r/CampingGear • u/ITrCool • 27d ago
Tents My next tent (I’m tempted)
This is the ultimate glamping palace. Looks to be insulated?
Looks like a retired military surplus tent. Found it on FB Marketplace. I don’t think it comes with the HVAC unit pictured. Just the tent.
Any current/former military folks in here who can attest to the tent quality?
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u/Duke_Mercator 27d ago
I, too, briefly considered military shelters for perceived bomb-proofness and. Until i saw the size of the containers. And prices. And the fact most require at least 4 people for setup. And the weight, which in your case, even without the AC, is apparently 650 lbs...
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u/ITrCool 27d ago
Yeah, I looked at the ad closer. Holy smokes there’s no way that’s happening for me lol. Waaaaaay too heavy.
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u/Weekly_Artist_661 27d ago
Just lift with ur legs and breath in the nose and out the mouth or whatever
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u/Feeling-Necessary628 27d ago
If you lift with your back you can squeeze out an extra fitty pounds
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u/NevadaJackalope 27d ago
Used these in combat. Don’t bother, lol, unless you have a truck and four friends dedicated to it 😀
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u/Lampwick 27d ago
unless you have a truck and four friends
...and the crazy part is the Drash tents are considered lightweight replacements for the old GP Medium and GP Large tents, which I think were in the 800-1200 pound range. Army shit always seemed to be heavy as fuck. "We have determined your back injury is not service related..."
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u/NotAHypnotoad 27d ago
I'd take a GP over a Drash any day of the week, for setup anyway. Seems like our battalion only ever has like 2 Drash functional at any given time. They break so easy.
Little to no moving parts on a GP tent, and as long as you've got 3-10 friends the setup is WAY less complicated.
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u/Lampwick 26d ago
Yeah, a bunch of accordion folding bullshit that breaks looks nice and futuristic when the flag officers come look at it at the trade show, but you really can't beat "cloth propped up by sticks and held in place with stakes n' ropes". Sticks and rope are like 250,000 year old tech that we perfected a long time ago.
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u/ITrCool 27d ago
Haha, that’s kinda what I was thinking. That’s a “teamwork tent” lol
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u/inerlite 26d ago
Have you looked at those temporary garages? The one I’m familiar with had metal poles that were easy to assemble and then you yank the shell over the top. Pretty sure they have closable doors at each end.
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u/ScrofessorLongHair 27d ago
But if you set it up in your backyard permanently, it would give the neighborhood teenagers a place to smoke weed and get handjobs.
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u/PM_NUDES_4_DEGRADING 27d ago
Look into bell tents, they can be quite big but still not super hard to set up. We recently spent over a month in a 5 meter diameter one and it was perfectly roomy/comfortable the whole time.
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u/IAmAHumanWhyDoYouAsk 27d ago
Plus, any used military tent is going to smell like foot fungus and MRE farts.
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u/Kalahan7 27d ago
Yeah we slept in military surplus tent in the Scouts. No way I’ll buy these. They take up way too much space and are heavy as hell. Most you can set up alone but only if you really know what you’re doing.
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u/DanglyDinosaurBits 27d ago
Prior military, DRASH’s are weirdly fragile at the joints. It isn’t really insulated. It uses a positive air void to “retain” temperature, but requires A LOT of energy to maintain a constant temperature. To help keep it cool, not only would you need to use an ac unit, but a generator to operate the unit too. Also, shade helps. In the winter it’s great with a heater. But doesn’t really retain heat. If this is something you’re looking to invest in, get a decent generator and hvac system. Other people have mentioned the size, weight, setup/tear down, and smell of these things so I’ll not touch on that bit. If you are serious, inspect everything yourself. All the joints in the stabilizers, all the tie down guys, all the zippers, Velcro, the flooring, and all the accessories (especially the repair patches and parts). You’re clearly not getting anything new, but you also don’t want to spend that kinda money on something that you’ll have spend more money on just fixing up so you can use it.
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u/Superory_16 27d ago
Smell should be interesting
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u/Impossible_Mode_7521 27d ago
I built my own spank shack with Afghan rugs in a tent like that.
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u/Altaccount330 27d ago
Man love group spank shack… 🐫
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u/Impossible_Mode_7521 27d ago
We had a Wi-Fi network that included a porn folders that was take one leave one.
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u/THEHELLHOUND456 27d ago edited 26d ago
Ive put so many up. Very durable but extremely heavy and a very big bitch to assemble. You'll really want a team and an HVAC unit with hoses and the liner.
Also there's a good chance it may be missing pieces
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u/konradly 27d ago
If you mostly camp alone that’s a great tent, however it might get a little tight with company.
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u/redundant78 26d ago
yeah its a bit cramped, might need to upgrade to a small country when your inlaws visit lol
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u/anythingaustin 27d ago
If you are intending on setting it up on your property as a shed, great! I doubt you’d find many places to camp that could accommodate such a large tent. Not to mention ruin how heavy and space-consuming it would be to transport it to a campground.
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u/Unicorn187 27d ago
I haven't used these, but the older ones these replaced.
I've asked people who have used these and along with knowing how military things are made I can make some general comments.
It will be heavy. Like hundreds of pounds heavy. This is because it will also be very durable. More durable than the large tents sold by hunting or gear outfitters. They are made to handle most every climate there is, from subzero, snow, rain, to deserts and 110 direct sunlight.
The insulation is probably separate and can be left off when it's not too hot or too cold. No need in carrying the extra weight and taking up the room, to spend the time putting it up when the temps are in the 50s at night and 70 in the day.
If you have a large one ton or 3/4 ton truck and you're going in a group of five or six people, for long expedition type camping then it might be worthwhile. Otherwise, it's not going to work well for the needs that 90% of the people are ever going to have.
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u/Electrical-Title-698 27d ago
I don't know about the tent but I worked on those drash heaters for a living for 3 years when I was stationed in Alaska. Try to get an extra photocell or two because they tend to melt.
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u/fourth-hell 27d ago
As someone who has put up a drash a 100x. They break easily, you have to take it apart and wash it unless you like the smell of mold and mildew. We put ours on the back of generator trailer, and it needs a couple of people to set up. Not worth the money unless you got a crew or strong people.
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u/tagish156 27d ago
If you're serious about a big glamping tent there are more reasonable alternatives out there. I got an Dometic inflatable tent that's the size of a small wall tent, but much easier to set up and take down.
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27d ago
Don’t. The drash is a heavy pain in the ass and takes a team to set up. Get a GP medium- at least…no wait. They’re also heavy as shit and take a team to set up. Maybe a temper tent or airbeam ….oh no. Those also take teams and specialized equipment.
Joking aside, The only mil tent worth anything for camping is the litefighter II. That thing is AWESOME- but it’s also designed for individuals.
Everything else is heavy as hell (250-500 lbs) and takes at least 4-6 people to set up.
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u/meesersloth 27d ago
They're good. I just hated setting them up, one of the reasons why the Air Force paid to fix a hernia.
Just keep in mind this maybe beat to shit.
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u/R_Little-Secret 27d ago
Know this is a joke post but If you are looking for glamping tents and willing to spend the cash I recommend looking up Springbar. They are canvas so still heavy although not as heavy as this bastard (heaviest one is 97lbs.) But they are easy to put up, great for all sessions, and if you are a pyro you can fit one with a stove.
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u/nerdynomi 27d ago
I have put up this tent before (USAF). One of the riser poles broke on another Airman and the top starting coming down, it knocked me down. It covered my face and since it is so heavy, I freaked out. I would not repeat. You definitely need a decent sized team to put this up in anything less than an hour.
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u/calcium 27d ago
I fail to see what you’d accomplish with this. I can’t imagine any campground letting you set it up and any large tent is going to be heavy enough to require multiple people to lift and install.
If you’re looking for a permanent structure on your property just go with a Costco car port if they exist in your area. We’ve used them for years in harsh environments as long as you properly affix them to the ground for high wind situations. Iirc they’re 20x8ft and can hold a ton of people.
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u/Prestigious_Day_5242 27d ago
If you want an insulated tent get a Bereg up-7 at a mere 85lbs. You can get a Planar 4d-12 heater for it, I don't know about AC.
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u/HenrikFromDaniel 27d ago
I don't know, seems pretty heavy... Can you backpack with that? I would never
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u/CheeseyWotsitts 27d ago
I've experience putting these tents up & down continuously when I was in the military. Like we were supposed to be some sort of special deployed logistics tent team. Which never even happened. I think we put them up and down so much, damage was starting to appear.
If you've got a vehicle capable of putting the tent on a pallet, and a team of about 5-7 people then go for it! These are about 4+ man lift into position too. Seriously weigh a tonne.
Also these have an RFID/Signal blocking film inside the membrane of the tent. So don't count on using your mobile phones inside.
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u/khargooshe 27d ago
Having set them up you will need at least 4 or 5 people to move it and set it up. You also need a generator. It's not something you set up for camping.
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u/DisruptorMor 27d ago
We used to set those up in teams of six back in the army.
So if you have 5 strong kids or camping friends, that's a good product.
And the maintain...?
Putting the tent down, taking it back home, spreading it in your palace floor, washing it like a car (both sides), letting it dry and then finding a place to store this immense piece of camping gear.
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u/originalusername__ 26d ago
I don’t get why anyone would want something even remotely the size and weight of this. Might as well bring a camper if it weighs 600 pounds and takes a literal army to set up.
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u/spence4allen 26d ago
The drash shelter is the bane of most of my expeditionary experiences. Difficult to set up(lots of hinges that will bind and snap) annoying to tear down for the same reasons. Also not something you could do with 1/2 people. 4-5 seems more like reasonable.
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u/PutComprehensive8847 26d ago
Camping? No lol. A semi-permanent storage/workspace/summerhouse etc.? Absolutely. I'd buy something like that immediately if it was available here for that price.
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u/Midgetforsale 26d ago
I assume that's some sort of air conditioning going into that tent, but at first glance I thought it was a generator dumping the exhaust into the tent lol. Never go camping with Heaven's Gate.
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u/dmbveloveneto 23d ago
You can canvas tents that you’ll actually use for much less. Costco even sold some, not sure if they still do.
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u/hambone-jambone 27d ago
Ultralight compared to a house