Only the best materials…

The performance and longevity of a Springbar® tent begins with the superior materials we put into every tent we make. Each component is of the highest possible quality, which is why we can confidently say that Springbar is the "Best Tent Made in America."™ Join us as we explore the materials used to manufacture these exceptional tents.

fabrics that really perform

Springbar tents are different from other tents. For starters, you'll notice that our tents don't have a rainfly. They don't need one. Our tents are made from a superior grade of 100% cotton canvas that is extremely water resistant while remaining cool and comfortable in hot, humid conditions. For the technically inclined, our fabrics are Sunforger® boat-shrunk marine-finish duck , a double-fill cotton canvas with a dry-finish silicone treament for water repellancy and mildew resistance. This is not the canvas of your father's 1950s canvas tent. Go ahead and touch the roof or walls of a Springbar when it's raining outside — it won't leak!

This superior canvas is a double-fill material made up of two yarns twisted together in a durable "one-up, one-down" construction. We use an 8.5 oz shelter duck in the walls and a heavier 10.1 oz Army duck in the roof and window panels of our Springbar tents. These fabrics have over 100 tough little double-fill threads per square inch, resulting in a very tight uniform weave that is naturally water resistant. For extra insurance against water intrusion, our canvas is double-dipped in a Sunforger silicone treatment. You can't feel this treatment, it's integral to the fabric — not simply applied to the surface. This "dry-finish" treatment is extremely durable, lasting up to decades. It also makes the canvas mildew resistant.

The combination of the tight weave and dry-finish treatment results in a material that is highly resistant to liquid water intrusion yet extremely breathable — so indoor humidity is kept within a comfortable range compared to other fabrics.

Sunforger canvas vs. synthetic fabrics

What about the nylon and polyester materials that are commonly used in tent construction? Well, these fabrics have their place when saving weight or bulk is a primary design consideration. In fact, we utilitize high-grade coated nylon oxford cloth and packcloth in specific applications: in the sidewalls of our sunshades and screenhouses for compact packing and in the door panels of our expandable tents for less bulk where the modules zip together. Where used, our synthetic materials are of the highest grade available, with UV inhibitors and higher-quality coatings than those used by other tent manufacturers. For our main Springbar tent body panel and roof panels, where water-resistance, tear-resistance, breathability and long-term durability are key, we believe there is no better material than our Sunforger 100% cotton canvas.

Lightweight synthetics are unfortunately prone to degradation from UV rays, eventually losing their elasticity, tear-strength, water-repellancy and fire-retardency. This makes most synthetics inferior for use in a large car-camping tent, since most family campers will set their tent up and leave it up for several days at a time. Our Sunforger 100% cotton canvas is nearly unaffected by sun exposure and will outlast most manufacturer's synthetics many times over.

Window and door netting

We use a very fine grade of "no-see-um" polyester netting in our screen windows and doors. This material allows breezes in, while keeping even the tiniest bugs out. The netting is treated to meet California fire-marshall flame retardant specification CPAI-84.

Laminated floor material

Springbar floors are made of tough reinforced 9 oz per-square-yard vinyl-laminated polyester, treated for water repellancy, mildew resistance, UV resistance and meets CPAI-84 fire retardant standards. It's even has an anti-bacterial finish! The floor will hold up to heavy use and resists abrasion, punctures and rot. Though far heavier and higher quality than the floor material used by other tent manufacturers, we nevertheless advocate the use of a protective ground tarp beneath the tent to prolong the life of the floor. Custom-sized canvas ground tarps are available for all tent models at a discount when you purchase your tent.

Springbar framesets

The superior design of the Springbar frame is backed up by using the highest quality metal frame components. Our two piece ridge is double-walled* aluminum-and-steel tubing; that's right, a tube inside of a tube. Try to find that kind of tubing strength in any other tent on the market!

The tent body is sprung from four solid spring-steel tension bars. These steel tension bars fit into a solid cast aluminum "tee" fitting. Then, the entire top-frame assembly is supported by two adjustable aluminum uprights which are double-walled in the upper section.*

Hardwear Details

We don't skimp on the small details, either. Our tents use the industry's best YKK self-healing coil zippers with nickel sliders for long life. To attach stake loops, we sew a heavy rope hem into the perimeter of the tent where the floor meets the sidewalls and wrap a steel wire stake loop around it. Unlike webbing stake loops found on just about every other tent, our stake loops won't tear out when the wind really gets blowing! For canopy guy-lines, we supply heavy-duty rope with large slides for easy adjusment. We offer a range of tent stakes for you to choose from, from lightweight-but-tough ABS stakes to large metal angles. Every tent comes with heavy-duty canvas tent and pole bags that are slightly oversized for easy packing.

*Model 2000 Compact and Model 3001 Outfitter use single-wall ridge and upright poles. Model 2813 Bedroom uses a single-wall ridge with double-walled upper sections on the uprights. The lighter-weight pole sets used on these smaller tents are sufficiently durable under typical use conditions.