HUNTING TENTS WHAT DO YOU USE

[Ron LaClair]

This picture is from a fall camp. That's my small wall tent on the left. As you can see it has a wood burning stove that would keep you warm in the coldest of weather.

[Porkchop1]

When I was still hunting I used a Soulpad. It's a round tent that takes one person about 30 minutes to put up.  We have a 16' tent and there's enough room for a queen size bed (used it with the wife camping too) 2 chairs and 2 large rubbermaid waterproof bins.  They also make one that's 20' I believe.

[ssoden]

Davis 14x16 tent … I've had this tent for 28 years, used it every fall for bowhunting and every year for our Gun season. Believe me gun season in WI can get very cold. We have a cylinder stove that we heat with .. many a nights at -15+ and always warm and comfy. Davis uses marine canvas … the tent has never leaks in the most extreme of conditions.

[Charger83]

My brother used 3 2x4 for tent support poles. 1 for the Ridge pole and 1 2x4 on each end of Ridge pole. Is there any better ideas to replace these 2x4 they are very durable but they are kinda big and make it difficult to close tent door

[fujimo]

we all like different things i guess, when we wanted a new tent- i spent a lot of time looking at options.
my criteria were, and in no particular order
1. cost
2. weight
3.ease and speed of pitching
4.withstanding storms
5. internal space

we live up here in teh PNW, in a temperate rain forest, it always rains, just the angle changes
i wanted a tent that could go up in minutes in the rain, easy to pitch by myself, a woodstove- space for wet gear and wet tracking dogs!!

i find wall tents take too long to pitch- and i dont think they handle the weather that well with the big slab sides, internal space is good, but you have to carry a bunch of poles for an internal frame, or cut poles on site.

i took a page out of history- and really like the tipi idea- in design alone( except for the tiny door)
tipi and pyramid tents are great- quick and easy to set up- handle the weather better- but they have a sloped and very exposed doorway, and also a lot of space is lost around the edges.
i needed something that offered the best of both worlds!!

i eventually, after a few years of searching came across the Bell tents!!
 and they fit the bill in all regards.
they are basically a conical tent ( tipi) with short cottage walls ( better space utilization).
only have a single central pole.
they have a very large door that is vertical- and well protected from the elements.
mine came with a heavy duty zip in groundsheet.
they are super-fast to pitch- i can have mine up and people inside in maybe 2 minutes- others can then be setting up the stove, unpacking etc, while i wander around the outside and set the short, 2' to 3'guy lines.
the process is so simple- i simply roll out the tent- peg the floor down, take the 3 piece pole, lift the canvas- go in and push the pole up to the apex. done!!!-
its now an erect tent albeit a bit droopy. but its usable and self standing!!
then i pull the short side guys at the eave where the slope joins the cottage wall, and set them- that pulls the sides out, tightens everything up- and generates a lot of space.
that maybe takes another 10 minutes or so, so in essence i can pitch the tent by  myself in under 15 minutes.
very affordable too- i think i paid 700 canadian for an 18 footer.- and we have been using it hard for the last 7 years- still ,looks great- and no tent failures yet.
they have a range of sizes- we bought the 5m- sometimes its too big, and sometimes its too small- but in general its just perfect.
it folds up into its own sausage bag, with carry handles- maybe 3' long and 16" diameter, incl pegs and poles!!

https://www.belltent.co.uk/shop

i use a simms folding stove- its great- we used them when i was wrangling in the rockies- and really like their simplicity, compact design, general sturdiness and affordability.
i bought extra stove pipe and put the flue where it best suited me.- i like the stove near the door- so i am not packing firewood everywhere- but to the side- so it doesnt impede traffic- really happy with its position.
i know they will stitch in the flue where you want it.

https://www.walltentshop.com/products/sims-stoves

currently i am in the process of building a light weight canvas, no groundsheet tent based on the kifaru sawtooth type tent- just bigger and  with a bigger stove-  for two on a remote canoe moose hunt- i wanted less weight and bulk than my Bell tent- but with all the comfort of a canvas tent- i am really happy with how the project is developing.

[schlaggerman]

I've been using a Cabelas 12'x12' Alaknak tent for close to 20 years now, never a complaint. It has a stove jack and using the attached vestibule would be a good option for winter camping. Super easy to set up and take down which I like. Total weight with the poles and stakes is something like 65-70lbs. and it doesn't take up the whole truck bed. Packaged up it's about the size of a big duffel bag, 4ft x 15in., this includes the poles. About right for two guys and their gear.

[skookuminak]

i put in about 50-70 days per year living out of a tent in the wilderness. i own a lot of tents but pretty much just use two of them all year for alaska trips: 1) Arctic Oven (currently using the Igloo model) for anywhere that weight isn't an issue and the plane can drop me where I'm going to camp. super comfy and can endure serious weather. very nice on snow trips too. 2) Hyperlight Mountain Gear Ultamid for all of my backpack hunting. I have 150+days of pretty abusive use in all kinds of weather on my current one and that 19oz shelter is impossible to beat especially for long solo mtn hunts where you're always carrying camp on your back.  it's expensive but it's more versatile and useful than 2 or 3 different traditional tents. My Hillebergs pretty much never see the light of day anymore.

I did try a Seek Outside Cimarron with Ti stove on a packraft based hunt last season and was pretty happy with it as a compromise between weight and space/heatability. it took some maintenance but held up through a night of honest 60+ mph wind and rain. I hope they start making them with Dyneema in the future.