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My Saturn Raft

I just wanted to mention how satisfied I am with my raft. I’ve had a Saturn raft for over 3 years now. I’ve used it it A LOT. It has met all of my highest expectations. Best of all, I can tell it’s well built; after three years, it shows almost no wear and everything is perfectly intact.

I chose Saturn because they are one of the more economical choices. Cost is always one of the most important factors for me. I was a little worried that maybe I was sacrificing something by getting a cheaper tent, but having used it for three years, I definitely don’t feel that way as the tent has held up incredibly well. No regrets whatsoever.

Last year, I took my 14ft raft down the Middlefork of the Salmon. That’s my dad and brother in the picture with me, by the way. Anyway, I knew going in that the water was going to be incredibly low, so I anticipated a lot of scratching on the bottom, a lot of wear and tear, maybe even a hole or two. I was way wrong.

The water was indeed incredibly low. We spent ⅓ of the trip rubbing over rocks or getting stuck. Although this was a little frustrating, to my great surprise, relief, and pleasure, the raft held up extremely well. The bottom looked almost the same as when we started. It is a STURDY vessel. It’s for these reasons, I give my highest recommendation of Saturn rafts.

Wall Tent Terminology - Stove Pike Jack, Sod Cloth, Angle Kit, Ridge Opening, Eve Ropes, Tensioners, and Pole Clips

Buying a wall tent can be a little intimidating, mostly because it's a huge investment, but also partly because of the wall tent thick jargon. So, I've written this article to ease you into the terminology used.

Stove Pike Jack 

This is a heat resistant fabric that is sewn into the tent to allow the stove pipe to pass through the tent. Our stove jack comes with sewn in circles that can be cut out to fit the size of your stove pipe.

Sod Cloth 

Sod Cloth is typically a vinyl layer of fabric sewn onto the bottom of a tent wall. This allows the bottom of the wall to be tucked inside or outside the tent to keep the weather from blowing in. As our material does not rot like cotton canvas, we don't add a vinyl layer. However, we do make the walls extra long so they can still serve the function of a sod cloth. 

Kirkhams 

Camptents

Angle Kit 

An angle kit is all of the pipe angles/joints needed for building a frame. We make ours with a 1" pipe so that a 3/4" EMT medal pipe can slide in. We add thumb screws to help hold your poles in place. We also have holes in the angles to accommodate pole clips (see below) if they are added to your poles. We supply more angles than any other company.

Pole Clips 

Pole Clips are a push button clip that can be installed in the poles to help hold them in place with the angles.  

Ridge Opening 

A ridge opening is a triangle section of the tent that opens on each end just under the peak of the tent. This allows for ventilation and for a log or rope to pass through the tent if you're dong a no frame set-up. Our ridge openings have a draw string for opening and closing them with ease.

Eve Ropes 

Eve ropes are the ropes that extend from the roof edges of the tent to the ground. They provide stability. Our 13 x 16 and 13 x 20 tents come with ten sets of ropes - four on each side and one off each end of the tent. The ropes are attached to metal D-rings that are attached by heavy webbing to the tent.

Tensioners

Tensioners help tighten the eve ropes. Ours are made of a piece of wood with a hole on each side through which the eve ropes slide. You can tighten the ropes and hold them in place by simply pulling on the tensioners.