Tents for backpacking...

[jmden]

I'll start another one here with some ideas and pics for folks to add to. Hopefully we can generate a worthwhile 'database' for folks that are considering a backpack hunting tent.

Kifaru knock-off with integral floor and "bug-proof" design. 10' dia. by 7' tall. Tent, pole and 16 stakes weigh just about 6.5 lbs. Stove is another 3 lbs.

Experimental #5 uretek water resistant zipper--jury's still out on this one...

Kifaru Parastove in tent--my brother said he'd have a tough time going back to a 'no-stove' tent after a stay in cold weather in this tent...it is nice to cook, heat, dry off and warm up all at once.

Detail of center pole. Go to: Hunting Backpacking Equipment, etc. pictures from hiking & backpacking photos on webshots for more pics...

Detail of inside of tent. Have since sewed on velcro on/off covers for vents you can see on either side of tent to give more control over amount of venting. Venting worked so well, it got too cold. See top couple of pics for what the vents look like on the outside with 'hooped' opening to scoop air. Single wall tents need ventilation and lots of it, but being able to control the amount is a plus... Added screen zipped screen door since as well.

Other tents I've had good experiences with:

Marmot Swallow double wall tent--a great two vestibule, two door tent with lots of zip of venting makes it comfortble in a wide variety of conditions.

Bibler Torre single wall tent (now called Tempest--name change since it is now made offshore, I think, not sure--it's a lot less expensive now than when I bought it a few years ago!) at Thumb Rock, Liberty Ridge, Mt. Rainier. This tent will handle just about anything thrown at it weatherwise. Poles go on the inside so you get inside it to pitch and your body weight holds it down while pitching in the wind. Bibler's tend to breath very well (probably the best) for a single wall tent. 4 pole design. 6.5 lbs.

 

[Pdvdh]

That Bibler Torre (now Tempest)... Is it big enough for two sleeping bags, rifles, backpacks and boots; or just large enough to sleep two people. Looks like a nice tent, but I can't judge the size very well. It's built to accept four tie down cords, correct? What's the approximate current price now that it's being made using low-cost labor?

That Kifaru tee-pee style tent. You say the stove only weighs three lbs? Wow! Does that include the weight of the stove pipe? How do you pack away the stove and stovepipe on the way in and out? How do you keep the ash and creosote from tainting the other camping gear and clothing that you're packing on your trips? You using horses? Any burn holes through the floor yet? Look's like a sweet deal if you're camping in a protected / sheltered area and have access to some firewood. Wouldn't want to expose this tent to windy conditions with a fire in the stove though. Could lead to a quick burn-down-the-camp ending to the hunt.

Thanks for posting the photos.

 

[jmden]

That Bibler Torre (now Tempest)... Is it big enough for two sleeping bags, rifles, backpacks and boots; or just large enough to sleep two people. Looks like a nice tent, but I can't judge the size very well. It's built to accept four tie down cords, correct? What's the approximate current price now that it's being made using low-cost labor?

That Kifaru tee-pee style tent. You say the stove only weighs three lbs? Wow! Does that include the weight of the stove pipe? How do you pack away the stove and stovepipe on the way in and out? How do you keep the ash and creosote from tainting the other camping gear and clothing that you're packing on your trips? You using horses? Any burn holes through the floor yet? Look's like a sweet deal if you're camping in a protected / sheltered area and have access to some firewood. Wouldn't want to expose this tent to windy conditions with a fire in the stove though. Could lead to a quick burn-down-the-camp ending to the hunt.

Thanks for posting the photos.

The kifaru knock off weighs about 6.5 lbs. The stove another 3 lbs or so.

No horses. Can't afford the critters.

If you go to the Kifaru website, ( KIFARU HUNTING & MILITARY GEAR )you'll see how the stovepipe rolls up. The 7' stovepipe pictured packs away to a 1 1/4" tube by 13" long or so. Pretty slick. Stove comes apart so that stove and pipe fit in a little bag about 13" by 8" by 2".

No ash and creosote in tent. Just a very thin layer on inside of stovepipe. Thing burns so hot, there's typically no smoke seen coming out the stack except at startup. Gotta have wood handy.

Piece about 3/4 wrist size and smaller work well. Mostly stuff you find on the ground. I saw some up with my 'Dandy' saw every couple of days (about 15min work) and put it in the tent to dry out.

This tent design sheds wind very well and, when pitched correctly, will take a huge amount of wind just fine. They are not a design to be 'coddled', that's for sure. Again, check out the Kifaru website. Just from my expereince, I wouldn't be worried about using the stove in wind at all. The tent is quite sturdy with the one center pole and 16 stakes holding it down. There's probably at least 100lbs downforce on that center pole by the time the tent is pitched and the tipi design sheds wind very well.

I have another fiberglass piece in front of the stove while in use to catch sparks the come out of the stove--works well, no hole in floor or tent body yet. The two spark arrestors in the chimney help out there.

The Bibler Tempest is aroudn $500 now. Used to be alot more.( Black Diamond Equipment, Ltd. - Product - Black Diamond bought Bibler a few years back. Black Diamond used to be called Chouinard Equipment and was owned by Yvon Chouinard, the guy who owns Patagonia, until he was sued back in the late 80's because someone died climbing because they didn't follow the clearly printed instructions on a climbing harness and a judge ruled that it was manufacturers fault--where did personal responsibility go?) It's a decent sized two man tent, but it would be tight for two folks with hunting gear--the two vestibules help a bit, but I still think you'd want a garbage sac or something to put your pack in at night out side, for instance.

That's what's so nice about the tipi tent--plenty of room to spread out and dry stuff off at the same weight and with an unlimited fuel supply camping in the woods and thinking ahead a bit. You do need a fairly large and fairly level spot and that can be a challenge in the mountains sometimes. And, the it's not self standing like most of your mountain tents.

The Bibler Tempest has six exterior 'tie-down' cords. (Is that what you mean?) 15 stakes total--these things are meant to stay put. (However, never leave a tent staked out only in snow without alot of weight in it (rocks) and/or deadmen/picket type anchors. I came back to camp after summitting some years ago and my tent was missing. Checked every nearby crevasse for some time. It's down in one of them being ground into find green pieces of nylon, I'm sure.)

Jon

 

[cmfi3]

Hey jmden, who builds your Kifaru knock-off tent. Like the stove feature. Would be a great backpack tent in Oct. and Nov. hunting seasons.

 

[jmden]

Hey jmden, who builds your Kifaru knock-off tent. Like the stove feature. Would be a great backpack tent in Oct. and Nov. hunting seasons.

I do. I just didn't care for a tent without a floor and open to the bugs and no adjustable ventilation at the top, so I came up with my own design and built it. I built a smaller one last year with a 'snap in' floor, but figured out a way this year to have an integral floor with the added benefit of making it bug free. An integral floor in these things cannot be 'rigidly' attached like tent floors are in most tents. So this design has the tent floor 'floating' via a flexible 12" high no-see-um wall. Kinda hard to explain. You can click on the pictures and it'll take you to the host website where you can look at different resolutions and maybe see what I'm talking about. The actual floor material folds up a couple of three inches (some mods since pics where taken to help edge of floor material stand up better all around) or so before it's sewn into the no-see-um to form the 'wall' of the floor...sorry, probably just confusing the issue. It was also a bit of a challenge to design this floor system around a door style that is a radical departure from the Kifaru design and the design I did last year. So, I've basically built two prototypes, more or less. Last years' tent was really just for one person with cold weather hunting gear at 8' dia. by 5' 6" tall and weighing just over 4lbs. I'd light that stove and be down to my 'polypro tighties' in no time pressing as much of my bare skin against the tent wall to get away from the stove as I could in mid-teens weather. You have to fire this stove hot to get it to boil water in a decent amount of time, then just damper it down to make it reasonable inside. The tents have not been terribly tested but have worked well for elk hunting the past couple of years. Single wall tents like these really benefit from the stove to keep down condensation.

Stove is just a Kifaru Parastove with extra long chimney to fit the height of the tipi.

My wife had about had it with tents by the time I was done...

 

[sxwatson]

What type of material did you use to make your tent? Where did you buy the material?

 

[Dewey]

I am very impressed by your tipi and I own a Kifaru 8-man, had a Paratipi and a 6-man. I also like the floor as you show it and would prefer this in most BC conditions, especially on northern muskeg.

I do disagree with your comment as to Bibler tents being the most breathable of all SW tents; I had one for years and have an Integral Designs MKI-XL, as well. The ID is superior to the Bibler, especially the ones made since they introduced that shiney coating on the fabric.

The best SW tents were the eVent ones built by ID some years back, but, he and others were forced to stop using that fabric for tents by it's manufacturer.

However, you should SERIOUSLY consider building your tipis larger and on a commercial basis; with a liner, I would be very interested in buying one and I would bet others would as well. The heated tipi concept is among the more practical ideas in backpack hunting that I have seen emerge since I backpacked my first deer in 1964 and you seem to have the knack of building them very well.

 

[jmden]

Thank you for your kind words. If I knew there was enough of a market and could find a trustworthy operation to build it, I might pursue it. The issue I foresee is that as soon as the idea caught on, if it did and it's a big if, you'd have someone else tweek the design a bit and then have it made in China and I'd be out of business. It sure is a great and very lightweight living space, though. I'm extrememly happy with it and so are those that have spent the night in a warm, dry place with a floor in a tent that big that doesn't even tip the scale at 7 lbs.

 

[mrigby]

I love your Tipi! I would like to make one. I tried clicking on your pictures to link to your website and was unable. Where can I go to see more photo's? How many people can you sleep in your tipi with the stove in? Do you have any instructions for building? Thanks for your help!

 

[jmden]

I love your Tipi! I would like to make one. I tried clicking on your pictures to link to your website and was unable. Where can I go to see more photo's? How many people can you sleep in your tipi with the stove in? Do you have any instructions for building? Thanks for your help!

Thank you. I tried the link to the site that hosts the pictures an it seemd to work forme... Two people with all their gear spread, rifles, etc. spread out drying can live in this 10' diameter tipi quite comfortably. Of course, I used to spending nights in a little two man mountain tent, so this seems like the Taj Mahal to me. I just used graph paper and the dimensions I wanted (7' high so I could stand up and 10' diameter so there'd be plenty of room for two people and gear) used 8 panels, studied quite a few picures of other tipis on the web and started sewing, bought the materials, cut stuff and sewed it togehter. A background in sewing helps. Good luck!

 

[BigUglyMan]

That tipi is a real beauty. You should be proud.

 

[chimpac]

I have been trying different ideas for stoves and tents. The following is my latest. The same design works for stand up shelters.

8'x15' nylon tarp

5'' stove, 40'' tapered chimney, 2 part stove jack on floor, weighs 2lbs.

6'' stove lying on side, left; baffle seen thru feed door. right;bottom draft door and grate, attached heat shield/ash catcher

The baffle; stops the sparks so no spark arrestor is needed, makes cooking surface is the hottest part of the stove, controls the fire for a slow hot burn.

tapered chimney sections use a sleeve butt joint to bear weight as the center pole. A water boiler can be put on the top of the chimney outside.

The tipi syle is popular. I prefer a roof as low as possible with no vents in the top 1/3 of the tent to keep a layer of

hot air above, radiating down. I do not like a floor in a tent because the bare ground or snow always needs fixing to

sleep on. Mosquitos are hard to keep out with screens on doors that are opening and closing, so I let the stove

smoke inside a bit to make them leave. I like to sleep under the tarp in a bivy or covered with a net. A tarp with a

chimney/stove makes a true 4 season allweather tent, a shade in summer or nailed down tight in a winter blizzard.

Google chimpac or centerpole chimney for arguments on other forums

.

 

[Moki]

For myself I use a 2 person Sierra Designs Clip Flashlite if there is 2 - 3 guys I take my 4 man Sierra Design Stretch Prelude.

I don't like bug bites and sleep far better inside of a tent.

 

[Cracker]

DISCLAIMER: I don't camp/pack in the wicked cold and heavy snow like out west. Here in the lower Appalachians of North Georgia/SW North Carolina/SE Tennessee we do get reasonable snow and the daytime avg temps low 20's to to low 40's and night temps from the teens to 20's.

I use a Hennessey Hammock with the super shelter upgrade and have slept very comfortably in the low 20's. I use the HH HexFly which provides good cover and I have yet to get wet even in the heavest downpour. Durring the day I pull the "snake skins" over the hammock which stores it up and out of the way(also keeps creapy crawlies out). The whole thing packs down in a compression sack smaller than my Mtn Hardwear Conness down sleeping bag and weighs in about 3lbs and requires no poles. I can pitch/break shelter in about three minutes and can set the fly without the hammock or with.

I will have to see if I can get some pics up in the next couple days.