Sorry to burst any bubbles here, but it appears that a Chinese contractor has indeed figured out how to make more expensive tents, if the Campmor catalog is correct:
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___24951http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___27370Both the Big Agnes Seedhouse at $289 and the MSR Hubba Hubba at $279 are listed as "imports" (go all the way to the bottom of the product description). Doesn't say from where, but I would refrain from chewing on the zipper pulls. Got to wonder about quality control, given the Chinese practice of using muiltiple subcontactors to do most of the work. Doesn't look like they dropped the price when they switched production overseas......
Don't get too shook up about tents made in China: the two standard shelters for the South Col of Everest are the MH Trango series and the TNF VE-25, and both have been sewn in China for many years.
Bibler tents, often considered the gold standard for "have to live through it" mountain tents, are also now made in China with no discernable drop in quality from when they were made in Boulder.
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