Most tents can be erected within five or ten minutes, but there are occasional exceptions, like the sultry July evening my girlfriends and I kayaked to a coastal island. Not a breath of wind stirred the dusk as we arrived at our camp, and the skeeters were world-class. We popped the dome and dove in. We took turns trying to rig the fly and, one by one, failed in the face of the swarm. Our accumulated experience, not to mention our advanced degrees, were no match for the designer's convoluted fantasy. "It can't be that hard," said Mary. "My husband uses this tent all the time." Bottom line: If it's blowing a gale or threatening hail, head-scratching is the last thing you want to be doing.