Old Karriomor "Marathon" 2-man tent

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Old Karriomor "Marathon" 2-man tent

Postby Moondog55 » Sat 28 Apr, 2012 1:41 pm

I am in the thinking stages of a new tent project.
One of my favourite designs for reasonable but wet weather was the original Karrimor Marathon.
Old age is a terrible thing and I can't remember the design details would anyone have any archive photos or catalogues??
My "Goggle-Fu" isn't working
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Re: Old Karriomor "Marathon" 2-man tent

Postby Franco » Sat 28 Apr, 2012 2:14 pm

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Re: Old Karriomor "Marathon" 2-man tent

Postby Moondog55 » Sat 28 Apr, 2012 2:42 pm

FRANCO YOU ARE A LEGEND.
What are your thoughts on a modern rebuild?
I only ever used the tent once ( Borrowed while I was living in the UK ) and thought it had possibilities but considered it a little weak for winter winds
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Re: Old Karriomor "Marathon" 2-man tent

Postby Franco » Sat 28 Apr, 2012 4:18 pm

Hi
as it is I don't think much of it.
(yes , not very wind worthy)
Of course in 1972 things were very different...
Maybe if you tell me what you like I could suggest a modern equivalent.
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Re: Old Karriomor "Marathon" 2-man tent

Postby Moondog55 » Sat 28 Apr, 2012 5:27 pm

Lots of headroom, suitable for high winds, very light and double skin
I have an image in my head of something that can use a full width of fabric for the roof, two poles at the front and a triangular rear, with a rear vent and good flow through ventilation Low 2 High
Although I will probably just buy a Megalite
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Re: Old Karriomor "Marathon" 2-man tent

Postby Franco » Sun 29 Apr, 2012 9:24 am

Ok. If you want to make one yourself I appreciate that a 'simple" design with wide panels does appeal, however you are not going to get a shelter capable of standing up against high winds that way particularly for a tall structure.
(note the beefy poles in that Marathon and that is how they could take some weather...)
Also do keep in mind that the more we play with a type of product , the fussier we become.
So no doubt when you tried that Marathon years ago it would have felt a better tent than it would feel now.
For example, at the time it was an "Ultralite "tent. Now a 1.8 kg tent and in particular the better (for bad weather) designed Mark III at 2.7kg are not even "lightweight"

I mentioned this before, several times, so bear with me..
If you make something more than a tarp and intend to do that to save money, don't.
However if you do that for fun (as a pass time/hobby/challenge) than do.
One somewhat similar shelter would be the S2S Duo or the SMD Trekker/Scout.
The side entry point allows for shorter panels , sill they are of a fairly simple cut.
with front entry and no extra poles you have a very long unsupported area so you need a lot of tension to make it work.
Image
Image
(I can't tell you exactly the wind speed but small branches were falling off the nearby trees)

Note the difference in the same wind with the Contrail set up as it comes and with an added center strut ( a pre-bent tent pole or a "triangle as with the Moment will do the same)
and a front guyline.(the point here is that a boxed end is not all that good to create enough tension in strong winds)
The top is made from three panels , the seams act a bit like a built in guyline when tension is applied to the corner struts.


Anyway, something for you to think about.
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Re: Old Karriomor "Marathon" 2-man tent

Postby Moondog55 » Sun 29 Apr, 2012 11:06 am

Franko for various reasons the Contrail style of tarp tent has no appeal, to low to the ground for one thing.
When I tried the original Marathon I was comparing it to my Vango Force 10, so in those days the weight saving was substantial.
If Eureka still made ( or made an updated version of ) the Firelight in Silnylon I may have been tempted to buy a replacement, same sort of weight and good height for comfort.
For the last decade I have been happy with my Chouinard/BlackDiamond Megamids, but the last reproofing added almost 120 grams to the weight so it is now abut 250 grams heavier than when new. Only problem I find is that the Megamid is now just too much tent weight for lightweight solo trips.

My current Megamid is my second, that should tell you something, and I thought that my first was a better made tent and a little lighter but the Taiwanese made is probably a stronger unit.
The project would be to test my design and construction skills; as you say, I can buy as cheap or cheaper than I can make
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Re: Old Karriomor "Marathon" 2-man tent

Postby bfpollard » Sun 29 Apr, 2012 1:48 pm

Hey Moondog.
I was going through some very old camping gear and came across this old "Trailmaster Hiker-3" which I thought is interesting. Is there a modern day equivalent that you know of? The poles themselves could probably be replaced with hiking poles easily, but i presume the wind resistance of it would be pretty high :P I thought it was an interesting piece of old gear anyway. Can't find any info on it, so it can't have been too popular.

Trailmaster Hiker.JPG
Trailmaster Hiker.JPG (157.86 KiB) Viewed 6574 times

Trailmaster Hiker 2.JPG
Trailmaster Hiker 2.JPG (122.84 KiB) Viewed 6574 times

Trailmaster Hiker 3.JPG
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Re: Old Karriomor "Marathon" 2-man tent

Postby Franco » Sun 29 Apr, 2012 2:26 pm

A shelter like that Trailmaster is usually referred to as a "pup tent" (or A frame tent) a very popular design a few decades ago .
Modern equivalents are about, for example the Eureka Timberline (inverted V poles) or the GoLite Shangri La 2 (single pole) or a Luxe Outdoor Twin Peacks.
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Re: Old Karriomor "Marathon" 2-man tent

Postby Moondog55 » Sun 29 Apr, 2012 6:00 pm

Franko beat me to it, also sold by K-Mart for may years, and almost every surplus and disposal sold them when I was a scout, good tent for the back-yard and kids
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Re: Old Karriomor "Marathon" 2-man tent

Postby bfpollard » Sun 29 Apr, 2012 8:02 pm

well, that answers a few questions then :) It's actually a great tent and packs up reasonably small, you can see the bag on the right of the tent. will use it for camping in the future probably as it has more room than my hiking tent. :)
thanks
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Re: Old Karriomor "Marathon" 2-man tent

Postby Moondog55 » Fri 04 May, 2012 3:38 pm

Franko, I have had second looks at the S2S Duo and Specialist

http://www.seatosummit.com/products/display/161
Although because of my height the Duo would be a better fit

What is your opinion of them given that my short list is the Megalite from BD??

http://www.backcountrygear.com/camping- ... -grey.html
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Re: Old Karriomor "Marathon" 2-man tent

Postby Franco » Fri 04 May, 2012 3:58 pm

moondog 55
I could not give you a fair comment since I am with Tarptent and those S2S shelters are not that dissimilar.
But with my tongue firmly set in my cheek I will remind you that Tarptent has been making those shelters for 10 years ...
Franco
BTW '55 , me too...
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Re: Old Karriomor "Marathon" 2-man tent

Postby Moondog55 » Fri 04 May, 2012 4:19 pm

Actually I couldn't ask for a better opinion than that.
Sincerest form of flattery. Imitation that is
Now if "Tarptent" did a teepee??
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Re: Old Karriomor "Marathon" 2-man tent

Postby Aushiker » Fri 04 May, 2012 4:39 pm

WIth regards to the Sea to Summit tents there has been some discussion of some models at BackpackingLight.com. MY understanding is that the general criticism is that the models discussed are quite small, hence the lightweihts.

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Re: Old Karriomor "Marathon" 2-man tent

Postby Franco » Fri 04 May, 2012 6:39 pm

Moondog 55
I did not mean to imply that S2S is copying anyone, just that the general idea is not far from what we do.
The basic design of the Contrail (I used that ,above, to illustrate how a boxed end behaves in the wind not to suggest it as an alternative...) was used in 1841 or something like that...
No tipis for TT because they are not space efficient if done for up to 4 or so.
That is why we (TT) have the SS1 and SS2, to get around the lost space at the base of small mids.
(however I will probably get one myself to do some wood stove tests...)
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Re: Old Karriomor "Marathon" 2-man tent

Postby Moondog55 » Fri 04 May, 2012 7:56 pm

Shame that Mountain Hardware have ( or seem to have ) dropped the "Kiva" and Mountainsmith their big tipi too
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Re: Old Karriomor "Marathon" 2-man tent

Postby Franco » Sat 05 May, 2012 12:42 pm

I think that it is a very competitive market having several "cottage" manufacturers such as Ti Goat,Kifaru, Seek Outside and now even GoLite selling directly to the public.
Nemo have the Pentalite if you like a 5 sided version. Nemo is now imported by Paddy Pallin.
sierra Design still has the Origami 3 that is like that...
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Re: Old Karriomor "Marathon" 2-man tent

Postby Moondog55 » Sat 05 May, 2012 1:45 pm

My favourite was the big Mountainsmith with the great big hood over the front entry, hexagon footprint from memory, been a long time. There is a law of diminishing returns on pyramids but I do like to be able to stand up when getting dressed sometimes, and kids especially like tipis/teepees.
I should add the Pentalite to my list
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