That $30 Amazon tent had me ready to hate it, but it held up through a storm in the Smokies

I bought this random no-name tent for 30 bucks on a whim last fall, fully expecting it to leak or tear on the first trip. Got hit with a surprise thunderstorm near Gatlinburg around 2 AM, and I sat there waiting for disaster. But nope, it stayed dry inside, the poles didn't snap, and I actually slept fine. My expensive REI tent from 5 years ago had a seam fail after less use. So now I'm wondering, has anyone else found a cheap piece of gear that totally surprised them?

2 comments

2 Comments

holly473d ago

Bro I feel this so hard. That feeling when you're sitting in a cheap tent during a storm and just waiting for it to fail is the worst. I had a similar thing with a $40 sleeping bag from Walmart that I only bought because I forgot mine at home. It was a random kids size by mistake but it kept me warm through 40 degree nights in the Smokies last spring. The zipper is still going strong after like 6 trips while my expensive North Face bag has a busted zipper pull. It honestly makes me wonder if we're just paying for brand names sometimes and not actual quality. I'm glad your tent surprised you in a good way, nothing worse than gear failing when you're stuck out in the woods.

wyatt_fox682d agoMost Upvoted

I read somewhere that a lot of these cheap tents are made in the same factories as the expensive ones, just with fewer bells and whistles. Sounds like you got lucky with a good batch, which is always a nice feeling.

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