Wanting advice on canvas wall tents..please

[Arkansaslongbow]

Stepping up from my "wally-world" tent and wanting to buy a good canvas wall one for up coming hunting season;NEVER have had one so I am very new to this;
Any pictures of yours and any advice would be greatly appreciated; I don't want real big but big enough to handle small wood stove;
Thank you so much for your vauable time..  

[Brian Krebs]

I have spent months and months in wall tents; in all kinds of weather.

 Canvas is great; but their are other materials that work also. I like canvas- but you have to treat it- and a plastic rain fly is the norm in wall tent camps.

 If your hunting by yourself or with a buddy; an 8x10 is fine. You can still have enough room for a woodstove.

 I think a big factor is wall height. An 8x10 with 2 foot walls will be a different tent - than an 8x10 with 3 or 4 foot walls.

 2 foot or less on walls; and your going to be sleeping on the ground. 3 foot walls; and you can put a cot right next to the wall and not worry about touching the roof.

 I like putting the stove pipe on the left; by the door as you go in. Most people open right doors if their is a double door; and the chances of someone opening the flap and walking into the stove decrease.

 Make sure your woodstove has legs. You can have pipe caps welded to the stove; and carry the pipe legs inside the stove in transport. That helps too in leveling the woodstove.

 First decide how the tent will be transported. 65 pounds is about the normal limit for one side of a horse. If on a horse; make sure the frame (if you have one) is not too long for the horses.

 If your not going to put it on a horse or mule and take it back in - just lift it from the truck- then a 10x12 is a really good size. Again wall height is the key.

 I sleep on a cot with a thin foam pad; and with a woodstove in the tent - you can count on a good nights sleep.

 I have tried all kinds of waterproofers; and fire retardant waterproof combinations; and still; they will leak. I suggest just plan on putting a plastic tarp on it.

[Weedhopper]

Panther Primitives makes some of the best tents on the market.

 http://www.pantherprimitives.com/

[SL]

I cant add much to what Brian said, 'Cept they are heavy and a pain to pack. But they are nice, especialy when the weather goes bad.
SL

[Orion]

I use a 9x12 wall tent for end of the road camps, and use a small packable tent for spike camps.  9x12 has plenty of room for two folks and will handle three OK.  Four foot walls will be standard on most 8x10 or 9x12 tents, but many makers will make the walls higher if you ask.  For example, I had mine made with 5-foot walls.  Provides a lot more room to move around without bending or hitting your head on the ceiling.  I like the tent to open from both ends and run the stove pipe out of one of the end flaps.  A sod cloth around the base of the tent and tarp floor aren't necessary, but nice.  Helps to keep little critters out and provides a clean and cleanable floor.  Lots of good makers out there.  I got mine quite a few years ago from Beckel Canvas Products in Portland, Ore., and highly recommend that company.  There's nothing quite like hunting out of a wall tent. Good luck

[rtherber]

Brian hit on the key elements and I posted pics over on the *********** for you of my wall tents. Two other items;I use a roll of black 4 mil plastic purchased in the garden center for a floor,just cut off what I need. And an automotive galvanized oil drip tray makes a wood stove heat shield for under your stove if you need one. A couple  of throw rugs or astroturf at the entrance,at the cots are nice touches.

[doctari]

I really enjoy mine, 12x17 with cylinder wood stove. I used this last November in Michigan though rain, snow and cold weather and stayed very warm and dry. Would recommend the rain fly for the top side, canvas stayed dry and was never wet. Good luck on your search. Mark

[Charlie Lamb]

You need to check out Joe Lasch's company and the tents he carries.
Pyramid style tents in different sizes and the accessories that go with them.

I spent a week in in his personal tent last winter and it was very nice.

He's also a sponsor and a great guy.

  Prairie Traditions.... tents, stoves, archery gear aand more.

[sndmn11]

Originally posted by Brian Krebs:
Canvas is great; but their are other materials that work also. I like canvas- but you have to treat it- and a plastic rain fly is the norm in wall tent camps.

 I have tried all kinds of waterproofers; and fire retardant waterproof combinations; and still; they will leak. I suggest just plan on putting a plastic tarp on it.

So much about the above is completely false...   ...
Arklongbow-please type Sunforger into your internet search engine, and look at manufacturers who offer that premium canvas.  Absolutely none of them will tell you what is quoted above. PM me and I will give you a list of several top quality manufacturers...if you do end up searching online you will end up talking to me anyways  :D  But please do not take any of the myths you may hear about canvas as fact!

[ken allaman]

Iwas a an Outfitter in the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness for 28 years. My tents and tipis were always out of a canvas called Vivatex or marine grade canvas.During spring bear in May I never put a plastic tarp over a wall tent but did for Fall hunts because of snow-it would slide off tent easier. I also used a tent called a cowboy tent-one pole that works great for warm weather. Reliable Tent and Awning in Billings Montana has a new small Tent that looks great for a small hunting tent. Cabelas Chineese nylon tents leak under real wet conditions. Ken Allaman

[Whip]

Thanks for the plug Charlie!      )

In my opinion two things make a good camp great, and either pyramid or wall tents can be set up with both:
1) Wood stove
2) Attached fly

As sndmn11 mentioned, Sunforger is a great material!

For long term camps and maximum comfort, nothing beats a canvas tent!  Give me a call anytime and I'll try to answer any questions you might have.

[Ringneck]

sndmn11 knows his stuff and the company he works for sells great tents. Dry as a bone   :cool:

[LKH]

I have a Canvas Cabin that's bout 25 years old and doing great.  Be sure to buy a screen if you will be going early.  Helps w/bugs.  Ties over ridgepole and can be left home in colder weather.

I agree w/Ken.  Mine has never leaked, but visqueen really helps take the snow off in cold weather.  

We use the wall tent to live in and sleep in smaller tents if there are more than 3 of us.

[Brian Krebs]

SNDMN11
    I am offended. Look at the picture of Doctari's camp; and you will see plastic over the tent. I have lived in tents for as long as a month at a time; and started doing it 20 years before you were born.
 Normal canvas will leak; what your advertising seems to be a marine canvas; or at least a canvas that is treated with something- is it not? Is it pure canvas your selling?

 For pack trips; you need a good size tent; and a light tent; and the tents I have used I have treated with all kinds of waterproofers and fire retardants and combinations of those.

 If you touch the inside of a true canvas tent when it is raining; that spot will drip water. If your material is not- I am happy for you; but sunforger is not `just` canvas.

 Even modern material tents need a seam sealer put on them so they don't leak.

 I am happy if your sunforger works; but I have a canvas tent that was made in the 60's' and if you can stand a week in the rain with it; then your dipped in bee wax.

 I am not lying about canvas tents leaking; and no I have never used a sunforger tent; have you ever tried a regular canvas tent in a rain storm?

 If you had - you might understand the origin of sunforger canvas.

 geesh. I did not deserve that slap !

[Friends call me Pac]

I got your back on this one BK.  Any canvas that I know about needs a rainfly over it. Best way is suspended at least a few inches above the canvas not just drapped over it.  It should not actually touch the tent.

Before I bought my truck camper last year I slept in a standard nylon walltent since 1985.  When setting camp I would tie a rope between two trees about 2 feet higher than the top of my tent.  Then I would put a tarp that was bigger than my tent on the rope and make a secondary roof.  Put my tent under that and I was good to go.

Use a tarp longer and wider that you actually need.  That way you have a place to store firewood and have kind of a patio as well.

Even if I had a tent that was 100% waterproof I'd still have a fly on it.  If for no other reason than having somewhere to sit besides in the tent.

AKA Whippersnapper

[Firstarrow]

Brian, and others, I don' want to contradict you all, but let me share my experience.  

The first year I had my montana canvas wall tent I followed the instructions and set it up and wet it down. That spring, summer and fall were uneventfull, until the last two days of hunting season. I had to go home but my buddy stayed in camp. there was an inch plus of rain that fell in 3 or 4 hrs. it leaked at the seams, then 10'' of snow fell, my friend bailed out when it started to snow. I went back in the snow to check on my camp. All was OK but a little damp.

I was sure that I needed a cover for the tent. My other buddies with wall tents asked me about the preperation (wetting it down). Then suggested that I may not have treated it properly. I went out on a limb & set it up again just before a rain storm. ZERO LEAKS! my tent just needed to shrink a little.

Brian, ask Preacher or Burr (Craig) if his tent leaks while he is hunting.

I now use a fly in front of my tent to make a porch, and have considered a second layer of canvas above my tent for an additional layer of shade in the heat of the summer.

Oh yeah, the  screen mounted to the frame at the door is an abosolute necessity. Last thing, I tack down my left door to keep my stove safe, and stack wood behind it.

Best of luck!
Rich

One last thing Joe is a great guy, you can't go wrong working with him!!

[doctari]

That is not a plastic tarp on top of my montana wall tent, it is a lightweight nylon rain fly that I purchased with the tent as a optional item. It works really well during heavy snow. I have never had water leak's or wet canvas. I was amazed at how dry the tent stayed. Top quality and first rate in my book. I also made my own awning post with bow hangers out of cedar. I like the fly on top with the additional length. It provides a little outdoor shelter for dutch oven cooking when the weather is nasty. I have also used my wood stove to cook on too, made elk chilli during a heavy snow storm. Sure was nice and warm inside.

[lone hunter]

I outfitted in the Cabinets for ten years. Usually put up six tents that stayed up from August to end of November. Like Brian, I would not dream of putting clients in a tent that didn't have a plastic fly over it. Several of these tents were made by Montana Canvas.
 
If there is a material out now that will not leak then that would be great and I would give it a serious look.
 
Like as been said above, stake down the left door and stack wood behind. Use a roof jack if a exit hole isn't provided by the maker.
The biggest tip I can suggest is make sure the tent is completely dry before putting it away for the year. This will extend the life of your tent greatly. Have a sewing awl with the tent. Life happens when you live out of a tent, besides which, bear like to cut ribbons out of the walls.
 
These thoughts are based on my experience and not meant to disparage anyone else's experience or products.

[Hattrick]

Davis tents i`ve had mind for 12yrs has not leaked yet, never put anything on it

[Roughcountry]

I've got a couple wall tents that I've used for years, Both canvas. The 10 by 12 is treated with a treatment that has since been pulled from the market. It has never leaked in even the hardest rains.
The 8 by 10 is untreated and the lighter 10 oz canvas of a higher grade. Not sunforger though I wish it was. With a homemade internal frame it will not leak if I do one thing before the canvas gets really wet. That is loosen all the guy ropes. This lets the cotton swell and will seal it. Some drips will come in at the stove jack area but not enough to bother.
I'll tarp the top in the winter to let the snow slide off.

The 8 by 10 has been out all winter 4 years now as a winter hunting camp. Cozy and warm to 10 below. Total time set up and use over the years on the 10 by 12 is about 4 years now and I've never resealed it. Its a hair warmer in the cold as it's 12 oz canvas.

Big fan of canvas here, especialy wall tents. My next will be of sunforger canvas if I can wear these two out.