yeah, i never thought of them as what you get ripped-off for in NA, a place with solid-sided walls to sleep or retreat to.
bear country and tents=timothy treadwell. if you could get that anywhere off a highway with some kind of snowline-valley profile you're where you want to be, and he's probably got satellite tv, internet, a shower that's hot as fast as a house and your food doesn't have to end up 30' in a bag and rope in a tree to make sure you eat it not just attracted bears to eat and want to defend what they're eating. refrigerators and ways to cook food that aren't basically a welding torch tank that disperses a little wider and weaker pattern of gas. they suck, most water filters suck. all tents save for moutaineering ones will suck sometime because wind and comfortable ones will get you some night you got to a site at midnight and it's pouring and your black diamond or whatever pleasant tent is now blowing 30 feet and further with the wind while you're soaked and stakes and poles are everywhere.

all it takes is a few plain black snakes or a runaway ultralight and you'll start seeing the reason it's just easier to fucking pay for a nimo and a little weight to set up in wind and dark. a minute or two on lousy ground and you're cool. tarps aren't that fun to actually need, space blankets too. and i'll happily pay a premium over a 400-dollar comfy and light tent to never have to have to carry watertight tent epoxy shit in a huge tube as a tiny hole is getting big enoug you're cutting square feet of that tarp up to create the sealed patch for tonight, who knows what's in store a few days later. hot, overpriced, green, heavy and interior space is designed to be ideal if you're tied to the side of rainier but same as a .357 in any shape you take it because you'd really appreciate the results of it working as advertised sometime. yeah, a python or big nimo's going to rape you for a grand carry very little ammo or people/gear, but one storm way under snowline well-within 3-season territory that makes your outside mag winner of a tent stuck and ripped in a bush while your eye almost got clipped by a steak in the gust.

just bitter