Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting canvas wall tent recommendations

Our crew has been using army tents for nearly a decade. while they are very robust, they are also heavy and vinyl. Heavy is becoming a bigger issue the older we get. Vinyl has always been a condensation problem. Our key players have committed that the next time we camp...... it'll be in a traditional canvas wall tent.

Our group size runs 4-8 annually. Losing some, gaining others. Still, we're a big camp, so thats a factor in how many tents we use, and how big they are.

but my real question to you experts.......

1. is what Brand is right for us. we camp about 2 weeks a year, always in Sept- October. we get some snow, but not SEVERAL FEET worth. we dont leave it setup for months, so it doesnt need to be bulletproof.

Brands I know of and have heard good feedback on are: Davis, and Walltentshop.

Brands I've heard of, but havent heard much feedback on include Montana Canvas and Elk Mountain.

Sportsmansguide sells one that's chinese. It looks a little cheaper on a $/sf basis. no clue how good it is.

Brands I found via google search, but have never heard of include: Whiteduckoutdoors, Bravotents, elkhorntentandcanvas, and KodiakCanvas

I slept in a wall tent once, 10 years ago on a guided hunt and loved it, but didnt set it up, take it down, handle or repair it, either.

all of them claim to be the best thing since sliced bread, and probably most of them would do the job (2 weeks per year in adverse weather for the next ~20 years).

If you have tons of experience with any/all/some of these, I'd love to get some feedback.

2nd question - if your camp was routinely ~8 people, would you want one large tent to house all of them (I think a 16x24 would do that) or a pair of smaller tents (ie two 10x20's), and why?

thanks in advance.

Beckel Canvas......

Make sure to get 5' side walls

I had a Montana Canvas Company 14x17x5ft wall tent for many years until a black bear decided he wanted what was inside it, foam on a cot pad. Anyway it was a great tent. We used it with a internal conduit frame. I would buy another if the need arose.

I've used a Davis 14X16 for over ten years with absolutely zero issues.

screw 5 foot sidewalls if you put cots against the wall. You don't need the headroom there and 4 foot sides allow a steeper roof for snow shedding.....

We’ve had a 16x20 Rainier for going on 20 years and a 14x16 Davis for about 10. We use the 16x20 for two weeks during elk season. The 14x16 gets used during elk season also, as well as various trips throughout the year.

I’d recommend either brand for someone in the market.

As far as I’m concerned, the search starts and stops with Davis Tent.

For your group size I would get 2 tents for sure.

I have a Walltentshop 14x16’ that I’m happy with. Bought their stove, too, but needed to modify it to increase airflow. I’d get two 14x16’ tents for 8 guys, assuming both will have stoves.

I'd want multiple tents for 8 guys. One good sized wall tent with a wood stove for eating and hanging out. 2 or 3 smaller sleeping tents which may just have Buddy heaters for dressing. Just turn off the heaters once everyone is in their sleeping bag. Much easier that way to keep a fairly neat camp. Also less likely that the camp slob will annoy the others by leaving his stuff all around. Not to mention the guys who snore loudly. Put them in one tent.

Six guys sleep in our 16x20 but that’s all we do is sleep in it. We eat and play cards in the 14x16.

https://reliabletent.com/

Use the Glacier and the Yellowstone, Much better than a wall tent, the Glacier 4-6 people 15x17' wall to wall and corner to corner as it is a hexagon, the Yellowstone 12x12' is good for a pub/kitchen for 2 people maybe 3 for sleeping.

Both are easy to set up, both have 24" hippy killers for heat.

Excellent quality, 12 seasons on them with no issues.

Used wall tents before these and would not ever go back to a wall tent.

We use two smaller tents, one for sleeping and one for cooking/hanging out in. Put the two tents front to back and then you can close one door or the other so that you can heat a smaller space more effectively. We use propane for heat. We also take a piece of reinforced poly sheeting that we cover both tents with, on the outside. Allows snow to slide right off and the sheet we use is big enough that when the snow slides off it's not piled up against the outside of the tent.
6 of us this year and we used, I think, a 10'x12' and a 10'x16'. One made by Reliable Tents and the other Montana Canvas.

Another vote for Davis here. It's Denver based and I've been to their shop. We bought an older used one that saw some love over it's life. Took it to Davis, they patched all the holes, redid all the ties, fixed everything for $60. I was anticipating several hundred dollars. I also had them make me some canvas curtains for one of my cabins. Same material and ties as a wall tent. Good people there.

The bigger the tent, the heavier it is. A buddy has a 16x20 (or pretty close) and it's heavy. Has plastic totes for all the small metal pieces and stakes. He hauls it around on a flat bed trailer. I'd opt for multiple smaller tents. Easier to heat, less roof for snow to accumulate on, and you can add/subtract tents depending on the size of your group.

Not a canvas tent but for lightweight it's hard to beat the Cabela's Alaknak 10X10 or 12X12. Great sleeping tents but 3 people max if using cots. Our group uses these as well as a Davis wall tent 14X16 with frame. The Davis tent doesn't really give us a lot more room and is a lot more work to set up.

I've bought several tents from Walltentshop.com and have been very happy with them. Davis makes a very good tent also, but the Walltentshop tents are built with heavier corners, ridges, and wear points and stronger tie downs. They usually have the best prices and service IMO also.

We have a 14 x 16 for up to 4 guys and my brother has a 14 x 16 for when we have more guys. We also have a separate 10 x 12 tent for a cook tent so we have room for out food, camp kitchen set up, snacks, and washing tubs , among other items. We eat in the main 14 x 16 tent, play cards, and BS when we aren't around the fire... Makes for a more comfortable main tent . Wall tent shop also has great prices on cylinder stoves and the angle kits for making the 1" EMT tent frames. You will wonder how you got along with the frame once you have one... makes set up and take down so much easier as well as a really tight tent when set up.

I stayed in an Alaknak tent on a guided hunt this fall. It worked great but I wondered how it would shed heavy rain. The tall peak would negate my usual strategy of a tarp over the top which totally waterproofs any tent. A horizontal ridgeline is much preferred for this. Has anyone here used the Cabelas Alaknak in rainy conditons? Thanks

I second this.

I've had my 12x15 since the mid '80s. Not a single complaint. It's good gear.

I like the larger feel of my 5' walls, but concede that they are not necessary and do add weight.

thanks for all the feedback, gents.


what would yall say is a reasonable life expectancy for one of these, if they are well maintained? is it 20 years? 30? 40?

I have had a Davis for over 10 years and don’t have a single complaint. It’s a 14x16’. I use it and when I’m done clean it and make sure it’s dry before storing it. I expect it to last as long as I do.

One thing to consider about these tents and the frame. If you make your own frame the materials have sky rocketed. When I bought my tent the frame materials cost me $129. My buddy bought the same tent and the materials were over $450 at Home Depot. These tents are an investment and if taken care of well worth the money.

I have never worn one out.
UV damage and putting them up wet are your enemies. Always tarp them.

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This^^^^^^
Like I said previously, I've had mine since the mid '80s.

Davis Tent, that is all!

Good points Don.

My Davis has been good for me over the last 9 years. I have a 12x14, which works well for me as I usually just have 2, occasionally 3 people in it. Cook, eat, sleep, everything in the tent with plenty of room.

Another fan of Davis Tent. I used a 14x16 for 15 years with the mid-size stove, tarps and carpet on the floor. I could set it up myself with no problem, and used it for solo hunts and as camp for up to four persons (crowded). Kept it nice and sold it for near what I paid for it new.

My recommendation is have the ability to open both ends.

Doors on both ends.

I like 5 foot walls BTW

But I don’t hunt in much snow.

Those are called 'ends', Agnes.....


They put doors in the 'ends' to keep you from having to bend over....

Bob was a legend.

I vote Davis a solid #2

If you’re packing mules a 16x24 might be a weight issue. Might want to get two 14x16’s.

My Davis 14x16 & Eena (Beckel) 9x12 and a Simms stove have worked for decades.

I have a 14x16 Davis, had it for about 5 years and no problems. Davis great folks to work with. Mostly deer hunting in IL but also out west last year. I put it up at the start of deer season and bring it back at the end, about 3 weeks. Bought an awning for it and would recommend getting that.

Tops out at about 4 sleepers if cooking, had 5 sleepers and no cook out west.

Always put it back up to dry in friends garage after the season before putting it away, then put up and hose off in the summer.

Moboy

I happen to have a 14x16 Davis I could be talked out of......

We've sleep 4 guys in there really comfortable and have a stove in there as well. Remove the stove, 5-6 could do well but would be a bit cramped if you planned to eat/hang out.

Those were one of the better tents. My brother had a 10x 12 that he finally left with me after hauling it out from PA every year. I sent it back to Eena and had them add another 3 ft panel. That was the perfect size for two people. Also had the Simms fold up stove. I bought the side shelf and extra set of short legs from when I used my military octagon squad tent. When age got the better of me, I sold all my big tents and wood stoves and went to a slid in pop up camper.

Weight wise, I had 16x22 Davis tent. It was a load for a mule. Really heavy if it got wet during the season and took two people load it

I have two Davis tents. 12X14 and Go-Tent. Top quality, top customer service. They get my vote as well.

Does anyone use the traditional poles anymore instead of the interior frame? My Davis came with the traditional pole set up and I didn't find it difficult to set up at all. Maybe by yourself I could see some more time but with 2 it's a breeze.

Another vote for Davis tents. I have a 10x12 for solo or 2 guys and a 12x14 for 4 guys. We had 6 hunters a couple of times and used the 10x12 for cook tent.

Davis sells lodgepoles?......

How 'traditional' is traditional?

I have had a few. The ones I now have are, Montana Canvas and Canvas Cabin. The Montana is 14 x 16, treated canvas. It's a good HEAVY tent, the Canvas Cabin is untreated and is a great tent. I make internal frames for both. Davis makes good tents also. I prefer the Canvas Cabin with its doors in each end. The size of your party, mandates something bigger than anything I have. 16 x20 would accommodate a group your size, smaller will sleep them, but your living outside, the rest of the time. Just in my opinion.

Is that an Eena logo on that tent Don.

Little different, still using lodgepole.

Yeah, that is my Beckel Canvas Eena 9x12....

I also built fittings and cut 3/4 conduit for an internal frame for it...

few more pics.

We have a walltentshop 14x16 and it’s a quality item. Very well thought out tie offs and stitching.

They are 30min from here and been seeing a them during seasons last 3-4 years. Quality looking for sure. Always leaned towards Davis as several friends have them and rant and rave about awesome CS and quality. But think I'll be keeping this purchase local.

What options/coating did you get?

Thanks
Chuck

Get yourself a rain fly and an awning for the front.
We have a Davis but lots of good wall tent companies, staying local seems like a great idea.

Basic stuff only. Doors at both ends, extended fly for a porch, "normal" cotton tent material. I don't recall specifying many options. It came with a crap-ton of easily worked rope and the wood tightening jogs. Also a bunch of stamped stakes that work fine for most spots. I've added long rebar stakes for fly corners. Frame construction instructions were easily followed and the frame fit great when cut as instructed.

I've had my Beckel 12x14 with 5' walls for over thirty years. A little rough around the edges but still going strong.

I bought the davis as big as they made about 8 years ago. Not sure if they still do but after the hunting season they would have a monthly special if so keep an eye on it, I really like my Davis tent paired with a Three dog stove perfect match.
Both top notch.
I bought the frame kit and cut my own pipes easy as could be.

My first canvas was magnum wall tent. Bought it direct before they started selling at sportsman’s guide.
I think it was 3rd year where it rotted out. Fuc* them!

Went with Davis and been happy for 9 years now.
My 16x20 will sleep 6 guys comfortably.
2 guys to set it up. Too big for one guy t set up. and too big for only 2 guys to sleep in, unless you set it up as dining as well. IMO 3-4 guys minimum so every one can pitch in with fire wood and what not.
Mine also has a window in the back as deer season can be warm and helps to get the air flow.
Wish I would have got an awning to possibly cook under. Unless you have a cook tent.

Just slept in beckel? last week. It wasn’t bad but I like my davis set up

I have had a 14x16 Davis for over a decade that I have been very happy with.
Reliable Tent and Tipi in Billings,MT also makes a great tent and they provide great service. They use a bit heavier canvas than Davis or Beckel. Pretty bomb proof and well built IMO. Perhaps better than Davis.They have actually repaired my Davis after it got damaged in a windstorm and provided excellent service. If buying a new tent I would look long and hard at them.

I bought a 14X16 internal frame tent from Reliable Tent back in the mid 90's. Still going strong. Used it this past 8 days in high winds and 10 inches of snow. It performed great.
I'd buy another Reliable.

I went with the tradtional pole set up because the longest pole in an internal frame wouldn't fit in my (psuedo) truck bed. I've not been disappointed and don't find it to hard at all to set up by myself.

Just about every state has a local tent & awning company capable of quality products. A plastic tarp on top facilitates snow sliding off. Thoroughly dry before storage and it should last for generations.

Ours is a 1982 product.

Those thin plastic tarps will drive you nuts with any sort of wind.
I have used them for years, but for next year I am going to buy one of the HD vinyl ones Davis tent sells. Not cheap,but I think it will be worth it.

Get a billboard tarp and use it. Tough, does not sound like the cheap ones in the wind. heavy duty. I use one for the floor as well.

phluck phloors....

Where does one source one of those?

Kind of nice when it's muddy as heck or snowy.
I use the vinyl floor that my tent was sold with and a piece of grass carpet on top of that.

Yeah, If you like cleaning mud off the floor or taking your boots off outside. It's only muddy in the tent till you burn the stove a while. I'll take a little carpet scrap next to my cot, over a floor anytime. I go to hunt, not housekeep......

Source on Internet for used billboard tarps.

On the tarp and wind: Tightly run some line across the tent/tarp 6 or 7 times, and there's never a sound or tear. Does take a significant length of line though. Also, the corners are securely bound down with an invention of my own doing. Been in some strong winds and never an issue with that tarp having about 15 years to its credit.

Typically, a non-issue if erected in dense cover, but in unsheltered locations like that pictured the tarp is always bound down.

Not much for floors either. No issues with peanut shells or spilled liquids.

About 45 days of use this season and just folded and boxed up for the winter today.

We use tarps fairly often. We like to use a section of bungee cord at the stake end of the guy out ropes. It provides tension to minimize rattle and “give” which helps avoid stakes pulling out in gusts. Loose slack is not your friend.

Thanks. I never heard of such a thing until you mentioned it.

That's why we bring kids...lol

Have had a couple of Davis tents, If I needed another that is what I would get

I scrounge lumber wraps from some local lumber yards for temporary flooring. No housekeeping needed, just roll them up and stuff them in the trash bin.

In addition, I use them to cover firewood in certain instances.

I like having a carpet on the floor of the tent. Makes it nice to put your feet down in the morning or in the middle of the night when you have to get up to pee or stoke the stove. Also makes for a nice floor under the cots to put our bags and other belongings. We have a heavy commercial carpet we use for the floor over a tarp for a moisture barrier and it isn't hard at all to keep clean , within reason. Muddy boots need to stay outside or be cleaned off before entering but we seldom hunt in heavy mud- usually dry for deer season and snow for elk season...

generators and vacuum cleaners can also enhance the hunting experience.....

Oh crap... whiskey came out my nose reading this... obviously Don gets it....

Meow

Meow

I'm going with what they call it. Poles on the outside of the tent, with a ridge pole at the top (obviously)

For sure on horse pack trips into timbered wilderness.

While not a wall tent, anybody like the Kodiak or Spring Bar canvas tents?

Buddy has a 10x14 Kodiak that I’ve hunted out of a few times. Super easy set up. Seems a stove jack could be sewn in easily enough. Wouldn’t take much to heat it. He ran a buddy heater and it would get plenty warm pretty quick.

I have 2 - a 10x14 and 10x10. I've been using them for about 5-6 years. The sizes are a bit misleading. I would not try to sleep more than 3 people in the 10x14, 2 is better. They are a very solid tent. Easy up and down, quick to heat, weatherproof and sturdy. They have replaced my circus tent in 99% of the setups I do.

I’m looking hard at one of the Kodiak cabin tents. We’re gonna replace our old 9x12 tent for family camping. I’m a little put off by the weight but the good ventilation looks really nice. I insist on a straight ridge line as I often fly an oversized tarp above the tent if rain is likely. Kodiak’s wood stove option is nice but not essential for us and does add a bunch of guy out lines.

I borrowed one for a week in MT once. Kinda wish I would have went that direction instead of a wall tent. Likely get one for solo trips. I didn't use a woodstove, but a propane lantern easily kept the tent warm enough on the Hi Line.

I found the 10x14 spacious for 2. Figure it’d do well for my family of 4, or just me and the 2 boys. Space does get eaten up quickly though with cots and gear.

I hunt with a group that does the wall tent thing. Haul it up the mountain on a small utility trailer, takes a while to unpack it, set up frame hoist, etc….Especially in crap weather.
The Kodiak was so quick and easy in comparison.

Once it’s up though, hard to argue the room and comfort of a wall tent.

Hard to beat a good canvas wall tent for warmth and comfort in weather like this.

thanks for all the feedback. I picked up a used Montana Canvas 14x17 last week.

I'm looking for a couple more if anyone knows of one for sale used.

Don't forget the trash can with motion-sensor lid (no power needed).

Another Davis vote...with traditional poles (or lodge poles in the wilderness). I have had my 14X16 for 21 years.

Montana Canvas is the company you need to call. They have exactly what your looking for. Two 12x14 tents would work for 8 hunters and maybe a 8x10 for cooking? They have stoves too.

I have a couple of Reliables. Good design, good stuff