A Baker tent was designed to be used close to a campfire, they were pretty comfortable to sleep in. There is no advantage to a nylon or Dacron version on the Baker design, you can't possibly be close enough to a fire to take real advantage of the shape of the tent.
So, while cool looking this new tent is impractical if you ask me.
It's true these particular tents weren't meant to be used with a campfire, but there are advantages to these variations on a Baker's Tent which I've come to really appreciate, and the practical functionality is exactly what I'm impressed with.
- They're roomy and easy to get in and out of, and those new materials make them very light.
- The design provides for a lot of variation in how you set them up. You can use tent poles, trekking poles, sticks, or just run guy lines to trees.
- It's pretty nice to sit just inside the tent, on the floor, under the awning with the door wide open and make coffee and breakfast, or dinner, and have the big view of the outdoors while you enjoy it.
- They are a lot more weather worthy than one might expect.
Personally, I think that tent designs trended away from the simple aesthetics of the "cube" due to a few main factors: Cheap fiberglass poles made for fast and easy set up of freestanding dome style tents, and fashion. But dome style tents sacrifice comfort. This is often overlooked because they've been in use for so long now that they are the norm.
The MSR Fast Stash is another design I like a lot.
Now, the ease and comfort these "cube" designs provide is not apparent in photos, or even in written descriptions, but it's there. I found that out only by using one. And to be fair, MSR and others can't make a campfire tent because someone will catch it on fire and blame them. But I can make one because I can only blame myself if I catch it on fire, so I did (make one, not catch it fire
).
Here, in the Ozarks, the tent above, while I'll admit is pretty hillbilly in design, actually works astoundingly well in practice. It proves the "Supershelter" concept beyond any doubt, and I've found it to be more comfortable than any tent I've used.
MSR is rethinking tent designs. That they would go back and look at why the Baker's tent was so popular for so long makes a lot of sense. Shrinking it down for backpacking does too. I'm impressed