Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting tents w/o floors

Has anyone from the deep south ever tried camping in a tent without a floor? Here in north Louisiana even in deep winter there's all kinds of creepy crawly things which would like the inside of a warm tent and the inside of the even warmer sleeping bag inside the tent. Plus, there's water to consider. If it's not raining here it's about to rain. Sometimes it's hard to look at a potential campsite and find the highest spot. Several times over the years walking inside my bathtub-floor-equipped tent was like walking on a water bed.

SE Oklahoma here and we used to sleep on the ground but got out in the open, mainly cause there fewer skeeters away from the trees.

This was without a tent at all, the tent wouldn't let me see where I was running if a snake crawled in with me...

If I'm in a tent it'll have a floor but that's just me.

an old army cot will get you up off the ground.they're pretty light an mine straps up with my bedroll to pack it.

I'll take your word for it regarding camping in the Mississippi delta. IMHO if you need a tent, then you need a tent with a floor, although there are lots of people who will dissagree with that statement. I camped for many years, in southern Kalifornia and never owned a tent because it rarely rained. During my first summer (1977) backpacking and camping in the Colorado mountains, I learned why everyone else was carrying tents. If the weather is nice, then sure you can sleep in a tent without a floor but since the weather is nice, why bother with a tent at all?

One more thing. There's an obvious exception to my statement regarding tents with floors and that's canvas wall tents. I own many tents and most of them have floors, but my big canvas wall tent does not. Whenever we setup that big tent, we also use a wood burning stove and cover the ground with outdoor carpet. The stove prevents condensation and the carpet keeps the mud under control.

I've seen many tipis without floors and they usually come with a stove. They are usually single-wall tents so managing condensation is a perpetual task and the stoves do a fine job of that. This works fine for car camping, but it's not practical for backpacking because if the tipi is big enough to stand up in (one of the main advantages of a tipi) then it's too heavy/bulk for backpacking. There was recently a thread on this forum regarding a Go-Lite tipi (reasonably light weight) that the owner had rigged with a stove jack. It looked like it might work OK but it still seemed pretty heavy/bulky for backpacking.

I grew up in South Texas, and primarily camped in a Whelen tent, or old Army, floorless tents. Rattlesnake country, big time.

Never camped in a tent with a floor until I moved to Colorado. I did roll over one night in Colorado, sleeping w/o a tent at all, on a snowshoe rabbit, but we both survived.

The idea that a floorless tent with a stove is too heavy for backpacking would be news to the folks, like me, who do so with Kifaru tents every year. My paratipi is about six pounds, and sleeps two well, four in a pinch, with stove. And the 8 man is about 12 lbs with stove.

In the south, yes I want a floor unless it's dead of winter and has been cold a while, which is almost unheard of anymore. But when I'm hiking into the mountains, I'll take my Vertex 5 w/ wood stove at less than 5#'s and be very comfy and can stand up to get dressed and I'm 5'10".:0)

Rain is not a problem if you pick your campsite wisely. My 10 year old daughter and I just returned from a backpack trip on the Buffalo in NW Arkansas and it rained on us all night at this campsite. None of the gravel in the river was visible when we woke up in the morning, but we didn't have a hint of moisture on the ground inside the tarp.

However, when the bugs come out, I tend to gravitate back to my heavy tent.

It would seem prudent for people to refrain from commenting on things they have no experience with.

That said, I have backpacked with tipis and wood stoves since the mid 1980's and they are neither too heavy or bulky.

As for the comment on the GoLite being too heavy and bulky, here are some figures:

GoLite ShangriLa 2, 2 lbs, 12 oz complete with stakes AND stove with pipe.

GoLite ShangriLa 4, 6 lbs, complete with shelter, stakes, pole, small Kifaru stove and pipe.

GoLite ShangriLa 6, 10 lbs complete with shelter, stakes, pole, medium Kifaru stove and pipe.

The Kifaru tipis and stove combos are similar for weights as are the shelters from Ti-Goat.

The weight becomes even less when you consider that you don't have to carry fuel for cooking. In a week long trip this becomes a big factor.

Condensation is no more of an issue with the tipis than with any single wall sil-nylon shelter, in fact I have found it much easier to manage because the wall as so steep, the condensation runs to the ground rather than raining on you.

Floorless shelters aren't for everyone or for every area, but do not discount their usefullness.

My experiences over the years with floored tents, in rain.. eventually the floor leaks and or you drag in so much wet stuff with you, the floor won't leak the other way and you are in a tub of water. BTDT too many times. When the weather is fine, its no big deal. But of course there, its just as well without a tent. I actually prefer it that way. Seeing as how I don't trust hunting weather in CO etc...(here I have a decent grasp on what will happen in a time frame, there it seems like you can get anything at any time) we do either bivy bag or tent.

Wife didn't cotton to the floorles idea at first. Now after the 6 man tipi, the sylshelter and now the paratipi, there have been some comments but no real complaints.

Worst issue I've had is finding a flat space for the tipis. But we work that out and may dig a minor drainage ditch at times. My worst trip, and we have yet to run our stove, just not cold enough for me yet as I like a cold camp for elk.... was sleet and rain mixed, freezing and thawing. damp dirt about 6 inches in under the tent max. Rest of ground dry as a bone.

In LA, I'd quickly think much more along the lines of a hammock, henesy or otherwise. I think there are 2 brands that deserve a look. Having hunted in E TX swamp public areas, IF it were legal to stay out, thats what we'd use and without a doubt be just fine until it got down to the 20s. Just need more insulation under you than you expect as it gets cold.

Jeff

I admittedly have less experience than many here, but here's another vote for hammocks. Wet (or uneven) ground is no problem at all. Bug net is great. I go with an oversized tarp, which is great for changing clothes, or spending time under due to rain, etc.

There are limitations, namely a group can't share weight/bulk, and everyone would need to carry their own stuff. To my way of thinking, they far surpass any tent as far as a comfortable nights sleep is concerned. Of course, the tents with a stove might have an edge on extreme cold or damp conditions.

Which brand hammock do you use?(for TTS in PA)

Is that a home made shelter and stove set up?

I just picked up a Clark jungle hammock. It is easy to set up and you don't have to worry about level,rocky,or wet ground. Some hammocks even make ground byves. Its really comfortable too. I will not be using a tent again. there are lot of hammocks out there. Clark, Hennessy,etc. You can find a lot of info at hammockfourm.net.

Blackhawk: I'm pretty sure that's a Kifaru Supertarp with annex and a Kifaru stove.

buckkiller.once you've had a chance to use that Clark hammock I'd love to hear what you think of it.I was looking at those then I saw Clator's,thier price looked real good until I found out they are made in Asia

I go floorless most of the time here in the PacNorWet or my other haunts.... Montana & Colorado.
I don't know why a guy who has spent entire seasons living and working out in the mountains in a tent - and who owns dozens of state of the art "mountain" tents - would do that if it didn't work and have advantages? I have been involved in the outdoor industry most of my life and seem to collect great gear. Its my little problem. Using a tarp or tipi I guess you need to possess some bushcraft skills maybe in terms of where and how you set your camp. But that seems pretty basic.
I don't know squat about the south east - so I can't say about it there.
But for me it has been great.
Sometimes I go small - (2# 8oz. with a stove).... (Kifaru SuperTarp w/annex)


Or room for all - split up - the sil - tipis are about the lightest shelters per person you can get.... and like Ed T pointed out.... using the woodstove on extended trips also saves significant weight.

Thanks.... I wondered if that it what it was.

Timat46,

I looked at other brands because of price to. But what i found out was that buy the time you buy all the extras to make it a four season hammock you got just as much as a Clark. I still choked a little, then I priced good four season one man tents. I made the right choice.

Junior,

You are going to have water and creepy-crawlys in the floorless tent with you unless you go to lengths to divert the water and/or pin down the edges of the tent. It just depends on how much work you want to do in order to have the conveniences of walking in with boots on and in possibly having a stove.