Good tent for 3rd season elk CO

[JohnCushman]

Amen, Cushman. 0 and snowing or 70 and sunny, flexbow is easy to store, haul, pitch and strike, even solo. I had 2 wall tents, never looked back after switching to Kodiak canvas. I don't sleep w propane heater running, personal preference as the tent can be well vented. It heats right up as soon as the heater starts in the morning. Get the canvas dry before storing and your grandkids will be camping in your same tent.

I don't go to bed with a stove running. That's what we spend all that money on sleeping bags for lol. Run the heater a bit before bed, wake up and fire the heater up again. It doesn't take more than 10-15 minutes to heat the tent up with a buddy heater.

 

[blackbeard]

How do you like the 4 person? I’ve thought about getting the 4 for earlier season hunts? Enough room for 2 or is it tight in there? How is the interior height of the tent?

2 people and gear would be tight. It's usually just me on hunts. I'm 6 foot and can't stand up straight.

 

[Pagosa]

I personally like Davis wall tents and a big wood stove for winter/late fall camping. You can ride out some nasty weather in a wall tent. Colorado weather in November can be extreme

 

[Western Traveler1]

I personally like Davis wall tents and a big wood stove for winter/late fall camping. You can ride out some nasty weather in a wall tent. Colorado weather in November can be extreme

Money ahead after the first season when the alternative was a couple of rooms miles away.
Since then it has been around a bit. This is Eastern Montana 0 degrees.

 

[Trial153]

Definitely a hot tent with a stove. I own a couple Seek Outside tents and also a Kifaru Sawtooth. A stove is game changer especially later in the seasons
Both make quality products just pick the size that works for you. If your not packing in, go as big as you can afford

 

[marksjeep]

Similar to the kodiak, I use a Springbar. They are made in Utah and stand the test of time. I have about 15 years going on mine. Added a stove jack and stove for the later seasons. The only disadvantage to the springbar design is snow load on the roof. IF you are in a storm, you will need to clear the roof off from time to time as snow accumulates.

 

[BrentD]

Money ahead after the first season when the alternative was a couple of rooms miles away.
Since then it has been around a bit. This is Eastern Montana 0 degrees.View attachment 207106

I have, one time, hunted out of a wall tent. It was really nice.

However the thing is huge! Not when set up, but when taken down, rolled and stowed, it takes up a crazy amount of truck space along with all the accoutrements (including firewood in some cases). There is more than enough stuff in that photo to fill most of the bed of an F150.

Where is the elk going to go (or a jackrabbit for that matter)?

 

[crock239]

I've got Cabelas Big Horn tent and a wood stove. Works well and can set up or break down solo pretty easily. It does take up a bunch of truck space, carrying or cutting firewood can be a pain, finding decent available campsite can be a pain. Managing temperature w stove is tricky but it's SO nice to be able to get warm and dry out.

If you do rent, make sure you're going to know how to set up even in bad weather, high wind, etc.

As others said, For your first time traveling out west to hunt, finding a room / cabin / air bnb might be money well spent if reasonably close to hunting and your goal is a comfortable trip w family that becomes something regular in the future. Lots to manage already w travel to your hunt state, finding game, navigating difficult roads, possible truck recovery, potentially nasty weather, planning for meat management, etc. All of it is good learning experience and can add camping setup to future trips. Just something to think about...

For those that do use Mr buddy heater, any issues operating them at elevation? I think instructions say they don't operate well (or at all?) above 7k feet due to lack of oxygen?

 

[huntin24/7]

I’m kinda in the same boat with no canvas tent experience. I see the kodiak canvas 8 man tent is $700 at cabelas and is really highly rated.

 

[elkduds]

I've got Cabelas Big Horn tent and a wood stove. Works well and can set up or break down solo pretty easily. It does take up a bunch of truck space, carrying or cutting firewood can be a pain, finding decent available campsite can be a pain. Managing temperature w stove is tricky but it's SO nice to be able to get warm and dry out.

If you do rent, make sure you're going to know how to set up even in bad weather, high wind, etc.

As others said, For your first time traveling out west to hunt, finding a room / cabin / air bnb might be money well spent if reasonably close to hunting and your goal is a comfortable trip w family that becomes something regular in the future. Lots to manage already w travel to your hunt state, finding game, navigating difficult roads, possible truck recovery, potentially nasty weather, planning for meat management, etc. All of it is good learning experience and can add camping setup to future trips. Just something to think about...

For those that do use Mr buddy heater, any issues operating them at elevation? I think instructions say they don't operate well (or at all?) above 7k feet due to lack of oxygen?

I use a 20# propane bottle w a tank top heater on it, it can double as cookstove. No issues up to 10k elevation. partly because there is no hose. heater mates directly to tank.

 

[Western Traveler1]

I have, one time, hunted out of a wall tent. It was really nice.

However the thing is huge! Not when set up, but when taken down, rolled and stowed, it takes up a crazy amount of truck space along with all the accoutrements (including firewood in some cases). There is more than enough stuff in that photo to fill most of the bed of an F150.

Where is the elk going to go (or a jackrabbit for that matter)?

That camp had two trucks at it (not much firewood laying around where we hunted). I’ve found the room in my F150 to haul all I needed and an elk in the back along with a chainsaw when wood is available.
I have an external frame kit for those occasions.

 

[Reata]

Kodiak canvas worked for me the last 4 years hunting elk. Wished I had a buddy heater a few mornings but works just fine without.

Also have no problem with staying in the comfort of a hotel if it's close enough.

 

[amo16]

It's really hard to beat a wall tent if setting up at the truck. You'll have more standing room and hold heat better than any other options.

 

[Kearnsie14]

I don't go to bed with a stove running. That's what we spend all that money on sleeping bags for lol. Run the heater a bit before bed, wake up and fire the heater up again. It doesn't take more than 10-15 minutes to heat the tent up with a buddy heater.

Do you run into any issues at altitude with those buddy heaters? I’ve been thinking about adopting your set up but heard that the buddy heaters may have issues at altitude.

 

[huntin24/7]

Just curious if anyone has tried an electric heater powered by a generator in a canvas tent? We used one in my enclosed trailer with a Honda generator under cold conditions elk hunting 2 years ago and it worked well.

 

[JohnCushman]

Do you run into any issues at altitude with those buddy heaters? I’ve been thinking about adopting your set up but heard that the buddy heaters may have issues at altitude.

This highest I've used one is 7500' and didn't have a problem.

 

[rogerthat]

My vote is a wall tent with a stove. Colorado can be damn cold third season. We hunted third in a hot tipi with temps getting down below zero and needless to say it was a bit unpleasant at times. The last night after my brother shot his buck we went into town and got a motel room like a bunch of sissies. The wall tent and stove setup can dang near take anything Mother Nature will dish out if you have a big enough stove and this is what will keep you hunting until the bitter end of the season if needed.

 

[shines@times]

I’m looking for recommendations on a good tent that won’t break the budget for a late season elk hunt. We plan to set up tent at the truck and hike in each morning to hunt. It’s my first year to hunt elk and I don’t want to get too much money invested before I try it out. So should I get a tipi hot tent with a wood stove or go for something like a all season tent and use a buddy heater? Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

More information would really facilitate HuntTalk members offering well-considered recommendations.

First, when is this late hunt? Since tomorrow is New Year's Day, 2022 I must ask: is your hunt this Winter, or next Fall? (Goes to a reasonable consideration of how much time you still have to prepare--if it is this Winter, I fear you might be SOL.) Timing of the hunt also affects weather considerations; but it might just be simpler for you to specify how low the temperatures and how deep the snowfall that you anticipate based upon past records for the region you'll be hunting. If you are buying gear, rather than renting as some have suggested, then consider the most extreme combinations of temperature and snow depth that you would ever consider hunting, not just the planned outing.

Second, how many members of your hunting party will the tent have to accommodate? Will there be just one tent for cooking, dining and sleeping? Experienced hunting parties of any significant size, let's say four or more members, often opt to have one communal tent for cooking, dining and lounging, and a separate tent(s) just for sleeping. Will you usually hunt in similar circumstances; or, do you anticipate going solo in the future?

Third, Do you want to minimize the bulk and weight of your shelter and heating source to fit in better with future drop-pack or backpacking hunt plans?

Fourth, realistically, what is your target budget for shelter and heat? I see that some here are making recommendations that cost in the neighborhood of $1000.00 US. Coming from a working-class background, and even considering the first few months of Bidenflation, that is a pretty lavish number in my estimate. I understand that it would be quite modest to some; and merely a generous gratuity for excellent service in a five-star restaurant for those particularly blessed and/or privileged few. You see my point, I hope--give me some parameters to work within, and I will provide a genuine response. My first camping trip was more than sixty-six years ago; my first extended hunts in cold and snowy conditions were more than fifty.

Fifth, what is the longest duration stay that you anticipate for any of your tent-based hunts? What one might be willing to endure, or even find comfortable, for three nights could become torturous throughout the span of a week or more, especially if confined to camp by extraordinarily foul weather.

Sixth, is a two-part and bonus question: are you fairly adept at carpentry/woodworking; and would you consider an alternative to tenting that will occupy a pickup truck's bed for transport, especially if it will last decades and serve additional purposes? The recommendation I'll will offer in this last instance is only valid if your hunt will not occur before Fall of 2022. Before I could afford a decent canvas wall tent, I hunted one long, two-season span out of of a "Visqueen palace" that I cobbled together onsite in 1973. Ideas commenced with that experience evolved over the next three years into a portable plywood cabin that broke down into sections that would fit in a then standard, eight-foot truck bed or occupy about half the interior of a Ford Econoline van. (I'll post a photo or two later if I can find the prints--most of my old outings were recorded on slides, and I do not have the time to fire up an old Pentium computer and scan those right now or anytime soon.)

I do have one image posted earlier to the MT Unlimited thread that illustrates an example of what one might be willing to accept for short-duration accommodations in the interest of furthering the hunter's quest. You can view that bivouac here: https://www.hunttalk.com/threads/mt-unlimited.265075/page-154#post-3285771

By the way, though I elaborate, I echo what several responders have already stated here: You will not experience the warmth, dryness and over-all comfort in a cold-weather tent camp with any other heat source than a wood stove matched to the combined factors of the volume of your tent and the ambient temperatures.

 

[Birdbander]

Just curious if anyone has tried an electric heater powered by a generator in a canvas tent? We used one in my enclosed trailer with a Honda generator under cold conditions elk hunting 2 years ago and it worked well.

I run a milkhouse electric heater in my Alaskan Guide 6 person at every opportunity, whether that's powered by my Cummins 2500i generator or by hooking up to campground power.

If not available, or if I'm camping around others that aren't running generators, I use a Big Buddy Mr. Heater.

 

[steveshuntn1]

More information would really facilitate HuntTalk members offering well-considered recommendations.

First, when is this late hunt? Since tomorrow is New Year's Day, 2022 I must ask: is your hunt this Winter, or next Fall? (Goes to a reasonable consideration of how much time you still have to prepare--if it is this Winter, I fear you might be SOL.) Timing of the hunt also affects weather considerations; but it might just be simpler for you to specify how low the temperatures and how deep the snowfall that you anticipate based upon past records for the region you'll be hunting. If you are buying gear, rather than renting as some have suggested, then consider the most extreme combinations of temperature and snow depth that you would ever consider hunting, not just the planned outing.

Second, how many members of your hunting party will the tent have to accommodate? Will there be just one tent for cooking, dining and sleeping? Experienced hunting parties of any significant size, let's say four or more members, often opt to have one communal tent for cooking, dining and lounging, and a separate tent(s) just for sleeping. Will you usually hunt in similar circumstances; or, do you anticipate going solo in the future?

Third, Do you want to minimize the bulk and weight of your shelter and heating source to fit in better with future drop-pack or backpacking hunt plans?

Fourth, realistically, what is your target budget for shelter and heat? I see that some here are making recommendations that cost in the neighborhood of $1000.00 US. Coming from a working-class background, and even considering the first few months of Bidenflation, that is a pretty lavish number in my estimate. I understand that it would be quite modest to some; and merely a generous gratuity for excellent service in a five-star restaurant for those particularly blessed and/or privileged few. You see my point, I hope--give me some parameters to work within, and I will provide a genuine response. My first camping trip was more than sixty-six years ago; my first extended hunts in cold and snowy conditions were more than fifty.

Fifth, what is the longest duration stay that you anticipate for any of your tent-based hunts? What one might be willing to endure, or even find comfortable, for three nights could become torturous throughout the span of a week or more, especially if confined to camp by extraordinarily foul weather.

Sixth, is a two-part and bonus question: are you fairly adept at carpentry/woodworking; and would you consider an alternative to tenting that will occupy a pickup truck's bed for transport, especially if it will last decades and serve additional purposes? The recommendation I'll will offer in this last instance is only valid if your hunt will not occur before Fall of 2022. Before I could afford a decent canvas wall tent, I hunted one long, two-season span out of of a "Visqueen palace" that I cobbled together onsite in 1973. Ideas commenced with that experience evolved over the next three years into a portable plywood cabin that broke down into sections that would fit in a then standard, eight-foot truck bed or occupy about half the interior of a Ford Econoline van. (I'll post a photo or two later if I can find the prints--most of my old outings were recorded on slides, and I do not have the time to fire up an old Pentium computer and scan those right now or anytime soon.)

I do have one image posted earlier to the MT Unlimited thread that illustrates an example of what one might be willing to accept for short-duration accommodations in the interest of furthering the hunter's quest. You can view that bivouac here: https://www.hunttalk.com/threads/mt-unlimited.265075/page-154#post-3285771

By the way, though I elaborate, I echo what several responders have already stated here: You will not experience the warmth, dryness and over-all comfort in a cold-weather tent camp with any other heat source than a wood stove matched to the combined factors of the volume of your tent and the ambient temperatures.

It’s going to be just my daughter who’s 20 now and I in the 3rd week of November (3rd season elk CO). The plan so far is that we will be base camping at the truck and hiking in and out each day. I do plan to use a wood heater in any tent I buy and will also have a buddy heater as a backup. I’m not sure which unit I’ll be in but since the priority is going to be cow elk I have a better chance of getting a tag in an area I’m looking at in south west part of the state.