Columbia Hawk Ridge 10-Foot by 7-Foot Three-Person Dome Tent

The GoBeDry rain protection system combines four technologies to keep you dry and comfortable in wet weather. Dry Tek repels moisture with a protective coating; the DryGuard skirt deflects rain from floor seams and stake loops; the Dry Floor tub design elevates the floor seams to keep away water; and the DryLock sealed floor seams block moisture and prevent leakage.

The patent pending Cyclone Venting System creates a vortex of ventilation to exhaust hot air up through the roof mesh panels while drawing in cool fresh air through lower mesh vents.

Columbia's history starts with Gert's parents, Paul and Marie Lamfrom, when they fled Germany in 1937. They bought a small hat distributorship in Portland, Oregon, and named it Columbia Hat Company, after the river bordering the city. Soon frustrated by poor deliveries from suppliers, the Lamfroms decided to start manufacturing products themselves. In 1948, Gert married college sweetheart Neal Boyle, who joined the family business and later took the helm of the growing company. When Neal suddenly died of a heart attack in 1970, Gert enlisted help from Tim, then a college senior. After that it wasn't long before business really started to take off. Columbia was one of the first companies to make jackets from waterproof/breathable fabric. They introduced the breakthrough technology called the Columbia Interchange System, in which a shell and liner combine for multiple wearing options. In the early 1980s, then 60 year-old Gert began her role as "Mother Boyle" in Columbia's successful and popular advertising campaign.

The company went public in 1998 and moved into a new era as a world leader in the active outdoor apparel industry. Today, Columbia Sportswear employs more than 1,800 people around the world and distributes and sells products in more than 50 countries and to more than 12,000 retailers internationally.

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Selecting a Tent
Fortunately, there are all kinds of tents for weekend car campers, Everest expeditions, and everything in-between. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Expect the Worst
In general, it's wise to choose a tent that's designed to withstand the worst possible conditions you think you'll face. For instance, if you're a summer car camper in a region where weather is predictable, an inexpensive family or all purpose tent will likely do the trick--especially if a vehicle is nearby and you can make a mad dash for safety when bad weather swoops in! If you're a backpacker, alpine climber or bike explorer, or if you like to car camp in all seasons, you'll want to take something designed to handle more adversity.

Three- and Four-Season Tents
For summer, early fall and late spring outings, choose a three-season tent. At minimum, a quality three season tent will have lightweight aluminum poles, a reinforced floor, durable stitching, and a quality rain-fly. Some three-season tents offer more open-air netting and are more specifically designed for summer backpacking and other activities. Many premium tents will feature pre-sealed, taped seams and a silicone-impregnated rain-fly for enhanced waterproofness.

For winter camping or alpine travel, go with a four season model. Because they typically feature more durable fabric coatings, as well as more poles, four-season tents are designed to handle heavy snowfall and high winds without collapsing. Of course, four-season tents exact a weight penalty of about 10 to 20 percent in trade for their strength and durability. They also tend to be more expensive.

Domes and Tunnels
Tents are broadly categorized into two types, freestanding, which can stand up on their own, and those that must be staked down in order to stand upright. Freestanding tents often incorporate a dome-shaped design, and most four-season tents are constructed this way because a dome leaves no flat spots on the outer surface where snow can collect. Domes are also inherently stronger than any other design. Meanwhile, many three-season models employ a modified dome configuration called a tunnel. These are still freestanding, but they require fewer poles than a dome, use less fabric, and typically have a rectangular floor-plan that offers less storage space than a dome configuration. Many one and two-person tents are not freestanding, but they make up for it by being more lightweight. Because they use fewer poles, they can also be quicker to set up than a dome.

Size Matters
Ask yourself how many people you'd like to fit in your fabric hotel now and in the future. For soloists and minimalists, check out one-person tents. If you're a mega-minimalist, or if you have your eye on doing some big wall climbs, a waterproof-breathable bivy sack is the ticket. Some bivy sacks feature poles and stake points to give you a little more breathing room. Also, if you don't need bug protection and you want to save weight, check out open-air shelters.

Families who plan on car camping in good weather can choose from a wide range of jumbo-sized tents that will accommodate all your little ones with room to spare. A wide range of capacities is also available for three- and four-season backpacking and expedition tents. Remember, though, the bigger the tent you buy, the heavier it will be, although it's easy to break up the tent components among several people in your group. It's also helpful to compare the volume and floor-space measurements of models you're considering.

Product Description
Columbia Sportswear Company was founded in 1938. Columbia Sportswear Company began as a small family-owned distributorship and today Columbia is one of the world's largest outerwear companies. The history begins with Paul and Marie Lamfrom. They fled from Germany and settled in Portland, Oregon. Paul and Marie opened up a hat distributorship and named their company the Columbia Hat Company. They took the name from the nearby Columbia River. Today, their 82 year old daughter, Gert, is the Chairman of the Board and her son, Tim Boyle is President and Chief Executive Officer. Columbia Sportswear Company has a wide-range of stylish, and functional products to choose from. Columbia is famous for their Interchange System. This concept was developed in 1982 and made Columbia a leader in the outerwear industry. Columbia first started with an interchange jacket which was made for hunting and featured a weatherproof outershell with an insulating inner jacket that could be worn together or separately, thus making each parka three or four garments in one. Because of the popularity of this garment, Columbia applied the same concept to a ski parka and called it the Bugaboo™. The Bugaboo became one of the best-selling ski jackets in history. In 1991, Columbia developed a waterproof, breathable coating Omni-Tech which makes it now the second-largest user of waterproof, breathable fabric in the world.