It happened a few years back, okay more than a few more like 9. I went on a 15 day canoe camping trip with some friends in Temagami, Ontario, Canada. With our distinctive yellow & blue rain flies peaking out through the trees, we must have looked like a well planned advertisement for Sierra Designs. There were seven of us, and 3 Sierra Designs tents. Our tents weren't the only items we had that were emblazoned with the Sierra Designs logo, I know we each had at least one Sierra Designs coat and various other SD items, but our tents are what lives on in our memories.

We paddled, we portaged, we played, we even showered under a waterfall and when night would begin to fall we crawled into our tents, snuggled up in our sleeping bags and got ready for the next day of adventure.

It may be my pessimism showing through, but I have always had a rough time sleeping in a tent during a thunderstorm. Don't get me wrong I love storms, but when I am in a tent there is a part of my brain that won't let me truly relax for fear of the tent leaking and everything getting soaked, including me. The thought of being caught out in the wild with soggy stuff for the rest of a trip sends me into a state of near panic. Well go figure, out of 15 days there was bound to be a few days of that nasty wet stuff.

One evening, not to far into our trip, we found ourselves in front of yet another beautiful waterfall. The scenery was gorgeous, I mean there we were across a small gorge from a cascading waterfall, it looked as if it had come straight out of a postcard. But all great things have a few small inconveniences, in this instance the tent spots weren't the greatest. But like true campaholics we decided it was well worth a little discomfort for the privilege of enjoying mother natures beauty. So we pitched our tents, made dinner, relaxed our sore muscles and settled in for a peaceful night's sleep. All the day's activities were washed away by the sound of the thundering waterfall as we laid contented in our sleeping bags.

Maybe the storm snuck up on me because the sound just melded with the roar of the waterfall or maybe I was just too pooped from the hard days work to notice it coming, all I know is that I slept like a baby nice & secure in my SD tent. The next morning I woke up when the sun streamed through our tent walls, I rolled over and stopped dead not wanting to move another inch! How was it possible that my rolling over caused a wave to surge under our tent? With a little probing & poking at the tent floor next to me I discovered we were afloat in a pool of water that seemed the size of a lake. I cautiously awoke the others in my tent and warned them not to move, for fear of what might happen if we all moved at once. I mean the waves that were happening under our tent floor might have sunk the Titanic let alone our poor little tent. We did a quick & trepidatious inspection of the inside of our tent. But to our great relief everything was dry, not a drop of water had penetrated the inside of our SD tent. From the seams on the ceiling to the seams of the floor our tent had not one leak. When we finally emerged from our tent it was to be greeted by the sight of the rest of our group staring in amazement at our tent. What had appeared as an adequate tent sight the night before had turned into a virtual swimming pool overnight!

It still amazes me that even though we were floating on a pool of water not a drop could be found inside the tent and this was before bathtub floors. How's that possible??? I mean the water was in between the ground cloth and the tent and it came up past the seams of the floor! Before this trip I had used plenty of other tents and never managed to stay completely dry, even in the mildest of sprinkles.

Ever since then that tent has affectionately been nicknamed "The Waterbed". Just the other day I asked one of the girls who was with me that night what stood out in her mind as the most memorable camping moment she has ever had. Immediately, without a moments hesitation, she said "The night our tent turned into a waterbed."

The adventures of "The Waterbed" aren't over. I still use that tent to this day and yes I am still dry. Just the other week I had it out on a trip and it stood solid as a rock in a storm that saw 40+ mph winds.

Even though my friends point out to me that the design has been tested on Everest, my comfort comes not from the fact that it's been through rigorous Sierra Designs tests, but from the fact that I have personally tested "The Waterbed" on the beaches and in the jungles of Mexico, in the wilds of Canada during many summer and winter adventures and all over the USA.

It may not have all the new features, like a bathtub floor or Jake's corners but I haven't had any trouble sleeping through a storm since, although it might be nice to have those new zipper pulls that don't jingle cause now that's the only thing that keeps me up at night. Still, I love my SD tent and wouldn't trade it for anything.

Click here to see how Sierra Designs was used by Jennifer Eberhardt and other people in the know.

Time to relax and just enjoy the scenery

Hiking up the river

Can't get much better than this!

Packin' up after the storm