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That would be hunting in style. nice shelters!

I love my Hilleberg Akto. I'm 6'2" 195 and I don't feel claustrophic.

Terrain is similar to this, only higher peaks and deeper into the woods

Did you mention that your dog will be in the tent?

Floorless sounds like an option worth investigating.

For what it's worth I use a Marmot Twilight 2P for a floored tent. Double door/double vestibule is nice to keep gear out of the rain without crawling over it.

And a Mountain Hardware Kiva Light Tipi for floorless (it's a Kifaru wannabe without a stove). Walk-in with boots on!!!

Hansol,

What part of Alberta are you heading in for your hunt? I'm assuming you're sheep hunting?

Brad, great photos! Looks like we have pretty damn similar terrain. But then again, North Montana/Southern Alberta are pretty much exactly the same, so that would make sense.

Yes I mentioned that my dog will be tagging along. He'll probably go with me during scouting trips, just cause I don't have the heart to leave him at home while I go bushwacking.

Rackmastr, I'll be heading into the southwest part of the province, Crowsnest Pass area. No Cadomin sheep for this guy, as it's too far north/too much work to try and make that work. (I would love to chase sheep out near Jasper, but I don't know how my hunting partners would react to that.)

hansol, based on those pictures of that terrain... I would without a doubt be taking my tipi with no problems. I used to live just outside Glacier Park in north Montana - no problems there either.
This is much tamer but it was my archery camp this past fall - just at treeline in between Bozeman and Livingston...


No wood - burn dung... lots of btu's

Bitt, what's that entire setup weigh?

Looks comfy...

The eight man tipi (7# 9oz) weighs around 13#'s with the stove split that up with another person it isn't bad. You can eliminate bringing a backpacking stove and fuel if you want - so that offsets a little. I bring a Lite max snowpeak stove and a small canister just for convenience and safety. With 2 people it is decadent but could go 3 or 4 easy enough.
The Para Tipi is 2# 2oz bare - If I use trekking poles and ti- stakes - I think I can keep it around 3 1/2#'s with the stove. I use a couple of Heat Sheets for ground cover where I want it - and they are really lite but seem to hold up well.
It is hard to beat being able to get warm and dry out everything. And in the 8 man stand up and walk around in it is a plus. Being tent bound in bad weather is night and day different from my mountaineering tents.

Bitt: The weights you quote are they actual weights you have personnally weighed? Last night I weighed my Kifaru gear in preparation for a tahr hunt and this is what I got:
8 man tipi - 12 lb. 8 oz. (tent with mosquito netting, center pole, stakes)
stove (13" x 9.5") - 7 lb.
tipi liner - 2 lb. 3 oz.
My gear is older (white fabric), but I am curious about the huge discrepency between our gear. Thanks for the info.

Hi Bob,
Yes those are my own weights - pretty much right on with their advertised weights.
It sounds to me like you have the older ripstop version - the Sil-nylon made a big difference in weights - but I don't remember how much they used to weigh.
I use the medium stove - 4# 11 oz - yours is a large or bigger and they also lightened them up a couple of years ago.

So yeah, that's what I have and guessing it is just the different generation of the same versions. Your hunt sounds like a dream come true to me! Good luck!

Most likely the same place he got his flag pole...snicker snicker...

Bitt: You are right. I checked an old Kifaru brochure I had and the weights are close to what they previously advertised. The old catalog showed a standard and ultralight tipi. The liner is Sil-nylon and it is a totally different fabric. That is the good thing about Kifaru, Patrick is constantly refining his gear but the original gear is so well thought out you can still use it. Thanks for the info.

The Hilleberg Jannu Tents are great. We used three of them for advanced camps on our 2008 Mystery Ranch Denali Expedition.... I can attest that the Jannu's are awesome, strong, and versatile.... these are really great tents. Hilleberg's are extremely tough in the snow, rain, and wind... they kept us dry, warm, and comfortable for 30 days on the glacier.

The Jannu tents can also be configured for using the fly only..... making them a much lighter floorless shelter.....

That being said.... when we were climbing the Cassin Ridge on Denali during that same trip.... we carried a BD First Light tent..... this is the same tent "Brad" has mentioned and shared photographs of...... it's a great purchase and top performer.... but only in perfect conditions or in very cold and dry snow or where an ultralight shelter is your only choice....

I've used BD Firstlights on various expeditions and they don't perform well at all in the RAIN.... If you want the same tent in a little heavier version that's way better suited for the rain, save yourself an epic with the FirstLight and get the BD/Bibler I-Tent.... for those taller than 6' 0" get the Eldorado.......

These are the same tents that used to be made by Todd Bibler.... BD purchased his company (Bibler) a few years back. The Bibler's are made out of ToddTex..... a waterproof and breathable fabric similar to GoreTex. My favorite tent of all-time is my Bibler Fitzroy....... it's over 10 years old and still the toughest tent I've ever owned!

Good Luck!

If you want photos shoot me a pm or email me at markseacatmysteryranch.com

We did 5 guys in an 8 man kifaru no problem. Held up in a snowstorm with 50+ mph winds (probably more) on a ridgeline. We were hunting in areas that were pushing the treeline. Had the large stove and liner, both highly recommended (don't think twice about them if you are going with a couple guys). We each had our own tyvek to sleep on, and we did bring up a cut piece of tarp for the floor (easy to split up with 5 guys). Even with the stove, I would pack a lightweight cook stove for convenience, takes too long to heat/boil on the tent stove.

When that storm does hit, you'll be glad to have that stove to take the serious edge off and dry anything out that gets damp.

Not something you want to move on a daily basis (at least not the 8 man), but easy enough to get setup quickly, plenty of room, light, and ooohhhh that stove.

heres a link to a thread and some pics of our trip last year.
http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/2544646/page/0/fpart/1

AHM- Great hunt and story!

I've got a Bibler Ahwanee for about 13 years and it's been great for me. It's about 5 lbs but is bomber for the weight. The thing I love about it is that the entire side of the tent opens up so entry/exit is super easy and in nice weather you can sleep with just a screen and have quite the view. I don't even know if they still make it though.

AHM - thanks for the link to your hunt report!
I can just imagine - someone in dire straights, out in the storm stumbling on your spike camp! It must have gone from looking pretty grim to sitting in a 80+ degree tipi in minutes.

They still make the Ahwanee. The zip down sides do seem nice; in fact I seriously considered purchasing it a couple of years ago. In my mind however, a single wall tent with no vestibule better be close to 4 lbs. or less otherwise it's just not worth it. Double wall tent design has improved such that you can get a bomber 4-season tent w/vestibule space for between 5 and 6 lbs. easily (the light version of the terra nova quasar, big agnes string ridge, mtn. hardwear spire 2.1--I'm sure there are more), or even lighter for stuff that's still very usable in a "4 season" environment. Then again, if you're only ever going to be using it solo or with your dog, a solid single wall may be just the ticket...I guess it depends if you want the space for other trips/more people.