Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Tent recommendations

Hey everyone...new guy here. I found this site while reading tent reviews. I'm about to pull my hair out trying to decide on a tent.

I thought I was set on an 12x12 Alaknak, but the more I read, the more I'm leaning towards canvas. Here's what I'm looking for...
1 - @ 12x12 size(usually just myself, sometimes one or 2 others)
2 - easy set-up(again, usually just myself out there)
3 - wood stove capable for colder hunts(archery elk in southern NM doesn't require heat, but deer and turkey hunts can be chilly)
4 - ventilation for warmer months

I've kind of narrowed it down to the Alaknak, or a Davis tent. I can get a Sheepherder built with a floor and windows for about the same cost as the Alaknak. I could also get a 12x14 wall tent from Davis with the angle kit and cut my own poles for about the same price(but I'd kind of like a floor). I know there are guys here who have had experience with all 3 of these tents, so anyone with any input, please help clear my mind(or muddle it even more...whichever)

I have a really hard time making a decision when plunking down a lot of money, and the costs of these tents suffice as "a lot". Someone please help me quiet the voices in my head and pick a tent for goodness sake.

Always buy bigger than what you think you will need.
Davis tent by a mile

And Welcome to the Campfire, by the way!

+ 2 for Davis Tent, and they have a monthly special on their website each month, but availability will go down quick as we get closer to season. I bought new from them last year, and VERY glad I did, they were folks that answer their own phones and work orders one on one.

It's worth it to call them direct, they sometimes have returns, scratch and dents, and demos units (tents/stoves) that aren't listed on the website.

Davis repairs what they sell, doubt Cabelas will sew one back up after a surprise snow dump, or an Ooops!

Depending on how you hang your tent to dry, my experience is that the floor for that size of tent is a PITA to dry after season. Maybe we just don't have the right place to hang it, but we've gone to a poly tarp floor plan, and fold, replace as needed. Plus, cuts down on the pack weight on the way in, and out, JMO.

Yes. Much like motorcycles, stereos, or pickups, I've never wished I had a smaller one. Add a body or two and space disappears in a hurry. Especially if one wants to do it all (sleep, cook, eat, and socialize) in a single unit.

A wall tent by all means. If one uses it around an abundance of pole thickets then there's no need for a frame. Out on the Kansas plains, then one needs an interal frame.

Should have added, I'll be truck camping not packing in, so weight/poles aren't much of an issue.

Davis is running a special on a 12x14 with corner kit this month, and I could get that tent cheaper than the sheepherder, but the sheepherder will be easier to setup by myself I think. Since I'm by myself most of the time, that part is kind of important. There's just too many choices out there

Thanks for the input so far.

I have a 12x14 Montana Canvas wall tent with 5' walls. It's great for 2 people -- but not 3. We have a 16x20 wall tent for 3-4 people.

I wouldn't want a hunting tent with a sewn-in floor. We spread truck tarps for flooring.

I have a CampMor frame for the 12x14 --- I can set it up by myself. I have a tin box wood stove that's great for Elk hunting. Nothing like a wall tent.

I set my 11 x 15 up myself without a big frame. Just ridge pole,3 up rights and 5 ft poles at each grommet on the walls. Heck I'm just shy of 70, bad lungs, bad back, and bad shoulders. If I can do it you surely can. With a full internal frame it should be a snap.

Don't go the sewn in floor route. As mentioned poly tarps and throw them away when they get ruined.

Thanks saddlesore. I'm hearing that about the floors more and more. If I left out the floor, and made my own poles, I could get that 12x12 sheepherder for less than $750. They just use 1/2 EMT for wall poles and 1 3/8" chainlink post for the center pole. That wall tent would be nice though...

I use the 1/2" Emt for the side poles and 1&1/4: fro the ridge and 3 uprights ( but the chain link pole is better).Works very well. I cut the up rights in half and put a coupling there. Then I lift the tent up 1/2 way and then another half way

I got the 12x14 Davis tent with their angle kit and they tell you length for conduit cuts plus rain fly. I got the screen/Colorado door front/rear and side windows no floor great ventilation. Reason I don't like a floor is drying tent if floor get wet on the inside you have to turn tent inside out to dry.

I just get the cheap indoor/outdoor carpet from Home/Depot or Lowe's makes great floor.

I can set the 12x14 by myself with no problems it's little tricky with rain fly if it's windy. 12x14 is great for two people with gear be little cramped with wood stove for 3 people. what you could do is lay out some cots see how you set tent up @ 12x14 next size Davis has is 12x18 you might find that better but may be little tougher for one man to set up. Well good luck.

I'd strongly recommend to get a zipper door on both ends and have the stove jack coming out one of the end walls.
If used only in hunting season, where it gets cold, I don't see a reason for the screening. Two doors allow good ventilation, lots cheaper and when one zipper craps out, you still have the other.( Zippers are the 1st to go.)
I like the end wall stove jack as the stove pipe is more readily accessible for cleaning and you get less burn holes in your canvas.I poly tarp my tents instead of canvas rain flies. Snow slides off easier and as long as you have no holes they are 100% water proof

This has worked best for me for 40+ years. YMMV

Thanks guys.

Roper, I think that the 12x14 would be plenty big enough for my needs, and the tent you have is the wall tent I'm comparing to the herder, just with the regular door and screen instead of the Colorado door and no fly.

No sewn in floors for me. Tarps are cheap, disposable, and can be easily swept and/or sprayed off. A sewn in floor, not so much. Two weeks ago in northern Idaho (My 14x16 AAA/Kirkham's on the left and a buddies 12x14 on the right):

I think a 12'x14'x5' Davis tent without a floor would serve you well. As others said, just get a piece of indoor/outdoor carpet for a floor. No problem rolling it up and dusting it off at home.

With the frame angles and conduit, it is very easy for one man to put up a tent of that size. Make sure you buy a tent with five feet sidewalls. You'll not be sorry.

Here is a link to a site that sells the best tent frame angles I've seen. I used them on my 14'x16'x5' tent and they make putting up the frame very easy.

http://www.creativeshelters.com/Fittings/Canopy-Fitting.aspx

As for a stove, you can't find a better, more efficient one than a Three Dogs model from Four Dogs stoves. That model will keep you warm and dry in your tent in all kinds of cold weather. Two of my friends use them here in Idaho's cold mountains and really praise them.

http://fourdog.com/

L.W.

This is what you want for a ground cloth or tent floor.

http://www.outfitterssupply.com/MultiScreen-Breathable-Ground-Cloth/productinfo/WCA500/

I use a Montana Canvas 12x14 with a cylinder stove and love it. Drop canvas for the floor.

Rain fly keeps things nice and dry. Haven't had a chance to use it while elk hunting but have been whitetail hunting on some cold nights.

Pack 'er full of wood, close the dampers and don't touch it for 6 hours and prepare to become warm.

Great tent and stove!

I've had 3 people in a 12x14 with a stove and a table in the middle and it was way too tight. I now have a 14x16 and have never had 1 single complaint, period. However I didn't know about the Colorado door when I bought the 14x16 and 2 weeks after my first hunt with it I took it back and had it added because there are several here that will tell you nothing sucks more than having a zipper blow out and no way to keep the door closed so at least get that.

Look at this thread and you'll see some other ideas. Oh and Davis all the way!!!!!

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...e_Base_Camp_Tent_Suggestions#Post7401205

I think a wall tent would be a pain to set up by yourself.

I would consider two tents, one for solo trips and one for when you have hunting partners. Another option, if you want canvas, would be a Kodiak or Springbar (really easy for one person to set-up). Or maybe a tipi from Seek Outside, Kifaru, etc.

I've used the 12x12 Outback Lodge and 10x14 Kodiak. I also have a Go Lite SL5, but have never owned a bigger tipi. Right now, I have the 8x8 XWT... I can set it up myself, its easy to transport, has a big vestibule, and is rock solid. I've come back to camp with heavy wet snow on my tents and hope the XWT does better than the others.

Thanks for all the input so far guys. I really appreciate it.

I've made my mind up on that three dogs stove for sure. They looks like the bees knees for stoves, and are priced better than most.

Huntinut, I would very rarely have 3 people with me, and plan on rigging up an awning for that rare occasion. I think the 12x14 will be more than enough tent for me, and I think the 12x12 Herder will be plenty big enough too. Thanks for the tip on the Colorado door too...didn't think about that.

4th point,I thought the same thing but the more I read on them and talk to folks about them, they really don't seem too bad to put up by yourself. I'm sure a big one would be, but doesn't seem like the size I'm looking at is. I was looking at an Outback Lodge and a Kodiak, but I really want the stove capability, and that Herder tent is like an Outback with higher walls and the stove option.

quackaddict,

I had a 4-Dog stove for a few years. Used it in my Outback Lodge. They work great, and the baffle really does help create a hotspot and stop embers from going up the flue pipe. Easy to make your own stove if you can weld, but the owner at 4-Dog is a good dude. I got a lot of good info from him when I called my order in.

Before I bought the Kodiak, I spoke to a guy at Kirkham's about putting a stovejack in a Springbar. No problem, but they wanted to put it in the roof. I would put it in one of the endwalls. You could also get a stovejack from Ti Goat and install it yourself in whatever tent you want.

Jason