Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Whelen lean to or Baker style tent?

I am thinking of making one of these tents but cant really decide which route to take. I will be making the first out of a regular tarp and then out of canvas once it is perfected.

I hear the Whelen is easier to set up and is more light weight but seems that it can not be closed well if need be and im not sure it would be acceptable for two people to sleep comfortable.

The Baker on the other hand can be closed up tighter with the front flap being pulled down. I feel the design can fit two men more comfortable than the Whelen. I also think i can modify it to take a camp stove where as the whelen doesnt seem stove friendly.

At the moment i am more biased to the Baker but everyone seems to like the Whelen better. I have not quite figured out why. I am counting on you guys to point me in the right direction.

Also most of my camping is from a canoe with short walks but i do plan to do hiking and hunting from this tent as well.

Obselete designs, made to set before an open fire. Needs to be made of a fire-retardant fabric due to campfire sparks.

A Seek Outside Backcountry Shelter, among others, and a sheet metal stove is what COL Whelan would choose today.

I have a Whelen that I made almost 30 years ago. It'll sleep 2 ok. It lacks headroom and the ripstop nylon I used wasn't waterproof like it was supposed to be so it leaks. It does work, though. If I did it again, I'd make it at least 2' longer to give more protection to the sleeping bags. I'd also make it higher.
As it is, it rolls up to about 3" x 6".

Agreed,the old open front tents were fine, in timber when you could legally/morally build semi-permanent long fire pits/backwalls and cut any wood you cared to.

Now, this practice marks one as an irresponsible person with little or no respect for the environment or skill in camping. In fact, here in BC, open campfires are strictly regulated,as they should be and I would like to see this further restricted.

The contemporary light tipis, with stoves, when set up properly in appropriate circumstances, are THE most useful bush shelters I have ever seen and I think that "Seek Outside" is currently at the "cutting edge" of this. I suggest that this is your best option and one that you will find very comfortable.

For the type of camping you do, either would work but as you said, the Baker has better storm protection.

There are still lots of areas where a shelter with a fire in front is acceptable an canvas is still the best choice for such shelter, especially when weight isn't a great concern.

many years ago our scout troop had a few of the baker tents. they were canvas and we would set them up .

How many of us do things 'retro'? We use muzzleloaders and bows when a rifle is more powerful and has longer range. We use snowshoes when a snowmobile is faster. We do all sorts of things to get a taste of how Grampa did it. We just upgrade the materials. So what's wrong with going retro on a tent?

Not a thing IMO. A new Filson Tin Cloth Cruiser just landed on my porch this evening and I haven't been happier with a purchase since ordering a pile of Glock mags on election night. I will proudly wear this fine garment in complete defiance to more modern clothing------------although I do confess to owning some of that also. Just depends on the day's mission, but I'm by far the happiest on the days I can wear wool or other Old School garb. Silnylon and a small stainless stove may be more practical and effecient (at least lighter), but the hiss of a Coleman lantern sounds much sweeter in a canvas tent with a big black stove.

I can't speak to the awesomeness of the Whelen yet, but I do have a brand new one that I bought specifically for "time machine" weekends. I'm ashamed to report that the tent hasn't been used yet.

I love the open face tents, especially after the first frost, but can't get my head around using a stove with one.

I have used both for many years. The Baker is canvas with a stove hole and is too heavy to carry but good for a canoe trip, mules, or a truck supported trip. I can be closed up. It has good head room, and provides lots of shade.

The whelen is nylon. It is a few pounds and can be backpacked. I have slept in it on x-c ski trips. It is low and small but warm with a fire in front. I have a few small holes from sparks that are filled with rubber cement.

Both of these shelters are at their best with some wind protection like a forest. They are not so good out in the open like above treeline or in an exposed desert location.

There is NOTHING "wrong" with "retro",IF, it does not compromise the pristine wilderness that we still have in BC and that many pay big $$$$ to experience, hunting, fishing or just camping and enjoying seeing what North America was 200ish years ago.

If, you allow firepits, you get semi-permanent scars that can take decades to "heal" and there is the serious danger of wildfire, which, here is a VERY big deal.

I spent many years in wildfire management and know what can happen when some "Davy Crewcut" decides that he will build an open fire and then it gets away from him. I would totally ban open fires on Crown Land, here if I could and I am not alone in feeling this way.

So, as I posted, these tent designs are OK in timber, but, there are MUCH better options for all seasons and the use of an ultra-light backpacking wood stove or one like my "Fourdog Ti Large" stove in a wall tent or tipi is the way to go in severe cold.