Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Real Life Tent Performance Comparison

In September 2016, I hunted caribou again, north of the Arctic Circle. We took a 4-season double-wall dome tent (Cabelas XPG-4) for sleeping and a single-wall teepee (Sierra Designs Origami-3) to use as a cook shack. For three days the wind blew at 28 mph (I took an anemometer) with gusts sometimes as high as 41 mph. Both tents made it through the wind storm. The dome tent required no maintenance but the teepee required constant maintenance. The dome tent worked fine and wasn’t affected much by the winds. The teepee really took a beating and I had to retire it after the hunt because there was so much damage that it wasn’t worth repairing. The storm lasted only three days. If it had lasted any longer, I think the teepee might have met its' match.

The dome tent wasn't much affected by the wind and it was pretty quiet for sleeping. The teepee was really noisy in the wind. I don't know if I could have slept with all that noise.

We camped on a gravel bar and since the teepee had no floor, there was a constant inflow of fine sand blown into the tent. We sealed the tepee down to the ground as good as we could. But the sand got into everything. What a mess. I wonder how much sand I ingested in my food? My Sierra Designs Origami-3 is the old style without the skirts. I think maybe the new style with skirts would have kept out the sand. But because of the tall profile, it would have still taken a beating in the wind.

KC

We have a 6 man Kifaru tipi thats been to AK. Its survived winds worse than yours. I'm thinking design issues or setup issues. Ours has never been noisy either. From CO to AK.

We were in a floored tent this fall in AK, and we had sand all over it, even with the doors zipped shut, every time you opened the door, it would blow in or you would track it in.

YMMV.

BTW those winds you mention are mild winds for the AK region from what we've seen over years of trekking to Alaska every fall. FWIW.

Our floored tent was a cabelas outfitter of some type IIRC.

Was there no other option than to erect the tent on an open river bar? No brush or bank with low vegetation?

We really looked for an alternative tent platform. Everything within 1/2 mile of the lading site was real steep or marsh. Too bad because a nice grassy tent platform would have improved the situation.

KC

Rost:

Yep. I've seen worse winds myself. If the winds had been higher, the teepee would not have survived.

I wonder if those winds were actually as high as you think? Did you have an anemometer or Windicator? I took an anemometer to accurately measure the winds, in anticipation of long shots. I think it might be common for people to overestimate wind velocity.

This is the anemometer that I took on the trip.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...mp;psc=1&refRID=EQ354FTQZ57D8WVJ84AX

KC

I've used the cabelas xpg tents for a decade or so I'd say. I use the 6,4, and 2 man tents everywhere but Kodiak. I've had them to Kodiak twice and had one bust to severe winds. Now only my cabelas XWT tent goes to Kodiak. But those dome xpg tents are a great tent!

I'm suspecting its the brand vs brand quality very possible. There is nothing to push against really in tipi shape IMHO, it always just goes around. But if you are gettting wind under it, then you have to make sure it gets out of it again too. Either open or totally sealed.

I'm a long range guy from the 80s.. I've had Kestrels since I can remember... there is never a time when one isn't in my packs... just in case I feel the need to take a longer poke...

I don't recall for sure which trip, but I know I've seen over 60 on ours a couple of times.

This trip our flight out was delayed to what we heard were gusts in the triple digits at ANC that morning....

That was a breezy stretch.

I know it got breezy enough at the house to tip over a Knaack box.

A proper pitched tipi is hard to beat in the wind.
A number of years ago I had a Kifaru 8 man pitched that weathered a 108 mph gust with sustained winds of 85. Scary as hell to be in. Measured with both a Kestral and a Brunton wind meter.
I was prototyping the Arctic stove and had the tipi pitched in front of the cabin. I ran out, took a couple wind readings and went right back in.
As Rost say, you need to have them tight to the ground and staked very well.

We've always had a more stable tent in a tipi than a regular tent.

This falls hunt was in a cabelas of some type. It was LOUD when the wind was around 35 or so....

But the wife still likes a floor. So we don't use the tipi that much except if we do lightweight hiking stuff. And then if its only the 2 of us we use a paratipi more often...

I live and hunt in OK and use a 6-man Seek Outside Tipi and the winds you encountered are not unusual here. My hunting buddy and I also used the tipi on a 5-day hunt elk hunt in CO at 12,000 ft. In a brief, but heavy wind one evening it made it through the storm without a problem. As Ed T indicates, a properly pitched tipi is hard to beat in windy conditions.

Gravel bars/river bottoms don't particularly lend themselves to good staking options either. We frequently end up tying the tipi out to rocks, or at the minimum stakes with rocks on top. Guy lines are almost always to rocks.

A tipi/mid is much more dependent on good tie-out/staking than a free standing tent (until the free standing tent tries to take off or crush).

That said, my SL5 and Hex3 have always done very well in the wind.

Never had a desire to stay in a tent in 80 plus MPH winds ...but I've used an anemometer pretty frequently and have measured 60 and seen reports of mid 80's at various nearby wind stations when I've been in a large 12 Person tipi. They have done fine. I have a friend that had a large pine fall 5 feet from a large 12 Person tipi in a big wind event. I didn't measure it , but suspect 60's. Good staking is critical.

The key is to keep the sand from blowing into your vagina. Did I just say that?

Me neither, but I've never had a desire to be out of the tent in that kind of wind either.

I'm going to suspect staking was not great.

We have all kinds of stakes... its a PITA, but we have some that have to be 18 inches long... just in case.

And then there are the rocks/logs things...

sometimes its just not the fault of the tent, or the owner, as there could be no option as to what the land offers. You just have to make do.

One thing to know in AK, if you ain't setting your stuff up in anticipation of 60mph winds, the territory might not be kind to you...

Having read enough posts by the OP on the subject of tents, I'd say his conclusion was foregone before he left for the trip...

You're just defending the immoral profiteers who make tipis.

Yeah, I was thinkin' the same thing.

While not AK, RWE, NH K9, and I stayed in a SeekOutside LBO (base+tarp+base) in CO at just below treeline in Unit 45 last fall (first rifle season). The winds were blasting. No idea what the actual speeds were, but I've had the same tent in 30s with gusts over 40, and the CO winds were rather much over that for two days and two nights. No problems with the tent at all.

Gratuitous tipi pic. 6-man from Seek Outside.

Luckily we don't get wind in Montana.

Makes ya wonder why anyone would use a tipi in Alaska at all and survive!

I have a pile of tents from tipis to 4 season backpacking tents to even cabelas xwt 12x12 and an Arctic oven. Each excel in different areas. I prefer the floor less tipis to hangout in and cook in but backpacking 4 season double walls of weather is truly nasty.

I am thinking the OP refuses to actually buy a seek outside or Kifaru made tipi cause he might accidentally see the light.

That location is obviously protected from the wind.

Do you tipi guys use backpacking cots to keep off the ground, or what?

Nope. Sleeping pad, maybe a bit of Tyvek under that (rarely), and a bag. That's it.

How about you, MM?

Sleeping pad on the ground. The green USMC isomat. I could use an upgrade one of these years.....grin

If necessary, I'll put a USGI poncho down as a ground cloth.

I just got one of those lightweight titanium stoves this summer. It should be great for drying out a wet tent interior.

The isomat? You have to bring your own rocks out there?

NeoAir. Thank me later.

I use a sheet of Tyvek, a closed-cell pad like a Z-rest, and a lightweight inflatable (NeoAir).

That's a little more weight than necessary but the trade-off is worth it to me. The closed cell pad will keep me off the ground if the inflatable fails, and it's good for sitting on around the campfire, glassing, etc. Plus it protects the inflatable from sharp stuff on the ground and adds a cush factor that to me is worth the extra weight. Especially with the weight you save by going floorless.

If you're willing to accept a suggestion, try one of those Crazy Creek chairs in place of the closed cell pad. It weighs about the same, does the same to protect the inflatable, and gives you better seating options around camp or while glassing. I'd forgotten I added that in until I read your post. RWE and NH K9 thought it was pretty damned slick, and clearly I need to go backpack hunting again.

I like a full-length closed cell pad to sleep on.

I've been looking at the NeoAir Xtherm. Everybody seems to like them.



When I joined the Marines (1979) the isomat wasn't in the inventory, so when we got it we thought it was awesome.

What we had before the isomat was an inflatable, that never held air. It was known as the "rubber bitch".

First thought I had as well reading the OP...

MM - which stove did you go with?

I went with a Seek Outside SXL. 1280 cubic inches, and a flat top. 3.5 lbs all-in with the complete stove, bag, and 9 ft pipe.

A smaller stove would probably throw plenty of heat, but I was thinking longer burn times. This held heat for over two hours with the size fuel you see in the pic. Obviously if one feeds it twigs it will burn through them much faster.

The large door on the SXL makes it easy to get your hands in there to get the tinder sorted and lit also.

The stove assembles very easily. The pipe was a little tricky the first time, but after burning it in on both ends it practically rolls itself.

THAT is 3.5 lbs?

Wow.

It's pretty much all titanium. Maybe with the exception of the legs (not sure), wing nuts, cable pipe loops.

Packs down pretty small too, considering.

The complete 6-man tipi, and stove, with everything included, is under 10 lbs (9.3 lbs to be precise).

Thank you - looks perfect! I'm still going back and forth on the 6 man and Redcliff, but leaning more towards the Redcliff and something similar on the stove. I agree on going a bit bigger on the stove for the ability to load more / larger pieces for longer burn times.

As regards big vs small stoves I use both and have noticed some other important differences between the two. First of all the smaller stoves tend to draw better. This means they are easier to light with wet wood. You get them drawing and they'll burn anything. Bigger stoves sometimes have a harder time getting the air from the front to the pipe and can get 'smokey'.

Another interesting almost 'non-difference' is that while small stoves need less wood - the wood also requires more cutting and splitting. Sometimes it is easier to gather wood for the night for the larger stoves because you don't need to saw the pieces as short or even split them.

Finally, the big stoves tend to have more 'momentum'. They don't fluctuate in heat as much. You get them going and they stay going. They do not go up and down in heat output quite as much. No cold spells while you try to get the fire up to speed again.

Anyway, my 2 cents.

And as regards the original OP and tents in wind. I find teepees work better than most of my double wall tents, but I do have a couple of single wall mountaineering tents (bibler fitzroy etc) that do handle wind better. Personally I can't stand double walled tents in high wind. And if you want a real quiet teepee in high wind try one made of cuban fiber. Get that stuff drum tight and it stays drum tight no matter how wet it gets. No flapping at all.

Patrick

That's not a wind storm.

It's not so much his foregone conclusion, but rather his stubborn refusal to do things correctly.