners and one in the middle of each side.

If your stakes come out of the ground it will fall down. Period.

I got it at Cabelas - they go on sale pretty often. I think it was less than $400.

That said it's wonderful. I'm 6'2" and I can stand up to get dressed. There is something to be said about being able to stand up and put on your pants and sit on the cot and put on your boots, instead of laying down and trying to slither into things. It holds two cots, my wife's side table for all her things that she brings with her and that I allow so she will continue camping, two dogs with dog beds, and still plenty of room to move around, store shoes and whatnot.

We camped in it twice in the rain - once we woke up to 2-3" of standing water outside the tent that wasn't ingressing and this past year we got 5" of rain overnight (according to measuring how much was in the wheelbarrow when we got home) and the thing didn't leak a drop. IWe were with a group of people and it was a thunderstorm and a couple folks lost some $300-$400 tents that got blown all to fuck. Not us. We were as dry as folks in campers.

It's very tight when erect (giggity) and doesn't flap around and keep you up when the wind blows (we don't have the screen awning, just the rain flap on one door, so if it's going to storm you'd want to lower that and tie it down over the door).


Take down is literally: removing all your shit from inside (the bigger the tent the more shit you're going to take with you because you can)

Removing the two side poles and collapsing the thing, removing the other poles.

Going around and digging out your heavy duty stakes (this is the most time consuming). Depending on weather you can put in stakes everywhere, or just the minimal (4 at corners plus one in the center of each side and one on the door you're using.)

Rolling it up and strapping it and throwing it on top of your rack or in the trunk or however you're hauling it.

Save all the careful re packaging and cleaning for when you get home.
The biggest detraction is that it's canvas, so if it gets wet it has to dry before storage - so you need to figure out how to dry it once you return (I hang mine up in the garage and let fans blow it dry for a day or two).

The 10x10 is generally around $550 but you can get it for less on sale.
They make a 10x14, a 9x8 and apparently now a 2 person 8x6 ($300).

They all have to be staked, so you aren't going to save any time by going smaller - you'll save a bit of weight and not need as large of a plot to put it on, but since you still have to put in the stakes all the way around going smaller isn't saving you time.

Oh yeah - it's heavy. The poles and tent come in two separate bags (the tent bag is pretty cool with cinch straps and whatnot). So weight is a factor. You aren't carrying the damned thing a mile to a camp site. But for car camping it's great.
 
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