What type of shelter do you use most often for backpack hunting during rifle season?

[Danehunter]

Wellll... canvas tents don´t qualify as ¨backpack tents¨. Kiraru stove tents are more for pulk transport than backpacking but a stove on a cold night is sooo nice.

My ¨winterized¨1 man TT Moment DW is just right for solo hunting. And my winterized Tarptent Scarp 2 is great for 2 hunters with bulky winter gear. Like my Moment DW it has internal X-ing poles and even a heavier main arch pole for winter.

 

[Danehunter]

I have a Tarptent Moment DW (Double Wall) solo tent with the ripstop inner tent option for 4 season camping. It also has a full net inner tent option for summer.

Plus I've modified the optional crossing pole to run under the fly instead of over it as the factory had it. I tested this in winds with gusts up to 55 mph. with 4 guy lines and 4 fly hem stakes and it was "un-flappable". Also this setup is great for resisting snow loading.

As a "geezer' I have to keep my load as light as possible and this Moment DW is about the lightest 4 season solo tent I could find that is also very wind resistant.

Eric B.

 

[wilkup]

I've tried a few different options and it always depends...

Solo fast and light - Bivy
Partner hunt with shared gear - 3 season single wall
Pack in with horses - Wall tent with stove

 

[Danehunter]

Wil,

I would only use a bivy in a snow shelter (cave, quinzhee, igloo or trench).

Sorry but I've seen people get soaked in rain and once in wet snow getting in and out of bivies. Plus they cannot dress or cook in them in a storm. My tent hardly weighs more than a GTX bivy. Most people using a bivy use them with a small (8'x10') tarp.

Your other choices are good for their purpose. I solo backpack and need a reliable but light shelter, thus the Moment DW.

Eric B.

 

[Str8shooterTX]

Len I like the thought of this post but with most things it depends on where I am going and what the conditions are for me to decide on what system I will use. Just like if shooting long range or closer, type of game etc. I have used a 1 person tent, tarp, and hammock in the past..

 

[wilkup]

Wil,

I would only use a bivy in a snow shelter (cave, quinzhee, igloo or trench).

Sorry but I've seen people get soaked in rain and once in wet snow getting in and out of bivies. Plus they cannot dress or cook in them in a storm. My tent hardly weighs more than a GTX bivy. Most people using a bivy use them with a small (8'x10') tarp.

Your other choices are good for their purpose. I solo backpack and need a reliable but light shelter, thus the Moment DW.

Eric B.

What tent are you using and what is the weight on it? A single that weighs <1lb would be awesome! My 3 season is about 4.5lb and on the way out, I'm always running through what I could cut on weight. The bivvy I use only weighs 8.5 oz and was only used for High Country Buck when it's still good weather (early to mid September), even up high.

 

[Danehunter]

TARPTENT MOMENT DW with crossing pole and ripstop inner tent for 4 season use.

I've "winterized" my Moment DW (Double Wall) for high winds snow load by running a shortened (5" shorter) optional X-ing pole under the fly and securing the X-ing pole with double sided Velcro computer cable wraps sewn to the reinforcements for the exterior X-ing pole strap attachments.

Also I added 4 fly hem stake loops to hold down the fly in high winds to prevent flapping. Trying to sleep with a flapping fly requires ear plugs at a minimum. Plus stopping flapping reduces wear on the fly. In heavy snow it also keeps the fly in place when snow off the roof builds up and pushes inward.

I can cook in one of the two the vestibules in very bad weather by opening up the downwind vestibule a bit to get cross ventilation. The two vents at the top of the fly and the two lower end vents can be rigged to get good ventilation but still keep out windblown spindrift snow.

My pack fits inside a vestibule as do my boots in the opposite vestibule. Nice gear shelter in bad weather. At just over 2 lbs. this is a great little tent.

Eric B.

 

[mnoland30]

Sounds like a nice tent. I usually bivouac in my open ended Golite Lair. It only weighs 13 oz. I always worry about getting rain or snow blown in the end, so I always tie the open end close to a tree. I've never had a problem, even in some serious rain storms. I try to avoid camping in it when it looks like snow. I have the wall tent with stove for base camp, and I use that when the weather looks bad. Living in NM, the weather is usually pretty good, even in the winter. I'm looking forward to a Barbary Sheep hunt next month.

 

[fabrice]

Hennessy hammock in tropical region

 

[Danehunter]

For winter camping with a double wall tent you will get condensation inside your fly. (Cold fly, warm, moist air from your body and breath = condensation.) It's wise to treat your inner tent with a good DWR (durable water repellant) like Techtron or Granger's spray-on or their wash-in DWR.

This DWR treatment of the inner tent keeps condensation that always falls off the inside of the fly from wetting the inner tent walls. And that means you can brush against the inner tent without getting wet.

Eric B.

 

[Wysongdog]

17x23' wall tent. Nice wood stove to keep things warm. Packed in on my mules. Sorry couldn't resist. It's the only way I role . Love my babies and they love going to the mountains

 

[Mike 338]

For winter camping with a double wall tent you will get condensation inside your fly. (Cold fly, warm, moist air from your body and breath = condensation.) It's wise to treat your inner tent with a good DWR (durable water repellant) like Techtron or Granger's spray-on or their wash-in DWR.

This DWR treatment of the inner tent keeps condensation that always falls off the inside of the fly from wetting the inner tent walls. And that means you can brush against the inner tent without getting wet.

Eric B.

This DWR... if it repels water, wouldn't your inner solid walls collect your condensation?

 

[Danehunter]

MIKE,
The DWR treatment is for the inner tent walls. They are breathable and if treated with DWR are much more likely to let condensation from the inside of the fly run down to the ground instead of soaking through.

Eric B.

 

[graywolf]

If I'm bringing ski/trekking poles, I use a BD Beta lite shelter, weighs barely more than 1lb and sleeps 2. You can easily adjust the ground clearance depending on wind. If I'm going where its really severe, my mountaineering tent (Bibler I-tent) is a bombproof single-wall, smaller but still a 2 man tent. Now its made by Black Diamond.