Medieval Pavilions

[Lord Dane]

I have a 12'x15' Marquee rectangular.

They do offer a lot of options on these. Sunforger is just a marketing name for some of the UV protecting canvas treatments they use. It's worth getting them with fire retardant and UV resistant treatments, so they hold up for a very long time. But something to keep in mind also is that some people use their tents heavily, leaving them up for several months each year. Having one for events only, I would suspect that even the cheaper canvas options would hold up well. I'm not sure which mine had, but I think it was one of Sungforger + flame retardant options (probably the $1200 one). We got ours used, so we got a pretty good deal on it.

The price you see on the price sheets for the various canvases is just for the canvas. The pole/rope-package is a separate price on that line.

They also give you a choice of trim/dags, height, and whether the walls will have slant to them. Slant isn't a big deal, though it gives you a little extra storage space around the edges that you won't be tripping over as much.

I recommend going with the 7' height on these, but 6' is just fine. The extra foot keeps you from having to duck through the openings.

In terms of packing them up in a car, the hardest part is the poles. Since I have a 6' bed inn my truck, and the poles are 7', I have to pack them diagonally. It has 14 vertical poles for the sides, and the center poles (two upright and a cross-beam) each are two-section poles, so those pieces are shorter. The canvas is bulky, but folds up and can be stuffed anywhere.

You can see some photos of my tent and my truck packing at the following links, but I don't think I took any good shots of just the tent in the truck bed by itself:

http://ed.toton.org/cgi-bin/gallery.pl?g=2006.pennsic

http://ed.toton.org/cgi-bin/gallery.pl?g=2008.pennsic

This shot shows the tent packed with a bunch of other stuff behind it:



Laid out:



Assembled:

Excellent tent, Sir Edward. A nice setup to use (for example) & model after for those attempting to make their own.

[Sir Wolf]

not great shots of mine, still looking for others:

[Ian]

Got a quote from Panther today. They're looking for about $1600 for that double belled wedge with the canopy. That's a little more than I can really justify right now but I'm trying. They said 4-5 weeks, so it would be realistic before DoK. I just don't want to drop close to 2 grand a potentially use this thing once. Decisions...  +baby on the way and theNacy is more than likely moving me across the country in March. That SUV camping idea is looking more and more appealing. Anyone want to convince me to spend some money?

[Lord Dane]

For me, family first, Sir Ian. You are not investing soundly I would imagine unless you have it to spend. Sensibility must remain priority.

[Sir Patrick]

Sorry, Sir Ian. Family first. For what's worth, I feel your pain

[Sir Edward]

Oh, if you want help spending your money, you've come to the right place!

While I can't really argue with the "family first" mentality, here are some ideas.

Have you looked to see if you can get a used one? I'm not sure where to look exactly, other than maybe craigslist, but maybe some of our SCA friends here might know. Or maybe you can borrow one and try it out?

Also, we bought ours with the same worries. Kat and I weren't anywhere near engaged (let alone married), and we went in 50/50 on this purchase together, not knowing if we were even going to actually go to Pennsic. But you know what? We've used it quite a bit for other things, such as a sun-shade for the 4th of July parties, and as a cast-tent at VARF.

We're very satisfied with our Panther, and consider it a good purchase.

[Ian]

I think there was some misunderstanding here. It's not like if I bought the tent I wouldn't be able to afford moving or feeding my unborn child. I know family comes first always. I just meant it would be a harder sell to the better half is all.  Sir Edward, my wife was looking over my shoulder at your comment and suddenly had a future vision of medieval themed birthday parties for the baby featuring a pretty sweet tent as its centerpiece. Now we're talking!!

[Sir William]

You've got the right idea, Ian...it worked out well for Sir Edward and if your wife is as into it as his is, then I think it'd be a good investment.  Who says it should only be used for medieval-themed events?  I'd use it for regular camping, outdoor parties and the like as well.  Wish I could get one but the wife don't do camping and I generally don't stay anywhere overnight w/out her so it isn't something on my horizon.

[Sir James A]

I think there was some misunderstanding here. It's not like if I bought the tent I wouldn't be able to afford moving or feeding my unborn child. I know family comes first always. I just meant it would be a harder sell to the better half is all.  Sir Edward, my wife was looking over my shoulder at your comment and suddenly had a future vision of medieval themed birthday parties for the baby featuring a pretty sweet tent as its centerpiece. Now we're talking!!

You've got an Albion and an amazingly nice harness. The tent may come in handy for other things, too. As you mentioned, medieval themed birthday party(s). One thing I plan to do with mine is have my brother and my squire over for an outdoor medieval-themed camping weekend, initiation into adulthood sort of thing. They both turned 18 this year, so we'll camp out, swing swords, play medieval games, and I'll try to impart some wisdom unto them about work, women, relationships, life, and anything else that comes up.

If all your financial needs are met, and the tent is "extra" money, and you can't think of something else you'd rather have ... I say go for it. It may be one of those things where you don't realize what you might use it for, since you've never had one?

[Sir Wolf]

what ...? no one has said it yet?

ok.. here goes....



COMEEEEEEEEEE ONNNNNNNNNNN you know you wannnnnnnnnnnnttttttttttttt it........ comeeeeeeeeeee onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

[Lord Dane]

I think there was some misunderstanding here. It's not like if I bought the tent I wouldn't be able to afford moving or feeding my unborn child. I know family comes first always. I just meant it would be a harder sell to the better half is all.  Sir Edward, my wife was looking over my shoulder at your comment and suddenly had a future vision of medieval themed birthday parties for the baby featuring a pretty sweet tent as its centerpiece. Now we're talking!!

Sir Ian, did you get my linked messages on those ebay white medieval round-tops at 250.00?? Sweet deal if you want one. I was thinking about grabbing one. Only 4 left.

[Ian]

what ...? no one has said it yet?

ok.. here goes....



COMEEEEEEEEEE ONNNNNNNNNNN you know you wannnnnnnnnnnnttttttttttttt it........ comeeeeeeeeeee onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

Thank you!  I feel much better now, everyone went and got all serious on me!

[Ian]

Sir Ian, did you get my linked messages on those ebay white medieval round-tops at 250.00?? Sweet deal if you want one. I was thinking about grabbing one. Only 4 left.

I did, and thank you. They just seemed to only be the canvas covering and had no weather treatment. I'm trying to find something totally inclusive with fire/weather protection. If you don't mind doing the work yourself on those, they are an amazing deal though. 

[Sir Patrick]

Oh we'll in that case, BUY IT!!!!

[Sir William]

I'm thinking you didn't want it bad enough if you had to come to us for a bolstering.