1 or 2 man tent

[AvidIndoorsman]

Hey careful pulling up 5 year old posts, I stand by those ones but I might sound like an idiot in others ha.

I cringe at posts from this morning…so I got that going for me.

 

[Alpine01]

What’s tough is when soil sucks and you’re having to struggle to make anchors.

When your only option is soaking wet grass/tundra/ or wet snow.

Definitely makes it more challenging. I have set up in wet (and dry) snow. Have had good success with deadman anchors. Takes a little more work but very doable. But they apply to any tent design, some more so than others. Haven't had the need/opportunity to stake out a tent on the tundra but its on my near-term bucket list. Standard stakes probably wont work and deadman anchors are ???? Extra long stakes? I need to research that one. I have set up an pretty rock ground with modified deadman anchors and a lot of rocks. Haven't had to survive high winds in that setup though so I would say the jury is out on that one.

Sounds like you have a decent amount of experience, so I’m sure you are pretty good as setting up your tent securely and picking a good spot. Do you think people who have little camping experience can safely use a tipi in the ways you do? Is it a good entry level shelter?

I wouldn't recommend anyone go out on a long trip without first running several short trips to try out their gear under relatively safe conditions. When friends have asked me for advice, I tell them to go to a campground and pitch their system next to their vehicle. Then hike a few hundred yards away and repeat. Then go a few miles and extend to a few days. You find out quickly what works and what doesn't so by the time you are in a dire straight, you know how to react and survive.

Have you had to erect on one the fly? Like set it up in high wind? How did that go? When would you or would you not choose it?
I’ve used hyperlight, the ML duomid, 4 or 5 backpacking tents and a couple of different 4 season mountaineering tents.

On the fly and in high winds (30+ mph)? Yes. Takes a few minutes longer and have to change the process a bit to account for the wind but haven't had a failure yet in doing it. Did it once at 1 am following a longer than expected pack in with really bad weather the entire day. Wind and snow both.

Before buying I tried out a couple of different Marmot 3S and 4S tents and one NorthFace 4S. They all performed fine for the limited use I had with them. They took longer to setup than my tipi and the 4S' were definitely heavier. Not by a huge amount but enough to lower their value in my needs.

Downsides of tipis - shed snow/water pretty well but can tend to sag under snow loads once they do build up if not properly tensioned and guy'd out. Early on I had that happen (user error though) and the tipi sagged into my inner tent and the two froze together in a few spots. That led to condensation issues later on. They can be drafty as you never get a great seal to the ground even with snow skirts so the bottom 6 inches or so of the space inside can be cold relative to everything else. It is floorless which can be a plus or minus. On the plus side, I can be inside my tent with dirty boots, clothes, backpacks, etc. and my sleeping space (using an inner nest) is clean and dry. Downside is that a portion of the space is going to be dirty, muddy, snowy, wet, etc. Cleanliness everywhere is next to impossible. You have to pitch it in a site/manner that any surface water runoff doesn't flow through your tent otherwise you have a real problem. Headroom isn't that great other than in the middle area given the steep slope of the pitch and you lose some of the floorspace near the bottom of the tent. With my inner tent and stove, the back quarter of the tent is nearly useless on a day-to-day basis. So in setup, I have to think ahead of what items I can store out of the way that I won't typically use on a regular basis and put them in that region. A second small door that can access that from the outside is a modification I wish I had. I only have one opening flap. Some versions give you two doors but these are typically pyramids rather than hexagonal designs.

I would suggest you start a "Why my tent sucks" thread.

It’s just ridiculous to state that a floorless tipi is in the same class as 4 season mountaineering tent. Do you need a 4 season mountaineering tent for hunt, absolutely not.

Depends on application. Mountaineering is a broad category and I didn't state that a tipi is a full-blown mountaineering tent. But hunting is not necessarily mountaineering (althought it could be) and as you note, I don't need a mountaineering tent to hunt across all 4 seasons. As a 4-season hunting tent (mobile or base camp), a tipi can readily meet the needs of most with no problems at all.

Both are way different than a wall tent, which waaaaay better than both in lots of ways but also hundreds of lbs.

Lots of different shelters that are great for various applications, some that are decent for a wide variety, all have their downsides.

But yeah I’m sticking with my statement, tipi folks yesh… apparently they are perfect with no flaws and if an issue is pointed out it’s user error .

No tent is perfect. Most tent failures (tipi or otherwise) are a result of user error or poor quality in manufacturing. And those can start back long before the trip is undertaken. Right tool for the right job and knowing how/when to use it; buying quality up front and testing it before you stake your life on it.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Definitely makes it more challenging. I have set up in wet (and dry) snow. Have had good success with deadman anchors. Takes a little more work but very doable. But they apply to any tent design, some more so than others. Haven't had the need/opportunity to stake out a tent on the tundra but its on my near-term bucket list. Standard stakes probably wont work and deadman anchors are ???? Extra long stakes? I need to research that one. I have set up an pretty rock ground with modified deadman anchors and a lot of rocks. Haven't had to survive high winds in that setup though so I would say the jury is out on that one.


I wouldn't recommend anyone go out on a long trip without first running several short trips to try out their gear under relatively safe conditions. When friends have asked me for advice, I tell them to go to a campground and pitch their system next to their vehicle. Then hike a few hundred yards away and repeat. Then go a few miles and extend to a few days. You find out quickly what works and what doesn't so by the time you are in a dire straight, you know how to react and survive.


On the fly and in high winds (30+ mph)? Yes. Takes a few minutes longer and have to change the process a bit to account for the wind but haven't had a failure yet in doing it. Did it once at 1 am following a longer than expected pack in with really bad weather the entire day. Wind and snow both.

Before buying I tried out a couple of different Marmot 3S and 4S tents and one NorthFace 4S. They all performed fine for the limited use I had with them. They took longer to setup than my tipi and the 4S' were definitely heavier. Not by a huge amount but enough to lower their value in my needs.

Downsides of tipis - shed snow/water pretty well but can tend to sag under snow loads once they do build up if not properly tensioned and guy'd out. Early on I had that happen (user error though) and the tipi sagged into my inner tent and the two froze together in a few spots. That led to condensation issues later on. They can be drafty as you never get a great seal to the ground even with snow skirts so the bottom 6 inches or so of the space inside can be cold relative to everything else. It is floorless which can be a plus or minus. On the plus side, I can be inside my tent with dirty boots, clothes, backpacks, etc. and my sleeping space (using an inner nest) is clean and dry. Downside is that a portion of the space is going to be dirty, muddy, snowy, wet, etc. Cleanliness everywhere is next to impossible. You have to pitch it in a site/manner that any surface water runoff doesn't flow through your tent otherwise you have a real problem. Headroom isn't that great other than in the middle area given the steep slope of the pitch and you lose some of the floorspace near the bottom of the tent. With my inner tent and stove, the back quarter of the tent is nearly useless on a day-to-day basis. So in setup, I have to think ahead of what items I can store out of the way that I won't typically use on a regular basis and put them in that region. A second small door that can access that from the outside is a modification I wish I had. I only have one opening flap. Some versions give you two doors but these are typically pyramids rather than hexagonal designs.

I would suggest you start a "Why my tent sucks" thread.


Depends on application. Mountaineering is a broad category and I didn't state that a tipi is a full-blown mountaineering tent. But hunting is not necessarily mountaineering (althought it could be) and as you note, I don't need a mountaineering tent to hunt across all 4 seasons. As a 4-season hunting tent (mobile or base camp), a tipi can readily meet the needs of most with no problems at all.



No tent is perfect. Most tent failures (tipi or otherwise) are a result of user error or poor quality in manufacturing. And those can start back long before the trip is undertaken. Right tool for the right job and knowing how/when to use it; buying quality up front and testing it before you stake your life on it.

See 7 years in and I stand by method of fishing for great insights by lobing grenades.

Sorry for being a dick but also not sorry cause I got a great post about pros and cons of tipis.

 

[Alpine01]

Hey careful pulling up 5 year old posts, I stand by those ones but I might sound like an idiot in others ha.

Just saw the link - thx. Pretty much parallels my comments on pros/cons.

 

[Alpine01]

See 7 years in and I stand by method of fishing for great insights by lobing grenades.

Sorry for being a dick but also not sorry cause I got a great post about pros and cons of tipis.

I prefer to just ask the questions up front and avoid the grenades. Takes a lot of time for the dust to settle before anything useful comes out of it.

Otherwise, glad you enjoyed the discussion and got something useful out of it. Enjoy your day.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

I prefer to just ask the questions up front and avoid the grenades. Takes a lot of time for the dust to settle before anything useful comes out of it.

Otherwise, glad you enjoyed the discussion and got something useful out of it. Enjoy your day.

More like I think the greater knowledge base of the community benefits we folks are challenged into defending their thoughts.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

More like I think the greater knowledge base of the community benefits we folks are challenged into defending their thoughts.

Here chew on this future SAT essay question...
Nest is to tipi, as streamer is to flyrod. Discuss.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Here chew on this future SAT essay question...
Nest is to tipi, as streamer is to flyrod. Discuss.

“Sir it’s a strike indicator”

 

[Scott85]

Tents are like chips, you can’t just have one.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

“Sir it’s a strike indicator”

Bobber

 

[Duck-Slayer]

Bobber

100% correct!
Matt

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Bobber

Common misconception, let me explain...

 

[Big Sky Guy]

Depends on what you are doing and your tolerance.

If you hunt CO in September who cares I’ve spent more nights under the stars then with any shelter.

If you don’t like hunting bad weather who cares, you’re just gonna walk out so a $200 whatever tent is fine you’re just getting it to fend off a 20 min shower at 2am.

Now if your actually dealing with weather you want something that’s work. So it’s snowing or raining when you walk in so starting off wet + variable site conditions tundra grass, rocks, tundra, hard clay etc…

Tarps and tipis, anything floor less are absolutely garbage in my opinion. You can’t un-wet the ground, you want a floor and an impermeable ground cloth, tarp/contractor bag, tyvek, etc.

1.5 person rating per person minimum if it’s going to be crappy weather, 1 for 1 works if you are very conscious about your gear and are packing light.

Aside from dumb tents, you have two options tunnels, Hilleberg or rectangle basically everyone else.

Hilleberg are great but are usually heavier because they use two poles. Solid option if weather sucks.

Every other tent is the exact same design; square base, double Y pole that hooks into each corner with a cross at the top for the vestibules. Generally speaking the differences between them are how sturdy the poles are, tent material, clips for the rain fly… hardware in general.

There are a crap load of options, here is a ranking of most to least bomber which is also a heaviest to lightest, of some popular tents.

Stone Glacier
MSR Hubba Hubba
Big Agnes Copper Spur
Mountain Hardware Aspect

In the last 3 weeks I destroyed an MH aspect, snapped a pole flattened it. They don’t have enough guy lines/ attachment points, IMHO chitty tent for wind.

Also destroyed a Coppur Spur, fly shredded broke 2 poles. That was probably sustained 30mph winds with much higher gusts… decently tough tent tough.

MSR Hubba Hubba, bent the crap out of the poles but otherwise survived, I think would have been fine with better stakes. Definitely tougher than the copper spur.

Haven’t used a SG but they look considerably stronger than these there and are likely a better, bad weather hunting tent… probably on par with Hilleberg square tents.

If I was hunting really bad weather I’d go with a Hilleberg tunnel model.

Best bad weather tents are dome mountaineering tent, after trashing tents, last week used a mountain hardware trango 4 person tent for 2 hunters. It weights like 10-14 lbs but was great for terrible weather, dealing with wet gear… etc.

IMHO if your a backpack rifle hunter, and are actually going to get into bad weather and hunt it I’d get an SG/Hilleberg or similar 2 person.

If you don’t think you’re going to backpack hunt really tough conditions all the time I think the MSR Hubba Hubba or BA copper spur is the way to go. My MSR has been amazing for October rifle hunts in CO/WY/MT, and I stole my buddies Copper spur 3 man all the time for 2 person hunts.

The MH aspect also would be something to look at if your willing to be more judicious in camp site selection, it’s way lighter.

If your backpacking ends around mid October then definitely look at the various Ultra light trekking pole, tarp, tipi etc options.

Also consider that you need to match shelter with sleep system, floorless means a tougher pad and/or maybe a synthetic bag.

This seems to be my assessment.

I am looking to get the copper spur 3 for general backpack tent. I’d like to get the hotel vestibule too and put a stove jack in it. I think weight wise it will be comparable to the Pomoly stuff?