Need a long lasting sturdy late season 6man tent for elk hunting. Any experience with the flexbow

Me and my two buddies each have the 10x14 tents and love them. Our scout troop has several of the smaller tents and they have proven very durable. Do well in the wind and rain. We have camped in the snow with no problems, but haven't had a lot of snowfall on the tent.

Hope this helps.

we have the 10 x 10. Sets up nicely. Has not seen much abusive weather other than some good wind, no issues with it at all.

I have the Kodiak 10x10. Great tents. I use mine alot for smaller hunts when I'll either be by myself or with a buddy. I've used it in pounding rain, high wind (25-35 mph), and small snow. The tent has been solid, waterproof, and roomy.

I also have a 14x16 canvas outfitter tent that I use in elk season. We could sleep 6 in the 14x16 but trying to live out of it with 6 guys for a week is going to be crowded. To me, 6 guys = 2 tents plus some way to store things that are not needed in the tent. The other thing you could do is use a 14x16 or similar to sleep in, another, or a canopy, to dry clothes, cook, hang out. With 6 guys I assume you'll be taking at least 2, 4WD vehicles. I'd suggest using them to store stuff. Or take an enclosed trailer to keep stuff. If the trailer is big enough, you could cook in it.

You also need to consider how to get elk home. A mature bull will fill a Coleman Extreme 150 qt cooler - if you bone most of it. There is also the issue of the rack. You can tie them onto something but 3-4 racks makes for creative securing to the vehicle.

I have a 10x12, i believe and really like it. I consider it a good two person tent with all of your gear or three people at most. It's easy to set up and sturdy. I've had it out in wind, rain and snow for a week at a time. A propane tank with heater head will keep it toasty warm. It's more compact than the same size wall tent.

10x14 is a two man tent in my opinion, with heater/stove and some storage room, assuming cots are used. Also check out the Springbar. When I called they said they'd install a stove-jack for a small fee.

You'll need tarps in the snow. The canvas is great during archery elk... seems to stay cooler than a synthetic tent but in the cold I swear that cold air blows right through the canvas. You can get a fairly steep pitch with tarps to help the snow slide off, but exposed canvas can collect snow like a magnet. The walls are not vertical like a wall-tent.

The floor on the Kodiak is rugged. Overall a nice tent made off-shore. Easy to set-up by one person, fairly lightweight, decent stakes, etc. Like all canvas, its heavy when wet but no problem with vehicle. Springbar is the original, made in USA, but I don't think the floor is quite as tough.

As much as I liked the Kodiak, especially in summer, I sold it and bought an XWT. Too much fiddling with tarps in snow, and wondering how its doing while you're out hunting. XWT is nearly bombproof out of the box without the tarp hassle.

For a large group, I'd be looking at a walltent and woodstove, assuming tentsite isn't too exposed.

Saw one of these at the Rapid City, SD Cabelas 1 hr a go it was in the bargain cave priced at $299 from the normal $499 better check it out (605) 388-5600? Magnum Man

That's a good deal, even on the small version. I think the attention to detail is very good on the Kodiak... heavy duty zippers, good venting, storage bag (burrito roll instead of a stuff sack), etc. Just Chi-com canvas vs Sunforger on the Springbar, last I knew.

XWT on sale right now for $350

Do a search in the backpacking forum for some old posts by Tx_Trapper. He converted a Kodiak tent to use a wood stove. Pretty slick setup.

Dennis, that's a good deal for the XWT. I paid that much a couple years ago. I think it was the same time of year too... probably slow for tent sales.

Jeff and I were talking about it and figured that it is just that the 8' tent is not a good seller. We would both prefer the 10 footer.

That might be true. I think the 10x10 and 12x12 used to go on-sale every year too but that seems to have changed.

8x8 is a little cozy, depending on what you want/need.

For myself, my wife, and 2 young kids the 8x8 is just fine for car camping. But we're camping in mild weather, sleeping on the ground with pads. When I'm solo, the 8x8 is easy to set-up by myself and gives me plenty of room for storage. As a hunting shelter, its a 2-man tent. You can fit 2 cots in there with a little bit of extra room (pic below might give you an idea of space). Not much room for chairs though. You might be able to squeeze in an extra cot. The vestibule is fairly large... 4'x8' I believe.

Might not be as bombproof as an Artic Oven or Bombshelter but mine has withstood some heavy winds and weather. First night I used it was during a hellacious storm near Hell's Canyon. Tentsite was somewhat exposed with extreme wind and heavy rain. There was literally a stream running under my tent. I've used floorless tents in the past so am careful about site selection but this site was limited. Not a drop of water entered the tent. Haven't had any problems since either.

For the money I'm very happy with the 8x8 XWT. For my needs its easy to set up, easy to heat, and low profile for high winds. If I needed more room, I'd consider the 12x12.

Hey 4th Pt, I see you have 2 cots in there. Are they the 24 inch x 72 inch kind? That looks plenty big for a hunting camp for 2 hunters. I'm 5'8, could I stand in it?

Ziggy, my family (me, wife, 7-year old, 5-year old) uses a 10x14 Flexbow for family camping. We all use cots. We can fit full size cots for my wife and I (the Cabela's Alaska Guide cots), and 2 smaller aluminum framed cots for the kids (the ones that sit lower to the ground), with a path to walk between all the cots.

For 6 guys you'll probably want 2 10x14 Flexbows if you want to use cots. If you're sleeping on the ground you'd probably fit, but your stuff might not fit if you have a regular hunting amount of stuff. You could store it in your truck, but 2 tents and cots would make a much more comfortable camp.

As for the construction, we don't go out in really challenging weather. We did bring my wife's dog once, a pug. It was cold enough the pug was cold. My wife was a little cold, the kids and I were fine. But I judge the tent to be well constructed, and I would take it to elk camp without hesitation. I also have a tent heater to take the chill out of the air in the morning before I get out of my sleeping bag. The tent heater runs about 10 minutes/day.

I've used the 10x14 Kodiak as my primary hunting tent for the past 5 years or so and it has been a very solid piece of gear that I would definitely buy again. It is a fast and easy set-up for a tent this size... easy to do solo, and easier with someone else along to help out. It has held up to some pretty serious Wyoming wind, to Idaho snow, and to plenty of rain. I've never felt a need to add a tarp over the top to keep things dry inside; I do always put down a ground cloth tarp to help protect the floor, and add a canvas inside floor liner for additional floor protection and to make clean up easier. I've not seen any sign of significant wear or damage yet.

I don't think it could work for 6 people unless they are all ready to sleep on ground mattresses lined up in a row and are willing to be right up against one another. With three hunters on cots we use it as a sleeping tent, and set up a second tent for cooking and eating. When there are only two of us there's room for two cots, a CampChef stove for cooking, a small roll-up table, and a couple of folding chairs for indoor lounging when it's too cold or wet to be outside. With the CampChef and a propane lantern or two burning it gets warm inside very quickly, even when outside temps are near zero, and even with a few windows zipped partially open to keep the oxygen flowing and prevent a carbon monoxide mishap.

The only issue I've run into is that the sidewalls have enough slope to them to prevent me from being able to use the gear/clothing tree posts that came with my extra-large Cabela's cot... they hit the walls if the cot is placed near the side of the tent, and using them would require moving the cot a couple of feet in toward the middle to avoid that. No big deal, as everything can be tucked out of the way under the cot to keep floor space open.

I think those are the standard sized cots from Roll-A-Cot... 28"x74". I'm 5'9" and can't quite stand in it... just need to duck down a bit. But I think that low ceiling helps in high wind.