Tent vs tarp and sleeping bags

[MTHunter1321]

I’m looking at investing in a backcountry sleeping set up and wanted to get some opinions. Specifically, I’ve been looking at the Stone Glacier Skyscraper 2 P tent, but am now intrigued with their SkyAir ULT setup. By my calculation the SkyAir with all of the accessories (footprint, vestibule, and bug insert) would save me approx $200 and 3lbs over the tent setup. The tent would provide more room and be a little more comfortable I think. Downside to the ULT is it requiring trekking poles to set up, which seems like I’d have to set the whole thing up each evening and fully take down each morning if I’m going to be using the poles hiking.
As far as the sleeping bags go, also looking at the Stone Glacier and trying to decide between the 0 and the 15 degree options.

As of now, my backpack hunting is done in September with my bow. I would however like the flexibility with the gear to be able to stretch that into rifle season if weather is halfway decent. I have other sleeping options in rifle season when the weather gets real crappy and don’t really have an interest in tenting it when it’s -15 and snowing out.

Anyways, looking for others pros and cons of their setups. Is a 0 degree bag overkill? Any thoughts/suggestions are appreciated, thanks!

 

[jlong17]

For me personally there are several gear items that I am always looking to shave weight off of, and none of them are sleeping related items. Another thing I have learned is that "hunting" branded equipment is often times more expensive but not necessarily worth the added cost. Having said that, Stone Glacier makes fantastic products... but so does Big Agnes.
As far as the sleeping bag rating, it really depends on whether you're a hot sleeper or a cold sleeper. I tend to run on the hot side, so my go-to bag is a 15 degree bag by Sierra Designs. When its warm outside I use it like a blanket, and when it gets really cold I go to sleep in my insulated clothing.
I think the biggest thing is that you are comfortable. Purchase what your income allows, and train harder to carry the extra 48 ounces...

 

[Deleted member 16014]

Well there's no perfect set up for everything. A 15-20* bag is a good all around backpacking solution for most people into October. I've used tarps and tarptents plenty and they're great, but I wouldn't want it to be my only option personally. For decent to good weather they're great, and obviously light.

 

[EYJONAS!]

The SkyAir is a great spring summer setup into the fall. It would not be my go to setup for any snowy weather as it doesn't offer complete concealment and the wind would blow the snow up into the tent and essentially soaking your bag. However for the weight your pretty hard pressed to beat it. The tarp itself never leaves my bag throughout the year. I've been caught enough times that tarps have saved my ass is some of the inclement weather the mountains can offer. It's not free standing obviously but a guy can string it up pretty easy with guy lines or branches. I do use my trekking pole for the entrance side.

Have been very happy with it.

I have a spent a couple nights in the sky scrapper for 1p you sleep like a king 2 guys with gear and it gets tight but not bad. I think it is a very solid option in itself for a 4 season option.

I also have a luxe tipi with inner tent. I would get it with the inner tent and pole for setup I love the extra room. It's right at 3lbs.

I run enlightened Quilts for a bag. 15 degree I have a north face 0 degree bag as well. When it comes time I'll probably look at a Montbel 850 series bag. The SG bags are very nice bags in themselves if I didn't have a 0 degree bag theirs would be a solid option. Along with others mentioned on this site.

I like the quilts especially for weight savings but they only work with a good pad.

The Montbel bags to my knowledge have a patented design that allow them to stretch and for me that's a huge seller. I am a bigger built guy with wide shoulders and being confined in a mummy bag sucks so that little bit of give is muy bueno. I highly recommend them.


Good luck

 

[EYJONAS!]

BTW I do have the full setup for the sky air including inner tent. At 16oz. For the entire setup it's tough to beat. I do not have the tub floor.

 

[MTHunter1321]

View attachment 176102

The SkyAir is a great spring summer setup into the fall. It would not be my go to setup for any snowy weather as it doesn't offer complete concealment and the wind would blow the snow up into the tent and essentially soaking your bag. However for the weight your pretty hard pressed to beat it. The tarp itself never leaves my bag throughout the year. I've been caught enough times that tarps have saved my ass is some of the inclement weather the mountains can offer. It's not free standing obviously but a guy can string it up pretty easy with guy lines or branches. I do use my trekking pole for the entrance side.

Have been very happy with it.

I have a spent a couple nights in the sky scrapper for 1p you sleep like a king 2 guys with gear and it gets tight but not bad. I think it is a very solid option in itself for a 4 season option.

I also have a luxe tipi with inner tent. I would get it with the inner tent and pole for setup I love the extra room. It's right at 3lbs.

I run enlightened Quilts for a bag. 15 degree I have a north face 0 degree bag as well. When it comes time I'll probably look at a Montbel 850 series bag. The SG bags are very nice bags in themselves if I didn't have a 0 degree bag theirs would be a solid option. Along with others mentioned on this site.

I like the quilts especially for weight savings but they only work with a good pad.

The Montbel bags to my knowledge have a patented design that allow them to stretch and for me that's a huge seller. I am a bigger built guy with wide shoulders and being confined in a mummy bag sucks so that little bit of give is muy bueno. I highly recommend them.


Good luck

Thanks for that feedback. I’m also in the larger built side with wider shoulders and not a big fan of the mummy type bags. I do like the idea of the extra space in the skyscraper as majority of the time it’s just me but gives the option for another if necessary. I’ll look into a tipi style too. Does yours have the option for a stove if you wanted?
Sleep wise I do tend to run a little hot. Would a liner in a 15 degree bag help at all if I were to use it in colder temps? Also could layer up in insulation pieces of clothing too if necessary.

 

[Alpine01]

I run a Luxe Hexpeak XL tipi which I have used as a hot-tent into mid-Nov in the CO backcountry. It really is a two-person tent but I use it as a solo hunter as I like the extra room. It has worked great for me over the past 4 yrs. Probably more than you want given what you have said but they also have a tarp-tent that looks interesting. I have a 15-deg western mountaineering versalite and use a silk liner (~4 oz) inside that that adds another 7-10 deg of warmth. It also keeps the bag itself clean so I only have to wash the liner. That in itself is well worth it. Here is a pic of the Luxe tarp-tent; note it can be used as a hot tent as well.

 

[EYJONAS!]

Thanks for that feedback. I’m also in the larger built side with wider shoulders and not a big fan of the mummy type bags. I do like the idea of the extra space in the skyscraper as majority of the time it’s just me but gives the option for another if necessary. I’ll look into a tipi style too. Does yours have the option for a stove if you wanted?
Sleep wise I do tend to run a little hot. Would a liner in a 15 degree bag help at all if I were to use it in colder temps? Also could layer up in insulation pieces of clothing too if necessary.

Yes you can run a stove in it and I would love to but in a 2p you give up a lot of space. If I had a bigger one like 6p or so then I would.

Do look into that Montbel company they're badass. I don't run a liner but I plan to in the future

Looks like alpine01 has the same setup, with the luxe. Tips are different though seems like you either love em or hate em.

There's an insane amount of shelters and systems out there. Almost impossible to go wrong...

 

[EYJONAS!]

Luxe also has a sweet looking 1p tarp setup too

 

[Alpine01]

Here's my tipi setup with the 1.5 man inner and a stove. This was an early spring (mid-April) outing so night-time temps were only in the low teens. So far I have always been able to pitch it before the snow fell but did wake up to 10 inches on the ground in my last 4th season elk hunt.

 

[Sytes]

Here's my tipi setup

What brand / model? Also what stove and model? Pretty nice setup. Seems maybe a tad more extras than I'd pack though the base exterior is a sweet setting. Getting rid of the bedroom attachment, would it be comfortable for two with the stove?

 

[EYJONAS!]

Here's my tipi setup with the 1.5 man inner and a stove. This was an early spring (mid-April) outing so night-time temps were only in the low teens. So far I have always been able to pitch it before the snow fell but did wake up to 10 inches on the ground in my last 4th season elk hunt.

That's a great looking setup!

 

[Alpine01]

What brand / model? Also what stove and model? Pretty nice setup. Seems maybe a tad more extras than I'd pack though the base exterior is a sweet setting. Getting rid of the bedroom attachment, would it be comfortable for two with the stove?

Luxe Hexpeak XL Tipi is the outer. The inner is their 1.5-Person Winter Inner Tent. The stove is their 3W Titanium Wood Stove. I got a package deal. The whole setup with stakes, compression bags, and a dedicated tent pole is 9.1 pounds. The inner let's me have a clean sleeping area with a bathtub floor that keeps ground moisture out. It also really helps with condensation problems. Without the inner tent, yes you can fit 2 with the stove. My wife and I have camped with the inner but you have to sleep really close. It also helps that she is much shorter than I am. I typically hunt 5-7 days out of this setup so being comfortable makes it a lot more bearable.

 

[MTGomer]

The SG tarp is nice but it’s a fairer weather setup. It’s one downside is that it’s not the easiest to get in and out of.
It is roomier than you’d think once you’re in it though.

The sky scraper can handle a lot, on the other hand.

If you’re in the woods, use a stick instead of a trekker for the foot end of the tarp, and then you have one trekker to hike around with.

Here is a pic of each in their proper habitat types.

 

[hank4elk]

I have a tarp & a bivey,if I'm not expecting any weather.
I use a Kelty Gunnison 2.0 . I like a full tent with fly. Had water,wind flow under & thru anything else.
I also have several temp. range bags to choose from. But If I just had one it would be a zero deg range bag. You can always open it up to cool down. Don't remember ever being too warm for the bag except above 20.

 

[andrew11]

The sky scraper can handle a lot, on the other hand.

Doesn't look like you had much room to pitch a tent in that spot!!

 

[AK Troutbum]

For spiking out, which for me is probably at least 80% of the time, I ditched traditional free standing tents about 8 years ago. I found that the wt. savings and convenience of a floorless shelter, especially if it's DCF, is a much better option. A well built, DCF pyramid (mid), style shelter, if staked properly to the ground, can withstand some pretty significant amounts of wind and can do it while also providing much more living space then most traditional tents. The biggest con for these types of shelters is cost. DCF is very expensive and it's difficult to work with which are the primary reasons why the shelters are so expensive, but IMO it outperforms every other material used for tent/shelter manufacturing and the pros are many, and definitely worth the added cost.

In regards to sleeping bags, unless there's a good chance that I'll be experiencing sub zero temps, I'll take a quilt over a sleeping bag any day of the week.

 

[Huntin_GI]

For me personally there are several gear items that I am always looking to shave weight off of, and none of them are sleeping related items. Another thing I have learned is that "hunting" branded equipment is often times more expensive but not necessarily worth the added cost. Having said that, Stone Glacier makes fantastic products... but so does Big Agnes.
As far as the sleeping bag rating, it really depends on whether you're a hot sleeper or a cold sleeper. I tend to run on the hot side, so my go-to bag is a 15 degree bag by Sierra Designs. When its warm outside I use it like a blanket, and when it gets really cold I go to sleep in my insulated clothing.
I think the biggest thing is that you are comfortable. Purchase what your income allows, and train harder to carry the extra 48 ounces...

I think you hit the nail on the head regarding "hunting gear".

 

[Nate Mode]

I'd stay away from tarps, but that's just me. Plenty of great options out there for one or two-man tents. You'll pay a little more, but when the weather is crappy, I'd rather be in an enclosed tent than a tarp shelter. Check out the Kuiu Mtn Star. It's lightweight, roomy, and can be used as a 4 season.

 

[SanJuanDon]

I use Zpacks 1,2, and three person tents using my Gossamer Gear trekking poles. But the newer freestanding would be my choice if I needed my poles for the days hunt.

Free Duo Tent

The Free Trio is a versatile 1 or 2 person ultralight freestanding shelter designed to excel in high wind situations and pitch on a variety of terrain.

zpacks.com

0 imo is overkill. Western Mountaineering UltraLite is my bag of choice for Sept archery.