Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Tent Recommendation

Hello,

I am looking for a mountain hunting tent for backpacking. I plan to use it here in CO for pack-in fishing as well as elk, mule deer, and knock-on-wood, sheep hunts (I apply all over).

I am wanting a 2 man tent with a vestibule. I am thinking I might do a DIY caribou in AK sometime in the future.

I am open to any suggestions you all might have on here. I am also open to REI, as I have a dividend to burn.

Thanks!

Do it right, do it once, buy a Hilleberg and look after it, use it for 20 years.

For your needs, buy an Allak, maybe a Hille. UL tarp for cooking under and have a top quality and excellent camp for two.

HTH, my experience with such tents goes back almost 50 years and lots of tents, Hilles are the best I have used.

I've recently gone to a SeekOutside tarp tent with a stove, and will never go back to "cold camping" again. A stoveless tent with a floor in seriously ground-buggy conditions? Yes, maybe. Other than that, the ability to have a hot stove in the tent is a game changer for me.

If you're planning on hunting North of the Border anytime soon, I would strongly consider a Hilleberg. If you're not going to for a while and want to save money and weight, I like the Big Agnes line... I personally use the Fly Creek UL-2 for backpacking and hunting in Colorado and haven't had an issue.... Alaska is a different story...

Tanner

I don't know anything about Alaska or what your weight requirements are but I really like my Big Agnes Copper Creek 3. The 2 may suit your needs better.



Travis

I've had a Hilleburg Allak for about 5 years now and leaned on it pretty hard at times with no sign of breakdown. I'd buy one again in a heartbeat. The Nallo's are a better bang for the buck if you don't require freestanding design and are about 6' tall or less.

I had a BA for a while too, great tents for the money. I'd own another for general backpacking for sure.

Might be a bit tough to backpack this one

It would be great at an elk base camp though.

Not difficult at all. The entire system, pegs included, weighs 5.5#.

SeekOutside Lil' Bug Out with 3-piece vestibule; EdT 12" cylinder stove; 5' flue pipe.

Here is a link to REI's website with the tents on sale. I did a filter on it but it might come up as an error on your computers. Those Hillebergs look like the real deal. If I go that route, I'll probably try the used route. I don't have a problem spending money on stuff that lasts. Let me know your thoughts on these tents, please.

http://www.rei.com/outlet/c/tents?ir=category%3Atents&pagesize=90&outlet=true&r=deals%3AOutlet Products%7CClearance Products%3Bcategory%3Acamping-and-hiking%7Ctents%3BSleeping-Capacity%3A2-person%3Btab.sku-range-weight%3A3 to 4.99&page=1&rank=rank_outlet

Buy from REI, give your money to HSUS & PETA.

Rock Chuck, I entirely respect your opinion, however I personally think the backpacker and the hunter community could do each other a big benefit by focusing on education and similarities rather than blanket statements. I am being real honest, after all I benefit from blanket statements, but I prefer to focus efforts on education. After all, we are all just enjoying the same country, and if someone only sees the result of what you we do, vs the hard work we put in to conservation and and an honest meal paid for not only with our effort but our principles they get the wrong idea. Sorry for the stump speech, but I think we should make an attempt to educate wherever possible while not compromising principles. Carry on ...

Well said. Thank you, Kevin.

kscowboy:

One tent is not going to get it. You need at least two unless you want to carry the weight of a winter tent all summer long.

Most of the time you don't really need a good tent. Say for instance summer backpack fishing trips or early season hunting trips, the worst you can expect is some rain and/or cool temps. In that situation anything will do. I've tried a bunch of different tents and the one I'm currently using is a Big Agnes Copper Spur UL-1, which weighs 2#. It's an oversized one-man tent with a vestibule. If you have to have the extra room of a two-man tent then I would go with the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL-2, which weighs 2 1/2#. I use an REI Quarter Dome T-2 when I take the grandson or the dog. It has two doors and two vestibules and weighs less than 4#

It gets more complicated when you actually need a tent. Some people are going to recommend a single wall teepee with a stove. They work great in the summer when conditions aren't that critical. When it doesn't really matter what tent you have. But when you have to scrape away the snow down to the frozen ground, and setup your tent on that, they suck. Specially when the stove gets going because the ground thaws and you get to sleep in the mud. While you are sleeping, the stove will go out and moisture will condense on the inside of the single-wall and moisture will drip down and get you sleeping bag wet if it hasn't already gotten wet from the snow. Try collecting firewood when everything is covered in a foot of snow. Yeah you can do it, but that sucks too.

For late season elk hunting, sheep hunting, AK caribou hunt, winter camping, you need a 4-season, double-wall tent, with a full-coverage fly, a floor and a vestibule that will stand up to high winds and heavy snow loads. The best on the market are made by Hilleberg. Yeah bite the bullet and pay the price. The Hilleberg Jannu and the Hilleberg Kaitum are bombproof tents and are about as light as you find for a 4-season tent.

KC

KC, that's great advice. Thank you.

I spoke with my guide from my 2013 sheep hunt in AK. We used a Hilleberg on that hunt. I'm thinking that's the route I'll take.

I have never slept in the mud or had my sleeping bag get wet in a tipi with a wood stove. Also haven't had a problem gathering wood in any conditions. But I have only been camping in wood heated shelters for about 30 years. As I remember the 10--15 years prior to that camping in mountaineering tents is what. Really sucked.
As far as tents go, Hille are excellent. I'd also look at Crux tents.

As far as weight goes, my Seek Outside Beyond Timberline 2 weighs 4 lb 4 oz with pegs, center pole and my 12" titanium wood stove. 9' diameter, 65" high. A palace for the solo hunter.

KC , I get it. You don't like a tipi with a stove for whatever reason , and you are entitled to your opinion, but your facts are not entirely correct. Liners create a 4 season double wall, no different than what a Hille uses. In addition, ground sheets can protect from any ground moisture, and the option of walking in has several advantages for some folks , myself included. There are even "nest" sections that are complete inner tents. At that point the only difference is free standing or not. It's ok if you don't like a tipi, I get it, some of us don't like certain things and that is ok , but there are simple lightweight solutions to your common complaints that you never mention. You are telling only a part of the story.

kccowboy:

With the exception of the North Face tent, those are all 3-season tents. Any of them will work from mid-spring to mid-fall.

BTW, Ed T and Kevin T both sell single-wall teepees and backpack stoves for a living. Not sure that makes them impartial observers. Just saying.

KC

KC is also either not impartial or has never used a modern tipi with wood stove. If they didn't work better, I wouldn't have spent the last 30 years camping and hunting with them.

Actually , I sell optional double wall tents and inner tent sections .. so single wall vs double wall does not matter much to me. Just choose what you like, they are all lightweight and functional. Now if you want to argue free standing vs non free standing , no we don't offer a free standing so go ahead and make your point. BTW, I also know Ed uses and sells a lot of different style tents himself, and I also know that he does not use an SO shelter for every trip. Thats ok, I don't care.

I offer the best advice I can give. I often steer people to other products, so don't paint me as some car lot salesman saying "what can I do to get you in a tent today" as that is not my style.
What I am saying is you offer a lot of criticism that is without merit, by simply ignoring functionality that is built in. A lot of Hille can be single wall and floorless ? Do I hear you offer the same criticism ?