A couple of times I’ve been going to the wind shelter at Snasahogarna in November-December. During this period it is quite still and silent in the mountains. Long gone is the herds of tourists and hikers, and even the animals has prepared for the upcoming Winter period. The feeling is that being total alone. What is interesting is that in a sudden the life follows the nature. Early in bed, and late up in the morning. But you eat when you are hungry and sleep when you are tired. No time get hold onto you. You are in the present, and one with the nature and yourself. Just going with the day. This is how it feels with the origin of life. It is to seldom…

I’ve been blogging about tent before, and  here some more details of the topic. Today there are two different basic types of tent in the market; Dome and Tunnel tent. So first of all you must ask yourself -For what will you use the tent. This not from the perspective of what you will be doing, but rather more from a where-when-and how you will use it. The more demanding and varied use you subject your tent to, the higher safety, ease of handling and versatility you need. Strength, weight and safety will be important areas in choosing. So will you have a basecamp for ski tours, or are you going for a  long tour in Sarek? This will for example make two different kind of choice of tent. Be aware of not choosing light weight by default, because this will end up in less safety, strength and comfort…If you out at the adventure by your own or together with others will also affect your choice of tent. A good thing is to go up one size, for getting more space (it’s not much more weight). The tunnel variant will weight less, and will be easier to set up. But you must be aware of how the wind blows, for this type is more wind sensitive. It will have more space for cooking and store stuff. The dome variant will be more comfortable with often a higher construction, and more stable and less independent of the wind.

Good tips while tenting:

In most of the tents there is space in the slots for poles for an extra ones…Which means you can improve the stability easy. So if you bought a three season tent and are going out for a winter tour, this can be a way to improve the tents stability. Always bring the repair kit for the tent, and an extra safety pin (sv. säkerhets nål) for being able to use a broken zipper. Condensation will always be a problem; keep wet gear outside of the inner tent. The condensation comes from the difference of heat between the inside and outside of the tent. So use the ventilation solutions to bring less moisture. A Wettex cloth in the storage bag I good for removing the worst of the moister before you pack down the tent. If you have place for it it can be a advantage to have an extra “floor” under the tent for reducing condensation from the ground cold. I also put a carabiner in the end of the tent so I easy now which side I will set up first. I also can attach the tent so myself so it wont go away with the wind.

DT James & Kimbo – Voices (Lyrics) (youtube.com)

See ya soon…