Another True Camping Story

My father was in the military and we moved to Iceland back in 58'. Iceland was a country founded by Vikings. The country was formed by volcanos to include mountains, valleys, lakes, caves, geysers, hot springs and so much more. Several volcanos are still active today. I joined the American Boy Scouts and we had many adventures with the Icelandic Boy Scouts. On one camping adventure, we met the Icelandic Boy Scouts up in a valley surrounded by mountains. Keep in mind that we camped only in the summer months. The temperatures rarely got above 50 degrees, but we were use to this. Our scout masters were military and we were always prepared for the unexpected to include cold weather gear of all types. The Scout masters always drove a jeep and we marched behind with our backpacks. We carried most everything we needed to include two man backpacking tents, cooking utensils, water, stoves ect. Our scout masters took a thirty man tent, k-rations just in case of an emergency. We met the Icelandic Scouts and set up our camps. The sun was out and a perfect time to go exploring. This camp out was suppose to be for three days. The next day the weather was starting to change, clouding up and getting colder. Later that afternoon it started to snow, something we did not expect. The snow really started coming down to include high winds. This storm continued all night and our scout masters told us to move our sleeping bags, clothes into the big tent. The Icelandic scouts were also invited to join us. There were around twenty in this large tent. We put our sleeping bags in a large circle, told stories, worked on our badges and ate K-rations. The snow and winds did not let up for four days. You can imagine what the parents were thinking because there was no communication. The scout masters always carried radios but due to the weather, they were not working. This freak storm lasted for four days. On the forth day, the snow and wind stopped. The sun came out and we all went out to look around at all the snow. Our two man backpacking tents were not to be seen because of all the snow. The big tent was all you could see. About an hour after the storm ended, we heard a yell from the direction of the mountains and saw an Icelandic rescue team skiing down the mountains pulling rescue gear on sleds. We started to yell, waving our arms. About the same time, here comes two helicopters from the military base. Little did we know that this was an international incident, which ended well. One helicopter took the Icelandic Scouts back to their capitol city of Reykjavik and the other helicopter took us back to the US military base. Our Scout masters stayed with the jeep and all the camping gear which was later lifted out by helicopters. A camping experience, I will always remember..Mike Carswell

Important things to know when tent camping

NEVER use any fuel burning, oxygen consuming device, in and around your tent. This includes any device that produce any fumes including stoves, lanterns, candles, hibachis, or heaters. This could result in carbon monoxide poisoning, injury or even death.

Never pitch a tent near a campfire and make sure a campfire is completely out when leaving the camp unattended.

Never spray your tent with bug spray.

Exercise care when using electricity in around your tent and never heat your tent with an electrical device.

There are many camping accessories that are safe to use in your tent. Battery powered camping lanterns, flashlights, and radios are just a few. Happy camping from Mike Carswell

Suggestions on Caring for your New Tent

After you have decided on the tent that meets your needs, there are a few things that you should do before going camping with your new tent. First thing is to inspect your tent and make sure all parts are present. Although setting up your tent is not difficult, reading the directions and actually setting up your tent is a good thing to do. After setting up your tent, check everything out. Breaking down your tent is important too. Being able to put the parts where they belong and folding your tent properly into the bag, will extent the life of your tent. You should set up and break the tent down two times, so when you go camping with your new tent, it will be an easy set up whether at night or day. Another suggestion is to carry a ground tarp to but under your tent floor. Your floor will last a long time and your body will appreciate it too. Another suggestion when camping with your new tent is to get your shovel and make a small trench around the outer perimeter of your tent. By doing this you will ensure water drainage away from your tent should it rain. The last and the most important thing to do is set up your tent within a few days after returning home, should you have to break your tent down in the rain. If you do not do this, your tent will mildew and most likely be toast when you use it next. Happy camping. Mike Carswell

What Makes A Quality Tent by Giga tent manufacture

Fabrics:

We use materials that are heavier coated than most manufacturers. The coating on fabrics is measured in millimeters. This measurement refers to the height of a column of water that the fabric will support without it coming through. Most of our competitors use a 450mm to 600mm coating on their tents and rain flys. Our tents use a 1200mm to 800mm coating on our rain flys, because the force generated by a storm is greatest on the rain fly. We use an 800mm to 600mm coating on our tent bodies where the force is less direct and weaker. The thinner the coating the less pressure needed to push water through.

Zippers:

The door zipper design used most in our tents is known as a Twin Track zipper. This means that there are 2 zippers for the door, a horizontal zipper and a slightly curving vertical zipper. The Twin Track design minimizes the curve to the vertical zipper which can cause the zipper to fail sooner than a straight one, it also allows for a larger and easier to enter doorway. The zippers we use for our doors are larger in size than most other manufacturers. We use only nickel plated zipper sliders on our tents which slide easier and last longer.

Designs:

Our family tents are specifically designed to give the user the most interior volume possible. By using a combination of steel and fiberglass poles we have combined the straight walls of the cabin tent with the free standing nature of the dome tent to give the camper the best of both tent designs. The free standing nature of most of out family tents makes them easier to position in a campsite and requires less staking which means less time during set up. Our Combo Room allows for more versatility in one tent. The camper can now own a screen house and a tent in one package. The Combo Room also allows the owner to store wet gear in the Combo Room without endangering the sleeping area. The Combo Room will also accept the extra campers that won’t fit in the rear room. Our backpacking tents are designed to provide the maximum amount of living space without weighting too much. We use pin and ring attachments for our poles which are easy to replace should one require it.

Poles:

We use 19mm steel poles for most of our large family tents. The poles are cable corded together instead of chain corded to reduce the possibility of breakage. We use larger diameter poles and shockcord in most of our products than our competition uses. Our backpacking models use a 7000 series aircraft aluminum which resists cold and cracking unlike fiberglass. Aluminum poles are also lighter than fiberglass poles.

Another True Camping Story

A good friend invited me fishing on a big bass lake in East Texas. His boat was an older bass rig with a shallow well, with no sides when sitting on the bass chairs. We motored out to the stick ups to throw some plastic worms. My friend told me several times to watch where I stepped, because if the boat shifted, I could fall in because there was nothing to grab. Keep in mind that this was in January and we were in snow mobile suites. My friend was in the front chair and I was in the back chair, throwing those plastic worms. I stepped on the right side of the boat to make a cast when I heard a BIG splash. I looked in that direction and saw my friend in the lake. Apparently when I stepped to make that cast, my friend was bending over near the side of the boat trying to get his line untangled from one of the cleats. Well now, you can imagine what I saw when my friend came up from underneath the water, splashing and gasping for air. I told him to hold on to the boat and work his way to the back of the boat, so I could help him into the boat. Keep in mind that he was in a snowmobile suit and that it was wet. I had a heck of a time getting him in the boat. Of course, that ended our fishing trip and we had to head back to camp to change clothes. I teased him a bit about warning me several times about falling in. My fiend did buy a roll up ladder, just in case this happened again. Mike & Dennis

True Camping Story

My brother and I went on a camping/fishing trip to East Texas to catch that big bass. Our boat was old but did float. Got out on the lake early morning among the stick ups and did some worming. My brother caught the largest bass he ever laid eyes on, about 8lbs. I caught a few but had to throw them back because they were not in the slot limit to keep. I was driving the boat back to the ramp when I looked down and noticed water coming in around my feet. I told my Bro, which was in the front of the boat, that we were not going to make it. He looked at my feet and said, with a commanding voice, Go to that shore line. The shore line was about 75 to 100 yards away. I turned the boat in that direction and gave it full throttle, while looking at the water coming in at my feet. The motor was starting to bog down with the weight of the water in the boat. You can imagine our concern of making it but I hit that sandy beach so fast that the engine kicked up and we and the boat were completely out of the water. Keep in mind that this was a power plant lake with pine trees surrounding the lake, except this small stretch of sandy beach. We got out of the boat and looked at the situation. First of all we noticed how much water was in the boat. We than noticed that no one else was on lake and a rescue was out of the question. We could not move the boat because of the water, so we started dumping out the water with a bucket. When we got most of the water out we noticed that the plugs to the inner hull were left out. Thank goodness that this old boat had a outer hull and an inner hull. Next, we had to figure out how to turn the boat around to face the lake because pushing backward was a no win situation because of the weight of the motor. My brother and I started lifting the front end of the boat little by little until the front end of the boat was in the lake. Now we could push the boat from the rear until the motor was in the water and started towards the ramp, which was still a ways away. Of course we had to plug the two inner plug holes first. When we got back to the ramp and the boat out of the water, we looked at the outer hull and noticed a crack about a foot long. We surmised that the faster we were going, the more water we were taking in. You see, those stumps that we were going over and rocking the boat back and forth to get free of some of them, did the damage. A fishing trip to remember, when my brother caught his big bass and we almost sunk the boat. Mike & Robert