Some people choose the kodiak over spring bar because there is no lead time, the canvas is stronger, the mesh is stronger, the floor is thicker, and you get more features for less money.
let's talk canvas tents
- Thread starter sixstringsteve
- Start date
JL Rockies
Binders Fulla Expo
- Location
- Draper
Point is, if you were in a 30 yr old tent and were so impressed with it, why would you buy something else and then hope it's as good?
Bird in hand and all.
Bird in hand and all.
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
because purchase price is more important thatn features/brand for some people. I'm sure he would have jumped at the price of a springbar as well if it were the same price as he got his kodiak for.
JL Rockies
Binders Fulla Expo
- Location
- Draper
So what you're saying is despite quality being the stated concern of the op, it wasn't really and this thread is really a waste of our time. Got it.
I think you missed the following
so instead of buying a name, they actually purchased something that is at the very least comparable and at best a better purchase... I personally don't appreciate things made in the USA, I have seen the work ethic and quality that comes from American made things and it is unfortunately usually of a lesser grade for more $$.
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
OP was about canvas tents that don't require stakes, asking about good canvas options out there. It sounds like Tacoman found a great option at an even better price. Tacoman's reasons for purchasing a certain tent doesn't make this thread a waste of our time. Brand loyalty and taking it personally when someone likes something other than you makes it a waste of our time.
Cascadia
Undecided
- Location
- Orem, Utah
I see this as a common theme in a lot of Joseph's posts. Gets old.
JL Rockies
Binders Fulla Expo
- Location
- Draper
Your theme is old.
Cascadia
Undecided
- Location
- Orem, Utah
That makes sense. Back to canvas tents.
Houndoc
Registered User
- Location
- Grantsville
We have used our Springbar a lot at Lake Powell, and often not able to place all the stakes in the rocky ground.
Setting heavy rocks in side in place of the missing stakes has worked very well (although results is more dirt to sweep out at the end of the week.)
Setting heavy rocks in side in place of the missing stakes has worked very well (although results is more dirt to sweep out at the end of the week.)
- Location
- Vehicular limbo
Anybody have any experience with Oztent? I kinda like this.
[video=youtube;mNNZJT4lc-k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mNNZJT4lc-k#![/video]
[video=youtube;mNNZJT4lc-k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mNNZJT4lc-k#![/video]
Alcancia
Member
- Location
- Clearfield, UT
Bringing back an old thread, but I was surprised to find that our little off-road forum had a thread on the first page of Google results for "Kodiak tents vs Springbar."
I just purchased a Kodiak canvas 10'x10' tent from Sportsman's Warehouse. My work gave me a couple hundred dollars in Sportsman's gift cards for some crazy hours I put in to resolve a quality issue. That was the only reason I even considered a Kodiak. Like many though, I grew up all through scouts with the same Springbar every campout, and I loved it. I wanted so bad to not like Kodiak and justify it to myself to get a Springbar. I just couldn't do it though. The Kodiak is just as epic.
From all the research I did before the purchase, I can tell you one thing that drives me crazy - the "Made in USA" argument. Now, I work as an engineer in a manufacturing facility and am all about supporting domestic manufacturing. I even worked for 2.5 years at a tent manufacturer in Salt Lake; Easton Technical Products. Here's a couple of points I have about it though:
1 - Almost NOTHING is 100% "Made in USA." I can dang near guarantee that the Kirkham Springbar is sewn in Utah with fabric grown, processed, and woven in India/Bangladesh/China. This is pure speculation on my behalf, but I'd bet my left nut that it's true. I'd be almost as willing to bet that their tubing is sourced from overseas as well, which they then process into tent components in the US. So as with many products stating US manufacturing, 80% or more of the work is done overseas with only the final assembly done in the states thus justifying the "Made in USA!" stamp. It's more a marketing tool now than anything describing country of origin. Then a legitimate US company does the same thing but takes more advantage of low labor rates to offer savings to the rest of us and is labeled as a "Chinese knockoff." Anyone claiming to be purchasing a product based on "Made in USA" needs to research how much of it really is.
2 - Country of manufacture and country of origin are completely different things. Even if a company manufactures a product in the US, if that company is headquartered in another country, then what does it matter? That's not the case here, but with many other "Made in USA" products it is. Foreign car companies come to mind. Sure, we get a lot of jobs, which is good. All those profits go into the country of the company headquarters though, which is bad. The value of that labor going into the manufacturing country is minuscule compared to the profits pushed into the country the company is based in. Example, for each Toyota Tundra built in the USA, the US may see a few hundred dollars of labor go into our economy, but Japan sees a few thousand in profits. Kodiak canvas tents is headquartered in Layton, UT. just 30 miles North of springbar. So they take advantage of the cheap labor in China to pull profits into the US. Good for them and good for us all.
3 - Having worked in the textile industry specifically to manufacture tents, you don't want a mass production product that has been woven/sewn in the US; Kirkham probably being the only exception. You will pay twice as much for half the quality. Honest to goodness truth. Textiles, however advanced, is not a difficult process; just labor intensive. Taking advantage of the cheaper labor in facilities more adept at textiles processing is a genius business model if you ask me.
Having said all that, both companies make amazing products. To be honest, had my employer not given me much of the cost of the tent that had to be purchased from Sportsman's, I would have bought a Springbar based on brand loyalty alone. A part of me still wishes I could have. However, I just hate seeing a legitimate US company, a Utah company even, who offer an amazing product being dismissed as a "Chinese Knockoff" when in reality, there probably isn't much difference between them and their competition.
I just purchased a Kodiak canvas 10'x10' tent from Sportsman's Warehouse. My work gave me a couple hundred dollars in Sportsman's gift cards for some crazy hours I put in to resolve a quality issue. That was the only reason I even considered a Kodiak. Like many though, I grew up all through scouts with the same Springbar every campout, and I loved it. I wanted so bad to not like Kodiak and justify it to myself to get a Springbar. I just couldn't do it though. The Kodiak is just as epic.
From all the research I did before the purchase, I can tell you one thing that drives me crazy - the "Made in USA" argument. Now, I work as an engineer in a manufacturing facility and am all about supporting domestic manufacturing. I even worked for 2.5 years at a tent manufacturer in Salt Lake; Easton Technical Products. Here's a couple of points I have about it though:
1 - Almost NOTHING is 100% "Made in USA." I can dang near guarantee that the Kirkham Springbar is sewn in Utah with fabric grown, processed, and woven in India/Bangladesh/China. This is pure speculation on my behalf, but I'd bet my left nut that it's true. I'd be almost as willing to bet that their tubing is sourced from overseas as well, which they then process into tent components in the US. So as with many products stating US manufacturing, 80% or more of the work is done overseas with only the final assembly done in the states thus justifying the "Made in USA!" stamp. It's more a marketing tool now than anything describing country of origin. Then a legitimate US company does the same thing but takes more advantage of low labor rates to offer savings to the rest of us and is labeled as a "Chinese knockoff." Anyone claiming to be purchasing a product based on "Made in USA" needs to research how much of it really is.
2 - Country of manufacture and country of origin are completely different things. Even if a company manufactures a product in the US, if that company is headquartered in another country, then what does it matter? That's not the case here, but with many other "Made in USA" products it is. Foreign car companies come to mind. Sure, we get a lot of jobs, which is good. All those profits go into the country of the company headquarters though, which is bad. The value of that labor going into the manufacturing country is minuscule compared to the profits pushed into the country the company is based in. Example, for each Toyota Tundra built in the USA, the US may see a few hundred dollars of labor go into our economy, but Japan sees a few thousand in profits. Kodiak canvas tents is headquartered in Layton, UT. just 30 miles North of springbar. So they take advantage of the cheap labor in China to pull profits into the US. Good for them and good for us all.
3 - Having worked in the textile industry specifically to manufacture tents, you don't want a mass production product that has been woven/sewn in the US; Kirkham probably being the only exception. You will pay twice as much for half the quality. Honest to goodness truth. Textiles, however advanced, is not a difficult process; just labor intensive. Taking advantage of the cheaper labor in facilities more adept at textiles processing is a genius business model if you ask me.
Having said all that, both companies make amazing products. To be honest, had my employer not given me much of the cost of the tent that had to be purchased from Sportsman's, I would have bought a Springbar based on brand loyalty alone. A part of me still wishes I could have. However, I just hate seeing a legitimate US company, a Utah company even, who offer an amazing product being dismissed as a "Chinese Knockoff" when in reality, there probably isn't much difference between them and their competition.