Old Tents Reveal New Secrets

photo credit: peupleloup

The best turn-of-the-20th century A-frame tents were better than most foul-weather shelters.

Studying one reveals some interesting things about where to place seams, guy lines, and stake points. Let’s analyze one of these old canvas structures:

• There’s a single vertical pole at each end. The poles are located at the apex of the triangular door and back wall. In essence they form the height of each triangle.
• The tent has no floor, so there are no perimeter seams at ground level. A removable rubberized groundsheet, placed inside, protects occupants from flowing ground water and dampness.
• Including the corners, there are 5 stake points per die hem. A center stake halves the length of the sidewall material. The others split the distance between adjacent stakes. There’s that apex-of-the-triangle relationship again.
• Guy lines at each end originate on the poles or at heavily reinforced fabric very near the poles. The exoskeleton - not the fabric - absorbs most of the wind stress.

Rigging storm lines is largely a game of triangles. Locate an apex, put in a stake or guyline. This keeps fabric tight by equalizing strain.

As any elk hunter can attest, a modern canvas-wall tent will withstand quite a blow. That these tents perform better than their simple geometry suggests is no mystery to those who use them.

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