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There’s no questioning that triangles are the superior shape.
At school, we asked mum to cut our sandwiches into triangular pieces because it improved the flavour tenfold (duh). That goes for pizza too – slicing into square slabs only leaves behind those annoying almost-slices, wasted on the edges. No one likes an almost-slice.
In fact, triangles are so celebrated that we even have a theory to determine the length of the hypotenuse of an irregular triangle. Thought you’d never need this information in your day-to-day life? Well, if you’re an avid camper who values a superior sleep set-up, room to groove, and overall comfort within your canvas cave – think again.
In this episode of the Snowys Camping Show, our outdoor experts apply Ben’s approach – established with a little help from Pythagoras – to determine how a standard sized stretcher can fit within the multiple tent shapes, styles, and designs. In doing so they consider height, length, and slope, revealing how much interior space can be lost – and how to gain some of it back.
Short Cuts:
00:00 – Intro
00:40 – “Will THAT stretcher fit in THAT tent?”
03:30 – Cabin-Style Tents
06:33 – Dome Tents
08:23 – Cabin-Style Tents: Revisited
11:48 – Bedrooms of Family Dome Tents
13:18 – Oztent Tents
16:06 – Touring Tents (with Extended Back Walls)
18:52 – Summary
Mentioned in this Episode:
Blogs:
‘Can I Fit a Camp Stretcher in That Tent?’ By Ben Collaton
Products:
Coleman Instant Up Northstar Darkroom Tents
OZtrail Fast Frame Lumos Integrated Lighting 10 Person Tent
OZtrail Fast Frame Lumos Integrated Lighting 12 Person Tent
OZtrail Easy Fold Low Rise Single Stretcher
Oztent Goanna Stretcher Series II
Oztent RV5 Canvas Touring Tent
Outdoor Connection Bedarra Family 2-Room Dome Tent
Darche Safari 260 Touring Tent
Darche Safari 350 Touring Tent
Darche Xtender 2.5 Awning Tent
Darche Eclipse Slimline Side Awning 2.5m x 2.5m
Zempire Monstamat Single Camp Mat
Other:
Oztent RV 5 Plus Canvas Touring Tent – How to Set Up & Pack Away
“Will THAT stretcher fit in THAT tent?”
…Is a question frequently asked of the Snowys staff in regards to various styles of tents. Ben’s previous Snowys Blog article addresses this very question, where he establishes a rough method to determine whether a stretcher can be considered part of the furniture within respective tents. For the math-letes out there – yes, this involves a little Trigonometry!
While so many people are eager to know the answer, Ben confirms that it’s difficult to know with so many different shapes, styles, and designs of tents. On the other hand, establishing which mattress best fits a tent is more straightforward, only requiring the floor measurements to draw an accurate conclusion.
To determine how much space is lost after fitting a stretcher inside, Ben considers the tent’s height and slope, as well as how tall the stretcher stands. He is guided by an average stretcher height of 45 centimetres and length of 197 centimetres, having regards too for a potential mattress on top and the sloping height of the tent. Regardless of the result, there becomes far less space inside a tent with a stretcher included.
Given the various styles of tents, Ben selected three different designs to apply his method to, as a rough guide for those wondering about their own sleep set-ups: cabin-style tents (such as Coleman Instant Up designs, OZtrail Fast Frame models, and Blackwolf Turbo style tents), dome tents, and touring tents.
Thanks for listening, tune in again for next week’s episode!
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Catch you out there!
From tent pegs and air tents, to setups for summer and one-pot wonders – our gear gurus Ben and Lauren unpack the topics on every camper’s tongue, taking each minute to the limit with how-to’s, destinations, and expert interviews. Be it a swag, tent, or ‘swent’ – set up camp with us!