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Tents, Repairs and Such...An Experience with Big Agnes Tents

I checked out the Arctic Oven tents…wow, they are pricey! They look great though, and if I did winter camping it would be a different thing to consider.

I packaged up the tent poles for my Big House 4 and sent them off to Big Agnes yesterday. I look forward to reporting how this goes.

In the meantime, subscribing to the concept that a person cannot own too many tents, I’m looking at the North Face VE-25 as a tent to carry in the cub for winter. Thanks for the inspiration.

Randy
 
While on the subject of tents, I would like to read about any off season things you folks do to keep your tents ready for the next year’s adventures.

Bill Tracy told me that he waterproofs his rain fly and tent floor every year. I started doing this last year.

Any other thoughts?

Randy
 
True cold winter camping (sometimes becomes survival) requires heat in some form soon after landing. Everything including ourselves starts to cool off quickly. At some point our energy output becomes less than necessary to maintain peripheral circulation, so the body tends to shut that off or at least reduce it to maintain core temp. Building a shelter of local materials or tent set up should be done early not late in that sequence. That means having an external source of heat going right now like a small wood stove or generator and electric heater can be critical to maintain body warmth while preparing camp, especially if it's stormy. Any tent that requires lengthy setup moves can be a challenge especially if alone in the wilderness. A simple small canvas wall tent or center pole tipi sets up quick then add the wood stove or other source of heat to warm it up. If it's dark have a headlamp.

Gary
 
Was considering buying another tent to compliment my north face sleeping tent. My copilot wouldn’t shut up about these “Kifaru tipi” floorless tents and the third day of listening to his raves I gave up and bought one. Had a bit of sticker shock and buyers remorse till I used it and that feeling went away quickly. They come not seam sealed so be prepared to dilute some clear silicone with acetone to brush on the stitches. It’s our lounge tent. Can stand up in it to change clothes, lots of space and made a tyvek floor that comes with on some trips. Don’t have the wood stove yet but will in the near future. I was not only impressed with the outrageous high price but how small it is stuffed and it took an honest 30-40kts with ease. Two aluminum rods and guy ropes…that’s it. Good customer service as well.

Not sure the whole floorless thing would be comfortable in a spider,scorpion and snake setting. They seem fine around Bears…..
 

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You guys crack me up. The irony in this thread is so thick and prevalent I can't help myself. Anytime a $1,000 airplane part is destroyed because it was used or abused well beyond its design capability we shrug and replace it. The Same should be done with tents, old or new. I've replaced several sets of poles through the years either through the manufacturer or via an outfit like tentpoles.com. all with satisfactory results. Some I've paid for, some I haven't.

Then there's the weight deal, spend $1,000's to save a plane pound only to dump a 20# tent in baggage, I know I know that's why we save weigh in the plane but really? And we want a big comfy tent we can stand up in, or use a cot in but we want it light and that it'll stand up to hurricane force winds, as my mom used to say : pick one.

If you're looking at a VE25 for a 4 season tent (not a VE24 it doesn't have a vestibule) be sure to include a Eureka K2XT in your research. I have well over 150 nights in a VE25 canoeing in the NWT's. It served me well but I wore it out. I replaced it with the K2XT. The k2 is 11.125# while the VE25 is 9.5#, (either are light compared to the 20#arctic ovens)but its several hundred dollars cheaper and Eureka warranty and customer service is great. I wore out a Eureka mushroom as well and Eureka rebuilt it a couple.
times for me, once they had the audacity to charge me postage, all the other fixers were free.

I've now had the K2XT on a few river trips and to the high camps on Aconcagua, it will hold up to wind.

There I feel better now
 
While on the subject of tents, I would like to read about any off season things you folks do to keep your tents ready for the next year’s adventures.

Bill Tracy told me that he waterproofs his rain fly and tent floor every year. I started doing this last year.

Any other thoughts?

Randy

Bibler I-tent (now called Black Diamond I-tent) is a great one person and gear tent ( 2 if you want to be cramped ). This really is a bombproof tent......easy to set up, no rain fly, and withstands any weather I've been in but I've not used it in the winter. It's been used extensively on camping trips in the US, caribou hunt in AK, and mountain climbing in Mexico........never an issue and completely waterproof. Every couple years I give it a light waterproof spray coat and use a seam sealer. Use a ground cover. I can't say enough good about this tent.
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P.S. I now use a blow up air mattress ( creature comforts ya know) that has the exact footprint of the tent.
 
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