I find a lot of tents with external poles to be a real bitch to put up a) in the dark, and b) single-handedly. This includes and dome tents where those shock-cord segmented fiberglass poles have to be threaded through channels (especially if the tent is large enough to stand up in). OTOH, while I can't speak for internal-pole tents in general, my big, heavy, canvas tent (yes, it still has the "takes up lots of cargo space" drawback) goes up easily, in the dark, with or without a flashlight once I've got the groundcloth and stakes done, and solo. (Assistance is nice, but doesn't make things go that much faster.
Further, I find shock-corded poles a PITA in general. I understand the point to them -- they make poles that fold up into a very short package -- but since I'm always bringing in my gear by car or truck, not hiking in, I'd rather have the long, aluminium poles that I trust and which don't try to pull apart while I'm setting up. (My attitudes towards nylon tents with fiberglass poles would probably be much different if I were backpacking. But since the page in question was specifically about SCA camping, I'm assuming the use of a vehicle.)
(no subject)
Further, I find shock-corded poles a PITA in general. I understand the point to them -- they make poles that fold up into a very short package -- but since I'm always bringing in my gear by car or truck, not hiking in, I'd rather have the long, aluminium poles that I trust and which don't try to pull apart while I'm setting up. (My attitudes towards nylon tents with fiberglass poles would probably be much different if I were backpacking. But since the page in question was specifically about SCA camping, I'm assuming the use of a vehicle.)
Like I said, just a couple of particulars.