A-Frame Tents: The Good Old Design Endures

Some of the fondest memories I have as a child center around waking up in this traditional tent to the sound of a distant loon calling to its mate across the lake.

Back in the 1970’s, my family always had a couple of these, then very popular, tents available to use when we went up to the north woods of Wisconsin and camped next to the lake. I all but gave up camping in my young adult years to get my career going, but now I am getting back into it. When I decided to get back into camping, I was thrilled to see that there were some of my childhood tents on the market.

The a frame is often used in movies to as it portrays the camping effect. The Brokeback Mountain tent scene uses this traditional outdoor shelter. Many war era movies also use this tent style.

The A-frame tents are moving aside for more modern tents, such as the dome camping tent, because the newer ones, to some, are easier to set up, lighter, and more readily available.

Benefits

What I have always enjoyed about A Frame tents is that they are lightweight. Lightweight is exactly what I need when I have my tent tied to the top of my backpack. The aluminum tent poles are lightweight, yet sturdy. The aluminum poles clip right to the tent body providing a rock solid tent that will stand up to the very worst wind that the northland can throw at it.

Put up the rain-fly, and you have a dry night even after a pouring rain. Imagine waking up in a tent after a torrential downpour that lasted all night long and being dry (except of course, for a little condensation).

Disadvantages

The two man A-Frame is a small tent. A two-person tent means that there should be room for two people. In a two person A Frame there is no room for gear, the dog or other things. If you are a big guy, you might not have room for a second person in a two person tent. Another problem is that the highest point is in the center of the tent.

Another disadvantage of an A-Frame tent is that there are not a whole lot of choices available on the market. It's going out of style more or less. The Eureka Timberline has been the industry standard for as long time and I have owned many of them.

Styles of A-Frame

Classic Style:

Modified A-Frame:

A-Frame tents are my favorite style to take with me when I pack into a lake to spend a few days fishing and getting away from it all. What I like about them is that I can put it on my pack and go. The less I have to worry about, the happier I am!

Waking up in an A-Frame and looking at the misty steam rising sleepily off the water on a cold crisp morning makes all of the work I have to do during the rest of the year seem worth it!