Floorless Tipi vs. Tent

Schaaf

Schaaf

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I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts on the pros/cons of a floor less shelter compared to a traditional tent. I'm on the verge of getting a Seek Outside 6 man tipi but a couple of things have been keeping me from pulling the trigger. Some of my fears are..

1. Bugs and Mice, do you just deal with having bugs crawling around you. I also don't think I'd be very happy to find a mouse chewing on my down quilt.

2. Water. I believe this fear could be tackled by simply putting a little more thought into my camp spot and make sure it's an area that drains nicely and not in a bottom of a draw.


I do think having a hot tent to head back to could be a real game changer in the colder months.
 
I went floorless last year and am still figuring it out. Went with a SO 4 man tipi. Just last week I put in an order for an LBO. The best part of floorless is the weight savings. The LBO should come in after seem sealing at or around 28 oz. There are some things you'll have to consider though. For creepy crawlies I'm using a Bora bivy and tyvek ground sheet. I haven't weighed them together but I'm guessing right around 12 oz.

You'll have to worry more about condensation then anything else as long as you pick a good site location. Just keep it vented and pick a flat or slightly elevated spot to pitch and you'll be fine.

Good luck.
 
I've had a SO tent for a little over a year...no problem with too many creepy crawlies. I use a small silnylon tarp when backpack camping but car camping I use a heavier duty tarp. I have the now discontinued Back Country Shelter but the LBO is my next tent. I'd also get a screen installed. I've not had issues with rain or water mostly because I camp in dry spots.
 
I've been primarily floorless for a number of years. Bugs haven't really been an issue. One time a packrat chewed off the straps of my trekking poles, nose pads off of my glasses and a hole in the foot of my sleeping bag. That is the only time some type of rodent has been an issue. If you pick a good spot water/drainage shouldn't be an issue. I like the weight savings and not having to take my boots off when going in and out of my shelter. Condensation can be an issue but can be mitigated with proper venting, site selection and such. FWIW, I'm currently running a Jimmy Tarp Granite Mountain (no stove). Those SO shelters w/stove look pretty dang sweet, especially for colder stuff.
 
Mice are everywhere and can do a lot of damage to food and gear. Just laying in bed, and then hearing them scurrying around the tent is not too much fun. I've had them chew on horse saddle billet and cinch straps that had some salt/sweat in them and ruin some expensive gear, that's made worse when you're in the backcountry. You couldn't give me a tent without a way to seal them buggers out.
 
Just bring a dog like I do then any mouse or pack rat that is dumb enough to come in end up as food for the pup lol. Plus if it gets cold I can drag him up onto the sleeping pad with me and I have a personal heater.
 
I have used a SO 6-man tipi for a couple of seasons now. When used with a large titanium stove, it is hard to beat in colder months. It worked well on a 2nd season rifle hunt in CO at an elevation of just over 11,500 feet. It would be hard to go back to a traditional tent unless you are on a backpack hunt or scouting trip in warmer weather. My smaller 2-man backpack tarp tent is also a floorless design. I've never had a problem with insects, but did have a curious raccoon on an early season deer hunt with the 2-man tent. He just wanted to see what the interior of my tent looked like. He kept poking his head under the staked bottom until he realized it was occupied. I just like floorless for most hunting trips.
 
I have been wall tenting (14' x 16' w/ 9' ridgeline) with no floor for over a decade in CO and WY and have had very few problems with bugs or mice. Of course, I generally use cots to keep all the people and gear off the ground and we keep a clean camp with all food in hard plastic tubs/totes and off the ground. We have slept on the ground a few times, also with no problems. We generally lay a tarp or rugs on the ground near the cots, so we can change clothes without having to stand in the dirt/mud/weeds.
 
I have a Tigoat floorless Tipi with a titanium woodstove as well as backpacking tents of various sizes. We used the tipi elk hunting colorado for years without problems until one particularly warm early september 3 years ago when I got bit by a spider in the back of my leg after I crawled into my down bag. That sucked. There's been the occasional mouse also but I've always packed a trap or 2 and that corrects the problem quickly enough. You'll still need a floor of some sort to keep your gear dry and to cut down on condensation (it helps enormously). Basically, I use the tipi for colder weather and stick with enclosed tents when it's warm and buggy.
 
I went with the Cimarron and a SO nest. It kind of was the best of both worlds for what I wanted. Might be worth a look.
 
Curious if that SO nest can comfortably fit a couple?

My girlfriend and I are in need of a new backpacking tent (I ripped mine pretty bad last fall on my first elk hunt). I'm really looking hard at the Cimaroon as I like the packable wood stove option and the weight(floor-less). However, we do a lot of backpack camping here in Michigan over the summers and bugs/critters can really become a problem. She isn't a fan of the floor-less tent idea due to that but the nest seems to fix that!

Obviously not a concern while using this tent for hunting trips. Just trying to kill two birds with one tent!
 
I got the nest to use when backpacking with my wife. It works great for a couple. It is also nice that it contains your sleeping bags/pads in one place and we just push the whole nest out of the way to have more room while cooking, etc...

Plus Seek Outside has been a big supporter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (there used to be a Life Membership promotion between Seek Outside and BHA that might be worth looking at if you're buying).
 
I just did the BHA life membership with the 6 person tipi. Super excided to have a hot tent that I can pack in. I love my wall tent but it is a next to the truck thing. I've never had bug problems in my floorless wall tent and keeping food out of the tent helps with the rodents.
 
Schaaf said:
I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts on the pros/cons of a floor less shelter compared to a traditional tent. I'm on the verge of getting a Seek Outside 6 man tipi but a couple of things have been keeping me from pulling the trigger. Some of my fears are..

1. Bugs and Mice, do you just deal with having bugs crawling around you. I also don't think I'd be very happy to find a mouse chewing on my down quilt.

2. Water. I believe this fear could be tackled by simply putting a little more thought into my camp spot and make sure it's an area that drains nicely and not in a bottom of a draw.


I do think having a hot tent to head back to could be a real game changer in the colder months.
Click to expand...

If you're planning on using it in eastern MT I would strongly recommend a wall tent. Way more comfortable to hunt out of.
 
In past years, I hiked in with a "2 person" tent, which is more like 1 person and gear. It racks up a lot of weight between the tent, poles, sleeping pad, etc. and it's damp, cold and uncomfortable sleeping on the ground.

This year's muzzleloader season, I left the tent and instead took a ENO hammock, nylon tarp, GI bivy sack as replacement to the tent. This shaved some weight off and was far more comfortable. To keep warm, I slept in my sleeping bag in the bivy sack all on top of my hunting jacket, which also made the jacket warmer when I put it on in the morning. To keep dry, I tied some non-stretchy rope about 18"-24" over the hammock and then tossed the tarp over it. The tarp can be pushed away to checkout the Milky Way and meteors at night.

I had scoped out a depression in an open field so that when the lightening storm rolled in I had a place away from high objects - everything inside the bivy made for a fast get away. The rain that night just beaded on the bivy and I woke up in the morning to little "buttons" of frozen water beads on my bivy. Since the bivy is GoreTex, it was dry on the inside and just a bit warmer to boot.

With the hammock, I didn't have rocks, twigs, sticks, and critters to sleep on and I was drier and more comfortable. I learned to sleep diagonally across the hammock so that i didn't have stress on my knees and ankles due to the sag of the hammock.

I know someone is reading this and thinking "Pffft! No way that a hammock is better!", but don't knock it until you try it. This was my best sleeping in the back country ever - drier, warmer, no rocks in the back... I'll never sleep on the ground in a tent again.

download.jpg
 
I ended up going with a Seek Outside 6 person Tipi and loved it. I wish I would have gone with a floorless years ago. I just received a Cimarron in the mail last week for myself or a buddy to try to cut some weight.
 
knobbytire said:
In past years, I hiked in with a "2 person" tent, which is more like 1 person and gear. It racks up a lot of weight between the tent, poles, sleeping pad, etc. and it's damp, cold and uncomfortable sleeping on the ground.

This year's muzzleloader season, I left the tent and instead took a ENO hammock, nylon tarp, GI bivy sack as replacement to the tent. This shaved some weight off and was far more comfortable. To keep warm, I slept in my sleeping bag in the bivy sack all on top of my hunting jacket, which also made the jacket warmer when I put it on in the morning. To keep dry, I tied some non-stretchy rope about 18"-24" over the hammock and then tossed the tarp over it. The tarp can be pushed away to checkout the Milky Way and meteors at night.

I had scoped out a depression in an open field so that when the lightening storm rolled in I had a place away from high objects - everything inside the bivy made for a fast get away. The rain that night just beaded on the bivy and I woke up in the morning to little "buttons" of frozen water beads on my bivy. Since the bivy is GoreTex, it was dry on the inside and just a bit warmer to boot.

With the hammock, I didn't have rocks, twigs, sticks, and critters to sleep on and I was drier and more comfortable. I learned to sleep diagonally across the hammock so that i didn't have stress on my knees and ankles due to the sag of the hammock.

I know someone is reading this and thinking "Pffft! No way that a hammock is better!", but don't knock it until you try it. This was my best sleeping in the back country ever - drier, warmer, no rocks in the back... I'll never sleep on the ground in a tent again.

View attachment 65943
Click to expand...


Just got a hammock for Christmas. Trying to figure out the best suspension/strap system.

What did you figure out, does it work?

Pictures of the strap system?
 
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