Looking for Tent Advice & Insights

[matechakeric]

I am looking for a tent that can be used as a base camp but also for backpacking on multi-day trekks for mid-season (October) elk & deer hunts in WY, ID, & CO.

do I need a 4-seasons rated tent or could a 3 seasons tent with a good sleeping bag (0-15 degrees) and sleeping pad work?

what packing weight range should I focus on? obviously I need enough tent but not weigh down a multi-day backpacking trip

would you recommend a footprint or tarp for flooring?

I've seen shelters where you use trekking poles for support. Would that work for nights potentially dropping to around 0 degrees?

 

[SlownSteady7]

I’m looking into the same question. Ive always been a rag tag sleep on the ground type but I’m not 20 anymore so I’ve been looking at the Nemo firefly tent ($350). Seems to be a favorite brand of a lot of ultra lite 6+ day backpackers but probably a 3 season tent. Sleeping pad I’m looking at the therma-rest Neo air xlite ($150-$200). I have yet to settle on a sleeping bag and am looking at the 0-15d as well. I’ll keep looking on here to see what others recommend but that’s what reading and watching way too many youtube videos has led me to but I can’t be too mad because it led me to some of the other gear I have like my Kifaru pack which I love.

 

[Dsnow9]

I have done the trekking pole tent and it is great for September hunts. When late October kicks in and the occasional snow storm comes in, something with more head/shoulder room is important for me. Also a double wall. I always found myself bumping against the single wall tent and getting soaked.

I also run an insulated nemo 3” pad and two inflatable pillows because I like to sleep comfortably and warm. Previous back injuries down work well with a crappy pad.

For sleeping bag I run a 0 degree down bag with a liner and just sleep in my clothes that I hunt in all day when it gets cold. If it gets really cold I always have my puffy jacket and pants to add to the mix.

I have done a lot in budget friendly 3 season tents. I have chosen to spend the majority of my money on the pad and bag because that’s where comfort and weight really come into play for me.

 

[Shangobango]

Personally, after buying a floorless pyramid/teepee style backpacking hot tent and a titanium wood stove that is coming in at 4.75 lbs for the whole set up, I can't see using anything else.

 

[glass eye]

The biggest threats to winter tent camping is high winds and heavy rain.

 

[Alpine01]

Personally, after buying a floorless pyramid/teepee style backpacking hot tent and a titanium wood stove that is coming in at 4.75 lbs for the whole set up, I can't see using anything else.

Ditto that.

 

[matechakeric]

Personally, after buying a floorless pyramid/teepee style backpacking hot tent and a titanium wood stove that is coming in at 4.75 lbs for the whole set up, I can't see using anything else.

what do you do if the ground is wet, it's raining, or there's snow on the deck? do you incorporate a tarp as a footprint?

 

[Shangobango]

what do you do if the ground is wet, it's raining, or there's snow on the deck? do you incorporate a tarp as a footprint?

The rain is a non issue with proper site selection. Set it up to where runoff is moving away feom the tent. Same goes for a floored tent too though.

If the ground is already wet use a ground cloth. I have a piece of Tyvek for this. Same principal for snow that can’t be removed from the footprint I suspect. From the people I have talked to and the videos I have watched, in deep snow walk the snow down to where the surface inside the tent is lower than the surrounding surface. It seems like most do that with a floored tent as well. I will defer to those with more experience in the snow category though.

From what I have seen so far, the ground inside the tent dries out quite quickly if you are using a woodstove.

I am pretty new to the floorless thing. There are those on here with much more experience.

I can also see how a floorless shelter may not be for everyone. I have a nest, which is basically a bathtub floor and insect screen that I have been using down here in the South. Too many mosquitos, knats, ticks, and snakes during the warm months here for me. During the winter here and during most hunting seasons out west I wouldnt be concerned with that issue.

 

[Alpine01]

what do you do if the ground is wet, it's raining, or there's snow on the deck? do you incorporate a tarp as a footprint?

For winter camping, I use an inner tent that has a bathtub floor and I place a thin groundsheet under that just to add a second vapor barrier. The inner tent also eliminates most of the condensation issues unless it is really, really wet. I have had only one instance where condensation was an issue and 90% of that was user error. A tent stove will dry out the rest of the interior floor pretty quickly. I posted a pic of my setup on another thread but here is how I run a fall/winter (or early spring as shown in this pic) setup. My last 4th season elk hunt was at 9900 ft and it snowed 2-3 inches every night for 4 nights in a row. Never had an issue with build up or condensation. Temps were down to 5 deg each night but I stayed quite warm and comfortable.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I am looking for a tent that can be used as a base camp but also for backpacking on multi-day trekks for mid-season (October) elk & deer hunts in WY, ID, & CO.

do I need a 4-seasons rated tent or could a 3 seasons tent with a good sleeping bag (0-15 degrees) and sleeping pad work?

what packing weight range should I focus on? obviously I need enough tent but not weigh down a multi-day backpacking trip

would you recommend a footprint or tarp for flooring?

I've seen shelters where you use trekking poles for support. Would that work for nights potentially dropping to around 0 degrees?

Beware of weights… lots bs out there.

I’ve done a bunch of threads of pack weight and meat weight, I use a scale, I don’t guesstimate, I don’t use published weights, I weigh each item.

My MSR hubba hubba 2 man ( it’s tight for two guys, you cant fit your packs in the tent) weighs 4.4lbs with the full tent, stakes and ground cloth. It’s 3lb with just a ground cloth and rainfly.

I’ve had it in a pretty gnarly wind storm and I cracked the poles, they didn’t break, but the ends where they connect splintered a bit.

A 2 person tent that is going to hold up to serious storm abuse is going to be in the 5-7lb range min.

Ultra light tents aren’t awesome if it’s really foul weather.

4ish lb traditional tent is typically the way to go for most people, who want one tent to use on all of their hunts and camping trips.

 

[CBender09]

I just picked up a Mountain Hardwear Strato UL2. While I have no real user experience yet, just set up in the yard a few times, it looks very promising. Spec for spec, fantastic compared to many others on the market at similar price. With footprint (sold separately) would be a hair over 3lbs.

I was throwing around the idea of getting a tarp style tent as well. In the end, I KNEW I would be adding more cost and weight quick, by the time I got the inner net and bathtub floor.
I like the idea of a freestanding/semiFS tent much more. Simple, secure, and actually lighter and cheaper in most cases compared to a full tarp/net/floor setup.
Full setup includes an insulated pad, and 15d bag. Total weight for all 3 pieces, about 7lbs (pretty good considering r4 pad and 15d bag)
I had it set up today in about 30mph winds, held up just fine, and without any guy lines. It came with 2 to add on for extra security, so I’ll throw those on for the hunt just in case.
I will add, as you look for shelter, pretty much every tent listed as a 2 person, will really only sleep one comfortably. Although, the tarp shelters tend to have a bigger footprint, so sleeping 2 in a 2 person tarp-tent is more possible, over a UL tent.

 

[Alpine01]

Beware of weights… lots bs out there.

I’ve done a bunch of threads of pack weight and meat weight, I use a scale, I don’t guesstimate, I don’t use published weights, I weigh each item.

I weigh everything as well so I can know where I can shave ounces across all of my gear. The setup I showed above is 4.92 lbs without the stove. That includes outer tent, inner tent (winter version), all the stakes, stuffsacks, tent pole, and ground sheet. The stove adds another 4.38 lbs when I take it. It is rated as a 3p tent and could sleep 3 without the inner and be very tight. 2P is very doable with room for gear. With the stove and inner, it is a very comfortable 1P where I can keep all of my gear inside and out of the weather. This is why I went this route for October/November hunts as I can warm up and dry out everything. Makes a 6-8 day solo hunt very doable.

My sleep system is a 15deg bag, silk liner, inflatable pillow, and Klymit sleeping pad that comes in at 3.7 lbs total weight. I consider a good nights sleep absolutely essential. It allows you to hunt longer and harder.

 

[AlaskaHunter]

The biggest threats to winter tent camping is high winds and heavy rain.

Those factors can be important in some areas...
Will the tent be shredded by high winds?
How does the tent handle condensation after days of constant rain?
How well does the tent handle a stove?
"Out of the box" reviews are not very helpful from that perspective...
that is why I appreciate posts from users that have months of experience with a particular tent in bad weather.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I weigh everything as well so I can know where I can shave ounces across all of my gear. The setup I showed above is 4.92 lbs without the stove. That includes outer tent, inner tent (winter version), all the stakes, stuffsacks, tent pole, and ground sheet. The stove adds another 4.38 lbs when I take it. It is rated as a 3p tent and could sleep 3 without the inner and be very tight. 2P is very doable with room for gear. With the stove and inner, it is a very comfortable 1P where I can keep all of my gear inside and out of the weather. This is why I went this route for October/November hunts as I can warm up and dry out everything. Makes a 6-8 day solo hunt very doable.

My sleep system is a 15deg bag, silk liner, inflatable pillow, and Klymit sleeping pad that comes in at 3.7 lbs total weight. I consider a good nights sleep absolutely essential. It allows you to hunt longer and harder.

Absolutely wasn’t trying throwing shade your way, more general online info. Everyone seems to round down a whole lot.

 

[Alpine01]

Absolutely wasn’t trying throwing shade your way, more general online info. Everyone seems to round down a whole lot.

Haha - No shade received. Just agree with your approach to weigh everything. I want to know every ounce I am packing first hand since I am the one lugging it up the mountain.

 

[GoGriz]

Haha - No shade received. Just agree with your approach to weigh everything. I want to know every ounce I am packing first hand since I am the one lugging it up the mountain.

Alpine - I may have missed this above, but which teepee setup is that?

 

[Alpine01]

Alpine - I may have missed this above, but which teepee setup is that?

Luxe Hexpeak XL (3P), 1.5p Inner tent (Winter version), 3W Titanium Wood Stove.

 

[BZNHNTR]

We (wife and I camp and hunt together) have a Kifaru paratripi with seek outside stove, marmot tungsten ul3, and big Agnes copper spur expedition 3p. If I was to choose one to be in when the weather is bad it would definitely be the copper spur. Tipi is amazing when it’s dry and cold but rain or wet snow and it’s wet inside even with stove going, substantial larger setup would be needed to ensure never touching the sides, we really only use it for backpack archery elk. The super thin fabric is also very loud in the wind. Marmot is super light and withstood substantial wind, we use it backpacking all summer, the big Agnes is just solid and we use for rifle deer/elk backpacks and river trips where wind is more of a concern. Thought about adding stove jack to vestibule, seek outside sells them and you just sew them in, did that on our base camp cabelas Alaskan 6p (old one) and it is great to be able to take the chill off.

 

[Alpine01]

We (wife and I camp and hunt together) have a Kifaru paratripi with seek outside stove, marmot tungsten ul3, and big Agnes copper spur expedition 3p. If I was to choose one to be in when the weather is bad it would definitely be the copper spur. Tipi is amazing when it’s dry and cold but rain or wet snow and it’s wet inside even with stove going, substantial larger setup would be needed to ensure never touching the sides, we really only use it for backpack archery elk. The super thin fabric is also very loud in the wind. Marmot is super light and withstood substantial wind, we use it backpacking all summer, the big Agnes is just solid and we use for rifle deer/elk backpacks and river trips where wind is more of a concern. Thought about adding stove jack to vestibule, seek outside sells them and you just sew them in, did that on our base camp cabelas Alaskan 6p (old one) and it is great to be able to take the chill off.

I can't speak to the tents you mention. I haven't had condensation issues with my tipi except on one occasion where I didn't properly tension the outer tent relative to my inner and the two frosted up together where they touched. I haven't had it in heavy rain over multiple days - that just doesn't happen in CO much. But I have been in it over a 6-7 day hunting trip where it snowed 2-3 inches every night (early) followed by night-time temps down in low single digits. Properly tensioned, with additional guys to help with the snow load, was all it took. Never had condensation issues and I was drying gear out every night with the stove going for heat, cooking, and then banked to at least provide a couple hours of residual heat when I turned in. The inner tent solves a lot of the condensation problem and makes it easy to keep my sleep system dry. Also, I think given my hexagonal footprint and relatively steep sides, it was very good at shedding snow (and would shed water just as well) which is a large factor. Good ventilation at the top is the last key piece. But that is just my experience so YMMV.

 

[WVmike]

Personally, after buying a floorless pyramid/teepee style backpacking hot tent and a titanium wood stove that is coming in at 4.75 lbs for the whole set up, I can't see using anything else.

A seekoutside cimarron paired with a liner for aluxe and lightweight stove are the best option I have found so far.