a canvas tent with the two piece wooden poles at each end with a spike poing thru the top.
You always dreaded rain and had to try the Leave It To Beaver episode where you test the theory if you touch the tent where it is damp water will come thundering thru. It does. Also the first tent had a screen door also but no zipper on the bottom.
Fun times in the back yard and out in the woods.

My grandfather died when I was twelve. One of the things no one wanted was his old two-man canvas tent. I grabbed it up faster than you know what. It didn't have poles, just a rope on each end. At the cabin where I now live, as soon as we'd get here - night or day - I'd go in the woods and set up my tent. Me and my... well, sister's dog Jack (guess what my sister's name is... Haha!) We'd sleep in that tent for several years.

My cousin Tom, who passed away this past Sunday morning, would come to hang out and fish and stuff. He always tried to scare me by making bear noises. I'm like, if a bear ever sounded like that, we'd shoot it and put it out of it's misery.

Then we used to take our old wooden Thompson row boat across the lake and made a campsite there. This one year, I believe we were 14... Tom stepped up his bear game. I don't know if was true or not, but he told me someone wounded a bear at the beach there. The beach is between our cabin and the lake. We go to our campsite and had our fire going and all and Tom kept bringing up the bear and how mean a wounded bear can be. We still had one eye open thinking about the bear. Tom had just got up to do something and had gone back asleep.

All of the sudden, CRACK! I don't know what it was but I don't think either of us touched the ground down to the boat. You could have water-skied behind us and we were rowing. We slept the rest of the night in our family's tent in the cabin yard. I don't know what happened to the old tent but my smelly old Duluth packs always remind me of my old canvas tent.

My first tent was a Frostline 3-man tent my wife and I made from a kit. It lasted for 12 years and I gave it away to my niece.

I bought a canvas pup tent (wooden poles) with my bean walking money back in 1972. I was 12. My parents accused me of spending my money like a drunk sailor. They're not the camping type.

quote mr.barley: "I bought a canvas pup tent (wooden poles) with my bean walking money back in 1972. I was 12. My parents accused me of spending my money like a drunk sailor. They're not the camping type."

I had to look up what bean walking was, hahaha. I'm one of those city slickers.

The first one I bought was a Hillary tent bought at sears. The next year I bought a Hillary framed backpack. My first tent was canvas with aluminum poles.

I remember my step dad's old canvas umbrella tent when I was a kid in the '60's. The catch phrase was always "Don't touch the side or it will leak!"

When I was 13 or 14 I bought a little 2 man "Pup" tent from K-mart. It was canvas also and it DID leak like a sieve.

My first "Nice" tent was a Eureka I purchased in 1976. Same year I bought my North Face down bag, Svea 123, and Camp Trails Adjustable II backpack. I don't remember what the model was, but it was a small Eureka "Dome" tent? It was not a Timberline, and "Dome" tents were uncommon back then so other campers were always interested in looking at it.

quote ozarkpaddler: "I remember my step dad's old canvas umbrella tent when I was a kid in the '60's. The catch phrase was always "Don't touch the side or it will leak!"


When I was 13 or 14 I bought a little 2 man "Pup" tent from K-mart. It was canvas also and it DID leak like a sieve.


My first "Nice" tent was a Eureka I purchased in 1976. Same year I bought my North Face down bag, Svea 123, and Camp Trails Adjustable II backpack. I don't remember what the model was, but it was a small Eureka "Dome" tent? It was not a Timberline, and "Dome" tents were uncommon back then so other campers were always interested in looking at it. "

I wonder when Eureka Timberline first came out?

When I bought my first no-name nylon tent at a department store, I assumed all tents were waterproof. I was a fool!

First tent, a Herter's two person canvas pup tent with an aluminum pole external frame. Make a carry sack for it out of an old canvas tarp and canvas glue. Glue was also from Herter's. Lasted many years before replacing with a Eureka from the original Gander Mountain in Wilmont, Wisconsin.

All of my original camping gear was WWII military surplus. My first tent was a well used pup tent. Spent my youth in that tent with surplus air mattress, surplus mummy bag and surplus cook kit. Every piece of camping gear I owned, except the Coleman stove was WWII surplus. Not the lightest camping gear in the world, but great memories and great odors.

My first tent was a "miners" tent. I have no idea what the brand was, but it was a canvas 4-sided pyramid with a pole in the middle.

Canvas "Barnard" tent. Throw the front door peak rope over a branch and pull out the corners. Hot and stinky. That was in the early 1960's. Graduated next to several cabin style canvas tents and then in the 1980's to Timberlines.

Was a Eureka Timberline 4 man tent for Boy Scouts.

I had a Hillary dome tent as a kid, but really I consider "my first tent" to be the one I bought myself as an adult. That'd be my Timberline 4 SQ. Everything else I used up to that point was usually someone else's tent (troop, friends, etc).

I had a two man canvas pup tent that used two wooden poles that looked like broom handles. Had no floor but had a lot of fun in it. From there I got a two man Timberline that I used for over 25 years.

A Timberline A-Frame knock off I picked up at Big K. The days before Wal-Mart.

first tent that I slept in had no bottom to it, that is all I remember about it, mosquitoes and rain were an incentive for something better, I was about 4 or 5

next tent was a piece of canvas hung over a line between two trees and slept in my dads wool sleeping bag he used in Korea, apparently that was the setup over there, how he survived the sleeping arrangement is a bigger mystery than surviving the commies

the first tent I bought was a Camel, about $24, I still have it, kind of unique in that it is a 3 man tent which makes it perfect for two people, single wall no rain fly so when it is humid and the temp dips over night, it rains inside, it is not a self standing tent

next tent was also a Camel, about $20 still self standing and single wall but better ventilation

finally got a real tent, a Timberline 4 from United Stores (like a zillion other people here) for $125, still usable 30 years later

history

It sounds like the first timberline was around 1970?

Also wonder was that the first with a fly?

quote Pinetree: "

quote ozarkpaddler: "I remember my step dad's old canvas umbrella tent when I was a kid in the '60's. The catch phrase was always "Don't touch the side or it will leak!"
When I was 13 or 14 I bought a little 2 man "Pup" tent from K-mart. It was canvas also and it DID leak like a sieve.
My first "Nice" tent was a Eureka I purchased in 1976. Same year I bought my North Face down bag, Svea 123, and Camp Trails Adjustable II backpack. I don't remember what the model was, but it was a small Eureka "Dome" tent? It was not a Timberline, and "Dome" tents were uncommon back then so other campers were always interested in looking at it. "

I wonder when Eureka Timberline first came out?"

Not sure, but they WERE out back then, because I had two Backpacker buddies that had them. I wanted to be "Different"

A canvas tent with the 2 wooden poles. It had a floor but the door flaps tied to the pole and didn't really close. My Grandpa would take my sister and me camping and fishing. Absolute best memories. The tent smelled funny plus he smoked cigars. We slept on army cots. One night I woke up and a raccoon was scurrying out. I screamed and my Gramp said we were lucky it wasn't a skunk! That was at the LuckyU campground on Lake Ida at Alexandria. We caught our limit of walleyes in an hour right before a terrible storm hit. We could see it coming across the lake and he timed it perfectly. My Grandma had no idea what we were up to! He also let me drive his car on the country roads - I was 12 years old. He is THE reason I love the BW experience.

quote Savage Voyageur: "

quote mr.barley: "I bought a canvas pup tent (wooden poles) with my bean walking money back in 1972. I was 12. My parents accused me of spending my money like a drunk sailor. They're not the camping type."

I had to look up what bean walking was, hahaha. I'm one of those city slickers. "

I don't think many farmers hire bean walkers anymore. Just organic farmers these days.

quote Pinetree: " history


It sounds like the first timberline was around 1970?


Also wonder was that the first with a fly?"

No, mine had fly's on it all the time.

In 1977 I purchased an 8' x 10' Wenzel canvas tent. I was 13 at the time. Slept in it almost every night for a month. In 1989 or 1990 I purchased my first "nice" tent. It was a Timberline 4. Best tent I ever owned. It made several trips to the BWCA in it's first 3 -4 years. I sold it to another member on this site a few years back.

My first tent was a Eureka Prism (poor man's Backcountry 2).

Back in the seventies my dad got two pup tents with no floors that we camped out in our backyard all the time. Great memories.

2 person nylon pup tent. I believe it was from JC Penny sporting goods section in Southdale.

In the mid 60's, used a heavy duty canvas tarp, strung a rope between two trees, and used rocks to hold the tarp down. The ends were open so had mosquitoes as company most nights. Next tent was a two pole pup tent which felt like a luxury compared to the tarp.

On our first trip (1971) we rented a tent from Canadian Waters. It was canvas and smelled awful, but it did have a floor.







For our next trip in 1973 we were the proud owners of an orange nylon three-person tent. It didn't have a rainfly, but it was still an improvement over the canvas model.

Our 5th grade Environmental science teacher took the class on a winter camping trip. My dad was to cheap to buy me a tent and of course I desperately wanted to go. I ended up with a piece of plastic which I made into a lean to. My sleeping bag was a summer bag and I had no pad........and yup we were on snow. One of the longest nights of my life.

My Dad later reviled the teacher.........and probably for good reason as I had no business being out there. Very popular teacher amongst the students but he was a bit of a jeep driving, dope smoking (rumor had it), pony tail wearing hippie. But we all liked him......and wanted to be liked by him.

quote Pinetree: "a canvas tent with the two piece wooden poles at each end with a spike poing thru the top.
You always dreaded rain and had to try the Leave It To Beaver episode where you test the theory if you touch the tent where it is damp water will come thundering thru. It does. Also the first tent had a screen door also but no zipper on the bottom.
Fun times in the back yard and out in the woods."

Me, too...minus any screening. Classic pup tent like this one....




The first tent I ever bought was a Timberline 2 man in orange/yellow. That tent went all over the world between me, my brother, and a coupe of buddies. It lasted from 1979 until 2008. The tent material finally just wore through, but I still have the fly sitting in a bin in the camping room.

A shelter-half assigned me by the army.

quote Spartan2: "





For our next trip in 1973 we were the proud owners of an orange nylon three-person tent. It didn't have a rainfly, but it was still an improvement over the canvas model.


"

very similar to my first tent, I believe it was 1974, give or take a year,

the very next year I upgraded to a tent only slightly improved (but 5 bucks cheaper at $20) it had ventilation along the sides

Had this one as a kid/young adult. I think we got $20 for it at a garage sale. Now I have a Timberline 2 which I like and use the most but is small for me and a Eureka Apex 3XT which I love but is a lot tent to carry around for just me.

My first (that I purchased) and favorite tent (and likely the best overall quality) was a Eureka "Denali"-- bombproof beyond anything else (including most 4 season today)--- until I put it away wet for a period of time. The only tent I have destroyed. Bought at the old United Store in Friendly Fridley, MN in 1993.
This one is camo,, mine was gray/blue.

quote nctry: "

quote Pinetree: " history



It sounds like the first timberline was around 1970?



Also wonder was that the first with a fly?"

No, mine had fly's on it all the time."

I know White Stag tents may of had a fly in the late 60's.

First family tent when I was growing up was the standard 10x10 canvas umbrella-type that took up the entire trunk in the ol Ford and never did dry out, even between trips, it seemed. "Don't touch the walls!"

First backpacking tent in 1971 or 72 was a blaze orange Eureka Timberline 2. Got it at the old Hoigaard's in St Louis Park. or maybe at EMS off of Snelling in Roseville. Took it to Glacier NP and the Cascades the summer after HS graduation, with my girlfriend's new boyfriend (short story: I found out on the trip).

An oiled canvas tent that had no floor. On a sunny day it would turn into a sauna.

quote Scout64: "An oiled canvas tent that had no floor. On a sunny day it would turn into a sauna."

It is amazing the number of early tents that had no floor.

My first tent was our 1950's canvas family tent. Huge and heavy. I purchased my first personal tent in the early 1980's. It was one of Midwest Mountaineering's used rental fleet Eureka Outfitter Timberline 4s. That thing is bomb proof. I used it for over 20 years before I invested in something newer and lighter.

Surplus canvas pup tent.. When I graduated high school I got a Moss and lived in it for a week or two. Still have. what's left of it.

Mine was a tent from United stores. (I think their brand) it was basically a boy scout tent. I remember being a very excited teenager. Bought it myself. Never got allowance as a kid so buying it myself was significant.

Eureka Timberline 2, think I got it for a high school graduation present in 1974. I can't begin to explain the number of adventures I had in that tent including many in the early days of my BWCA trips. What a great tent for the time, steady and dependable in most any weather. Sadly it had delaminated so badly several years ago I had to get rid of it. Bittersweet moment.

Camped in a Timberline 4 one night at a remote national forest campground and there was a major windstorm, think it was related to the July 4th blowdown. Trees were falling all over the campground, the boat blew away and we had to retrieve it at dawn down the shore a bit. The tent collapsed on us and poles were bent and broken. Don't think the Timberline 4 had the same strong character that the 2 had.

My first "tent" was a canvas re-purposed tobacco cover that i was able to salvage a piece about 12 by 10.
I was around 12 or 13 and wanted to fish the local yellow perch run. Of course the best way in my mind was to camp on the shore and fish the whole weekend. My own camping gear I had gathered was the canvas, 2 wool surplus army wool blankets, a battered repaired tea billie and a small cast iron frying pan. I thought I was set handle any adventure with my gear just like the stories in the back of boys life. My grandfather showed me how to "water proof" the canvas with oil and canning wax. It was as heavy as my whole modern back pack.
That tarp, frying pan and tea billie served me well for many years until the army issued me half a tent

quote HammerII: "My first "tent" was a canvas re-purposed tobacco cover that i was able to salvage a piece about 12 by 10.
I was around 12 or 13 and wanted to fish the local yellow perch run. Of course the best way in my mind was to camp on the shore and fish the whole weekend. My own camping gear I had gathered was the canvas, 2 wool surplus army wool blankets, a battered repaired tea billie and a small cast iron frying pan. I thought I was set handle any adventure with my gear just like the stories in the back of boys life. My grandfather showed me how to "water proof" the canvas with oil and canning wax. It was as heavy as my whole modern back pack.
That tarp, frying pan and tea billie served me well for many years until the army issued me half a tent"

You look back at some of the gear we had and at that time we thought we were lucky. There is a different mine set out there now.

Do bed sheets and blankets in the living room or over the clothes line count?

Dad had an old army canvas thing that was maybe 12x12 that we used in an open field in the woods out back.

My first tent was a Northface VE 23, which I loved. It saw a lot of use.

First tent was the family's massive 9' x 12' canvas, cabin-style tent with metal poles. It weighed a ton!

The first tent that was "mine" was a two-man bright orange nylon thing my mom got me for my 16th birthday. I think she picked it up new at a Shopko store for about $15. We would sometimes jam three people in that little tent and had a blast with it [and some naughtiness! :) ] It installed in me my love of camping that I still have today.

I think some of us are showing our age by the vintage of our first tents.

I had a pup tent with the wooden poles back in the early 60's and spent many a night out in the back yard sleeping in it with the neighbor kids. It only leaked when it rained.

As a kid in the 60's, we had this huge canvas house tent with a floor. 7 kids with parents all carefully laid on the floor so my Dad could get out easily. Dad had the only canvas air mattress. Camped two weeks a year in Northern WI. Loved every minute!

As an adult, I had a 3 person American Camper without a rainfly. Was great in dry conditions, but rather moist when stormy. After a particular nasty stormy week - I thought the hail would tear the roof off. Nowadays, I use a 3 person Kelty with complete rainfly. Super dry no matter the conditions. I've had it near 20 years and it still works as good as new. If you tie down the rainfly completely, it claims the ability to handle 60 MPH winds. Weathered many a thunderstorm these past years. Always a staple in one of my Duluth packs!

eureka timberline, used it for 15 years then sold it. good quality.

The first tent I bought was in 1975, it came from Sears and was an umbrella tent, the poles were on the outside and the tent was hung from them on eye bolts. That tent took a lot of boat trips to Canada and was in almost all the western states, it went through some really bad storms and finally the seams started to leak so bad we stopped useing it. My next tent was a Cabelas 6 man Northwoods Guide model. I still have both tents and used the Cabelas tent about 10 years ago, still bomb proof. Together those tents weighed about as much as a VW minibus. The first tent I ever slept in was in about 1970, Canadain boat fishing trip. US Army surplus 10 by 16 wall tent, no floor, no bug screen in the door, 2 pine trees cut for the poles, and 1 cut for the ridge, my Uncle warned me to never touch the top nor the sides or it would leak, I never did touch the tent top or sides. I still have that tent but have'nt set it up for about 25 years. FRED

My family tent I grew up with was a canvas Army Surplus tent. It was 9 feet by 9 feet square and had the umbrella pole in the very center. I started camping at 3 months old in that tent with my parents keeping me between them as their heater.

After my siblings were born, our family of six would squeeze into that thing like birds in the nest according to my dad. And yes you could not touch the walls or they would leak. No such thing as sleeping pads back then, hope the ground was soft.

I had that tent in college for a little while and used it on occasion. I'm pretty sure the thing rolled up to be about a foot in diameter and 4 feet long and smelled like old canvas should smell. It was tied with a leather string.

After college I quit using a tent and used whatever cheap tarp was available if there was rain or slept Under the Stars. That lasted several years (8?) until an incident with a bear convinced me that maybe a tent was okay after all, and I started using my then-fiancee's tent which was the Timberline 2.

We resurrected the old canvas tent at the family farm sometime in the last decade. The screen netting and zippers are not in such good shape but we still enjoyed seeing it after a long period of time.

5 man tent I got at Sams club.

Lasted about 10 years on various adventures. Went on my first BW trip in 03.

After hauling that in, went smaller, Well smaller :)

My first tent was a MOSS Starlight.....was a great tent for 1......better know the other person well if two were in it........my last nights spent in it on Crescent Lake..just a few years ago.......lakeside.....
The nylon and coating were getting real sticking and deteriorating.....wish they still made them....

Bump

Yes, old green canvas pup tent.... can still smell that damp, moldy tent!!! One smell I'll never forget.... the good old days... lol

JC Penney 2-man pup tent. Had a floor and mosquito net at the door end. The zipper was in the center of the door, and I'm pretty sure it had a floor, but I don't remember. I bought it in 1976 or 1977. Still have it, but haven't used it since the 1970's. First BWCA trip for it was in 1977, from Sawbill to a now closed campsite on an island on Phoebe. The island is quite round, and it is just behind the current island site with the 6 foot cliff in front of it. It was a nice site, but apparently the island is too small to support having a latrine on it, so it was closed. I visited it once since then a very long time ago just to remember it.

Tomster

I got this great orange nylon pup tent for my birthday when I was 11 or 12. I was so excited I put it up in the back yard and we all admired it, and my dog was so excited he ran right into it leaving a 2 foot tear in the side. I was devastated.

Dad's company at the time was making some tearproof waterproof tape, so he brought a roll home and we put that 2 inch wide tape on the tear, inside and out. Not for an instant did I think it would work, but I sold that tent to a young kid for $5 at a yard sale 20 years later and that tape was still there. I told her the story of the tape and she was just as excited about having the tent as I was when I first got it.

The first tent I ever slept in was in the Boy Scouts in the mid-1960's. It was a heavy waxed wall tent for 4-6 guys. When I say heavy, think 40-50 lbs, until it became wet, and then it was more than that. No floor, no bug netting. We usually used army surplus cots in them during summer camp. Lots of skeeters, ticks, and chiggers in Missouri back then. Chiggers are the worst. Think unbelievable itching for a week or two, usually around the area where the underwear elastic areas are and places between the elastic bands in the sensitive areas that hang low, if you get what I mean. One big reason I will never live in the St. Louis area, among others. We don't have them in Northern Illinois in my experience the last 40+ years.

Tomster

quote Pinetree: "a canvas tent with the two piece wooden poles at each end with a spike poing thru the top.
You always dreaded rain and had to try the Leave It To Beaver episode where you test the theory if you touch the tent where it is damp water will come thundering thru. It does. Also the first tent had a screen door also but no zipper on the bottom.
Fun times in the back yard and out in the woods."

+1 The classic Boy Scout wall tent, except no screening and front and rear flaps tied shut. No floor. Can remember watching water run under my cot. Two guys held the uprights while others set the tent stakes. Weighed 40 lbs or so plus 2" wooden uprights and ridge pole. We carried them in a mile sometimes. Maybe 10X12?

a canvas tent with the two piece wooden poles at each end with a spike poing thru
the top.

Spent many a night in one of those as a kid some of them very wet and buggy.

quote bwcamjh: "My first tent was a MOSS Starlight.....was a great tent for 1......better know the other person well if two were in it........my last nights spent in it on Crescent Lake..just a few years ago.......lakeside.....
The nylon and coating were getting real sticking and deteriorating.....wish they still made them....
"

I believe my old friend, Dr. Sam, had one of those? I concur, we were CLOSE in that tent; it's a good thing he was a smallish guy!

quote bwcamjh: "My first tent was a MOSS Starlight.....was a great tent for 1......better know the other person well if two were in it........my last nights spent in it on Crescent Lake..just a few years ago.......lakeside.....
The nylon and coating were getting real sticking and deteriorating.....wish they still made them....

"

I believe my old friend, Dr. Sam, had one of those? I concur, we were CLOSE in that tent; it's a good thing he was a smallish guy!

Eureka Timberline A-frame tent, green.

quote Frenchy19: "2 person nylon pup tent. I believe it was from JC Penny sporting goods section."

+1
My grandpa gave me one of these tents.
Thought it was Awesome!
When it rained the roof sagged to about 20" from the floor.

I think my first tent story is kinda cool. I was still living at my moms in Linden Hills, Minneapolis and I was 16 or 17 when my moms boyfriend at the time gave me a book called "Buddhism Plain and Simple" that was written by the director of the Buddhist temple just a half a mile away. At the time, the book had a huge impact on me. I admired Buddhism and wanted to aspire to some of the ideals of Buddhism, like being unattached to the material world and giving up on possessions and pleasures. I even took cold showers for a few weeks in the winter, to see if I could give up that bit of comfort.

Anyway, a couple years later there was a yard sale at the Buddhist temple and I bought my first tent from the author of the book that had changed my beliefs and my life, at least momentarily. I shook his hand and told him it meant a lot to me. It was a big tent with heavy metal poles, and it was probably from the 70s or 80s

Two WWII-era shelter halves (buttoned together along the ridge line, as I recall), that my Dad brought back from the war. It also had a couple of wooden poles to hold up the peak at the ridge line at each end. A couple of tie-out ropes and a few stakes, and the setup was complete.

It was better than sleeping out in the open (but not by much, IMHO).

dd

Technically it wasn't MY tent but I used it more than anyone else. My dad had a green canvas wall tent, about 8X8. It took a minimum of 2 people to set up, maybe you could do better if you were older than 13, I can't prove or disprove that.

quote maxxbhp: "Technically it wasn't MY tent but I used it more than anyone else. My dad had a green canvas wall tent, about 8X8. It took a minimum of 2 people to set up, maybe you could do better if you were older than 13, I can't prove or disprove that. "

You think Like pre mid 60's I bet just about all tents were canvas.

eureka timberline 2p. had it for years.

quote Pinetree: " history


It sounds like the first timberline was around 1970?


Also wonder was that the first with a fly?"

No, Levis had "flys" long before that. Haha.

quote Pinetree: "a canvas tent with the two piece wooden poles at each end with a spike poing thru the top.
You always dreaded rain and had to try the Leave It To Beaver episode where you test the theory if you touch the tent where it is damp water will come thundering thru. It does. Also the first tent had a screen door also but no zipper on the bottom.
Fun times in the back yard and out in the woods."

Mine was the same. I loved sleeping in that dark little tent out in the backyard. I loved the smell of it and to this day the smell of canvas brings back great camping memories. I had a green cotton sleeping bag from Sears. The flannel liner had a pattern of hunting dogs and smelled nice too. I never used a sleeping pad and slept well.
I still sleep out in the backyard on occasion to test new gear.

quote Zulu: "

quote Pinetree: "a canvas tent with the two piece wooden poles at each end with a spike poing thru the top.
You always dreaded rain and had to try the Leave It To Beaver episode where you test the theory if you touch the tent where it is damp water will come thundering thru. It does. Also the first tent had a screen door also but no zipper on the bottom.
Fun times in the back yard and out in the woods."

Mine was the same. I loved sleeping in that dark little tent out in the backyard. I loved the smell of it and to this day the smell of canvas brings back great camping memories. I had a green cotton sleeping bag from Sears. The flannel liner had a pattern of hunting dogs and smelled nice too. I never used a sleeping pad and slept well.
I still sleep out in the backyard on occasion to test new gear."

I never heard of a sleeping pad when I started camping.

... Torn apart by high winds at 13000 ft.

Let's call it a learning experience.

Many tents have come and gone but first experiences those memories last forever.. Maybe a little leaky and not bombproof tent?
Must be a few new comments?

I got a green 2 man Eureka Timberline for a graduation present from my folks back in 1974. Used it for all of my camping experiences for a long time, probably the next 15-20 years. Car camping, many many BWCA trips and some ill advised but awesome extreme winter camping trips too. After finally getting a new tent many years ago it sat in my garage for another 15 years or so before I took it out one day and saw that it had delaminated so bad it was barely recognizable. Threw it out, wish i would have kept the poles though.

Since then i have manged to acquire many tents and currently have 6 or 7. Now on some trips I literally have to debate which tent to bring. The old timberline surely served me well.

lindylair: "I got a green 2 man Eureka Timberline for a graduation present from my folks back in 1974. Used it for all of my camping experiences for a long time, probably the next 15-20 years. Car camping, many many BWCA trips and some ill advised but awesome extreme winter camping trips too. After finally getting a new tent many years ago it sat in my garage for another 15 years or so before I took it out one day and saw that it had delaminated so bad it was barely recognizable. Threw it out, wish i would have kept the poles though.


Since then i have manged to acquire many tents and currently have 6 or 7. Now on some trips I literally have to debate which tent to bring. The old timberline surely served me well. "

I had a Eureka 4 man Timberline made in like 1972. Those tents were well made. Used it for like 25 years than passed in on and it is still used once in awhile I hear. New Timberlines I don't think they are as good quality?

1960s made in Milwaukee by Laacke and Joys( recently closed I hear). A very lightweight high thread-count canvas material. Wedge with triangular rear footprint two light aluminum adjustable poles. Two person. A bombproof tent that I never got wet in. It had mosquito and blackfly-proof netting, but I remember several time waking up with a badly swollen face from no-see-ums. I later learned to spray the neeting with repellent. Weighed about 8# which was pretty good for the era.

I loaned it to someone in the mid-1970s and they LOST it. How do you lose a tent?

Being poor in that decade I got by for many years with a good 10x10 ripstop nylon tarp and a no-see-um proof net that I hung under it. The early 1980s got me into the modern era with a series of Eurekas. Caddis, Alpine Meadows and Alpenlite(for solo). A Big Agnes Copper Spur and an upcoming Dan Durston designs X-Mid solo brings it all up to date.

I don't remember my first tent, nor much of anything else these days it seems, but what I do remember was the first time I ever saw a freestanding dome style tent and what a great engineering marvel had been achieved.

eureka timberline 2 person- had it for many years, sold it in good shape.

ozarkpaddler: "I remember my step dad's old canvas umbrella tent when I was a kid in the '60's. The catch phrase was always "Don't touch the side or it will leak!"
"

Yep, mine was blue and yellow with outer aluminum poles. I got it around 1974 then bought a 6 man version around 1979. They leaked badly. And when you have a flannel sleeping bag (with ducks on it) you are in trouble.

nctry: "My grandfather died when I was twelve. One of the things no one wanted was his old two-man canvas tent. I grabbed it up faster than you know what. It didn't have poles, just a rope on each end. At the cabin where I now live, as soon as we'd get here - night or day - I'd go in the woods and set up my tent. Me and my... well, sister's dog Jack (guess what my sister's name is... Haha!) We'd sleep in that tent for several years."

"Jill"?

"Jack n Jill" LOL, that's funny.

It feels like like it should’ve been Coleman since half my camping gear is all the Coleman stuff from the 80s that seems to last forever. But it was a big heavy wenzel with metal polls.

First one I got on my own was an REI camphut 2 person. Won it at my all-night senior party in high school. 19 years later and that tent could tell you some stories, particularly from nights spent on islands on the st croix.

Oh my - my first tent was a Boy Scout Voyager canvas tent with a floor and zippered screen door. Bought it used from the council as a used jamboree tent. Got it early 1960's. Still have that tent. Has not been put up in over 30 years. May have to get it out, just to set it up.

flytyer: "Oh my - my first tent was a Boy Scout Voyager canvas tent with a floor and zippered screen door. Bought it used from the council as a used jamboree tent. Got it early 1960's. Still have that tent. Has not been put up in over 30 years. May have to get it out, just to set it up."

Like many we started with a canvas tent in the 60's. Also like many of us like in Leave it To Beaver show . Beaver asked if it was True to Wally if it would leak?They tested it in the rain if you touched the wall it leaked. I did and it leaked very well just as it did in the show(I know I am the only one remembering that show).

awbrown: "All of my original camping gear was WWII military surplus. My first tent was a well used pup tent. Spent my youth in that tent with surplus air mattress, surplus mummy bag and surplus cook kit. Every piece of camping gear I owned, except the Coleman stove was WWII surplus. Not the lightest camping gear in the world, but great memories and great odors."

Ditto, minus a Coleman stove, which came later. The tent was my father’s, handed down to me when I was old enough to sleep in a separate tent. There was never a risk of dehydration - you could collect a day’s ration of water from the condensation on the inside of the impermeable walls. But a lifetime of (mostly solo) outdoor activity was launched from inside that tent.

My first tent was an LL Bean Baker tent. I convinced my younger brother to go 50% on that $86 dollar tent back in high school, maybe 1977. It was a lean-to style made of green nylon with a floor, netting, and an awning. We camped every Christmas vacation and it functioned like a big reflector oven at night as we slept by the fire in Iowa. I still use it, occasionally, so I guess I owe my brother $43 bucks.
Before buying the tent, we made a lean to out of saplings and our ponchos, or invited a friend with a tent.

1980...I was 11 years old when I received this canvas "pup" tent for my birthday. Wooden poles, no floor, no door, and I was in heaven!

A Snow Lion. I think it was the Triplex. Bought it from the old Four Seasons store in Richfield when I was in high school. Had some great trips with it but lost track of it in grad school and moving around. I suspect the tent still lives in the garage attic at my folks house. I don't want to think about what sort of decomposed condition it is in now.

Timberline 4 man, to bad it wasn't half the weight.

My first tent was my dads tent. It was a canvas 12 person that he would take me camping in. I always remember.. don't touch the sides!!

My first adult tent was a 1994 (sorry I don't know the model) Kelty 2 person. I still have it but it leaks now. It is yellow and blue

First tent we ever used was a cheap nylon thing, my mother got with S&H Green Stamps. Used mostly "camping" out in friend's yards.
At 18 we used it, in the U.P.,.... not too smart.

First tent I ever bought, was an old canvas guide tent, from Canadian Border Outfitter's "used" bin...... 10 bucks, in 1979.
I've used it on all my solo trips, and most guide trips.
I used it last August.
Here it is...

We had the big canvas 6-8 person tent when I was a kid, but the first tent I bought was a Timberline 4-man that I got for Geology field camp in 1979. It was a great tent and I had it for 26 years until a drunken trip mate fell onto it in the BWCA and bent the poles beyond repair and ripped the tent wall. The only consolation was that by then I had moved up to an REI Halfdome 4 and the guy who fell onto the tent had to spend the rest of the trip in a battered, bent and ripped tent. I'm planning on moving up again this year to a CCS Lean+2 but will keep the REI tent as a spare.

My first tent was a small 2 person scout pup tent. And being rain proof was not evidently a concern. Many small holes on the walls, ceiling and floor.

Stumpy: "First tent we ever used was a cheap nylon thing, my mother got with S&H Green Stamps. Used mostly "camping" out in friend's yards.
At 18 we used it, in the U.P.,.... not too smart.


First tent I ever bought, was an old canvas guide tent, from Canadian Border Outfitter's "used" bin...... 10 bucks, in 1979.
I've used it on all my solo trips, and most guide trips.
I used it last August.
Here it is...
"

Looks like you got your money's worth out of it. Main thing it is still functional.
Use to buy Duluth packs from Canadian Borders used in the fall.

...a tarp.

After that, a kelty 2 or 3 man circa early '80s that got destroyed in a storm at 13,000 feet in the early 90's.

First family tent was a eureka timberline but the first one I ever purchased I still primarily use, Marmot Limelight 3. :)

my first tent was a $5 tent at at some crappy store I don't recall
but I over paid for it
was worth about 15 cents
it made a nice blanket for sleeping under the canoe though

The first tents I stayed in as a kid were old canvas army surplus...just sling a peak rope over a tree branch and stake out the corners. Our family upgraded to some sort of baby blue canvas thing later, but my first year at camp we were back to army surplus...I can still smell them. But the 1st tent I purchased for myself in high school was a 2 person Eureka. Still have that baby, though it is only good for back yard camping now.

I should add that I had an elaborate system/ritual for staying dry as a kid in a tent. Even on 30+ day trips I never, ever wanted to sleep in between people so I always volunteered for the outside edge. I would lay out my plastic bag liners and my rain gear just right so even if it poured that night and someone shoved against the tent wall I would never get wet.

Now I get a tent to myself because hubby and son prefer their hammocks...all the room in the world.

My first tent was a Sears Hillary 8x10 canvas tent. Still have it! I remember going camping with it when my daughter was a toddler (she's 30 now). It rained so hard one night that the rain "misted" right through the canvas. Had to pop up an umbrella over her play pen INSIDE the tent. Ah...sweet memories!

"Oh Clark, this tent smells...Aunt Edna...this is your tent!"

I remember setting up & playing in my backyard with an old green A frame scout type tent my family had. It had 2 wooden poles & didn't have a floor, it was more like a tarp with the fabric tie front & back flaps. Good times learning how to set it up by myself & my little brother always messing around trying to make it fall down, which it did easily.

In my teens I took my own money from slinging eggs & chili dogs & bought my own "real 4 man" tent at Caldor so I could go camping with my friends out of state. I don't remember the brand, but it was a green dome that slept 2. Took my holly hobby knockoff sleeping bag & slept on pool floats bought for $1. Go to bed in squeaky comfort, wake up on the ground..good thing I brought a few of those. Used that tent for many years until it delaminated & seam sealer couldn't save it anymore. It certainly smelled better than my friends van. I still have & use camping gear I bought for that first trip.

The first tent I remember using was my Dad's green Coleman canvas in the early '70's. weighed 60-70 lbs with poles but was made well.The first tent I bought myself was a cheap Kmart brand, leaked like a sieve. Spent a few nights being water boarded lol.

Yes in the 1960's and 70's it was pretty much Eureka Timberline tents. That is changing.

Eureka Timberline here, too. Went through two of them before I switched to something else.

Mike

I had that same canvas pup tent as a kid. My next tent was half that pup tent the army so graciously let me use. Later had a canvas 4 man tent with floor from Sears, then a nylon tent with no fly. Now I have a eureka 2 man and a REI half dome 4. Both have served me well.

A Moss 1.5p mesh tent with two doors and two vestibules that I took on the AT. It was bomber and weighed under four pounds. Handsome color: buckskin with red accents. There was an American flag on the fly.

Around that time I also had a 2p North Face tunnel (hoop) tent in a very pleasant sort of gray hyacinth blue color with a grey fly… but it was heavy.

My first winter tent was a Kelty three person tunnel tent that was amazing. You could unzip the floor for cooking in the HUGE vestibule. Ski loops for anchoring in snow. Color coded fabric pole sleeves, and the poles had balls on the ends that made it easy to pitch in the snow with gloves on. I loved that tent. Today I much prefer having two side doors….

My first tent was a two person pup tent. I was ten.

When I was 15, dad bought a 7x9 dark-blue nylon wall tent from Holiday gas station. When I was 30 (1989), we used it on a trip to Quadga lake via the Little Isabella river. The damn thing leaked and my sleeping bag (another damn thing, but this time from Sears) got wet. I was up all night shivering trying to keep a small fire going to stay warm. When the sun finally came up, I had one of the most peaceful feelings come over me. It was unique and very memorable. I only experienced this feeling one other time, and that was when I had a piece of meat stuck in my throat for 13 hours until the endoscopist cleared it.

I don’t know if it was the demerol and versed, or what — but after they cleared my throat it was like the sun rising on Quadga.

A Sierra Design Electron 2. Bomb proof and just gave up the ghost 2 years ago. It gave me ~20 years of service. It was replaced by a Marmot Limelight 2 with the hope it will give the same service.

dustytrail: "I had that same canvas pup tent as a kid. My next tent was half that pup tent the army so graciously let me use. Later had a canvas 4 man tent with floor from Sears, then a nylon tent with no fly. Now I have a eureka 2 man and a REI half dome 4. Both have served me well."

Yes don't touch the side of the tent during a rain on those old canvas tents. I did and found out the results.

"Your first tent was?"

...shredded and broken in a memorable overnight storm in September '94 at 13,000 feet.

On many trips in the late 1960's and early 1970's this was my only sister's designated single tent as my two brothers and I were housed in a poleless monstrosity that puddled water like my granddaughter's vinyl wading pool. My sister stayed very dry, much to her siblings chagrin, as we just couldn't "not poke the canvas" over each other's heads.

Inherited and stored in my garage several decades ago, the tent is still in great shape. Considering the much, much lighter alternatives, I'm curious if anyone would even use it today. My first personal tent was a two-person nylon unit purchased from the UMN St. Paul Co-op under the Student Center in 1981. My son and his family still have it and use it for car camping weekends.

Jansport Mountain Dome. Served me well for many years beginning in 1977.

A blanket strung over the close line, then graduated to our timber with either canvas or a plastic tarp over a rope between two trees. My first real tent I believe was a Wenzal. The seams on the bathtub floor flipped up for some reason and when it rained the water would collect in the seams and leak into the tent and the bathtub floor held water like a bathtub. I tried to put tent sealer on it, tried to glue the seams and the only thing that worked was throwing the tent away and buying a 4 man timberline eurica. Yep

Couple WW II shelter halves that buttoned together. No floor, no netting. Hate to admit how long ago that was.

Anybody recall tube tents? One might save your life long enough to have your blood drained by mosquitoes. Had one, after one trip to try it out, cut it the long way to use as a drop cloth.

My first canoe trip tent was another WWII relic, the jungle hammock.

Eureka Timberline 4

RoundRiver: "Eureka Timberline 4"

I wonder if Timberlines 2 and 4 are the tents that have been produced the longest and still going strong. I also wonder if my Timberline bought in the early 1970' or late 60's was made in the U.S.A. or not. The new ones are all made overseas.

I can't even remember...it was heavy though!

Mine was a Timberline too. I got it in ‘81, I think. I still use it during the cold season even though the zippers are shot. I’ve got a nice solo tent now, but still love my Eureka.

Fritty

MSR Zoid 1. I got the backpacking itch in high school - at Newport SP in Door County. Had that tent for almost ten years and sold it cheap to a friend. I think it still sees use.

It was a Kelly 3 pole design in the ‘80s. Aluminum poles with a full mesh ceiling at the top. Not sure the model but was two shades of grey and yellow pole pockets. About 4.5 lbs if I remember right. Worked great for motorcycle camping and lasted a good 15 years. Great tent for $150

Lot of memories from old canvas tents to tents of now. I do wonder Tho, the new timberlines are they poorer quality now?
I know USA made is long gone.