....alas, I've finally had to accept that it's well past its use-by date, and
it is no more.
Sometimes you get a piece of gear that is just right. You and it get on,
you have many happy times together, you get used to each other's little
foibles...and then one of you wears out. And despite the mounting years, it
was the tent that gave in first. Me and it have been happy companions since
I bought it back in May 1988. First pitched in the dreary campsite on
Arran, it endured a wet, windy and midge-filled week. It was subsequently
pitched all round the UK, in the Alps and in America, on campsites both
basic and posh, in people's gardens after parties and occasionally, for it
was not a light tent, in the wilds far from the road. I think the furthest
it made was on the hill below the Chapelle de la Gliere in the Aiguilles
Rouge - tellingly, not too far from the end of the chairlift. It had the
inner and outer zipped together and went up in about a minute - two poles
and four pegs and you'd be inside. Four more pegs saw you snug and secure
even in strong winds.
Its pegs were bent back into shape more often than I can remember, its poles
had to be repaired once after I jammed a peg into the end of one of the
sections when packing in a hurry in the pouring rain, and one of the pole
sleeves had to be repaired after the damaged pole caused a few tears when I
discovered the pole was damaged on a Friday night in the dark at a campsite.
I cursed the absence of full midge doors, the inaccessibility of items
stored at the far end of the porch and the inadequate storage pouches in the
inner tent, and put my back out getting out of it once; I loved the ease
with which it went up, the amount of stuff you could store in the porch and
being able to sit up properly in it.
I tried to count the number of nights I've spent in it but gave up. I'd
guess that over the period I've had it I've spent nigh on a year of my life
sleeping in it though.
But the flysheet ripped on a trip to the US a few years ago, and though a
temporary repair was made with duck tape, the end was nigh. Too much time
and UV had degraded the materials to the point where they would stretch
disconcertingly with a little pressure if they were under tension, and so,
reluctantly, it has had to go.
Time and technology have moved on. Now there are many tents that are
lighter, stronger and offer better internal storage; I've tried some. But
after I've spent so long with the same tent, will anything ever suit me
quite so well again?
Ah well. Ever had the same feeling when finally consigning one of your
favourite bits of gear to the bin?
T.