Wall tent vs tipi tent

[ashersdad]

Here's our situation. We do a 7-9 day elk hunt every year in the same area. Our camp is 8 miles from the trailhead and we have horses. Our group is usually 4 or 5 guys. We have always had 2 wall tents, 2 big wood stoves, cots, etc to make a very plush camp.

The issue is, the tents and stoves are extremely heavy. Our stock horses are getting older and weight is getting to be more and more of an issue. We like to be able to get camp in and out in one load and we almost couldn't do that this past year. It took 2 horses just for the wall tents and stoves. It also takes hours to set up and take down the wall tents. I am thinking I could replace one of the wall tents with a seek outside 16 person tipi and stove and be around 20 lbs total. Set up and take down looks like it would be much easier as well.

My two older buddies (78 & 82) could use the wall tent and the "younger" guys could use the tipi. I'm guessing the tipi would not be as plush as the wall tent, but the weight savings would be substantial. Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[npaden]

Might try it a year and see how it goes. You’ll need a different stove probably. The only negative is the $$ but if you decide it doesn’t work for you then you can resell the tipi for not too bad of a loss.

I’ve stayed in a wall tent one time that was hauled in with horses and it did take a while to set up. I have a 6 man seek outside tipi and and it is really nice too.

 

[marksjeep]

Have you considered a Seek Courthouse with a smaller stove (I use a winner well stove from spring bar).
https://seekoutside.com/courthouse-3p-sized-for-cots/

 

[ashersdad]

Might try it a year and see how it goes. You’ll need a different stove probably. The only negative is the $$ but if you decide it doesn’t work for you then you can resell the tipi for not too bad of a loss.

I’ve stayed in a wall tent one time that was hauled in with horses and it did take a while to set up. I have a 6 man seek outside tipi and and it is really nice too.

That's kind of what I've been thinking. I would probably get the Big Mama stove. That plus the tipi would be in the 20lb range which would be a huge weight and time savings.

I've been dropping not so subtle hints to the family about Father's Day coming up. They don't seem to think a $3k gift is warranted.

 

[ashersdad]

Have you considered a Seek Courthouse with a smaller stove (I use a winner well stove from spring bar).
https://seekoutside.com/courthouse-3p-sized-for-cots/

I have looked at the Courthouse. My only issue is it looks like it would be max for 3 people. With the tipi, I think I could fit 4-6 guys if I absolutely needed to. I've never used a tipi though and I'm assuming we'll lose a ton of space if we use cots. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[rmyoung1]

I have both. There’s absolutely no question that a wall tent is more comfortable. The simple fact that from the inside you don’t have to get on hand and knees to unzip the darn door is a luxury. And vertical side walls have other perks, like more usable space for the same footprint. They typically breathe better than nylon tipis, too. But, yes, all that comes with a weight penalty. If you are facing a weight crunch, I like your compromise. Hang out in the wall tent and let the older guys sleep in cots there. When it’s time for bed, the young guys can slide into the tipi!

 

[Steve O]

Just a word of caution; the useable space in a tipi, even if you use low rise cots is shockingly small.

 

[ashersdad]

I have both. There’s absolutely no question that a wall tent is more comfortable. The simple fact that from the inside you don’t have to get on hand and knees to unzip the darn door is a luxury. And vertical side walls have other perks, like more usable space for the same footprint. They typically breathe better than than nylon tipis, too. But, yes, all that comes with a weight penalty. If you are facing a weight crunch, I like your compromise. Hang out in the wall tent and let the older guys sleep in cots there. When it’s time for bed, the young guys can slide into the tipi!

In the not so distant future I'll be one of the older guys so I don't want to completely do away with the wall tent.

 

[ashersdad]

Just a word of caution; the useable space in a tipi, even if you use low rise cots is shockingly small.

That is exactly what I'm nervous about. A 16 person tipi sounds huge. I'm guessing even 4 guys and a stove would be pretty tight.

 

[cgasner1]

Have you considered a Seek Courthouse with a smaller stove (I use a winner well stove from spring bar).
https://seekoutside.com/courthouse-3p-sized-for-cots/

I love mine

 

[rmyoung1]

That is exactly what I'm nervous about. A 16 person tipi sounds huge. I'm guessing even 4 guys and a stove would be pretty tight.

I have an 8-man Seek Outside tipi. It’s nice. My little Four Dog stove heats it right up. But… yeah… once that stove is in there, it’s pretty tight if you have a few guys trying to find a place to stow their stuff and roll out their sleeping bags. It’s doable, but no one is walking around upright.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

I use a seek outside 12 man tipi for four of us, stove and gear. One big benefit is there is only one pole and of course it’s reasonably light. A tipi this big can be tricky to set up, especially if you are in for rough weather. Used it twice last season in cold and snowy conditions and it did great.

 

[tormenter]

Time to get another stock animal or two, or maybe just make an extra trip with smaller weight on the horses.

 

[Southern Elk]

Do you live near where you hunt? It would probably be more enjoyable to go in and set up camp prior to your hunting trip.

 

[ashersdad]

Time to get another stock animal or two, or maybe just make an extra trip with smaller weight on the horses.

Our issue is the stock animals belong to the 78 yr old and he is slowing down as his herd ages. So far we have not been able to convince him to get more stock. To be fair, he is over 6 hours away from the rest of us so the real work of having animals all year falls directly on him.

Also, he is very particular about his horses and insists on a rest day if they do a trip to the trailhead and back (16 miles total). So an extra trip means an extra 2 days which is why we like to get camp in and out in one trip. We usually have a few "meat runs" during the week to take elk out so that hopefully the last day we are just packing out camp. But, if we shot an elk on the last day or two, we would not be able to get everything out in one load which is why I'm thinking of lightening our set up.

 

[ashersdad]

Do you live near where you hunt? It would probably be more enjoyable to go in and set up camp prior to your hunting trip.

8 hours to the trailhead unfortunately. My 78 yr old buddy with the horses is 2 hours from the trailhead. When they were younger he and the 82 yr old would go in the week before and get camp all set up. Too hard for them to do that now.

 

[Salmonchaser]

Just skimmed through the responses, you mentioned the heavy stoves- what about replacing with one of the ultra packable type.
Sell your old tent to some young up and comer and replace with a Montana Canvas, I think it’s called Realite. We have a 12x16 that only weighs about 30 pounds.

 

[TheDudeAbides]

A couple ideas.

• Lighter material wall tent and stove - People in the comments have mentioned this already.
• Multiple Tipi tents - One tent with a stove for sleeping and one for storing gear. As others have mentioned Tipis run out of run fast, but because they are so light you could take multiple of them. One to sleep, one for gear, and one to cook. This is what I do ice fishing while camping on the ice. 3 tents for multiple days where everything stays dry and out of the wind.
• Ice fishing tents - This may not be applicable in your situation due to the number of people. With that being said, I have seen a number of people start to camp in their insulated ice fishing tents off the ice. Ice fishing tents are easy to set up, have a bunch of tie off points, and take brutal weather well (depending on model). A simple Mr. Buddy heater can keep you warm well below zero. There is also a model (Nordic Legend Aurora Lodge) that has an incorporated stove jack.
• Making a lean-to - You can take tarp material and make a lean-to to sleep in. We generally use it for the cook kitchen at camp to keep everything dry in case it rains, but you could easily make a shelter out of it and find a way to route the stove pipe or have a cut out for the pipe. It could be a lot lighter weight option, but could also be a lot more work.

 

[ashersdad]

Just skimmed through the responses, you mentioned the heavy stoves- what about replacing with one of the ultra packable type.
Sell your old tent to some young up and comer and replace with a Montana Canvas, I think it’s called Realite. We have a 12x16 that only weighs about 30 pounds.

Thanks! I'll check that out.

 

[ashersdad]

A couple ideas.

• Lighter material wall tent and stove - People in the comments have mentioned this already.
• Multiple Tipi tents - One tent with a stove for sleeping and one for storing gear. As others have mentioned Tipis run out of run fast, but because they are so light you could take multiple of them. One to sleep, one for gear, and one to cook. This is what I do ice fishing while camping on the ice. 3 tents for multiple days where everything stays dry and out of the wind.
• Ice fishing tents - This may not be applicable in your situation due to the number of people. With that being said, I have seen a number of people start to camp in their insulated ice fishing tents off the ice. Ice fishing tents are easy to set up, have a bunch of tie off points, and take brutal weather well (depending on model). A simple Mr. Buddy heater can keep you warm well below zero. There is also a model (Nordic Legend Aurora Lodge) that has an incorporated stove jack.
• Making a lean-to - You can take tarp material and make a lean-to to sleep in. We generally use it for the cook kitchen at camp to keep everything dry in case it rains, but you could easily make a shelter out of it and find a way to route the stove pipe or have a cut out for the pipe. It could be a lot lighter weight option, but could also be a lot more work.

Some great ideas. I hadn't thought of the ice fishing tents. Thanks!