Timber Top Tent

In 1998, my daughter and I were researching in South Africa. At the end of our time there, my wife came to join us, buying -- I think at Service Merchandise or a similar store -- a small TimberTop tent before she came. We camped with 3 of us for a month throughout SA and Zimbabwe with that little tent. En route back we camped in England and Wales for 8 days, sometimes in sodden conditions.

A year later, our son took it with him to Kenya, and two years later to rural Morocco, setting it up in rugged terrain. We have camped throughout the U.S. with it since then, most recently setting it up 8 times between Chicago and California, including a wind and gully-washing thunderstorm in Missouri during which we did not experience a drop of leakage.

That little $45 square tent is probably the best single investment we ever made. It is unpretentious, but incredibly dependable -- used probably a hundred times in variant conditions. The quick-set poles, zippers and fabric corner tie-downs still work. We now also have a larger, more expensive one, but still use this little guy affectionately whenever we travel with the two of us, and need simple, fast compact shelter. Thanks for an inexpensive and durable basic product!

I have owned a Timber Top tent, where the poles stay in the tent always and collapse like spider legs when you are done with it. I have had it since 1996. I bought it at service merchandise. Well it has survived Maine camping since then, and I now wish I could get another, so I can have a selection to choose from. Let me know if I can still find this type of tent. It's the fastest set up ever.

I love my Timber Top 3-man tent. I've been camping with it so many times. The fact that it sets up in a minute or so is the best. Sadly, I have lost the tent's fly and would like to find another one. So far, I've not been able to find one anywhere.