Tent, tarp or tipi.....oh my

[Yooper906]

Starting to look into a new sleep system for upcoming year. Last few years been using a tent that comes in at 4.9lbs. Its a good tent, but I think it's heavy especially for Sept elk. My budget is right around $350 for new shelter. Been throwing the idea of a floorless shelter. For those of you that made the switch from a nice fully protected shelter to a floorless, what are your thoughts?

 

[FAIR CHASE]

Have been going the floorless route for the past 15+ years and no intentions in changing. Three Kifaru shelters that get used hard and still going strong.

 

[BearFoot]

Have been floor-less many years. In luxury and on my back. Backpacking, Tyvek, 4' x 7' works for a nice ground cover. Make it any size. Some to look at,
Black Diamond Mega Light
Seek outside Tipi tents

 

[Yooper906]

Have been floor-less many years. In luxury and on my back. Backpacking, Tyvek, 4' x 7' works for a nice ground cover. Make it any size. Some to look at,
Black Diamond Mega Light
Seek outside Tipi tents

Have been going the floorless route for the past 15+ years and no intentions in changing. Three Kifaru shelters that get used hard and still going strong.

I'll check these ones out!

 

[DirtyDan]

Been floorless for the last 5-6 years. It's a versatile tool because if you get the right one, you can run an inner nest for buggy areas or floorless and a stove for late season and winter camping. I've even converted the wife who hates tent camping. Heated shelter and breakfast in bed straight from the stove equals happy wife. Lots of options out there but I'm partial to SeekOutside. Everything from run and gun solo (Silex), two person hot tent (Cimarron), to luxury glamping 12 man tipi. Great shelters and good people to deal with.

 

[Arctic_Snow_Seeker]

Would shaving a couple lbs really matter? I would only go that route if you’re going to overhaul all your gear. With a budget of 350 you’re just getting to the better lightweight options.

Ive used floorless for the last 10 years. I really really want to say I love floorless but I can’t. IMHO the FIRST thing you do when you get a floorless tent is to tell everyone how much better it is.

Save your $$$$$. You’re not going to feel that 1.5 lb savings

 

[Fire_9]

Check out jimmy tarps or mountainsmith for some cheaper options. I’ve heard good things about both and wouldn’t hesitate to try one out

 

[SO7mm]

I've been using a Tarptent for the last few years and really like it. Lightweight and should be right at your budget.

 

[FAIR CHASE]

Would shaving a couple lbs really matter? I would only go that route if you’re going to overhaul all your gear. With a budget of 350 you’re just getting to the better lightweight options.

Ive used floorless for the last 10 years. I really really want to say I love floorless but I can’t. IMHO the FIRST thing you do when you get a floorless tent is to tell everyone how much better it is.

Save your $$$$$. You’re not going to feel that 1.5 lb savings

Sometimes a couple lbs will matter on some trips and as important is loosing some of that bulk.
The first thing I did 15+ yrs ago when I got my first floorless shelter was to seal the seams. YMMV

 

[Yooper906]

Sometimes a couple lbs will matter on some trips and as important is loosing some of that bulk.
The first thing I did 15+ yrs ago when I got my first floorless shelter was to seal the seams. YMMV

Okay, I've noticed on seek outside about "factory sealing" as an add on? What does this help with? And could I just buy seam sealer myself and diy?

 

[520 Road Sow]

Luxe tipis, I've been impressed. I seam sealed my own when I got it. They sent the sealer with it. For a 1p tarp shelter that's easily convertable into a large 1p shelter I think you'll have a tough time beating the new Stone Glacier Sky Air.

 

[wa_archer]

I switched to a bivy sack, OR alpine, last year and really enjoyed not only the drop in weight but also the amount of room it opened in pack. I also keep a 6am tarp in my kill kit so that can also be used as tarp over me as well. took me a couple nights to get used to the bivy but once i did not bad.

 

[DirtyDan]

SO sends the sealer with the tent unless you want them to seal it for you, then there's an up-charge. It's a simple job to do it yourself. It takes maybe half an hour on most shelters.

 

[Arctic_Snow_Seeker]

Sometimes a couple lbs will matter on some trips and as important is loosing some of that bulk.
The first thing I did 15+ yrs ago when I got my first floorless shelter was to seal the seams. YMMV

It’s elk hunting. He’s not moving camp every day. Two lbs isn’t going to be the difference of another trip etc

+1 on the luxe. I have a luxe, kifaru and a seek outside. And that’s the order for the best bang for your buck shelter. I’ve tried to get a Jimmys tarp but they haven’t had stock for awhile. Their Instagram page hasn’t been updated in awhile. I have a feeling they probably didn’t make money and will not be around much longer. Pure speculation at this point.

 

[FAIR CHASE]

Okay, I've noticed on seek outside about "factory sealing" as an add on? What does this help with? And could I just buy seam sealer myself and diy?

Seam sealer is just silicone which can be applied using your finger or can be mixed w/water and applied with a small brush. I wouldn't pay extra for that service and it is something you will need to know how to apply to reseal the seams.

 

[ntodwild]

My first question is where do you live, where do you hunt and what seasons do you hunt???????

I live in Washington state and am in constant battle with the Cascade mountain ranges through the year starting in late March early April, hike, pack, scout and hunt into Oct. 90% of the time I won't leave camp without my one man full freestanding tent in my pack. The other 10% I have my fly and floor which can be setup as a single wall shelter (100% summer months). I have been backpacking for years (almost 40), have been caught in some pretty nasty weather even during the summer month of July. I have learned my lesson and feel like saving 1,2,3 lbs is not something to take out of your shelter. I too have looked at the lightweight option and every time it comes to max savings of 2.5lbs. Every time I just tell my self to stop eating cheeseburgers for a week drop 2lbs and get over it. I love the new stuff on the market as much as anyone and new gear is always nice to have. My experience and the part of the country, time of year and wilderness I spend time in tells me my shelter is not the place to save weight. Just my .02

 

[Yooper906]

My first question is where do you live, where do you hunt and what seasons do you hunt???????

I live in Washington state and am in constant battle with the Cascade mountain ranges through the year starting in late March early April, hike, pack, scout and hunt into Oct. 90% of the time I won't leave camp without my one man full freestanding tent in my pack. The other 10% I have my fly and floor which can be setup as a single wall shelter (100% summer months). I have been backpacking for years (almost 40), have been caught in some pretty nasty weather even during the summer month of July. I have learned my lesson and feel like saving 1,2,3 lbs is not something to take out of your shelter. I too have looked at the lightweight option and every time it comes to max savings of 2.5lbs. Every time I just tell my self to stop eating cheeseburgers for a week drop 2lbs and get over it. I love the new stuff on the market as much as anyone and new gear is always nice to have. My experience and the part of the country, time of year and wilderness I spend time in tells me my shelter is not the place to save weight. Just my .02

I live in Michigan and do some camping around here during the summer.. last four
years been going to Colorado during archery season for 10 days. I will move camp a few times during my hunt. Headed to Montana for spring bear this year as well...My tent right now works, I'm not saying it doesn't. I'm just putting my feelers out there and was curious about the floorless shelters. No, 2.5 lbs isn't alot of extra weight. However, my tent takes up a lot of space in my pack... I appreciate your insight from your experiences!

 

[ntodwild]

I live in Michigan and do some camping around here during the summer.. last four
years been going to Colorado during archery season for 10 days. I will move camp a few times during my hunt. Headed to Montana for spring bear this year as well...My tent right now works, I'm not saying it doesn't. I'm just putting my feelers out there and was curious about the floorless shelters. No, 2.5 lbs isn't alot of extra weight. However, my tent takes up a lot of space in my pack... I appreciate your insight from your experiences!

I totally get it and am sure I will get flack over my .02. As I said, new gear is always awesome. The latest craze is going light and fast and that is cool if it's your thing. I don't have anything wrong with it. I actually recently posted a thread about this same subject, considering the same thing you are. I think the new Seek shelters are pretty dam cool.

In my 20's I was doing things like cutting plastic toothbrushes in half, eleviating stuff sacks and hiking in sneakers with nothing but a tarp and have even set out with nothing but a golf umbrella that doubled as a trekking pole. I didn't mention my age but you could probably guess (that may have something to do with my opinion over this subject)?

 

[Arctic_Snow_Seeker]

If it comes down to cutting out cheeseburgers buy the #*% lightweight tent.

 

[ntodwild]

However, my tent takes up a lot of space in my pack... I appreciate your insight from your experiences!

One of the things I do to save space is vacuum seal all my survival gear that I know I will never use unless I absolutely have to. I always carry an extra pair of wool socks, hat, gloves and thermals (top and bottom). Vacuum sealed as an entire set they pack down to 1/2" X 11" X 14" flat (think of a 1/2" thick legal size piece of paper) and I slide them down into my water bladder compartment just behind the bladder. Saves a ton of room. You can do this with anything you don't intend on using unless it's an emergency. I do this with my emergency blanket as well and it resides in the same bladder pocket. if you have a packframe convertible pack like a MR or one of the others you can also just sandwich it in-between the pack and the frame along with your vacuum sealed kill kit. You would be amazed at how much room you can free up in your pack by doing this. I run a MR pop up 28 and sandwich the kill kit (4 bags, boning knife, paracord) between the Frame and pack along with my meat tarp, run the wool emergency clothing and emergency blanket in the bladder compartment with the bladder. In that 28L pack I can fit my tent, emergency sleep gear (down hoody, extra long down pants to cover my feet and be cuffed with bands for heat retention), all my day hunting gear, emergency gear, possibles bag, first aid kit, rain gear, fleece, Jetstream vest, 2L water, sh#t shovel, folding saw, Gortex boony hat, day hunt food, knives, two flash light, headlamp and extra batteries. All that and I still have room for my tripod and spotting scope on the side pouches. And that is all in a 28L bag packed for a day scouting trip or day hunt trip. Great setup if I have to spend a night and works well (I have selectively spent the night a handful of times with this setup after an evening kill, knowing the hike out with meat would be more treacherous than just starting a fire, setting camp and getting up in the morning and knocking it out). 25.6lbs total pack weight (food and 2L water bladder included). Weight doesn't include the tripod and scope.

Hunting out of a basecamp this is a great setup but with a bigger pack you can still use a vacuum sealer to save a ton of space. Just remember you should only do this with gear you don't intend to use often. Once it's out of the vacuum seal it's normal size again. You can always find someplace to put it, it's just not gonna be as compact and space saving.