Jack Wolfskin “World’s End” tent

Owner Review by André Corterier

 

 

Personal Biographical Information:

Name:              André Corterier
Age:                 32
Gender:            m
Height: 1.85 m (6’1”)
Weight:            78 kg (172 lb)
Email address: andreDOTcorterierATfreenetDOTde
City, State, Country: Bonn, Germany
Date:                2004-05-24

Backpacking Background:

I began backpacking in my late teens using Europe’s „InterRail“ System – weight wasn’t much of a concern, as we were on trains a lot. I traveled (and hiked small hikes in) France, Italy, Spain and Morrocco, usually for about three weeks at a time, moving from campsites (often without a tent) to youth hostels etc

I’ve recently rediscovered backpacking (as in: hiking) and have started out slowly – single-day 15 mile (24 km) jaunts by myself or even shorter hikes (pushing a stroller uphill through the woods). I am looking forward to more extended bicycle trips with my wife and daughter as well as longer hikes by myself or – once she’s old enough – with my daughter. Maybe I can get my wife into it, as well. I also intend to take up kayaking (again), though that will certainly be a calm water type affair to begin with. My memories of camping are from the time I was a kid and all the camping gear was simple, old-style stuff with a lot of inconveniences modern gear promises to have taken care of. I intend to find out all about it.

I use my bicycle a lot (to work and back, on the weekends, as well) so I when I evaluate gear (particularly clothing) I tend to also look at how well it might perform in that regard. This may come true for kayaking, as well.

Owner Review:

Item: Jack Wolfskin „World’s End“ 3-person tent

Year of manufacture: 1996

Manufacturer: Jack Wolfskin

URL: www.wolfskin.de

Listed weight: I don’t recall – they’ve changed the current design some (looks even roomier now).

Actual weight: 5480 g (12 lb 1 oz) (including stakes and everything in its bag)

This is a „tunnel“ tent. The “World’s End” is a good bit longer than it is broad; three curved (half-circle) poles run perpendicular to its length, keeping it up. It is dark green with Wolfskin’s signature paw print on it in a slightly lighter (medium) green. Very pretty in my opinion – that’s a good bit of the reason we asked for it as a wedding gift.

First impression out of the Box/Field Test:

We received the “World’s End” for our wedding in 1997 and I first set it up on our honeymoon, on a campground in Carcassonne (French Pyrenees). I know (now) that I should have set the tent up before to practice and check it out, but it wasn’t a problem. Setting this baby up was so easy I swear that if they make it any easier, it’ll do it itself.

I took the tent out of the bag and rolled it out on the ground with the clearly marked bottom side where its name implies. Then I took out the poles. The poles are in sections, linked with an elastic cord running through them so I’ll never lose a section or have to wonder which sections go where (they’re all identical, somewhat flexible aluminum poles, anyway). I took the bottom (or top, doesn’t matter) section of a pole in one hand and threw away the rest, then all I had to do was point the section still in my hand at the others and the elastic cord snapped them all together – instant tent pole. I then slid the pole through the fabric tunnel meant for it (again, the tunnels are as identical as the poles – you can’t do it wrong) and stuck it into the plastic foot pieces just below both ends of the fabric tunnels on both sides (which are closer together than the pole is long, so the pole has to bend into a half-circle to fit – this is what will keep the tent top off the bottom and allow you to sleep in between). I did this three times and then faced a green pile of tent fabric lying flat on the ground with three half-circle aluminum poles stuck through it, also flat on the ground. According to the instructions, now you stake out one end of the tent (at one of the long sides), then the other – and you have a tent. The moment I pull on the line to stake out the second side of the tent, the tension put between the stakes puts (and holds) up the poles which keep up the roof.

The poles in their sockets are like Ds lying on their backs next to one another, held up by tension going from one stake through the tent fabric pulled over the round parts of the Ds to the other stake. So I absolutely need those two stakes (I guess I could tie the rope to something, too) or I won’t have a tent. Conversely, I will really need the remaining stakes only if expecting a storm. The setup, even with just two stakes, is remarkably stable so I guess I can leave the other stakes be in most camping situations (making it a lot less likely to stumble over tent lines in the dark). This means that with just two stakes, my work is done.

The inner (mosquito) tent is permanently attached to the fly, so there is no need for additional setup work. No chance for the tent to get wet inside when set up during rain, either – only the outside (fly) is ever exposed.

The “World’s End” is roomy – enough room for three people, really, with a giant covered area (awning) in front – outside of the fine bug netting, but still under the rain cover so we could put a lot of gear there and cook underneath it, too. Entry is through two zippered „doors“ into the covered but unprotected area, from there into the inner tent proper (zippers through the mesh, again). The tent has ventilation openings, also, also mesh-protected. The bug mesh works – we didn’t have any bugs in there that didn’t get in while we had the doors open. The vent openings are on the long ends, protected from rain by little awnings to the ends of which the guy lines are attached – so they are always held away from the tent, yet are always angled down. No rain got in that way.

We set up the “World’s End” in a number of locations, from Southern France to the coast of Gibraltar over the course of three and a half weeks. Not all nights were spent in the tent – if you’ve ever seen the white marble youth hostels in Cordoba or Granada, you know why. Temperatures were generally warm, altitude low, so not a stress test for the tent in any way. We did have rather hard, packed ground which wasn’t always entirely flat, either. Not a problem for the tent, however. No holes or even spots with noticeable chafing to report. In France, we had two nights of strong wind, even a bit of storm and some rain. It stayed bone-dry inside and the wind wasn’t a problem, either. I don’t know the direction the wind was from – I had staked out the side lines, as well. If you know the direction the wind will come from (like setting up in a natural wind funnel or while the storm is already blowing), you’re supposed to set the “World’s End” up parallel to the wind. I haven’t had a chance to try that, but from what I’ve seen I’m sure it’ll hold up much better than any other tent I’ve ever been in (which were the usual old-style A-frame tents).

Since our honeymoon, we’ve been using the tent infrequently – mostly, because we haven’t been camping. When we do camp, we still use this tent and I have no misgivings about it (except that it still smells of horse a bit since we used it on a riding excursion). I still haven’t bothered to seal the seams (I was too ignorant to do it in the beginning, now I – still – do not see the need).

Summary:

Too heavy (too big, even) for a single person to carry. With the weight split between two people, you have a very spacious affair with more than enough room for all your gear – you can really spread out. More than enough room inside to make use of the privacy, too. So a good honeymoon tent. ;-) For three people it might even be ideal on trips where weight matters. I like it a lot.

Pro: Lots of room. Looks good (good for stealth camping, even). Tough. Simple.

Con: Heavy. Sort of expensive (you may not think so, for me all the good new stuff is expensive.)