CALIFORNIA TENTS

Mountain Hardwear: Richmond-based Mountain Hardware has been my go-to supplier for camping-and-backpacking clothing and gear for more than a decade.  I keep expecting the company to get too big, and for its quality to go downhill.   But so far it hasn’t.  The tent that I bought last Spring is just as sturdy – and even lighter – than the one that I bought back in 2002 (which I still have, hundreds of backpacking miles later). 

North Face: Alameda-based North Face makes pretty much everything an outdoors-enthusiast could want, including tents.  Judging by everything I’ve bought from North Face so far, their tents probably are very well made.