Hot Tenting

[wiiawiwb]

All of my life I've either had backpacking tents or basecamp tents (Cabelas Alaskan Guide). That requires you to bring all of the equipment necessary to stay warm when out in 5F-30F conditions.  I've decided to try something new.

 

I'm looking to get a tipi and woodstove. Specifically, a Seek Outside 6-man tipi and stove. I've never had a floorless tent nor one that could produce heat. The floorless part has me a little concerned as I would be squatching in areas where there are timber rattlers. Almost stepped on one a few months ago. This tent would be used 80% when I backpack and 20% when I 4x4.  That means weight is a big consideration.

 

https://seekoutside.com/6-person-tipi-stove-half-liner-bundle/

 

Can anyone share their experience or offer advice with a tipi-style tent in cool/cold conditions? 

 

 

 

[MIB]

I would suggest going over to 24HourCamfire.com's forums, to the Backpack Hunting sub-forums, and do a little "mining".   Several active members there use Seek Outside tipis, stoves, etc.    I'd also suggest Kifaru's forum, Rokslide, and any others. 

 

There are two reasons I have not gone floorless.   First, bugs.   Second, damp ground / grass.   If you're going floorless, then probably you need a nest inside the tipi,   They don't necessarily have to come from the same source but it is probably easier to match sizing if they do.  

 

One thing to keep in mind ... it varies state to state, but during fire season, it may not be legal to burn wood even in a stove.   I bought a jetboil to cook with in those conditions.   It's taken over ... I use it in winter, too.  In fact, I almost never build a campfire anymore.

 

MIB 

[wiiawiwb]

Great minds think alike. Rokslide and 24 hours are where I found See Outside to begin with. Haven't gone to K's forum but will try that. Thanks. I used to have a cuben-fiber tent with a nest and it worked out well.

 

I wonder if there is some miracle potion I could put around the tent to keep snakes away. A squeeze bottle of siracha, ammonium, or some other secret liquid.

[SWWASAS]

I would recommend having a battery operated carbon monoxide detector when using a stove in a tent.   Carbon monoxide,  may never be a problem but the night it is, might be your last.  Since that TIPI is produced by a place in Colorado I wonder how it would work in a wetter climate.   Wet ground might be an issue.   

[MIB]

5 hours ago, wiiawiwb said:

I wonder if there is some miracle potion I could put around the tent to keep snakes away. A squeeze bottle of siracha, ammonium, or some other secret liquid.

 

Most of the places I camp when I'm researching are well above rattlesnakes, the only poison kind we have here.   I worry more about spiders, scorpions, and flying insects.   I use a bug bivy to deal with the biters / stingers at night and I take my shoes inside with me so they don't get a chance to take up residence.  

 

If I were very worried about snakes where I was camping, I'd consider hammock camping.   I don't have a lot of expertise to share there.   I'm looking into it for other reasons.   I like to fish remote back creeks off trail.   Around here, that means trying to find imaginary flat spots in boulder piles to camp.   Being able to hang above the boulder piles should open a lot of new places to me.    However, I may not be correctly assembled for hammock camping.   Traditional gathered-end hammocks don't seem  to work for me.   I have a Warbonnet Ridgerunner to try next but I ran out of summer testing weather.   In the end, I may pony up for an Amok Draumr hammock ... somewhat different concept that allows for true lay-flat.

 

MIB

 

 

[norseman]

Ive used canvas wall tents with no floor and wood stoves my whole life. 

 

Its the only way to fly. But not a good setup for a backpacker. Canvas holds up to heat and sparks better than relite or other lightweight material.

 

But I pack mules, weight is not as much of a consideration.

 

I think kifaru is way too proud of their stuff.

 

Maybe just a canvas tarp with eyelets and a stove jack? You could cut a ridgepole and cut fir boughs to cover the ends?

 

floors suck with stoves, ive had one a cabela alaknak tent and embers when you open the door burned holes in it. As well as dumping firewood in there made a mess and poked holes too.

 

I use tarps for floors in my wall tents. And when they get ratty i throw them away.

[hiflier]

19 hours ago, MIB said:

I bought a jetboil to cook with in those conditions.   It's taken over ... I use it in winter, too.  In fact, I almost never build a campfire anymore.

 

Yep, a Jet Boil solved a LOT of my traditional camping issues- including cold hands. It makes a damn quick cuppa coffee too  My favorite features are that it packs small with a gas canister inside of it and so takes up little space in the backpack along with being super light weight. I also pack in a Katadyn water filter which is also light weight and small and filters a coupla liters in no time. Some freeze dried food (expensive and usually not that tasty) and I can keep my pack under 20 lbs. including a low temp bag and bivy tent.

 

But the effort in keeping things light and small is so I can then bring my electronics with me (and some cheap, simple security items).

[MIB]

I can't get under about 30-32 pounds.  That includes my coat 'cause it almost always rides in the pack so it should count as pack weight, full canteens, camera and other electronics, fishing tackle, and pistol enough to solve problems .. permanently.   If I take the stuff that pushes me over 20 pounds out, I could go ... but why?  I'd have lost the reason I'm going!

 

MIB

[wiiawiwb]

In my case,  I'm looking to create a warm environment for cold nights and be able to backpack it in.  Hammocking works great in good weather but in cold weather I'm looking to have a woodstove.  That eliminates hanging.  Backpacking in the setup eliminates canvas tents.  There are really only a few companies I know of that do ultralight hot tents...Kirafu, Seek Outside, TiGoat (Titanium Goat), and Wildside.

 

I'm not crazy about the 4-man and 6-man Kirafu tents and I don't need an 8-man tent so off the list goes Kirafu. I've read as much as possible and will go with a 6-man Seek Outside tipi. I like the Company's service and they've been making these for a while. Moreover, the offer a round 6-man tent versus the off-center shape of the Kirafu Sawtooth. 

 

The wet environment is still a tad of a hurdle as it will cause condensation  but I'm hoping that running a woodstove will reduce, if not eliminate, that problem.  The poison snake issue will have to be dealt with using a nest.

[hiflier]

One avenue to consider if your forays are going to be often enough is to pack in and cache items ahead of time. For extended stays it might be worth the extra time and effort. If you usually stay in the same area then it would only be a matter of selecting wherever you wish to camp in the area and then locating your cached items and moving then to the new campsite.- especially the wood stove thing. Could initially mean two or three trips in but you'd end up with the set up you are looking for that may serve you well for several years. I used to do that with a fire grate and a small metal box full of canned goods that included other small items as well. Of course that was 40 years ago  Nowadays I try to go light all at once so I get where you're coming from. Winter camping does have it's drawbacks, eh? 

 

My cheap security is several sections of good thread with a small (3") cowbell hanging on each one over a rock and two cans of bear spray. I run the separate thread pieces from tree to tree about three feet up at a radius of around 30-40 ft. around the camp..........In thinking back I think I need more cowbell  

[wiiawiwb]

Caching is a great idea except I don't myself to adequately hide them.

 

Brown bear are not in my area so the only security is for unwanted humans and an occasional black bear who's picked up a food scent. The latter is the only one I'd have any concern about. One of benefits of the soon-to-be-gotten thermal is to be able to see in advance what the devil is approaching my camp.

 

Thread (or fishing line) and bells are time-tested and have worked for decades if not centuries.

Edited October 17, 2017 by wiiawiwb

[hiflier]

3 minutes ago, wiiawiwb said:

One of benefits of the soon-to-be-gotten thermal is to be able to see in advance what the devil is approaching my camp.

 

Thread (or fishing line) and bells are time-tested and have worked for decades if not centuries.

 

Somewhere I suggested using a cheap infrared thermometer gun for scanning an area for temperature gradients- especially for areas around the perimeter that show night temps over say, 90-95 degrees. THEN rip out a flashlight and see what the heck is there or even a cheap recording NV video unit.

 

And yeah, the string and bell are time tested. Good black thread- not button and carpet- is what I like to use. Strong enough for the bell(s) but light enough to break fairly easily. So far though, in three years, nothing has dropped a bell on me.........so far LOL.

[norseman]

On 10/16/2017 at 3:57 PM, wiiawiwb said:

In my case,  I'm looking to create a warm environment for cold nights and be able to backpack it in.  Hammocking works great in good weather but in cold weather I'm looking to have a woodstove.  That eliminates hanging.  Backpacking in the setup eliminates canvas tents.  There are really only a few companies I know of that do ultralight hot tents...Kirafu, Seek Outside, TiGoat (Titanium Goat), and Wildside.

 

I'm not crazy about the 4-man and 6-man Kirafu tents and I don't need an 8-man tent so off the list goes Kirafu. I've read as much as possible and will go with a 6-man Seek Outside tipi. I like the Company's service and they've been making these for a while. Moreover, the offer a round 6-man tent versus the off-center shape of the Kirafu Sawtooth. 

 

The wet environment is still a tad of a hurdle as it will cause condensation  but I'm hoping that running a woodstove will reduce, if not eliminate, that problem.  The poison snake issue will have to be dealt with using a nest.

 

It will.

 

Nothing like wood heat.

[wiiawiwb]

I agree about wood heat. Plenty of wood where I go squatching because I'm always in the forest. That has its pluses and minuses with a minus being the lack of places to put a tent. Very few opening spaces as I'm never in or near an open plain or hillside. What space there is to pitch a tent has rocks or tree roots. 

 

In open country like Colorado, there are unlimited places to pitch a tent and you'll likely have a spectacular view.  In that case, you can use whatever size tent you want.  Think you'd like a 120man tipi? No problem. I'm so used to using a cuben-fiber small backpacking tent and it offers a lot of good things. In cold weather,  I want to go to a woodstove. It keeps you warm, dries your gear out, and keeps you company.

 

 

[norseman]

My Montana canvas wall tent. I cook on my stove as well. Ill be spending a week in it at the end of the month for elk season