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Posted by John Wells
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Mountaineering gear has made huge advances in recent years as materials science and new engineering have caught up with the wildest aspirations of big mountain climbers. One area that has seen some of the biggest advances is in the area of tents for mountaineering. A few years ago tents were traditionally made with double-walls and heavy materials. All this has changed in the past five or so years. A modern mountain tent will now often have just a single wall construction. This will be made from a breathable but waterproof fabric that is light and tough. Breathable fabrics are great because they keep water out but allow the water vapour in your breath or your sweat to escape so you don’t have a huge build up of moisture. They do so using different techniques. Some have tiny little microscopic holes that allow molecules of water vapour to pass through. But the holes are just too small to allow actual molecules of water to come the other way. Others use a form of water channel that transports the water vapour from one side to the other without allowing rain in.
The two biggest advantages of these advances are lightness and space. When climbing a big mountain every ounce that you can shave from the weight you will be carrying will make your life easier. Modern tents are now easily 25% lighter than ones a generation older. The second issue is space. A single-wall tent has a smaller footprint than a double-walled one. That can be important when your high camps have to squeeze onto small ledges and other cramped places.
The science of tents has also advanced in other areas besides the main fabric. Most top tents these days use supports made from advanced alloys and other modern metals. They are also more intelligently engineered to eliminate weak spots and to reinforce those parts that are most likely to break.
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