Saunders dalomite...anyone have any info?

[uncleboob]

Evening all...after a plea in the classifieds I am now the happy owner of a Saunders dalomite. I'd really like to know more about it but the internet and google have failed me! Does anyone have any knowledge that they could pass on in relation to it?

Many thanks j


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[brambles]

I worked my way through school at a climbing shop and recall the Saunders Jetpacker, Spacepacker and Mountain tents but can't say I remember the Dolomite, I'm afraid. The company closed down about 7 years ago and Robert Saunders died in 2012 I think. IIRC he also designed the Quasar made by Wild Country/Terran Nova and now adopted by almost all mountain tent makers as a standard geodesic design, including my own Alpkit Kangri.

 

[uncleboob]

I worked my way through school at a climbing shop and recall the Saunders Jetpacker, Spacepacker and Mountain tents but can't say I remember the Dolomite, I'm afraid. The company closed down about 7 years ago and Robert Saunders died in 2012 I think. IIRC he also designed the Quasar made by Wild Country/Terran Nova and now adopted by almost all mountain tent makers as a standard geodesic design, including my own Alpkit Kangri.

When set up it looks like a giant wedge. 2 man I reckon, with 2 poles at the front and one shorter at the back. I've looked on the internet and heard reference to a gc2, which seems to have a similar arrangement. This is the only picture I've found on the net of a gc2, it is an old advert from gumtree

Cheers j

 

[uncleboob]

...anyone know anything about the gc2?

Cheers all j


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[oldtimer]

I have one like the picture in unclebob's post. It is somewhere in the attic and I do not remember what it was called. I used it all over Europe and the UK in all kinds of weather conditions. It has been long since retired as the outer skin has lost its coating and it is no longer even remotely waterproof. In its day it was an excellent tent but with one drawback: the flat roof which did not shed rain effectively.

About 30 years ago, I took my two sons walking in Derbyshire during the Easter holidays. We were caught in a freak snow storm that lasted two days and I decided to hunker down until the weather improved. My boys were in a Saunders Jetpacker and I was in in one like the one pictured. We survived snag and warm but very bored. Two drawbacks in the designs emerged.

The boys' Jetpacker shed snow well but it had to be cleared frequently as it began to build up where the flysheet met the ground and began to squeeze the tent's sides. My tent, with its flat roof did not shed snow and built up a layer that threatened to cave the tent in with its weight. I therefore had to get out in the night to clear it away. The conditions were truly awful- the worst I have encountered in the UK- and I doubt that any tent other than one specifically designs for alpine use would have fared any better.

When I bought the Saunders tents, they were innovatory and easily the best on the market at the time where weight/strength factors were concerned. I suspect that now many of the better manufacturers have caught up but that one has to pay far more for similar quality. My current tent is a Forclas T2 ultralite bought from Decathlon in France. It is similar in design except that the front end has a hooped pole instead of a two pole arrangement. It was very much cheaper than the Saunders, but it was mass produced for a mass market. It has been satisfactory in the Pyrenees, keeping out rain and cold, but it has never been tested by conditions such as the snow and wind I encountered thirty years ago in Derbyshire.

 

[uncleboob]

I have one like the picture in unclebob's post. It is somewhere in the attic and I do not remember what it was called. I used it all over Europe and the UK in all kinds of weather conditions. It has been long since retired as the outer skin has lost its coating and it is no longer even remotely waterproof. In its day it was an excellent tent but with one drawback: the flat roof which did not shed rain effectively.

About 30 years ago, I took my two sons walking in Derbyshire during the Easter holidays. We were caught in a freak snow storm that lasted two days and I decided to hunker down until the weather improved. My boys were in a Saunders Jetpacker and I was in in one like the one pictured. We survived snag and warm but very bored. Two drawbacks in the designs emerged.

The boys' Jetpacker shed snow well but it had to be cleared frequently as it began to build up where the flysheet met the ground and began to squeeze the tent's sides. My tent, with its flat roof did not shed snow and built up a layer that threatened to cave the tent in with its weight. I therefore had to get out in the night to clear it away. The conditions were truly awful- the worst I have encountered in the UK- and I doubt that any tent other than one specifically designs for alpine use would have fared any better.

When I bought the Saunders tents, they were innovatory and easily the best on the market at the time where weight/strength factors were concerned. I suspect that now many of the better manufacturers have caught up but that one has to pay far more for similar quality. My current tent is a Forclas T2 ultralite bought from Decathlon in France. It is similar in design except that the front end has a hooped pole instead of a two pole arrangement. It was very much cheaper than the Saunders, but it was mass produced for a mass market. It has been satisfactory in the Pyrenees, keeping out rain and cold, but it has never been tested by conditions such as the snow and wind I encountered thirty years ago in Derbyshire.

Thank you so much for your reply, you have no idea how much of a valuable resource information such as this is!

There is so little information available on the internet for the less well known of the Saunders tents. I guess it's a particular downside of the digital age as unless someone puts it on the net it's almost impossible to find out about it!

Interestingly I did have the same thought about the roof. As I understand it Saunders tents were particular considered in their design and production so it seems an odd choice to have chosen a flat roof...even just standing it has a tendency to sag! That said it has a nice feel to it inside once erected and has plenty of space for kit...surprisingly light as well.

Can you remember where in the range it sat....and how much it cost?

Cheers matey j

 

[mrcharly]

I owned a Spacepacker with a cotton inner. Sadly on my first outing the pole was broken by gale-force winds. Saunders replaced the pole FoC, saying "The pole must have been defective, our poles don't break". I could never quite bring myself to trust it in extreme weather after that.

It was a terrific tent though, never any condensation, lovely to sleep in. The main defect in my eyes was the amount of pegging out required.

 

[JBA]

Hi Uncleboob.
Dalomite tent.
I know you posted 4½ years ago but I've just spotted the thread and joined specifically to answer you. You probably know all I'm going to say.
I had a Saunders Dalomite in the 70s.
The best groundsheet I've had in a tent.
We were in a rain storm, a "weather bomb," in which the torrential rain was forced down onto the tent. Water was under the groundsheet so much so, that when I pressed on it at the front, it pushed water waves into the awning, (on grass not in tent.) Not a single drop of water seeped through the groundsheet, not a single drip came through the flysheet.
It also had the best material I've ever had for the inner tent walls- no condensation even though a tight weave.
Only downside was that in wind it sounded like a crisp bag!

 

[JBA]

Thank you so much for your reply, you have no idea how much of a valuable resource information such as this is!

There is so little information available on the internet for the less well known of the Saunders tents. I guess it's a particular downside of the digital age as unless someone puts it on the net it's almost impossible to find out about it!

Interestingly I did have the same thought about the roof. As I understand it Saunders tents were particular considered in their design and production so it seems an odd choice to have chosen a flat roof...even just standing it has a tendency to sag! That said it has a nice feel to it inside once erected and has plenty of space for kit...surprisingly light as well.

Can you remember where in the range it sat....and how much it cost?

Cheers matey j

I think thet the Dalomite was about £60.

 

[Shughes]

Hi Unclebob:
I also registered to reply. I bought a Saunders Dalomite in 1978 and I am still using it - most recently in the Cuillin last week. Fantastic tent for one or two people. The upright front poles sold it to me as is gives room for two backpacks, boots and cooking under the fly. I agree about the inner material - midge-proof after 45 years, dry and still intact except where a ground squirrel nibbled through in Canada and I had to sew if up. The fly ripstop got two tears either sid eof the rear pole in Llanberris about 40 years ago but again, a little stiching has lasted til now. Not so sure about the groundsheet comment, mine always leaked, but I have a 3mm foam footprint that still works (with some Ducktape).

I found your post because I am now searching for replacement rubber loops to take the pegs, as they are finally getting brittle and breaking. Weirdly, several broke in windless sunshine of a hot Glen Brittle last week while I was on Sgurr Alasdair.

Anyone know where to get a set of such rubber loops about 10 cm long (when a loop, i.e. 20 cm long in total)? They need to come with a break in them and a fixing method, as I don't want to undo the stitching to insert them in the fly loops.

Two friends bought Saunders BasePackers for geology expeditions; also brilliant 2/3 person tents. I think my Dalomite cost about £30 (same as a nice JVC amp I bought the year before).

 

[Laurence Milton]

I have made up replacement loops with shockcord......

 

[Broch]

If you search 'tent elastics' on Amazon you get loads of options but most are the short bungees with a plastic ball on.

These are the closest I have found to replace my Saunders Spacepacker elastics.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Progom-Rubber-camping-pieces-quality/dp/B06VTDK41D/ref=sr_1_16?crid=3FFWGLKFCG4B7&keywords=tent+elastic+loops&qid=1662537630&sprefix=tent+elasti%2Caps%2C179&sr=8-16

 

[Shughes]

Thanks guys.

Broch, I ordered similar from ebay last night, but with some Al hooks to attach to the fly loops without having to unstitch.

Laurence, seems a great solution, but can one glue the ends of shockcord together effectively to make a loop? Or does one need extra length/weight to knot?