Snow loads on tents

[Litehiker]

How well will your tent handle a heavy snow load?
Some tents' design will not work at all with a snow load. Some will work with added poles like my Tarptent Moment DW with it "Crossing Pole" run longwise under the fly. Same with my TT Scarp 2.

Plus I have heavier main poles for the pole sleeves of both of those tents for winter use.

In addition to an extra pole to three you need good strongly sewn guy points paired with pre-made guy lines. An absolute necessity in high winds, as are tent fly lower edge stake loops staked down well.
Belt & suspenders, ya know.
Eric B.

 

[Chadp82]

Curious on the use and intent. Snow isn't a huge hassle, although inconvenient. I have been in tents for a few inches up to blizzards.

What are we talking, wall tent? Backpack tent?

 

[Litehiker]

As I said,Tarptent Moment DW with an optional Crossing Pole. GOOGLE Tarptent.

 

[montanablackdog]

I live in heavy snow country. Seek Outside all the way.

 

[dfanonymous]

How well will your tent handle a heavy snow load?
Some tents' design will not work at all with a snow load. Some will work with added poles like my Tarptent Moment DW with it "Crossing Pole" run longwise under the fly. Same with my TT Scarp 2.

Plus I have heavier main poles for the pole sleeves of both of those tents for winter use.

In addition to an extra pole to three you need good strongly sewn guy points paired with pre-made guy lines. An absolute necessity in high winds, as are tent fly lower edge stake loops staked down well.
Belt & suspenders, ya know.
Eric B.

I have a Litefighter 1p tent that I just use because I'm cheap and its been good enough for government work.
That said, I have the 3 season to 4 season conversion. It's ok. I think it's fine without it usually. Just has a wind stopper and some sand/snow anchors that I never use.

Condensation being the enemy it vents plenty. I know about a snow load as it's not rated. Probably because there's nothing to load how the tent is. Snow just rolls off lol.

Draw back is it's bulky.

 

[Litehiker]

Seek Outside tents are pyramid tents which are good in winds and shed snow. Even more than many designs pyramid tents require attention to keeping snow from building up at the bottom of the walls and pushing them inward. So be sure to take an avalanche shovel. They are light and have collapsable handles.

The Lightfighter looks like a good solo tent WITH the winter inner tent. The regular netting inner tent will let spindrift snow blow in. (Don't ask how I know about this problem.)

 

[Bobcape]

I live in the Black Hill of South Dakota. We get some snow. I bought a Cabela's Alaska Guide 6-man tent a long time ago. Only used it once or twice. Not really a well made tent. I used it 3 years ago on my Black Hills elk hunt. The day I shot my elk was a long, solo, day. By the time I got it loaded into my truck and made it to the check station, I was closer to home than my camp. I drove home and worked on the elk. Intended to go back and break camp the next day. We got a lot of snow so I didn't get back for 2 more days. The tent was completely collapsed and almost all the poles were broken. It had been well guyed out, both tent and fly. Once I got back to town I took it to Cabela's. It was old enough that it had their Forever Guarantee tag sewn into it. The manager said - We've changed that. Now it's only guaranteed for the life of the product. I just left the trashed tent and poles there on the floor.

Now I have a Mountain Hardwear Trango 4. It is a really solid and well made tent. Pretty easy to put up by yourself and has a lot of winter camping features. It was setup for a little over 2 weeks last season. We got snow twice during that time. No more that 6" each time. But it held up without a problem. It is the most solid tent I've ever been in during extreme winds. It's not lightweight, about 12 lbs plus the footprint. Dang nice tent.

Bob

 

[ofbandg]

Have spent many days and nights in tents during snow events. Canvass tents were the worst because they became heavy with water and gripped the snow landing on the roof so it didn't slide off. The smaller rounded, two and three man tents, were okay with a bathtub floor but they weren't really cold weather camping designs. They were just good for surprise snowfalls. Big white wall tents worked well if you had a good stove inside and kept it going so the snow would be melting almost as fast as it hit but the water running off the tent needed to have a place to drain away from the floor of the tent. The best we ever came up with was a large lightweight tarp that we could set up over the tent with a steep pitch so the snow wouldn't land on the tent. It was extra weight but nowadays with the lightweight silicon tarps it's not much extra weight.

 

[Litehiker]

Bobcape, Sorry to hear of the Cabela's dome tent failure and surprised it didn't hold up under the snow.
BUT, I'm not suprised that those communists at Bass Pro Shops (new owners of Cabela's) didn't honor the guarantee. I shop at Bass Pro only if nobody else has what I need right now - which is to say once in a blue moon. Here in 'Vegas the clerks at the gun counter act as thought they're doing you a favor to help you. That's another reason I always go to one of the Sportsman's Warehouse stores in the valley.

BTW, The MH Trango 4 is well designed for winter, especially with the optional vestibule for packs and boots. Just stay away from MH down bags.They are not well made and way under-filled with down. LL bean, Sea to Summit and The North Face have very god bags for reasonable prices.

"ofbandg", God idea to it a light synthetic tarp over a cotton wall tent in winter. Just keep it away from the stove pipe.
Eric B.

 

[Bobcape]

@Litehiker Similar experiences with Bass Pro/Cabela's now. I also avoid them if possible. I have a Feathered Friends down bag from 20+ years ago. It has served me well!

Bob

 

[chindits]

I'm a backpack scouter and hunter. I haven't been cat hunting in a while but that's my latest season. 4th rifle when I can't get a bow tag is pretty common these days. So around here, that's usually dry powder and sub zero.

I generally run a duomid summer season but my experience is pyramid tents are less than desirable with snow loads due to side wall encroachment. If there is a potential for snow I use my scarp 1p. It has some drawbacks. I replaced the storage sack for a bigger one immediately. I duct tape the corner struts and mid end struts to the webbing holders after loosing a carbon fiber rod in the snow. I was unimpressed trying to thread the main support tent pole in that yellow tunnel during a wet snow. A waste of time and material, the loops saved me. The doors could be a little taller to get in or out of the tent with out getting condensation on your back. If you're zipped up during a storm you're going to get condensation or frost. But the tent is bomber, it has a relatively small footprint, and your rifle and optics will fit inside.

Some might remember last year's snow storm on opening day of sheep season. I guarantee those sheep hunters would of stayed in the mountains with a scarp and a positive attitude. YMMV.

 

[Litehiker]

Chindits,
I have a SCARP 2 that I've "winterized" by shortening the two Xing poles and running them UNDER the fly as I do on my Moment DW.
The Xing pole "pockets" were taken off the outside PitchLoc stake lines and sewn inside just above the apex of the PitchLoc rods for maximum strength. Then I sewed double sided Velcro tape inside the fly at the the reinforcements formerly used for the outside Xing pole straps and then seam sealed them. This holds the Xing poles in place when it is very windy.

Also I had Tentpole Technologies pre-bend me a heavier duty main pole. Along with guy lines and staking out the fly hem loops this tent is bombproof. Roomy for two with winter gear and packs in the vestibules.
Those SCARP tents, both1 and 2, are not the lightest but with the Xing poles, either inside or outside, they are very safe tents in a snowstorm.

I'm a long time winter camper and I love that season. No bugs and no people.

 

[chindits]

I can live with bugs. No people is good.

 

[Philward]

I live in the Black Hill of South Dakota. We get some snow. I bought a Cabela's Alaska Guide 6-man tent a long time ago. Only used it once or twice. Not really a well made tent. I used it 3 years ago on my Black Hills elk hunt. The day I shot my elk was a long, solo, day. By the time I got it loaded into my truck and made it to the check station, I was closer to home than my camp. I drove home and worked on the elk. Intended to go back and break camp the next day. We got a lot of snow so I didn't get back for 2 more days. The tent was completely collapsed and almost all the poles were broken. It had been well guyed out, both tent and fly. Once I got back to town I took it to Cabela's. It was old enough that it had their Forever Guarantee tag sewn into it. The manager said - We've changed that. Now it's only guaranteed for the life of the product. I just left the trashed tent and poles there on the floor.

Now I have a Mountain Hardwear Trango 4. It is a really solid and well made tent. Pretty easy to put up by yourself and has a lot of winter camping features. It was setup for a little over 2 weeks last season. We got snow twice during that time. No more that 6" each time. But it held up without a problem. It is the most solid tent I've ever been in during extreme winds. It's not lightweight, about 12 lbs plus the footprint. Dang nice tent.

Bob

Sounds like what Burris did to me with Signature Binos that had the "forever warranty". They just fogged up on one side and they couldn't repair them. I don't trust or believe any forever warranty or long term ones for that matter.