This tent was was introduced into the army to replace the classic pup tent in the early 90’s. Most of them are marked KL-94. Usually from the company Wittock Industry. The design of the classic pup tent was almost unchanged since WW2; two shelter halves that can be connected into a tent without ground sheet for two persons. This new design came with a bath tub rubber floor. Quite luxury for army standards.
Although often advertised as a 2 man tent it is more convenient as a one man tent. Maybe when you’re in a really close relationship this will do as a 2 man tent but that will be very tight. The dimensions are approx 225 x 90 x 117 cm.
The NSN number written on the stuff-sack of the woodland DPM version is NSN 8340-17-106-6375. The NSN number written on the stuff-sack of the desert version is NSN 8340-17-106-6376
The materials used for this tent are all heavy duty materials. Thick rubber / PVC for the bathtub groundsheet. Strong cotton / canvas for the single layer walls. And 2 heavy metal poles. This all result in a quite heavy tent of 7,40 Kg.
The tent has door zippered doors on both sides for easy access. The tent also has extra zippers on both sides so that you can connect two ore more tents together to create a large tent. If you also connect the bathtub tents floors to each other please keep in mind that water can enter the tent trough the zipper.
Waterproofness
A common problem with this tent is leaking water through the corners of the tent. This is caused by the zipper that connects the rubber ”bathtub” with the canvas side walls. At the 4 corners of the bathtub there is a small hole where water that runs from the sidewall downwards can enter the tent.
Another small issue can be that the canvas is totally dried out by years of storage. When rain hits the sloped roof, small drips can find their way to the inside of the tent. However after a few times out in the rain the canvas is so called seasoned. The fibers will swell easily when getting wet and the fabric is waterproof by itself. If you don’t trust on this you can always use some waterproofing spray.
Dutch Army tent
byu/outdoorgear4all inCampingGear
How to solve this leakage problem ? The answer is very simple: Zippers should be covered with a extra flap of fabric. Just like you will find on most schoolboys rucksacks. Some of the tents were (later on) equipped with a extra flap that covers the zippers. Both the horizontal zippers and the vertical zipper for closing the door. Especially the corners are then no longer exposed to rain water finding its way into the tent.
The guy here (Black Country Woodsmen) also uses a tent that has the zippers covered with extra fabric.
Furthermore: It should be mentioned that this tent was intended for use in the cold, windy and rainy climate of Europe. Therefore there is no large mesh net that can cover the door so you can sleep with the door partly open without flies and other insects will enter your tent. Only some small ventilation flaps in the top on both sides of the tent have mesh nets to keep the flies out while allowing some cool air to enter the tent. For camping in hot tropical climates you want to use a tent that have large mesh net doors. This assures you from not getting a overheated tent in tropical nights since the temperatures wont drop that much.
Possible modifications
Besides covering the corners of the zippers with a extra flap to prevent water from entering the tent you can do some more modifications. First is to replace the original tent pegs for lightweight aluminium tent pegs. Second is to replace the heavy tent poles for some light aluminium ones that can be broken down into 3 or more pieces. The original 2 tent poles weight an astonishing 1060 gram while some cut to length aluminium ones will only weight around 305 gram. Another huge advantage with home made cut to length tent poles is that they have a more practical length when broken down for transport. The original tent poles are made of two sections from 65 cm and 57 cm (5 cm overlap on each other) permanently connected with a spring. When the tent is rolled up for storage or transport the longest tent pole section will usually stick out the bundle. A self made cut to length tent pole made of 3 section ore more can easily be under 45 cm when broken down and will fit inside the rolled up tent without sticking out. It should be noticed that the original tent poles are painted in khaki colour for the desert version and in black for the woodland version in order to keep it camouflaged. If you you use home made cut to length tent poles you might want to paint them in one of those colours ass well.
Comparable designs
The REI Co-opFlash Air 1 Tent shows much similarities with the Dutch Army one man tent. It is also a single-wall asymmetric triangle with a bath tub floor. However this tents comes with some extra features like a mesh screen and a vestibule. It is also much lighter due to the usage of nylon instead of cotton.
Available at:
Woodland
www.varusteleka.com
www.militarymart.co.uk
www.goarmy.co.uk
www.xmilitarystore.com
www.sportsmansguide.com
www.armyworld.pl
Desert
www.surplusandoutdoors.com
www.sportsmansguide.com
www.xmilitarystore.com