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Boundary Waters Quetico Forum

Listening Point - General Discussion

favorite tent color

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Mort

12/23/2009 11:01AM

All other things aside (i.e. size, weight, favorite brand or model), what color do you prefer your tent to be, and why?

Mine is forest green. It just feels right to be in sync with nature around me. Matching the color of the campsite also adds to my feeling of privacy. In addition, I don't spend much time in my tent other than for sleeping at night, so light transparency of the tent fabric is not an important factor for me. Oh yah, and I also prefer one solid color instead of it being multi-colored.

What say you?

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solotrek

12/23/2009 11:19AM

I have to agree with forest green but maybe for a different reason. Forest green does match up well with the surroundings so if I look at a campsite across the lake from mine and I don't see a colorful tent, my privacy is enhanced. In other words, my privacy is enhanced if you have a forest green tent.

"It is in solitude, in quiet communication with nature that we reach most deeply into truth." Sam Campbell

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drnatus

12/23/2009 11:41AM

I tend to like the more visible colors. Makes it easier to see from the air in case of extreme need and, if visible from the water, lets others know at a distance that the site you are at is taken.

Never criticize someone until you walk a mile in their shoes....by then you'll be a mile away and they will be shoeless!

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alpine525

12/23/2009 11:44AM

Although I like the fact that a green tent blends into the scenery - I believe you have less privacy because other canoers will have to paddle closer to your campsite to see if it is occupied. If you have a tent with a contrasting color - it will be seen from a further distance, and paddlers won't have to get too close. :)

Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace. Dalai Lama

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butthead

12/23/2009 11:52AM

I too prefer muted camp colors for myself and my desire to blend in.
But I do keep a red canoe out front, my way of saying I'm here!

butthead

"never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups" George Carlin

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ClarkPeters

12/23/2009 11:53AM

I like green tents, but actually prefer sand-colored rain flies. The sand color does a better job of blending with the colors of the understory, while still being visible to people who are intentionally looking for tents. It also makes the tent brighter inside on gloomy days.

Ultimately, though, I use color as the fourth priority when choosing the tent. Size, weight, and packed bulk come first. So I usually end up with whatever the manufacturer chose.

Pete

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground. David Icke

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Arkansas Man

Moderator

Moderator

12/23/2009 12:02PM

I prefer the color of a ripe blueberry to make the bears think they have found a huge blueberry!!! ;-)

In reality, I use an Eureka Timberline 4XT green in color!

Bruce

Good Paddling, Great Fishing, and God Bless All...

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nojobro

12/23/2009 12:30PM

I want a bright colored tent next time, because it makes a nice contrast in photographs. ;-) But like someone else said, it's low on the priority list.

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hexnymph

12/23/2009 01:46PM

I also prefer the forest green for it's factor of blending in. If it's not green, other earth tones will do.

Hex

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Traveler

12/23/2009 01:52PM

I like a green tent and I like a natural canvas color as well. Mine, however, is an old special edition Eureka Timberline 4 that is blue with a white top. I really like the white top because it lets in a lot of light. It's about worn out which I really regret because I've never seen another Timberline like mine.

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Mort

12/23/2009 02:24PM

Traveler, ..my very first Timberline was a light sand color. I don't see any of them around any more either.

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Koda

12/23/2009 03:09PM

Green blends in, which is nice, but I prefer something more visible so I can spot it easily from a distance.

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SunCatcher

12/23/2009 03:15PM

I like this one for the PRICE and WEIGHT. not the color.
I also have a Eureka Timberline for many people, but to heavy.
I am indifferent to color, but want a dry tent, light weight and durable.
SunCatcher

"WWJD"

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gutmon

12/23/2009 03:17PM

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mc2mens

12/23/2009 03:30PM

Not sure if they're my favorite colors, but they are the tents I use:

Eureka Mountain Pass 3XTE - Blueberry
Northface Bullfrog - Mint Green

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snakecharmer

12/23/2009 03:34PM

Green. It's unobtrusive.

"Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after"
~ Henry David Thoreau

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gbusk

12/23/2009 03:41PM

Green

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whiteh20

12/23/2009 03:47PM

Red, Orange or Yellow. They show up better in photos!!

"With an ax, you can build a life. With a stove, you can boil water. That is if nothing breaks and you don't run out of fuel." -Samuel Hearne

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tremolo

12/23/2009 04:23PM

SunCatcher-- what kind of tent is the one in your photo?

My favorite is my Northface Foundation which is a subdued blue and gray. I also have a orange Big Agnes which is a bit bright for me. When the sun is shining, it's like sitting inside a glowing orange globe. A pic of daughter asleep in Big Agnes

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kanoes

12/23/2009 05:19PM

limiting color really limits your tent options. i go for the model that works best for me, color doesnt matter.

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snakecharmer

12/23/2009 05:59PM

Play along Jan (all other things aside). Favorite tent color? Inquiring minds want to know. (I'm guessing the faster red color) :)

"Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after"
~ Henry David Thoreau

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kanoes

12/23/2009 06:03PM

golden/earth. :)

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gutmon

12/23/2009 06:03PM

My first question always- "What's on sale?" :)

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kanoes

12/23/2009 06:05PM

thats mine too gutmon.

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mr.barley

12/23/2009 06:22PM

Green for me. It never occurred to me to buy a tent in a color that looks better in a photo.

serenity now

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bradcrc

12/23/2009 06:37PM

I'm like most everyone else.

I think all gear should blend into the wilderness if possible. A more subdued green would be even better imo, but green is about as good as we can get. Beige would be fine too. I don't like when people have brightly colored gear you can see from far away.

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kanoes

12/23/2009 06:41PM

so now i have to send back my day glow yellow tent?

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bradcrc

12/23/2009 06:44PM

I would prefer if bright yellow tents didn't exist in bwca, but then, for some reason, even though I've elected myself king of bwca, they don't let me make the rules, so I guess people are free to use whatever color tent they prefer.

...for now.

:)

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fishguts

12/23/2009 07:11PM

The nice light-weight one Jordan's Outfitters provides...shows up well in pictures

fishguts

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ducks

12/23/2009 07:21PM

great picture fishguts! when you unzipped the door in the morning did you roll into the lake? :)

Ride EZ

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SunCatcher

12/23/2009 07:22PM

Tremolo,
It's a Sierra Designs ASP 3 Discountinued. Like it a lot though.
Will get a two man version for soloing. Just right for two.
SunCatcher

"WWJD"

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tremolo

12/23/2009 08:11PM

discontinued:(

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bapabear

12/23/2009 08:43PM

Price, size, dryness come before color. As you can see with what I use I run the gamut from bright to blend.

Gutmon, you slay me. Do the portage elephants come with that?

My superhero name is TYPOMAN. Writer of wrongs.

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PortageKeeper

12/23/2009 09:50PM

Anything that blends into the scenery... I wish that they all did. Would like to see more tarps that didn't stick out like a sore thumb. Love how my HH blends in and I usually wear clothes and drive a canoe that blends in.

“The more you know, the less you carry” Mors Kochanski

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fishguts

12/23/2009 09:59PM

ducks,
Ya! it was a seldom used site with no real tent area...nothing leval, we stuffed our extra clothes in the depressions to make it somewhat flat inside.

fishguts

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Savage Voyageur

12/23/2009 10:21PM

I like green tents but the last three tents have been blue, gold and tan. Same reason as Kanoes, what worked for me.

"So many lakes, so little time." WWJD

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wetcanoedog

12/23/2009 10:36PM

green is fine,i have one like that now but my last one was gray with red trim..not as bad as it sounds--remember the 60's when orange was the color for camp gear?-tents-packs-

it's just a level trail thru the woods.

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andym

12/23/2009 11:59PM

I'm now a can of the grey used by shire's tarptents. Neutral on the outside so it isn't obvious and neutral pleasant light on the inside. Strangely an uncommon tent color which makes tarptents very identifiable.

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bloomingtonsteve

12/24/2009 04:43AM

Orange. That was the color of my first 2-man Timberline back in the early 70's.

Pictures really pop with a color like that. The same would go for a red canoe.

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camp-n-scrap

12/24/2009 06:48AM

I don't know that I have a favorite color for a tent, but I do lean towards neutral/natural colors. I'm all for blending in with my surroundings.

THE EDGE, there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over. - Hunter S. Thompson

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gutmon

12/24/2009 07:04AM

I'm all for blending in too, unless I need to be rescued, then I want to be as bright as possible. Read "Lost in the Wild".

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PINETREE

12/24/2009 07:08AM

Definitely green Something to blend in> I don't want others or myself to have to look at bright colors that do not blend into the landscape. Its nice when you almost have to go up to the campsite before you see it. It is hard at times to get the tent you want in the color you want. I do have a couple of green tents and a blue one. I will not buy something like a yellow one etc.. Only reason for bright colors maybe is safty reasons like your climbing the Himalayas mountains and you want a plane to be able to find your bodies or rescue you.

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HowardSprague

12/24/2009 08:21AM

Camp among birch trees in the fall and just try to say that a yellow tent doesn't fit in!

They're all good.
I have a green/white Cabela's Boundary Waters tent, this North Face Tephra
,

and this dark purple LL Bean tent which I think looks great at any campsite

"Enjoy every sandwich"

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tremolo

12/24/2009 10:01AM

maybe because I am a painter, I think tent color is important. Design and construction are more important, but still it is part of the camp site aesthetic.

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L.T.sully

12/24/2009 10:52AM

Mine is yellow, I like it because it is visible, and because it will let a lot of sunlight into the tent as opposed to a darker color.

The creation of a thousand forests is in a single acorn- Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Koda

12/24/2009 01:02PM

It depends on what kind of drugs I've been on.

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lars54

12/24/2009 02:47PM

Mark me down as Forest Green

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deancamp

12/24/2009 04:51PM

My choice is to blend in, but I would never pick color over functionability. I doubt that's a word, but you know what I mean.

Live Young --- No Regrets

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rlhedlund

12/24/2009 05:07PM

Never picked a tent or hammock by the color. But I like brown the best.

Life is Good, Living is Better. Everlasting Life is Best! Pray for Us Amok.

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Unas10

12/24/2009 05:20PM

I had to look at some trip pictures to even remember what color mine is. It is a bluish green. More green than blue. I would have sworn it was yellow.

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