markharf |
18 Nov 2019 20:52 |
Like everyone else, I carried a tent and (minimal) camping gear throughout Central and South America, using it seldom. There were a couple of times when I actually could not find a place to stay in a given town after arriving right at dusk—usually due to some sort of local festival, although sometimes it was the Dakar rolling thru—and was glad for the tent option.
I didn’t bring the complete kit, since I knew I wasn’t going to be camping regularly. When I went trekking in Torres del Paine, I bought a little camp stove locally, plus maybe some other odds and ends that I’ve since forgotten. This is easily done in any area which has a camping culture. On the other hand, most of South and Central America have little or no camping culture. When a friend from Venezuela came to visit in the US and we went camping with friends, he said he’d never been camping before and was furthermore amazed that we just slept outside without bringing along bodyguards. That would be a country where I would not expect to find a lot of camping gear in the shops.
I have several Hilleberg tents, and I had one with me in Torres del Paine. Mine was one of the very few left standing when the winds picked up late one night. Yes, it cost a lot—but it’s still going strong more than 20 years after purchase, and it’s light, waterproof, windproof and compact. If I’d just been buying a tent for a single trip, I’d have bought a cheaper one...and gotten miserable that night in TDP. Instead, I look long term to the extent I can afford, and it’s been a long time since I had to even ask the question “what tent should I buy.”
YMMV, naturally.
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