[at-l] New 242 (& such). (lengthy post, but info packed :)

[krussell1@sc.rr.com (Kurt)]

Hey ya'll! Long time - regards, and Happy Holidays! (even to Felix...)
Looking forward to the RUCKs so I can see everybody again - will be at
both... Talked to Sheltowee - he's doing really well, though I imagine
that's been posted here already. I've been working away down here, and
am really looking forward to getting away from these sewing machines for
a few days in January... Starting to get a lot of calls from next years
crop o'thru-hikers. Seems (maybe) busier than last?

OK, here's that info -

RE: the new 242 - There *are not* any pictures of it on the website yet
- but, I will be working on the website this weekend. Here's an AT-L
preview and some specs:

1) The All New 242 :) - Pictures (with 6'3" Erick for scale) and text
   descriptions/specifications for it. In a nutshell: It has a 45 sq.
   ft. rectangular floor plan (5'x9'), and a 56 inch peak height (which
   makes for 4 feet of very useable headroom). Uses 2 poles (one inside
   tent, one for vestibule - and there is even some flexibility there -
   I'll explain on the site). 4 no-see-um windows - 2 per on each of the
   9' sides. Front side has the zippered door. The back wall/windows
   have a flap which overlaps the mesh to keep rain out but allow air
   in, the front has a vestibule-awning a'la Nomad lite. It takes 6
   stakes for setup, and there are 4 additional tie-out points on the
   vestibules if it's really windy. I'm working on a modification which
   will allow it to be hung from an overhead support (ie; branch,
   ridgeline), so you won't even necessarily have to use poles. It
   weighs 1 pound 9 ounces in its' stuffsack. After you seam seal it,
   add 6 aluminum stakes, and a small piece of Tyvek for under the
   floor, you should have a packweight of 2 to 2.25 pounds. $325.00

2) Nomad lite/lite-n-Airy - Pics and text/specs. I'm only making one
   model now, because I merged the two designs, which makes for the best
   of both. I put 2 big windows on the back wall of a lite, and instead
   of a full-sized vestibule (like on the Airy back wall), I use a flap
   of fabric that overlaps the bottom of the window mesh by a few
   inches, and that stakes directly to the ground via a short piece of
   line. This flap is cut in a slightly different shape than the back
   wall, so that when staked out it sits up off of the window mesh by
   several inches, allowing air to flow freely into the tent. Using this
   arrangement the tent gets flow-through ventilation like the Airy, but
   with less weight. Other changes - I made the 3 windows larger by
   about 20% each, raised the bottom of the door about 6 inches (to be
   more splash resistant in heavy rain), slightly changed the overall
   pattern to take up some fabric slack, and a few other minor
   improvements. $275.00

3) I'm going to sell a limited number of ponchos on a first come/first
   served basis, and when they are gone, that's all, because I won't be
   making any more of them. I have about 30 of them here, and they've
   been sitting around for about 10 months until we finally finished
   them - I'm just too busy with tents to be in the poncho business. :)
   Long story short - I'm going to take a loss on them just to get them
   out of here. Sale! They are a dark purple color (so that they will
   dry fast), are cut in a backpacker pattern (extra fabric in back to
   cover a pack), and have an integrated stuff sack that serves as an
   inside-front map/food pocket when you are wearing the poncho. There
   are 3 velcro tabs down each side to close it with, and a drawstring
   hood w/a small visor that can be folded out of the way if you don't
   want to use it. You can use these as a 5'x9' tarp - there are tie out
   loops on the corners and lengthwise mid-points for this. Weight -
   approx. 7 ozs. ***Sold as-is, first come/first served, shipped via
   Regular US Mail, and phoned-in orders *only* - I will be keeping a
   running tab on how many I have left because I don't want to sell more
   ponchos than I have here already! :)*** Price including shipping (in
   US) is $36. That's about $10 cheaper than a very similar poncho sold
   by a mail order company from New Jersey. See? What a deal!

4) I want to change the layout of the site, make it cleaner and easier
   to get around in - but that's going to depend on me figuring out
   just how to do that with the software I have... Update links, put
   up photos of people that used Nomads, testimonials, some
   generalized lightweight info and links, that sort of thing. It'll
   probably take me a while to do it all, but the tent pics and specs
   will be up first.

Call me at 843.232.9432 if you have any questions or want one of
the ponchos.

Personal news - Molly the Wanderdog got a new hiking partner - Buffet
the Wanderpup. I plan to fit him for a doggy backpack over Christmas. I
figure that if I can get 6 or 7 more dogs with their own packs, I won't
have to carry anything :) (Hey, just joking K7!) I did get in some miles
on the Palmetto Trail down here last month - FYI, that's like almost 40
feet of elevation change in every 10 miles - whew! Calves are still
hurting... :) (What the PT lacks in elevation is made up for in
poisonous snakes, insects, ticks, hunters, wild boars, black bears,
sandspurs, and beer-swillin' rednecks...) When they write the PT
guidebook, trail descriptions will be like: "Follow the sand path to the
SC 32 road crossing. Cross road. Follow the sand path to the SC 47 road
crossing (Water - left, .75 miles at swamp.). Cross road. Follow the
sand path to the SC 122 road crossing..." :) Yeah! I got the computer up
and running again, and have broadband, too, so I'll be going through a
bunch of old emails soon. I want to get through them before I start up
with new ones because I feel bad about that. At least I'm hanging out
here at the campfire again. Anybody got a smashmellow?


Happy Holidays! Kurt



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