Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Start from the top: Best 1 or 2 person shelter

I surf this forum more than the others. I know this type of thread has been somewhat re-hashed many times. But with changing technology and advancements in the last two years or so, wanted to know if the thoughts on shelters has swayed one way or another.

Followed some of Dan's posts on tents recently. Read about the hammocks too.

I am finally moving to the Spokane general area. I sitll don't know where as I have two potential jobs still pending and one guaranteed in the Colville, WA area.

I intend to fully use the Nat'l Forests where I wind up and get out there and cover some ground. Be it solo, with dog, or the wife.

I have lurked at Kifaru for years. I have never used one of their shelters. They have many, many great reviews and Kifaru proud users. I also see many are getting cheaper tipis and installing stove jacks in them.

I am not at all bothered by a no floor design. Or at least I think I am not-never used one. And as tough as I would like to come off, I think I am very cold blooded-meaning I do not sweat while I eat at the buffet. And I don't think I will be shoveling the driveway in a T-Shirt. Certainly will take me a while to get acclimated as it's over 70 deg here in El Paso this am. I see NE Washington is 33 deg

I see many of the hardcore are moving towards tarps and that's it. Think I would like a bit more of a shelter than that. And even though the pack may be a bit heavier, I am all about training and getting in better shape.....by lugging a heavier pack(I think).

So can I, or we, get some thoughts on the better 1 or 2 man shelters for Western hunting/backpacking? I am aware that there differenced in 1 man and 2 man shelters. But I need to accomodate the above or be flexible enough to do it.

Are Kifarus ParaTipis with stoves THAT great?

Are they worth the $1000 for the combo?

Is the trade off for the extra 2-3 lbs of weight work out for the warm shelter/better sleep/piece of mind?

No stove: golite utopia or golite shangri la 2. Better still: an 8x10 tarp, pitched as a lean-to or a-frame in the woods. Open ground requires something else, barring a ground-hugging hiking pole pitch of a tarp.

Stove: hard to say. I'm thinking the shangri-la 3 or black diamond megalight would work great, but a tall guy might be brushing head and foot on the wet walls. I have the shangri-la 4+ and it's plenty long for 6+ footers.

I have the Paratipi and small stove combo, and would cost you less than $1000, more like $750. They list as a 2-man shelter, but no way would you fit two comfortably, in my opinion. I have only used it once, so take my review with a grain of salt. I will be using again in a couple weeks for 4-5 nights for CO deer season. Then I think I can come up with a real-life review. The first time out with it, I found the design pretty poor, and too darn small even for one. I call it the biggest small tent. The thing really is quite spacious, but useable space is nill. The darn stove is pretty much dead center, so when using as a single-person shelter, you are stuck to one small side. I was constantly in contact with the wall of the tent while sleeping, unless I was on my back. Not good if condensation is happening. Getting in and out of the tent was a pain. It seems to be wonderfully built, and is a high quality product, but no way it is worth the asking price of $507, not in my opinion. The stoves are quite nice and heat the shelter very well in my limited use. I will really find out how well they heat in a week or two. Assembly of the stove is pretty easy, and even I can have it together, ready to burn in under 10 minutes. I think a tent and stove combination is a must in the fall. I wouldn't go without the stove. If I had to do it all over again, I'd buy a Go-lite tipi, a stove jack from Ti Goat, and a stove from Kifaru or Ti Goat. There may be others out there. After reading several posts here about sewing in the stove jack on the Go-Lite shelters, I think that would be the way to go. My opinion may change after 4-5 cold-weather nights in the Paratipi, but right now, this is where I am at.....

Brent

I've got a Kifaru Supertarp which is a like a door-less Paratipi. Adding an annex you get the front door/vestibule and a better stove location. Simple to pitch in various ways, light weight at 16oz, ton of room for one person. Best? Probably not but everything has trade offs.

I used a Scarp 1 for sleeping on an 8 day elk hunt this season and it works fine. I would not want to "hang out" in it for extended periods but that's why I bring a tarp for cooking, etc. Scarp is a floored shelter and can be set up free standing or not. Light and easy to pitch.

Jesse, Long time since talking.
You probly know my opinion, but will throw it out there for what it's worth.

For a solo shelter there are numerous options such as those mentioned above. and a stove boot can be added to any of them fairly simple. But for a multiple person (or animal) shelter for packing and using a stove it will narrow it down quite a bit. I'm gonna talk comfort for ME not just a tarp or somthing but a shelter you can survive in no matter what. Comfortable for me is out of the weather warm and able to get dressed not curled up in a fetal possition:).

I will still give the nod to the TiTaniam Goat Vertex 6.5, or even better the V-8. For only 6#'s you have a pretty large shelter. But it is pricey as is the Kifaru's.

http://www.titaniumgoat.com/vertex8.html

I should stay w/ the ? asked:) like Wildone says!!!

For a one person w/ a stove or two w/o a stove and enough headroom to standup the Vertex 5 is super. It may seem I'm always pushing the TiGoat Tipi's but they have been exc. for me, and they come in very light to boot.
Jesse as before you are more than welcomed to give it a test run:)



Best of luck on your new adventure!!!! Allen

I bought a Megamid several years ago. At first I was skeptical about the floorless design but my concerns were unfounded after I used it a couple of times. A couple of friends made fun of my "wikiup" but have asked to use it after they spent a night in it. Super easy to set up and has kept my dry, not as light as the Mega Light. I don't believe you can even purchase the Megamid anymore just the Mega light.

I have not tried any tipi or similar shelter with a stove but am interested in some of Kifaru's shelters.

Here is my 2 cents, it is just my opinion thats all. I have owned a para tipi/sm stove combo now for 9 years. I have also owned the hennesy hammock and an ID tarp. I got rid of the hammock after its first trip . I slept like crap in it and woke up with killer back aches . The tarp is great when you are positive the conditions are going to be bluebird. The paratipi is my go to for when the weather can be unknown. To give you an example , my first AK trip was a caribou hunt . I flew in on a great day beautifull to be more specific. At 5 pm on day 2 the wind started and then the rain . It was recorded at Illiamna 60 mph winds gusting to 85 mph for 60 hours, sideways rain and all. I had the SST pins in and never pulled a peg or had to re adjust the tipi for the entire duration. No tears , no seperated seams , no leaks nothing at all. Its built like a brick house.I had the stove going for a while in the begining but dropped the pipe when it really was pouring. I would go anywhere in it.

As far as set up when you are in it . I may do it a little different then some others but it works for me . With 2 people , I put the foot box of your sleeping bags at the rear of the tipi as far as they will go . This gets me behind the stove so to say. I don't have a proble hitting the walls this way either. I have our packs at your head near the door with the opening facing you so you can root around in the pack if you need to . I keep my wood for the stove either behind the stove or along side. I find this works for us. Going solo you will have more room than you need and it will be comfortable . You can cant the stove pipe quiet a bit to one side if you need to and it still burns fine. The small stove can cook you out of the tipi if you make it happen but it is not a super lung burn time ( this is how it was designed) . I was meant to knock the chill off you and to cook on and it does that well . It was not designed to be an all night burn.

I also have a 12 man that I use as a base camp set up with a 4 dog ti stove. That stove will burn longer because of its size and more airtight design but it does not fold up like the Kifaru stoves. Tons of room in that thing , nice to stand up and put your britches on and stretch in the am. But thats another story you asked about the paratipi and that has been my experience with it. I will never buy a tent with a floor in it ever agian after using these things. JMHO others mileage may vary.

I like the Super Tarp for its versitilty,lots of room for 1,but enough for 2

You can't really beat any floorless shelter for space to weight ratio for obvious reasons. I've shared a Paratipi with another guy while using the stove. It certainly wasn't a space I wanted to hang out in for long periods of time but we were hunting and it was plenty big enough to sleep two in and stash our gear at the low end. For lightweight hunting, that's all I'm looking for.

I use a Supertarp, sometimes with annex, as my solo/+ one kid shelter but don't have a stove for it yet. At less than 20 ounces for the ST alone and about 6 for the annex, I love the shelter I get for the weight. Haven't used it with a stove yet so it is just conjecture on my part to say that I think I prefer the front placement of the stove to the central positioning of the Paratipi.

My "big" shelter is a Golite Shangri-La 6 and I love it. I haven't tried any of their smaller offerings but if I hadn't come across a $125 like new Supertarp, I'd probably be using a Shangri-La 2 for solo stuff. Whatever you get, having the option of a wood stove makes a huge difference in comfort and utility (to me). While using just a tarp can certainly work, I much prefer the greater versatility of something like the Supertarp. Not much weight penalty for the better weather resistance.

The biggest drawback I find with those above is the footprint. The very size that makes them spacious can sometimes be a hassle depending on the terrain you have to set up in. For a two man tent (and it is), the Supertarp covers a lot of ground. The good news is you can set up a floorless shelter over stuff that would never allow a tent with a floor. Small shrubs as decoration and large rocks as furniture can all add to the charm of floorless camping.

I've played with many of them (designs and brands) in several terrains/environments. I'm starting to think that I like a shelter just a bit bigger than a single hoop bivy, roughly the size/weight of an ID MK1-lite plus a small tarp, pitched separately from the tent. It seems like the best of both worlds.
You can walk around with a roaring fire with your skeleton fully extended and in case of rain, duck under the tarp. When it's sleepy time, then into your clean/dry/down insulated sancuary to wile away the hours with the sandman/book/ipod/dreams of a massive rack (purposely ambiguous). The MK1-lite plus a Silwing tarp is 4.5lbs. If you are using it as a one man shelter (which I do) you can use the "other" side for the damp/dirty stuff. I think if a second guy was along, I might move up to the MK3 size, and a little larger tarp.
That's what I'm going with for now, check me later for a newer opinion.....

I was aware that the SuperTarp with the annex gives better stove placement at the front-which I've heard is the major drawback from the ParaTipi.

But doesn't the annex attach with either safety pins or velcro?? If so, that does not seem like a dependable system for a potential life saving shelter.

In all I appreciate the input. As stated at the onset, I know this is pretty close to a "Is the 30-06 a good gun" kind of question. But I would guess money is tight for most of us, and if not, I am sure we'd like to put it somewhere else other that 2-3 shelters that don't do what you'd like.

Doc, the above mentioned system that is working for you has been on your sheep/goat forays and been proven?

Not Doc but the Supertarp annex actually only attaches at the top to the pole and at the bottom by the stakes and depends on overlap of the tarp itself. I wasn't too thrilled when I set mine up and figured I'd be adding some velcro at some point. However in its original form it has held up to some major alpine rainstorms. No wet despite lots of wind and rain in my case. I still may add some velcro at some point just because I have the same concerns as you but as of yet they haven't been born out.

Kifaru advises to use safty pins,I could not bring myself to do that.It works fine without anything,but with to much time one my hands one day I stuck two velcro patches on each side of the center and that seals it up real well.Tim

Thanks. Was just over there looking after I posted the follow up this AM. And I know this has been hashed pretty regularly over there on Kifaru-another "30-06" question of the ParaTipi vs SuperTarp w/annex thing.

Patrick was actually nice enough to send me his personal ParaTipi to try, but I got caught up last summer and only assembled it to see the dimensions.

I am a shorter guy at 5'8", so I am not sure the difference in center height of 56" vs 52" matters to me that much. Other than height diff, is there anything else major that seperates the ParaTipi from the SuperTarp w/ annex?

I have heard several bitch about the stove placement right in the middle with the ParaTipi, and it looks like the Super w Annex fixes that problem with little or no drawbacks?

I see the weights are WAY off in comparision, but I think it's because the Super assumes you are going to use the trekking poles that you already have with you???

Thanks for your time and effort.

Tim-you west side or east side?

I'm on the West side.I had a Para tipi for a while ,and while its a bomb proof shelter for sure,you cant beat the S. Tarp for versitility.I also use it for a rain fly over my hammock when its hot out and bugs are a problem.Are you going to be on the East or West side?

They advertise the Supertarp as 16 ounces (mine is 18.8 on my digital scale), the annex as 5.75 ounces (mine is 6.5) and the peg and pole kit as 1 lb. 4 ounces. So if you're comparing advertised weights, the complete Supertarp set up (2 lbs. 10 ounces) is still quite a bit lighter than the Paratipi (3 lb.s 8 ounces). That gets 4 ounces closer if you ditch the mosquito netting for the Paratipi.

Been on Kifaru tube a bit this am, since I am heading into work and the Gov has shut down about all picture/video viewing on your dime.

got you guys cross referenced and figured out from over there.

Somewhere between Colville and Spokane-East Side.....the only side! Was a former west sider for 3 years. You can keep it. And Bellvue, and I-5 traffic, and high cost everything....

Finally seeing the shelters being set up, and side by side has helped. Getting it in my thick skull on ditching the poles(supplied) and using trekking poles makes a good bit of difference it seems.

Never used trekking poles before, but they were on my list of things to get. And I will. Think I am pretty well set on the ST/Annex combo.

Jesse: if you are in a wooded area limbs work just fine for the Supertarp. The length doesn't have to be precise. Using limbs allows you to keep your shelter pitched while you use the trekking poles. (I bought my Supertarp used with a pole kit that I've never taken to the field.)

CCH: does seam sealing the ST add an ounce or two?

I think that would be a lot of seam sealer considering the small amount of seams and mine isn't sealed. I was told by someone who makes them that it really wasn't necessary. So far it hasn't been necessary (didn't leak a bit in an all night rain storm at 12,500 feet) but I'll probably get around to doing it at some point just 'cuz. So the weight on mine is as is. My scale seems to weigh gear heavier than Kifaru's. I find that very exciting as I must have the world's lightest Kimber Montana. It weighs 4 lbs. 15 ounces on my scale.

At this point, I've gotta say it's the GoLite Shangri La 4 with a stove jack in it. I love my megamid, but dislike that it doesn't pitch tight to the ground. Not an issue in snow, but somewhat breezy elsewise. At 3.5#, the SL4 is quite a bit larger -- almost the size of the Kifaru 4 man which weighs nearly double.