I was determined not to turn this into a blog about my latest backpacking gear, but maybe just this once….
My favourite tent of all time was the Phoenix Phreeranger I bought in the early 1990s. It saw me through some wild times, and I can’t think of any occasion it let me down. And then a few years ago, the PU flysheet coating started to die – breaking down and flaking, accompanied by a strong smell of sick. I couldn’t bring myself to throw the tent away, but it was stored in the attic whilst newer tents took its place.
Despite having several lighter, more modern one-person shelters – each excellent in its own right – I miss the shape and space and stability of the Phreeranger. Maybe it’s just middle-aged nostalgia, but I don’t think there is a better-designed one person tent available now.
Earlier this year I tried – and failed dismally – to restore the flysheet with a new PU coating. But then I spoke to Marc at Trekkertent. After a bit of emailing he offered to have a go at making a new one using my old fly as a pattern.
After a lot of time and effort on his part, the new flysheet arrived today, just in time for a long weekend on Dartmoor I’m planning for next week…
Restored Phoenix Phreeranger with its original guylines.
It’s fantastic: pretty much an exact copy of the original but in silnylon, rather than PU coated. And with a few improvements such as a storm flap over the zip, a new ventilation system (the only weak point on the old Phreeranger, in my opinion), some new guying points to make it even more bombproof, and lineloc adjusters for the tie-outs round the bottom of the fly. He also replaced the old PU-coated groundsheet with a new, lighter silnylon one.The whole project also takes about 300g off the original weight by using more modern fabrics, which is a useful saving.
I’m so impressed with what he’s done. I couldn’t be more pleased.
In case anyone’s interested, he’s now offering the replacement flysheets on the Trekkertent website.
(For the avoidance of doubt, I have no commercial interest here – just pleased to be able to share a really positive outcome.)
Gelatinous with fatigue 
Wow, Marc’s done a superb job here. Give’s me hope for my own Phoenix tents. I still feel they are amongst the best tents ever designed and produced. I have a few (Phoxhole, Phreedome, Phreerunner EB, Phalcon) which i’ve used in some of the toughest weather around the world over the last 30 years and it’s great to know it may be possible to give at least one of them a new lease of life.
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That’s quite a collection! The 1990s Phoenix catalogue was terrific, and the designs were amazingly robust. A bit heavy by modern standards, I suppose, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed with modern materials. (The restored Phreeranger is under 1600g including pegs and stuff sacks – not bad at all for an all-season tent – less than an Akto, for instance.) I miss the small-scale companies like Phoenix and Robert Saunders making great gear for the British hills – something absent from a lot of modern lightweight designs. Such a shame that Phoenix didn’t survive the Karrimor takeover.
I’m really chuffed that Marc took up the challenge. He’s a talented chap. His own designs are excellent as well. The Trekkertent Edge looks like a tough, light design, very much in the spirit of Phoenix and others.
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The Phreeranger was one of my favourite tents as well. I wonder if Marc will start to produce them.
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Yes, I remember you posted about it a while ago. The Phreeranger seems to be the definitive backpacking tent for a quite large group of us who started out in the 80s and 90s (or before!). Marc’s talking about doing replacement inners at some point as well, and Hampton Works can still supply pole sets to the orginal spec. So there’s no obvious obstacle to a whole new tent. In the meantime I might get myself an EB flysheet as well – just to have the choice. The new material means much less of a weight penalty than the original EB imposed.
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Hi Matt, so glad you left a link to your Blog on my Blog, and thanks to your efforts to save your Phreeranger I can now get the tent I’ve been looking for.
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