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How much tent camping must one do to get a return on this at $2700?

http://alaskatent.com/oven/ao-12-extreme-w-vestibule.html

Seems like a lot of surface area to put in the air if one is fully exposed out on the tundra. I'd need some experience or persuasive references before I'd drop than much coin on a tent.

If you're in a situation where the difference between a good tent and no tent is success of failure on a hunt, or life or death, I'd say priceless.

Pretty tough to find a tent that can handle real whether for under $1000. The question is really more one of do you want a tent you can carry in backpacking, do you want a floor, do you want a stove?

Between the Arctic Oven and Barney's Bomb Shelter you get to choose from really incredible gear that will last a very long time at about the same price point. I have spent many hundreds of nights in my Bomb Shelter since I bought it in the mid-'80s.

I used it for more than three weeks this year alone.

They are more of a portable cabin than a tent...

I'd love to have an AO10.

Those are great tents but for occasional tent camping they are a bit on the spendy side. Still, i'd love to have either one.

I don't know why someone doesn't make a round "yurt" type shelter for AK conditions.

I'm sure most of you have seen that heavy azz Korean War era round "arctic" squad tent that the Army had forever. It was heavy canvas. The Canadians had a similar tent made of what looked like the old 60/40 cloth that Sierra Designs parkas were made of in pre-goretex days. It was slightly smaller than the US abomination and less than half the weight and bulk. If I had to hunker down in FEB/MAR in the interior that tent and a 4-dog stove would be what I'd want.

I stopped reading the details when I got to 78 pounds....

Buy once, cry once. Pretty simple when life could depend on the shelter.

I've not tried this one, but have been in an 8x8 and almost bought a 10x10 until was given use of a very similar tent instead.

Weight doesn't matter when its life or death and you aren't backpacking.

Alaska comes with extremes others can never imagine, IMHO.

We use my buddies Bombshelter when we hunt. It weighs around 50#s. The argo never notices the weight and we sure appreciate it when the weather blows up.

Anybody who has ever had a tent blow down around their ears in the middle of the night during a wind storm with blowing rain or sleet or snow will think $2700 is a damned good deal. The weight and usable floor space of this particular tent is a turnoff for me, but having a shelter that you can depend on when all else fails is just about priceless.

WTF....Even the dam cookie monster knows good equipment.... this is NO gayazz weekend country camping...kids ...... man up or shut up

I will have more pics to come......warm..dry...if u run a wheeler/boat/truck ..u aint carrying the crap...man up ..this is no gayazz wall tent/dumbazz teepee/gayazz yurt ...only men allowed....... no dreads either..wash up and come in......

A good sheep hunting tent [backpacking] will ruin $1K so These tents that provide shelter for mid-winter -40 weather are not out of line at all.

These are not usually popular in Yosemite.

There are to my knowledge, several people here who have Arctic Ovens and swear by them. They use 'em mostly for multi-day winter camping trips, sometimes hundreds of miles from home, via snowmachine/sled, so weight isn't the issue. Survival is.

Me and my Bravo don't get that brave....

when you are 100 miles off the highway and have downed your moose.
the inside of the AO feels pretty good at -35.
It only takes a very small stove and fireplace logs to get the inside up to 60F.
that is how good the AO tents are!
worth every penny.

But Bud.....I've got your stove and it works great......hope to use it in an AO again next week. Sure nice to have dry clothes and sleeping bags in nasty and cold weather.

I hope your season was as good as mine.

own an AO 10x10 paid $1100 for it barely used many years ago.

would probably never have paid that much for a tent if I hadn't lived in a similar one for 4-6 weeks at a time.


good gear most times costs a goodly sum

tents no different

there are exceptions

and just with a Peak 1 lantern you can get an AO up to t'shirt temps inside while it's in the teens outside.

what's that worth after you been sloggin all day in the rain or snow?


way more than $1100 in my book

I see now extremes are the norm in Alaska. So, the tent makes sense. In that type of wind/cold/rain any shelter would be cherished.

We don't get enough snow on the Gulf Coast to endanger any lives. Thanks for the edcuation.

I experienced the same storm as John Havard and some high end tents did not survive that ordeal.......in fact, some of the homes South of our hunting location were blown down.

No place for a Sears tent.

let's not forget that the pop-up ads which grace this website....the same ones offering motel rooms starting at $39.99........ are actually over $160 at summer rates here in Alaska....(well close anyway: Anchorage); of course the 1 1/2 star room does come with television (and the opulent smell of crack pipe if you're lucky!)

aiy fond memories you jog Mark


in our younger years we'd traipse off to Anchorage, we had little money

got a room one time at the Red Ram Inn, not many vacancies around town that summer in our price range. Tired had worked all day and then made the 6-7 hour drive to Anc.

got in the room, turned back the bed covers only to see a giant dried blood stain peeking through the sheets. Yecchh

but hey I'm a can do guy, easy fix honey, I'll just flip the mattress

lmao, we'd already been lookin at the good side! bigger bloodstain on the other side

next time we're several stories up in a suite in the Captain Cook, I need to remind mom of that adventure!

already reminded her of the time I had to rack the slide on my short barreled shotgun at the Big Timber to run off a couple of wannabe bad boys.

good at 43 degs above with a wind boo like'm to >>>

No doubt Alaska comes with extremes, Jeff. In fairness, I have never been to Alaska let alone camp there.

But the Alaknak has been going strong in the US for many years now in all weather conditions. A 12x12 with stove etc would probably go for about 1k complete and could last a fellow for many years.

For late season truck camping or hunting this is the direction I'm going in.

CLB,

Of my many tents, I've had the old Alaknak the longest and recently loaned it to a young couple along with the Ti stove I bought from Budman. It still works just fine. The double wall of the AO is a tad warmer for winter use.

I don't fault the alaknak, but I can honestly say some of the bomb shelters I've seen/been in look like they'd outlast alaknak by centuries.

Had my choice bomb shelter type once and be done with it. The frame and material are obviously stronger to my simple eyes.

Yet if I was not dealing with AK conditions, I could do without the bomb shelter types.

What scares me is super cub type fly ins where weight can kill you in various ways. So far my go to will be our Kifaru 6 man tipi and stove for the wife and I on that type of hunt. But I get nervous being that far out and thinking about a failure.

Luckily where we do some traipsing around now, we are only decent ATV ride from solid shelter. I can probably stand an hour or two on the ATV if the tent failed...

Jeff

this is what makes the tent ...... ""A condensation-free interior.... Vapex� has a high water transfer rate/extremely breathable

I would love to have an AO, although I've used my Bomb Shelter from Barneys for a lot of years. I've stayed out as long as two weeks at a time. I have an 8X8 and after using it would prefer a 10X10 even for two people. It's a good 4 season tent and I've used it above the arctic circle during the last 1/2 of the Sept moose hunt. It starts to get cold up there pretty good. I don't think it get's any better than an AO especially if it's going to get down to 0 or worse. A good 4 season tent can save your life for sure.

I use my cabalas 6man tent for spring/summer camping it works fine ...other than the dam zipper catches on the "zipper weather flap"...50% of the time

We bought a Sierra Designs Convert 3 for our mild Colorado fall hunting. We get snow and sometimes 70 mph winds, but not for long, nothing like you guys in Alaska get. This tent is light enough to pack in and stands up to our gentle weather. This isn't a tent you want to spend a lot of days in.

http://www.sierradesigns.com/product/convert-3

Nice size tent for one person. LOL. I know the feeling though.

For 5 ish pounds I'll take our 6 man tipi with liner and stove at about 7 pounds IIRC every last time.... Tipis are awful solid in the wind.

I have a Kifaru 8 man tipi with large stove and it has served me well in remote Ak moose hunts as well as deer and bear hunts in Wi. I haven't used it in -50 temps or 100 mph sideways driving rainstorms, but it has done the job well in moderate wind and temps in the teens at night.

I have visited Alaska tent and tarp store on several occations looking at their AO displays, trying to talk myself into one, but just can't justify it since most all of my hunts/camps are in Sept, and not in the dead of winter. I also love the floorless. Mud an inch thick caked on my boots? Not a care, walk right into the tent. Also, this 8 man tipi is perfect for 2 guys and plenty of gear, without felling cramped. 2 cots, stove, gear, and a pile of firewood with room to stretch.

The Arctic Oven tent is the best tent made for cold weather camping, period. It isn't just because it is warm and stable in high winds its the dual layers that wick out the moisture that makes them so unique. I been using them since about 1990 and just about everybody who spent a week in one of my tents went out and bought their own after the hunt was over. Two of these guys owned Bomb shelters and sold them to buy the AO.
My son and brother still laugh when we bring up past hunts and we talk about other hunters in our group that laughed at how much I paid for the AO. Their laughter ended when the winds ripped their tents to shreds or they caved in from heavy snow.

Simply worth every penny and if I ever moved back the first thing I would buy would be a new AO.

AO are the way to go as snowwolfe said top notch and when it's -20 out and your sitting in the ten wearing shorts and tshirts life good

I have used them for over 20 years and EVERY client who has stayed in them says they are the best, most comfortable tent they have ever stayed in.

had to run by AT&T last night to pick up some 303 to treat some raft tubes.


asked the couple at the counter if they were still making saddlebags for snowmachines.

by their reply, not very often anymore.

the lad at the counter told me "I'm pretty sure lots of the snowmachine companies are offering them"

yep I've had both and my AT&T gear is still going, whereas the other stuff is just shredded nylon.

stuff at AT&T ain't cheap, but it's damned good, ime

And if it breaks or rips you don't have to order a new piece from China !!
When the rain fly of my Barney's Bomb Shelter finally gave out I went in to get a new one and had to wait for the next order to come in from China.

That is not good! How long have they been having them made in China, I wonder...

Interesting... I'll take bomb shelter off my wish list then for top AK gear and put AO as the only choice.

Both tents show up every once in a while on CraigsList...

I wasn't aware of that. The ones made in the 80's when I got mine were made by Eureka. I don't believe they are made in China. Curious when that changed. At least one of the tents I got from Barneys was in a Eureka box.