I was reading with interest the thread on the little Polish Lavvu tents and during a check about to see who selling them I noticed that a few sites are selling a Two man tent as used by the Dutch army. It looks on paper to be a great little base camp tent, but I can see not a single proper review for it on any forum or on Youtube.
I have only so far found it commented at all on the internet a half dozen times and the only thing I can be sure of is it is to heavy for backpacking. One bloke said it was a great tent and another said it was rubbish. So I am really none the wiser as to whether it would make a good buy or not.
I am looking at it from the point of view of a tent I can use for a weekend near an open fire in spring and autumn.
You can see one here:-
http://www.surplusandoutdoors.com/s...genuine-dutch-army-issue-woodland-258532.html
I know that this is an old post, but I thought it bore resurrecting,
a/ because I use both a lavvu and now one of these....
b/ there's a lot of rubbish on line about the latter
c/ not a lot on here!
It is (the dutch thing) a tough little polycotton thing, solid, fairly heavy and bulky. Excellent tray groundsheet. It's unique "side on" design makes access/egress a doddle, and there is enough length for taller people such as me, but how you get 2 people and kit in one, I've no idea; as some profess to do! Floor space is 8' x 3', and the transverse layout gives good headroom and sitting height (4' at apex).
The side on design also has the ridge off set meaning one "side" is the head end and the other is the foot end; however this means the roof is more gently sloping on one side, this can be a potential...….for leaks,as the rain can't run off quite as well, making it advisable to peg the tent out tight. Also be advised to spray Fabsil on to ensure "proofness".
The material for the tent is a light-ish polycotton, I'm guessing around 250gm/m. Somewhere between a polycotton French F1 tent and the modern Robens polycotton tents, if that helps?
The other leaks points (where people complain about these tents leaking) are where the zips meet when closing the tent, and where the bottom zips attach to the tent corners: these are left unsewn at these points. Some tent sealer in these corners or a bit of sewing rectifies this potential problem, and caution with closing the 3 way zips so the down zip is on the outside, will negate the leak point there.
However, there are some versions (hard to find?) that have flaps fitted over the zips, as mine does...….sorted!
Like a lot of small army surplus tents now, the price is creeping up, but generally cheaper than the excellent lavvu at the time of writing this.
Comes in it own polycotton bag.
Can have wood or steel or alloy upright poles.
Hope this may clarify things for some people?
(Perhaps this thread should be moved to "Sleeping"?)
