Greatland® 2-Room Dome Tent - Blue/ Black

Tent has drymark waterproofing system that keeps you dry! This includes a water repellent shell, sealed floor seams, and a elevated floor. Tent has 4 big D- style doors for easy entry and exit; 4 big windows, and 2 large roof mesh panels for great ventilation. The big front screened in porch allows you to enjoy sitting outside even during bad weather or a place to enjoy a hot breakfast without the disturbance of insects. THATS NOT ALL!!!! This tent comes with a gear loft and 3 big mesh pockets for easy storage inside. The floor is made of a durable ripstop and the room divider can be removed to make one huge room! The set up is easy for this tent with a 3- way hub so you will be able to set up camp with ease.
Customer Review: Great tent with a porch to boost!
This is a great tent for the money it is roomy and has a screened porch for sitting before checking in for the night. I have a family of six and we felt very comfortable in this tent. This is not a year round tent but goes through fair and semi-bad weather like a champ. The tent is sturdy and unlike the fellow who has a tent "from a few years back", we were as dry as you can get after a thunder storm that dumped a very heavy amount of rain. I am very happy with this product and glad I took the chance on it, even paying full price was a bargain compared to other I've tried. It is now nicely tucked away, but will be out again for early spring duty.
Customer Review: Absolute Junk
This is the worst tent I have ever owned. I am not new to camping in a tent. I was a boy scout as a kid and have spent many rainy nights in a tent. I received this tent as a wedding gift a few years ago, and it is very roomy...I'll give it that, but when the rain comes it leaks like crazy. Even if there is an excess amount of dew in the morning you'll get wet. I think the problem lies in how the tent poles come together at the top center of the tent. The connector piece touches the rain fly and wicks the water in. The top of the tent without the rain fly is screen mesh. So when the water wicks in it runs down the screen, pools up, and eventually falls through. I even added a seam sealer to the rain fly, and water still came through.

Do any of these things happen at your meetings?

* People arrive late
* people leave early
* someone yells BINGO in mid-meeting
* People are unprepared
* A key person is absent
* Someone asks for a pencil or pen
* People mysteriously get paged midway through and leave in droves

Before you blame others it's entirely possible the fault resides with you, the caller of the meeting. As the facilitator, leader or organizer of the meeting you are ultimately responsible for everything that does and doesn't happen in your meeting. What are you doing right? What are you doing wrong?

Allergic to Meet?

Here are 7 things to do before you hold your next meeting:

1. Ask yourself if it's really needed. Can goals be achieved by e-mail, fax, memo or conference call instead of a meeting?
2. Identify who needs to be there and who doesn't. Respect everyone's time.
3. Set the time, location, duration, agenda items and purpose (!) for the meeting.
4. Publicize it in advance to insure full attendance.
5. Call out responsibilities for the meeting in advance so all can prepare accordingly.
6. Set the environment for optimal success. Room layout, supplies, temperature, etc. all contribute to success/failure of meetings.
7. Incent attendance through food, fun or other enticements.

About Your Published Agenda:

1. Is the purpose of your meeting documented in your Agenda?
2. Do you have names next to each item to denote responsibility?
3. Are time windows associated with each item?
4. Do you make clear what is to be discussed vs. what is to be decided?

Ready, Set, Meet

Here are seven tips to follow at your meeting:

1. Start on time.
2. Don't start over when latecomers arrive, or take time to recap what they missed.
3. Set the proper tone through your opening remarks.
4. Remind people of the purpose, goals and expectations for the meeting at its outset.
5. When calling on others for their reports you may preface their remarks with your own to frame their contributions, orient listeners.
6. Keep at firm grip on the timing of your meeting. As necessary you can ask for a summary, refer items to committee, request a written report or simply table longwinded discussions as necessary.
7. End on time!

Make parliamentary procedure your friend

You don't have to be a Parliamentarian to invoke the following procedural phrases:

I (hereby) call this meeting to order .. To officially start the meeting

Let's table that .. Suspend discussion of the topic (or motion) at hand indefinitely.

Point of information .. Nice way of asking for clarification at any time.

Point of clarification .. Ask at any time when you are confused.

I call for the question .. It's time to address the previous question

Let's refer it to committee .. A way of off-loading the current discussion

Hearing no objections .. A way of moving forward to a vote or the next item

Since we're in agreement .. Another way of garnering agreement to act

We're adjourned .. Game over!

Avoid these incorrect (though commonly heard) phrases

DON'T SAY: "I want to make a motion that" - INSTEAD, Say - "I move that" or simply "I move"

DON'T SAY: "I make a motion that" - INSTEAD, Say - "I move that"

DON'T SAY: "A 2/3 Majority" - INSTEAD, Say - "A Majority" or "2/3"
(a 2/3 majority is not a majority. Since a majority is half plus one, 2/3 of THAT is less than half!)

DON'T SAY: "Our next Order of Business..." - INSTEAD, Say - "Our next Business in Order..."
"Order of Business" is your AGENDA. You're still using the same Agenda, just moving your way down its list.

DON'T SAY OR WRITE ON AGENDA: "Old Business" INSTEAD, SAY OR WRITE: "Unfinished Business"

Meet Tenderizers

Most meeting leaders equip themselves with a gavel, pointer, markers and white board or flip chart. Consider other tools of the trade such as a talking stick or fun kush-ball to toss around to the speaker who has the floor. Use name tents if everyone doesn't already know each other. It also informs people where you'd like them to sit. Consider the use of a fun ice-breaker to get everyone on the same frequency. (E-mail me for a free set of ten ice-breakers you can customize for your future meetings.)

Enjoying The Fruits of Your Labor

Remember, the surgeon general had identified an all-Meet diet as hazardous to your health. Season your meets to make them appetizing and healthy for all!

Craig Harrison's Expressions Of Excellence! helps professionals express their sales and service excellence with style. Contact him by phone at (510) 547-0664, via Excellence@craigspeaks.com or through http://www.ExpressionsOfExcellence.com.

Texsport Kendall Square Dome Tent

Large enough to accommodate five, this 10-foot-square domed tent protects campers during three seasons and features a half-length four-peak rainfly. A D-style door with zippered storm flap, windows, and large roof panels let in lots of light and air and are made of fine mesh to screen out insects as small as no-see-ums. Inside there's a mesh storage pocket. Measuring 78 inches high at its tallest point, the tent sets up on a two-pole pin-and-ring frame system with shock-corded fiberglass poles. Durable steel clips secure tent to frame. Polyurethane coats heavy-duty, flame-retardant taffeta walls and rainfly. The floor is rip-stop polyethylene. Stakes and a carry/storage bag come with the tent. Setup instructions are included.

Amazon.com Tent Guide
Selecting a Tent
Fortunately, there are all kinds of tents for weekend car campers, Everest expeditions, and everything in-between. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Expect the Worst
In general, it's wise to choose a tent that's designed to withstand the worst possible conditions you think you'll face. For instance, if you're a summer car camper in a region where weather is predictable, an inexpensive family or all purpose tent will likely do the trick--especially if a vehicle is nearby and you can make a mad dash for safety when bad weather swoops in! If you're a backpacker, alpine climber or bike explorer, or if you like to car camp in all seasons, you'll want to take something designed to handle more adversity.

Three- and Four-Season Tents
For summer, early fall and late spring outings, choose a three-season tent. At minimum, a quality three season tent will have lightweight aluminum poles, a reinforced floor, durable stitching, and a quality rain-fly. Some three-season tents offer more open-air netting and are more specifically designed for summer backpacking and other activities. Many premium tents will feature pre-sealed, taped seams and a silicone-impregnated rain-fly for enhanced waterproofness.

For winter camping or alpine travel, go with a four season model. Because they typically feature more durable fabric coatings, as well as more poles, four-season tents are designed to handle heavy snowfall and high winds without collapsing. Of course, four-season tents exact a weight penalty of about 10 to 20 percent in trade for their strength and durability. They also tend to be more expensive.

Domes and Tunnels
Tents are broadly categorized into two types, freestanding, which can stand up on their own, and those that must be staked down in order to stand upright. Freestanding tents often incorporate a dome-shaped design, and most four-season tents are constructed this way because a dome leaves no flat spots on the outer surface where snow can collect. Domes are also inherently stronger than any other design. Meanwhile, many three-season models employ a modified dome configuration called a tunnel. These are still freestanding, but they require fewer poles than a dome, use less fabric, and typically have a rectangular floor-plan that offers less storage space than a dome configuration. Many one and two-person tents are not freestanding, but they make up for it by being more lightweight. Because they use fewer poles, they can also be quicker to set up than a dome.

Size Matters
Ask yourself how many people you'd like to fit in your fabric hotel now and in the future. For soloists and minimalists, check out one-person tents. If you're a mega-minimalist, or if you have your eye on doing some big wall climbs, a waterproof-breathable bivy sack is the ticket. Some bivy sacks feature poles and stake points to give you a little more breathing room. Also, if you don't need bug protection and you want to save weight, check out open-air shelters.

Families who plan on car camping in good weather can choose from a wide range of jumbo-sized tents that will accommodate all your little ones with room to spare. A wide range of capacities is also available for three- and four-season backpacking and expedition tents. Remember, though, the bigger the tent you buy, the heavier it will be, although it's easy to break up the tent components among several people in your group. It's also helpful to compare the volume and floor-space measurements of models you're considering.

Customer Review: Beware! Old and Used Tent from Amazon!
To be honest, I was excited that I was going to get my first tent and I plan to use it really soon. However, after I received it today, I was surprised to find out that the condition of the tent was in. It was not new at all and as matter of fact, it was very used. The carrying bag has dirt/grass over it. The tent was folded nicely in a box to fool me to think that it was new but once I opened up the tent, I notice that the tent has probably been used many times. I guess it was a customer-returned item before. I am a regular customer of Amazon. It's not my first time that I received an used product from Amazon but this time the condition of this tent was just not acceptable (I would probably find a newer tent in a thrifty store). Needless to say, I am returning this but the shipping charge will be costly and straight coming out of my pocket. What a disappointing experience.

Use camping supply lists to make sure your camping trips have everything you need.

The great question of our time is 'how can the Internet make camping better?' Just kidding. Camping is all about getting away from home, crowds, traffic, civilization, and, yes, getting away from the Internet and the World-Wide-Web.

However, just because you're trying to get away from technology and crowds, doesn't mean you can't use the web to make your 2008 camping experience your best ever.

Just start by using the web to find a great camping supplies checklist to speed your camping packing and ensure enjoyment. Having a great camp packing checklist makes your preparation easy and ensures you don't forget essential items Type 'free printable camping supplies list' into your search engine. You'll find a number of excellent lists. Find the one that seems best to you, or copy and paste from them to create your own list in your word processor.

About a week before your trip go through the list carefully. Look for things that might be missing from the list - especially anything that might be unique to this particular camping trip. Add these items to the list.

Check off all the items in the camping list that you have. Be careful - this is where a mistake could mess up your trip. For those items that you *don't* have - I like to draw little square check boxes next to them, and then during the week I have plenty of time to go buy them, and 'check them off' the list.

Now it's time to go on your camping trip and enjoy yourself. But, bring the printed out list with you. During the weekend, I promise you, you'll inevitably find some things that weren't on the list but that you wish you'd brought with you. Note them down on the paper list. And, when you get home, edit your list and add these items. After a couple trips, you'll have a camping list that's 99.9% perfect for your own special style of camping!

That's all there is to it go find your camping supply list now, print it out, and enjoy the great outdoors!

My favorite list is this camping supply checklist. It's free and printable. For other trips I like this travel list and using a printable calendar.