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Enough Innovation, Already
Being Unique in a Knock-Off World
Innovation, a much over-used word nowadays. As I watch the ever-changing landscape of camping tent designs, I wonder just how many of the newer, more unique tent designs actually solve a problem. How many are just new designs, that don't really offer anything new? In other words, how many are new just for the sake of being new, rather than because they represent some form of advancement in camping tent design or performance?
In the 15 years that we have been designing and producing tents, we have seen many companies, and even more tent designs, come and go. I think we, and camping consumers, have seen it all - square tents, dome tents, tunnel tents, screen tents, restroom tents, inflatable tent, hanging tents, tents with two poles, tents with eight poles....you get the point. The list is endless.
A few years ago, a major US camping and outdoor retailer, and a large PahaQue dealer, told us that our designs were getting "stale", that we should mix up our product line a bit to keep it interesting. So we took a long look at our products, and decided there was only one thing we should consider changing - the color. We prefer to take an 'if it aint broke, don't fix it' approach to our designs.
Our tent designs are tried and true - we know they work from the hundreds of testimonials we get from our customers, and because we use them ourselves on a regular basis. There are always minor improvements that we are making to our designs - changing a zipper size, adding a stake point, etc. But we dont feel the need to revamp our tents every few years, simply for the sake of trying to keep up with whatever the current trends are.
We will redesign our tents when we develop new design improvements and/or find improved fabrics and materials that will substantially improve the performance of our tents. And we hold true to this mind-set with every new product we design. Our goal is to develop products that will last. We do not expect our customers to buy a new tent every few years - we expect our tents to last for many years, and always perform as if they were brand new.
Our products are designed to provide real-world solutions for family tent campers - solutions for keeping dry, or keeping bugs out, withstanding a wind and rain storm, or all of the above. For example - our all mesh tent roofs provide excellent stargazing on dry nights, and improve ventilation which reduces condensation inside the tent on humid nights. Our bathtub style floors keep ground water out, even if it is 3 inches deep. Our partial coverage rainflies provide complete waterproofing while still allowing easy use of doors and windows in foul weather. We introduced these and other design features in 1997, and many of them have since become the standard on all family camping tents across the industry.
That is innovation for the sake of improvement. Not innovation only for the sake of innovation, without offering real solutions to real problems.
That is what you can expect from PahaQue - innovative products that really perform, and that are backed up with a Lifetime Warranty.
Happy Trails!
Jeff Basford
President
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PahaQue Summer Sale
We are celebrating summer by offering you amazing savings on selected PahaQue items. Take advantage of these exclusive offers to kick off your summer camping season with huge savings. Seriously folks - we are making this offer to our newsletter subscribers only, and you won't see these prices anywhere else!
Bear Creek Solo Tent
Regular Price - $225
Special Offer - $145
A full mesh body that is designed to provide a wide-open, "sleeping under the stars" feeling on dry nights. The Bear Creek Solo will provide complete protection, in any weather. High-quality 8.5mm T6 6061 shock-corded pole set, bathtub style floor keeps ground water out so you stay dry. Almost 20 square feet of usable interior space makes this a roomy one person tent, at only 3.5lbs.
Bear Creek 200 Tent
Regular Price - $299
Special Offer - $195
Designed as a free-standing tent, the Bear Creek 200 will provide complete protection, in any weather. Enjoy bug-free nights for two sleeping next to the fire, or buttoned up tight for foul weather.
Identical to the Bear Creek Solo, except with room for two. Almost 36 square feet of usable interior space , and the rainfly vestibule adds an additional 6.5 square feet of protected space for gear.
Green Mountain 4-Person Tent
Regular Price - $249
Special Offer - $150
The Green Mountain 4 Person Tent is engineered to combine function and innovation, bringing campers the best value possible in comfortable and versatile camping gear. The 3+ season Green Valley tent comes in its own oversized nylon carrying bag (with adjustable shoulder strap) that provides easy storage after use. The tent's bathtub floor design is constructed with 6.5 oz. oxford coated fabric, and all seams are tape sealed for 100% waterproof protection.
Pamo Valley 6-Person Tent
Regular Price - $599
Special Offer - $450
The Pamo Valley Tent is designed to provide a wide-open, airy feeling in good weather, as well as a dry and roomy environment when the weather turns nasty. T6-6061 aluminum pole set provides superior strength and makes set up super easy. 10'x10' with over 7' of headroom, the Pamo Valley is your spacious castle in camp!
You must call us Toll-Free at 888.700.TENT (8368) to get these special prices.
Any tent performs well in nice weather. It's when the weather turns nasty that PahaQue quality counts the most!
Take advantage of these Newsletter Subscriber Only savings now - this offer ends 7-10-12.
Call 888.700.TENT (8368) To Order Now!
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CAMPING 101 from PahaQue
Tips from the PahaQue Camping Experts
Cooler Tips
- use separate ice chests- one for perishable food, one for drinks, one for freezer (see below). This makes it easier to find things in your perishable food cooler and will help make the ice last longer.
- keep coolers in the shade and cover with tarp or blanket if it's hot.
- you might want to store coolers inside your vehicle at night especially if camped in National Park campgrounds as the bears and such have learned that coolers contain food.
- block ice works good for the food cooler, since it will last longer and crushed/cubed is good for the drink cooler.
- empty out the water at least daily to help preserve ice and for sanitation reasons as blood from meats can be carried by the water, contaminating other foods.
- clean cooler with hot soapy water and rinse with bleach disinfectant (1 cap bleach/ 1 gallon of water) before storing, to keep mold and bacteria from proliferating .
Ice With a Handle
Here is a trick we all know but rarely use, yet we should get in the habit of doing this because:
- Fill one gallon milk bottles with water and freeze - it saves you money as you won't have to buy ice.
- as the ice melts in the jug it becomes available to drink (this is especially meaningful if you are going to be out for longer than a few days. The longer the stay the more water we need.)
- this saves you from having to drain your cooler and thus minimizes the possibility of blood contaminating other foods.
- when camping in cooler weather you can refreeze the ice at night by taking it out of the cooler. (I do a lot of winter camping where it is warm during the day and cold at night.)
Camp Freezer
This is something that will really help you if you are going to be out tent camping for more than just a few days:
- hard freeze, ahead of time in your home freezer, all meats you will be using after the third or fourth day.
- put meat in extra insulated cooler with as much dry ice as it will hold (dry ice is sold by the pound at many grocery stores)
- wrap and bungee cooler with an old blanket or tarp.
- Store in shade and do not open till you need the first meal. (Depending on how good your cooler is and how much dry ice you used - things could still be frozen after four days.)
Note: Having a freezer makes ice cream, frozen pies and such possible for desserts. Be careful with dry ice as it can frost bite skin in a matter of seconds.
Critter and Bug Control
- Realize that food is the main, if not the only thing that attract critters like skunks, raccoons and even bears, as well as many insects, so keep food spills cleaned up and open boxes and canisters stored in plastic totes or the ice chest.
- Do not dump bacon grease, bones, peelings and the like on the ground. Instead burn them in your fire pit. Train your crew to pick up dropped food like potato chips or cookie crumbs as these will attract ants, if nothing else.
- Do not bury trash or food scraps, instead burn them.
- Rinse out food scraps from empty cans before putting in trash and try to burn flammable trash as you use it.
- Bugs hate fire, so keep a lively one burning especially at your camp during waking evening hours but also in the daytime if bugs are bad.
- Position the camp lantern and other light well away from kitchen and gathering areas when you don't need the light.
- I'm told black clothing attracts fewer insects.
- Also ingesting lots of garlic and onion is rumored to discourage biting bugs. ( And maybe some people. ;-)
- Do not use a light while entering or exiting your tent and keep it closed unless you are getting in or out of it. (This will at least keep you bug free while sleeping.)
Camp Food Preparation and Sanitation
Tent camping dictates an extra measure of care when it comes to food preparation since you will likely be, perhaps, many hours away from the nearest medical facility. A case of food poisoning 10 miles down a rough, 5 mile an hour, four wheel drive, dirt road is the last thing you need. So here are a few things to be extra careful about:
- Avoid cross contamination by segregating raw food preparation from meat preparation areas - different cutting boards will help with this. (Cross contamination is what happens when the same knife that just cut the raw meat gets used to chop the raw vegetables for the salad, for example. This is a very common mistake with potentially catastrophic consequences.
- Be deliberate about keeping perishables in the cooler.
- Shade your food preparation and presentation areas as sunlight vastly accelerates warming of perishables.
- Keep foods covered as much as possible - use wax paper or plastic wrap to keep bugs out of food that is being served.
- Have hot soapy water available for all kitchen personnel to keep hands and dropped utensils clean.
- Three tubs for a wash - rinse - sterilize cleanup table works good for having everyone do their own dishes. (Use 1 cap of bleach per one gallon of water in the sterilize tub.)
- Let dishes dry in the sunlight. (Sunlight will kill many bacteria.)
- Keep condiments in ice on your serving table.
Go camping!
Get more great Camping Tips at camping-tips.com
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CELESTIAL NAVIGATOR from PahaQue
Ten Interesting Items to Find in the Summer Sky
10) The Cowboy Boot
It's a fact: Thumb through most astronomy books or skywatching guides and you'll find all the accolades going to the most brilliant and splashy star patterns such as Orion, the Hunter, Scorpius, the Scorpion or (for southern observers), the region around Crux, the Southern Cross.
But while the small, faint star patterns usually get short shrift, there's one pattern I always look for, partly because it serves as an excellent gage for determining the quality of the night sky and also because it serves as a pointer to one of the summer's best deep-sky objects. It's nicknamed the Cowboy Boot. The boot even boasted a spur that many cowboys wear.
9) The Dumbbell
Sighted in wide-field binoculars or a telescope's viewfinder, the cowboy boot pattern helps us locate the beautiful Dumbbell nebula (M27). Picked up with very low power as a glowing bubble encompassing two hazy patches of light; it assumes a dumbbell appearance in larger telescopes.And while you're scanning in this area of the sky, be sure to also look for the Arrow (Sagitta) and Job's Coffin, a lozenge-shape pattern of four stars that represents Delphinus, the Dolphin.
8) A Ghostly Doughnut
The little constellation of Lyra is supposed to represent Apollo's harp. Six fainter stars form a little geometric pattern of a parallelogram attached at its northern corner to an equal-sided triangle.Vega gleams at the western part of the triangle. But tucked in this region is the acclaimed Ring nebula. The two lowest stars in the parallelogram are Beta and Gamma Lyrae. Beta is sometimes also known as Sheliak. Between these two stars, but a trifle nearer to Gamma, is where you will find the Ring nebula. The nebula shines at magnitude +8.8, and thus is far too faint to be seen with the unaided eye. Any good pair of binoculars will locate it, though it will look almost star-like in appearance because of its small apparent diameter. The ring shape might just begin to become evident to most eyes in small telescopes using a magnification of 100-power, although at least a 6-inch telescope is recommended to see the ring clearly. With larger instruments and higher magnifications, the ring appears distinctly as a tiny ghostly doughnut.
7) Draco the Dragon
While most folks are familiar with the Big and Little Dipper, in the same region of the sky is a long, winding group of stars which portrays the mythological creature of a dragon named Draco, which during late evening hours is riding high above Polaris, the North Star. This sky map shows the location of the constellation Draco in early August. Draco is a very ancient star grouping. The earliest Sumerians considered these stars to represent the dragon Tiamat. Later it became one of the creatures that Hercules killed. One of Draco's tasks was to guard the garden of Hesperides and its golden apples that Hercules was supposed to retrieve. In the stars, Draco coils around Polaris and we now see Hercules standing (albeit upside down) on Draco's head.
6) The "Double-Double" Star
Back to the constellation of Lyra once again, this time for a look at another double-star. In fact, you could almost call this one "Nu Draconis squared." Epsilon Lyrae is better known as the "double-double" star. Exceptionally good vision on a clear, dark night will reveal Epsilon as undoubtedly two tiny stars (designated Epsilon 1 and Epsilon 2) that are very close together.Meanwhile, both pairs of stars appear to be revolving about each other and have a common center of gravity with a period that probably is on the order of a million years or more.
5) The Wild Ducks
Several clouds of stars surrounded by a few dark regions for contrast can be seen with binoculars in the bright area of the Milky Way about halfway between the star Altair and the constellation of Sagittarius.Quite possibly the most celebrated object in the summertime skies is the Great Cluster in Hercules, known also as M13. To locate M13, look toward the four stars, known as the Keystone,which supposedly forms the body of Hercules. It's between the two western stars of the keystone that we can find the Great Globular Cluster of Hercules about a third of the way along a line drawn from the stars Eta to Zeta. This sky map shows the cluster's approximate position.
4) The Hercules Cluster
Located at a distance of about 25,000 light years, the Hercules Cluster has been estimated to be a ball of tens of thousands of stars roughly 160 light years in diameter. If you use good binoculars and look toward that spot in the sky where M13 is you likely will see a similar view: a roundish glow or patch of light. Moving up to a telescope, the view dramatically improves. With a 4 to 6-inch telescope, the patch starts to become resolved into hundreds of tiny pinpoints of light. In larger instruments, M13 is transformed into a spectacular celestial chrysanthemum.
3) The Coat Hanger
Most amateur astronomers have heard of such beautiful open star clusters as the Pleiades, Hyades and the Beehive. Yet few have ever heard of the "Coat Hanger." But if you turn your binoculars to the region of the sky roughly halfway between the bright stars Vega and Altair, you will discover this intriguing group of stars. It is not too far away from the Cowboy Boot of Vulpecula that was number 9 on our list. This sky map shows the Coat Hanger's position in relation to other nearby sky targets.
2) Albireo: Blue and Gold
Without question, this is one of if not the most beautiful double-stars in the night sky. Located in the constellation of Cygnus, the Swan, Albireo supposedly marks the swan's beak. A small telescope or even a pair of steadily held binoculars will readily split Albireo into two tiny points of light of beautiful contrasting colors: the brighter one a rich yellowish-orange, the other a deep azure blue, both placed very close together. An absolutely stunning view will come with a telescope magnifying between 18 and 30 power. Albireo is believed by astronomers to be a physical pair, although there has never been evidence of any orbital motion between these two colorful stars. The projected separation between the two is just over 400 billion miles. At least 55 of our solar systems could be lined-up edge-to-edge, across the space that separates the components of this famous double star.
1) Our Milky Way Galaxy
Summertime is undoubtedly the best time to observe the beautiful Milky Way. With a good pair of binoculars or a telescope you can now observe millions of sparkling little stars that make up this glowing, irregular belt of luminosity. On early summer evenings it appears to arch from the north-northeast to the south-southeast, with its brightest and most spectacular region running across the Summer Triangle and beyond toward the south-southeast horizon. Never visible from large cities with their bright lights, smoke and haze, the Milky Way can still be readily viewed from distant suburbs and rural locations. Before the invention of the telescope, the true nature of the Milky Way Galaxy ("Gala" is Greek for milk) was a mystery.The brightest part of the Milky Way is in the constellation of Sagittarius, near the star El Nasl. In fact, this region is roughly our galaxy's center.
Even to the unaided eye, the view is one of excitement and beauty. The Sagittarius Star Cloud, about 30,000 light-years distant, seems to be the nucleus, with the sun and all the outer stars of the galaxy revolving around it at the rate of 155 miles per second. It apparently requires about 200 million of our Earth years to make one complete revolution, or one "cosmic year," around the center of our galaxy.
Excerpts from nightskyinfo.com
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Purchase the Pink Cottonwood 10x10 at the regular price of $249, and we will donate $100 to St. Jude's Children's Hospital to support children's cancer research, OR to SurfersHealing.Org to support Autism research and therapy - you choose which charity you would like to support.
To learn more please click here.
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Whether you are a tent camper, or a trailer camper, PahaQue has what you need to make your outdoor experience the best it can be by providing top-quality products designed and manufactured with pride. We stand behind every product we make with a Lifetime Warranty. Since 1997 - Serious Outdoor Adventure Gear by PahaQue. PahaQue Wilderness 13125 Danielson Street #105 Poway, CA 92064 888.700.TENT (8368) |
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