Gear

I have just bought I blacks Octane 1 Lightweight Solo tent. So far I am very pleased with it. There was not that much consumer feedback about it, so felt I was taking a bit of risk by getting it. But I am quite satisfied, it has a quite small packed size, lightweight, and its dimensions seem generous compared to other tents.

However, I am not so keen on the deep red colour. I expect to do some wild camping during a cycle tour of europe and am worried that this colour is too conspicuous.

Is there anyway of dying the fly sheet without damaging the fabric or the waterproofing?

I understand its probably impossible but thought I would ask any way. 

Thanks in advance 

glenngeorge 64 wrote (see)

some people on this forum will have you believe that red is the new green

> Is there anyway of dying the fly sheet without damaging the fabric or the waterproofing

No.

If it's nylon, you'll have to heat it up to near boiling point, which is likely to do damage to something.  And the result will be poor and not particularly colour-fast.

If it's polyester, it is either pre-coloured before spinning the fibres into thread to weave the fabric, or else dyed in a high-pressure, high temperature process.

It got me wondering about tent colours in general.   Bright colours might be handy for finding your tent at four in a morning at a festival , but surely for harmony with your environment, when you pitch up a hill or in a forest, natural greens, greys, and more muted colours can't be beaten? I suppose at the other end of the spectrum, in an alpine emergency, neon colours might be useful for getting to your tent in a blizzard.

Is there any logic or science behind the different tent colours or is it just a case of looking good. 

Blending in is great but if all your gear is green, brown, black, camo etc I would say you should at least carry one peice of kit that can be used as a flag (sleeping bag liner in flo pink etc) that can easily be spotted in case of emergencies. 

There arent any red dyes or compounds that are photostable over long periods apart from some highly toxic compounds. Thats why you see so many old red faded cars.

 Mr Justice

the two near sunlit hills are Sgurr Choire Bheithe & Luinne Bheinn. The more distant big hill just left of center will be Sgurr Mor with Gairich to its left.. The very distant hill lit by the sun is likely to be Sgurr Mhulagain that stands at the west end of Loch Arkaig!

and the tent is not the Argos tiger paws its the other one that I can never remember the name of. I must be going bonkers, being able to remember the names of all the hills but not the tent that I drive!

Aye, the Terra Nova Condensor, that's the one, have never calculated it accurately , but at a wild guess on a wild camp, you could produce nearly 17 gallons of condensation in a single night, drip drip drip. Fantastically light though, actually, I think they are brilliant and wouldn't be without mine!

Cheers for the moral boost on the photos, have just added my Knoydart pics, link, check out the real Argos Tiger paws, a real tent for £15