Shelter tent

[Ala-Sippi Rifle]

In the process of attempting to improve my impression on a budget and stop carrying more canvas than the USS Constitution, I am looking for a couple of shelter tents. Any ideas on who makes a good shelter tent without costing as much as an A-frame?

[paul hadley]

Cut your baggage even more -- soldiers were issued only "a" shelter half (although some found ways to get a second half). Team up with a pard who has another half and you will have a practically-instant tent. Or button it with others' halves to create a shebang of grander proportions. Or affix your half to a fence rail, parallel trees or whatever. Skip adding triangle end panels -- difficult to find documentation of their availability.
A good rubber blanket should be of a higher priority.
Cheers.

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

As a topic near and dear to me, a shelter tent reproduction is either right, or its wrong. Right costs money, and wrong is cheap. You must decide where your compromises are and go from there. Type in the term "shelter tent" in the search bar above and you'll find several threads where we go into detail about what makes a shelter half "right" or "wrong". When you use the term "good shelter tent", you are implying that you want one that is correct in pattern, material, and construction and unfortunately you WILL find that it costs almost as much as an incorrectly made sutler row common tent (A-frame) due to the cost of correct material and labor involved in creating it. You can buy an incorrect shelter half for $29 from many mainstream sutlers, and it will look right from a few dozen yards, but it won't be right. Or you can go with the correctly made ones for $100+ from the vendors who take the time to do it right. The hobby is about choices, and this is one you've got to make on your own (with a little research and time to evaluate_

[bkylehand]

I would suggest

Joe Blunt (order throgh email listed on site)
http://carterandjasper.com/

Wamabuagh and White
http://www.wwandcompany.com/index.php/us-items/80-shelter-halves

or

Ross Lamoreaux

All make great products of proper materials, techniques, and have the proper stamps.

[Spinster]

The huge amount of work in a correct shelter half drives up the price---with the compensation being that it also drives up the resale value.

Incorrect ones--well frankly, they are hard to give away. Used to be, I took a lot of marginal gear in trade on custom work, and turned it to the loaner box or the reenactor yard sale. The poorly made shelter halfs rarely matched up properly with others when it came time to build a big shebang. Nobody wanted the marginal ones, not even when I had both sides. Canvas weight was often wrong and they just were not worth the carry weight. I finally threw the buttons in the box, did some judicious mending, slapped a coat of linseed and pigment on the canvas, and added another floorcloth to my stash.

It's an amazing thing to hear the order given to Erect Canvas and to see correctly made shelter halves come out of packs, button together flawlessly, and get strung on hemp line within minutes, before the big downpour hits. Ten, twenty, or more men under one long wide shebang whiling away the hour or so with song and cards and a little coffee boiling in a sheltered corner. Across the way, a couple of cooks kept the big cook fire burning in the flood with another half overhung, though we were not nearly as dry as the men in their house of halves and oilcloth.

[mtodriscoll]

Jason,
I make early-war (Type II-A) shelter halves to raise money for the preservation of our flag in the MoC.

They are made from cotton drill (lighter weight than duck and more period correct) per a period correct pattern. I showed the pattern I use to Ross a few months back and he 'blessed' it (hope you don't mind me using your endorsement Ross...).

The 2 tent stake loops are hemp rope, the corners are reinforced with natural linen, the 23 button holes are hand-sewn, the rope holes and grommet holes are all hand-sewn with waxed linen thread and the 23 buttons are 4-hole dark-brown bone buttons. The only thing I don't provide are the poles.

Here is an old post I had in the Sutler Row area with pictures of my old shelters (http://www.cwreenactors.com/forum/showthread.php?18408-New-Shelter-Half-for-sale-hand-sewn-holes-grommets&highlight=). The difference between those pictures and the selters I make now is the weight of the canvas, I now use bone instead of tin buttons, and I now use linen in the corners instead of ticking. I can send you current pictures if you like.

I sell them for $65 shipped and I believe I still have one completed half in stock.
For the amount of work that goes into these, $65 is a steal - but I consider my time spent as a donation to the preservation effort.

PM me if you're interested...

[dixieflyer]

Definition - shelter half: one half of a good excuse for getting wet. ;)

Seriously, if Matt is offering you that shelter half up there for $65.00, snatch it up NOW! That's a steal. Wish I still had my old Rademacher shelter half from oh so many years ago.

Warren Dickinson

[gwagner]

Claude Sinclair on this forum makes an awesome shelter. You can get both halves very reasonably.

I carry one usually, but when I need two to actually setup, I have it.

E-mail him clsinclair@comporium.net

[Ala-Sippi Rifle]

Thank you all for the help and advice. I will take this knowledge received and put it to good use.

[Ala-Sippi Rifle]

While surfing the net in my quest for info on correct shelter halves I came across this article- http://www.lazyjacks.org.uk/dogtent.htm . The writer mentioned that three soldiers would go in together and attach one half (1864 model)to close up one end. How exactly would they do that? I know one side would button together no problem but what about the other side? Sorry if this seems like a stupid question but I have only seen the "farby" triangle end pieces at the dog and pony shows I have been to.

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

The third shelter would be placed on the open end that the wind is blowing toward or where the rain is headed if you're late in setting up. Its also important to note, if you're going with three in a dog tent, you adjust the pitch of the tent to be a little wider to accomodate the extra person. This will make the tent a little lower, but its doable. Great in the winter when its cold....

[Ala-Sippi Rifle]

Thank you Ross. Although I probably won't attend one of the more "hardcore" multi day Campaign events because of a limited amount of vacation days, I do like to know how to correctly set up a shelter tent without using those triangles. I don't plan on "crossing over to the dark side" of the hardcore ,however, I am trying to move more into the shallow end of mainstream!

[dixieflyer]

Jason, to my knowledge (and limited experience in trying it) you just button the third one on the end as best you can, allowing for circumstance, terrain, etc. Understand though that my experience at doing this has been in rough terrain (Pickett's Mill), trenches/earthworks, etc. Those that came before us were masters of ingenuity, and you/we have to "wing it" sometimes just as they did. Not avoiding your question or blowing you off, understand, but there's just no kind of teacher like trying to figure this stuff out with a pard(s).

[flattop32355]

Different folks like to pitch their shelter tents at different heights. The higher the narrower, the lower the wider.

Low and wide lets 2-3 men sleep easier without sticking out at one or both ends, as you can put head and feet towards the side walls. To do that, the uprights need to be shorter, about three feet tall or less, rather than the more "traditional" four feet or so.

As noted, with three men, the third shelter tent (or blanket, gum blanket, etc.) gets draped over the windward end. Chances are it got a few buttons hooked or some form of tie down to keep it in place.

[lincolnsguard]

I'll bet good money, I folded my shelter tent in thirds and slept on it more times than I ever sat it up and slept under it. Yes, even in the rain.

ground-shelter tent-blanket-gum-rain. works quite well. I put my cartridge box in my knapsack and used my folded coat for a pillow. ZZZZZZZZ......ZZZZZZZ........

[dixieflyer]

I'll bet good money, I folded my shelter tent in thirds and slept on it more times than I ever sat it up and slept under it. Yes, even in the rain.

ground-shelter tent-blanket-gum-rain. works quite well. I put my cartridge box in my knapsack and used my folded coat for a pillow. ZZZZZZZZ......ZZZZZZZ........

Same here Eli. In fact, after I got my Rademacher shelter half in the lat 80's I don't think it EVER got set up, ever. That's not a brag or anything, but in fact, I'm kind of disappointed I never got a chance to use it.

[GreencoatCross]

Eli and Warren,

Believe it or not, despite having made maybe hundreds of shelter halves in my time, I have never owned one. I've slept under my comrades' shelter tents but most of the time I go without. I prefer making brush arbors covered with a wool or gum blanket, or a wool or gum blanket lean-to, or a bed of fence rails or pine branches to sleep on while covered with a gum blanket. The rail/branch bed also ensures that if it rained the night before there is a supply of somewhat dry wood for a fire the next morning!

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

OK, glad I'm not the only one then. I've made a couple hundred halves myself, and I think I've used mine only a few times in 10 years as a tent. But it is nice to have it when you need it....