Tent Brand/Configuration Likes and Dislikes

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pablodiablo

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HI gang, hope everyone is having a good Friday.

I'm starting to prepare for my first backpacking hunt and wanted to see if anyone had any positive (or negative) experiences with certain brands of tents? I'm looking for a high quality tent. Curious if anyone has pointers on brand, size, layout, etc...anything else you think it'd be helpful to know while tent shopping?

Thanks all!
 
I like both big agnes and MSR, definitely try to get a tent long enough so your feet don't touch the wall if they do this will cause condensation to pool on your bag and leave you with wet feet.
 
wllm1313 said:
I like both big agnes and MSR, definitely try to get a tent long enough so your feet don't touch the wall if they do this will cause condensation to pool on your bag and leave you with wet cold feet.
Click to expand...

fixed it for ya! ^^^

I like a tent with a good size vestibule for gear. Leaves more room for sleeping in the tent.
I also like side-entry tents better than from the end. This typically gives you more head room (higher in the center) for sitting up and eating, getting dressed, and such. Also don't have to climb all over your pillow and bag to get in - can just 'roll' in from the side.
 
Good catch Festus and excellent expansion :)

Also I really don't recommend teepee style ultra light tents, unless you are very experienced in the backcountry. They seem like a good idea but perform like crap in the wind and will leave you miserable in the high country. Most of the ultra light backpacking tents from MSR, Big Agnes, Marmount, Kuiu, ect. let you set them up with the poles and just the fly which end up weighing only .5-1lb more than the ultalight teepee configuration, but give you the ability to set them up in terrain with lots of wind, tough soils that are hard to drive stakes into, rocky ground, basically all the funky conditions that you almost always end up with hunting. Also buy the footprint even though it's usually extra.
 
Festus said:
fixed it for ya! ^^^

I like a tent with a good size vestibule for gear. Leaves more room for sleeping in the tent.
I also like side-entry tents better than from the end. This typically gives you more head room (higher in the center) for sitting up and eating, getting dressed, and such. Also don't have to climb all over your pillow and bag to get in - can just 'roll' in from the side.
Click to expand...

I second Festus' advice about the side-entry tents. I had a Big Agnes Fly Creek UL1, which you entered from the end. It was a PIA to get inside it and crawl over everything, especially in the middle of the night when I had to get up and drain the lizard. I sold it and have a Big Agnes Copper Spur UL1 that has the side-entry now and it is a tad bit bigger than my previous one, which I need since I'm 6'3" and 250lbs. I like it much more. I also look for tents that have the plastic clips that just snap over your tent poles, if that makes sense. Sets up and tears down much faster, especially in the dark, than a tent where you have to feed the tent posts through a fabric sleeve. I don't think you could go wrong with a Big Agnes. That being said, I wish I would have researched the KUIU Ultra Star 1P tent. Has a better design than most trekking pole supported tents that I've seen. Just not sure I'd like to rely on a tent like that though.
 
I am partial to Big Agnes but I would also look at kifaru or seek outside tipi/pyramid style tents, they have a lot of room and are close to the same in weight.
 
Thanks folks! I've looked at Big Agnes. For people who are a little more experienced than me, I was wondering if you think the big agnes Mountain Glo tents are cool or not? They have integrated LED lights that dont add much weight. Not sure if this is useful or just a gimmicky thing?
 
I had a Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 and just sold it. I am using a GoLite Shangri La 5 now. Twice as much room and the same weight. I have the nest for it but haven't ever used it. I like using it floorless.
 
I have the glow lights and use them in my MSR tent... they are not bright enough to read by but are definitely helpful getting ready in the predawn. Definitely not necessary since you have a head lamp, but they work and can be nice. I typically don't bring them hunting but also make sure to take them when I'm camping with my wife.
 
Check out tarptent. I recently picked up one of their Notches and love it. It's trekking pole supported(you can buy poles for it seperately). Weighs 27 oz with the 4 tent stakes. I can compress mine down to the size of a softball. Reasonably priced too!
 
pablodiablo said:
Thanks folks! I've looked at Big Agnes. For people who are a little more experienced than me, I was wondering if you think the big agnes Mountain Glo tents are cool or not? They have integrated LED lights that dont add much weight. Not sure if this is useful or just a gimmicky thing?
Click to expand...

I personally think they are gimmicky. All of the tents I've ever owned have a loop in the center of the ceiling. I bought a Black Diamond Orbit and hang it there. I can also use it outside around camp if need be.
 
wllm1313 said:
Good catch Festus and excellent expansion :)

Also I really don't recommend teepee style ultra light tents, unless you are very experienced in the backcountry. They seem like a good idea but perform like crap in the wind and will leave you miserable in the high country. Most of the ultra light backpacking tents from MSR, Big Agnes, Marmount, Kuiu, ect. let you set them up with the poles and just the fly which end up weighing only .5-1lb more than the ultalight teepee configuration, but give you the ability to set them up in terrain with lots of wind, tough soils that are hard to drive stakes into, rocky ground, basically all the funky conditions that you almost always end up with hunting. Also buy the footprint even though it's usually extra.
Click to expand...

Can you expand upon this? I have been going back and forth between a backpacking tent and a tipi for general backpacking (with girlfriend and dogs) and solo hunting. Are they noisy in the wind? Why do they underperform in the high country?
 
If you don't mind floorless, check out the Kifaru Tut. Ridiculously easy to pitch, and is a palace for one guy. Gives you the option to use late season and add a stove with plenty of room for another person to join. Extremely light and packable. I use mine late September-November.

If you prefer a floored shelter, check out a Hilleberg Enan. I recently upraded from and Easton Kilo 3P which was great other then the front entry, but it had been used quite a bit throughout the years and I wanted to get something I wasn't worried about in high winds. I couldn't believe the quality in the Hilleberg. The thing is absolute bombproof and PERFECT for a solo hunt and plenty of room for gear. Weighs a little over 2lbs and packs super easy. The design and quality is amazing.
 
I have used both styles so this is from experience. The issue with tepee style tents is that there shape catches the wind and causes them to heavily sag to one side, combine this with heavy rain/snow and you are getting soaked. If you look at the Big Agnes/MSR tents you notice that the poles running laterally provide more torsional rigidity to the tent (less flexing) and keep it low profile to the wind. There is a reason you don't see mountaineers/ climbers running tepees and those are the most weight conscious nuts on the planet.

Further tepee style tents don't have a bathtub bottom so your bag and bag will get very wet in a big storm. I have weathered steady 40+ mph winds with snow at 12k feet in September in my MSR it was loud and the tent was plastered with snow but we stayed dry and warm and were able to hunt for several days in these conditions no problem. On this same trip my brother in law brought his tepee and spent the first night hugging his trekking poles to keep them upright. The next night we all crammed into my tent.

For fair weather camping or situations with minimal snow/ rain I think tepees are awesome but in any adverse conditions they are not sufficient. I would not advise a tepee for any kind of above timberline/tundra hunting. If you look at the videos these companies publish of their tents in bad whether they are always tucked into groves of trees, which is exactly where you should set up if possible. I know two people who I would consider about as hard core as they come sell their tepees and now run big agnes tent poles with just rain flies. If you want a really light setup I cant recommend this style of tent over tepee tents enough. You will have more room and your tent will put up with 10 times the punishment.

Tarptent in high wind... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ityELpmjkY
MSR in high wind...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW13vqmy90Y

Imagine either of these situations with something using only a trekking pole holding them up, your fancy tarp would be 20 miles down the valley in about 10 seconds.

I second the Hilleberg my friends who live in AK love these things!
 
Last edited:
Wow, I just spent a few hours yesterday trying to determine if the MSR HH weighing an extra 14oz is worth it vs the BA copper spur UL HV.

Has anyone compared these 2 tents side by side?
 
I have the MSR HH my brothernlaw now owns the BA copper spur after divesting himself of a tepee tent. We hunt together a lot... These tents are basically identical set up, big anges is a bit bigger (not noticeably though), a bit lighter, a bit smaller packed up, and a bit more expensive.

If I had to buy again I might go with the BA... but my MSR was on sale for $200 so that made my decision for me.

Get the footprint it will make your tent last longer and keep you dryer if there is weather. In the summer the fly with poles and foot print is a great lightweight option, good archery season setup.
 
wllm1313 said:
I have the MSR HH my brothernlaw now owns the BA copper spur after divesting himself of a tepee tent. We hunt together a lot... These tents are basically identical set up, big anges is a bit bigger (not noticeably though), a bit lighter, a bit smaller packed up, and a bit more expensive.

If I had to buy again I might go with the BA... but my MSR was on sale for $200 so that made my decision for me.

Get the footprint it will make your tent last longer and keep you dryer if there is weather. In the summer the fly with poles and foot print is a great lightweight option, good archery season setup.
Click to expand...

awesome info. Thanks Wllm !
 
I had a Copperspur 1 and really liked it. As others have mentioned, I like the side door, but I wish the height was a bit more. Two years ago I shoved a pole through the fly and ripped the crap out of it. My fault. Contacted BA and they could get me a new one, but I thought the price was way too high for just the fly.

51.jpg


My other go to tent is a Black Diamond HiLight single-wall. Really like the room and height. Only one issue with condensation, but it rained that night and I was within feet of a creek. Didn't affect my sleep or bag and dried out quickly the next day.

32_zps7f757888.jpg


Little more room than the CS1 as well.

27_zpsfbc86550.jpg
 
I have a Go Lite Shangri La 5 teepee style tent that I put through the ringer on the Alaska Peninsula for work and play. It handled some pretty horrendous winds quite well along with sideways wind driven rain. It does have a bath tub style bottom so that definitely helps in wet weather. When it's staked and guyed out, its quite taunt. But I'd still use the terrain the best I could and set it up in a sheltered location, if possible. It does take some fidgeting to get the ventilation just right to avoid condensation. It's definitely every bit as quiet in the wind as my Hilleberg. As wllm1313 pointed out, it wouldn't be my choice in snowy conditions. It'll handle some snow just fine but for heavy snow conditions the bottom edges tend to stack up with snow and it starts sagging in.

Here's a picture from a sheep hunt I did in the Alaska Range one year. First night of the hunt we got 12" of wet, heavy snow. Crawling out of a warm sleeping bag at 2 AM to clear the tent of snow wasn't my idea of a good time. The tent handled the weather that week just fine once we got the snow pulled away from the bottom edges.

 
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