Using 4 Season Tent in August

[WesternRookie]

I have a Kuiu Storm Star......last Sept in bow season it was too hot. Am looking at 3 season tents that have better ventilation (hilleberg helag 2), but am wondering if I should just consider leaving the vestibules open on my Storm Star. Obviously this would be bad if a storm comes in the night.

Should I buy a lighter tent or just open up the 4 season? What would you guys do?

 

[BackofBeyond]

I say open ‘er up.

 

[rwc101]

Very little gain for a lot of money. Leave it open during the day and close it at night (depending on the weather).

 

[Irrelevant]

Very little gain for a lot of money. Leave it open during the day and close it at night (depending on the weather).

I'd say the opposite. Keep in closed during the day while your out hunting so a freak thunderstorm doesn't soak your sleeping bag, then open it up at night. You'll wake up if it starts raining hard, then you can close it down.

 

[rwc101]

I'd say the opposite. Keep in closed during the day while your out hunting so a freak thunderstorm doesn't soak your sleeping bag, then open it up at night. You'll wake up if it starts raining hard, then you can close it down.

Probably would work too. If you get a brief September alpine shower at 2pm it'll probably be dried out by the time you get back from a day hunting.

 

[amo16]

Do they make a mesh insert for that one? I know they do for some of their tents.

 

[hank4elk]

With monsoon season in NM I always have had the rainfly on the tent. I did in the Sierras too. Slept on top of the bag many times. Bummer to sleep on wet bags or climb into wet clothes.

 

[The_Jim]

I would probably just leave the vestibules open and/or sleep on top of my bag - that 1 or 2 lb of extra weight from that tent isn't going to be what puts you over the top for an overloaded pack. The outdoor gear marketing machine is really good at convincing us to spend our money on things we don't actually need!

 

[GrantK]

I don't think you're getting any significant advantage in ventilation with the Hilly, if you want a lightweight 3 season get something that's actually light, both the Kuiu and the Hilly are heavy by modern backpacking standards and way overkill for 95% of lower 48 camping, or just leave your current tent wide open at night, you're not going to sleep through a storm that's big enough to matter...

 

[Irrelevant]

Here's a couple of sub 3lb ones that are still cheaper than your hilli.

REI Co-op Quarter Dome SL 2 Tent | REI Co-op

The REI Co-op Quarter Dome SL 2 tent gives you and your backpacking partner real room to sleep. And it's superlight, so you'll never have to rock/paper/scissors to decide who carries it.

www.rei.com

Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL 2 Solution-Dyed Tent | REI Co-op

Elevate your backcountry camping experience. The lightweight Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL 2 Solution-Dyed tent sets up quickly with a single-pole system and has 2 doors and vestibules for ease of use.

www.rei.com

 

[7mm-08]

Even if you didn’t fully open the vestibules, but maybe half way, it should still keep out the rain and allow some cross ventilation.

See if you can play around with keeping part of the fly off the ground to let a little air under it.

Is the vestibule a 2way zipper you can open the top and prop it open with a rolled up shirt it a carefully selected forked stick?

Ditch the inner.

 

[Wrong Burgundy]

Bonus Tip: It's a hot yoga studio when the elk hunting gets slow.

Thank you for attending my TedTalk.

 

[stoep]

If you got cash to burn I would absolutely get a super lightweight 3 season, the hilleberg style tents even in a 3 season vs a 3 season from something like TarpTent are orders of magnitude easier to pack.