I thought I would ask this question to the guys who use them the most. I am thinking of getting a wall tent but am unsure of the size. If I hunt with other people it would be one maybe two others, we car camp so no packing required. I have a wife and one child. So I would want to have room for three cots. I would want a wood stove inside but I am ok with the idea of cooking outside. We always cook in my brothers wall tent but I am not real big on the idea of the food smell in the tent.i am in Oregon and bears are not a huge problem but I feel ut pays to be careful. I would be using it for three season camping both hunting and play.

I would like it to be as easy to use as is possible so I was thinking of a 10X12. My brother has a 12 x14 and said he would not go smaller than that. His point is that you can not make them bigger once you buy it so buy bigger than you think you need. What size do you think?

I have a 14x17 and I consider ideal for 3-4 guys, their gear, a small table, and a wood stove.

14x16

measure your cots and consider how they will be configured in the tent. some of those giant cabelas cots won't fit end to end in a 10x12.

14 x 16 would be ideal.

For just a couple people and a kid or two, a 10X12 with 5 ft walls does a fine job and it is easy to keep warm.

If I was buying a tent to sleep 4-5 guys then a 12X14 makes more sense but for a small family,the 10X12 with the high walls works just dandy.



The sleeping bag and mattress are both queen size and a cot fits on the other side with a walk way in between the two beds..3 cots take up less room.



Jayco

Here's my rig, a 14x17 Montana canvas. It's worth it to go a little bigger than you think you'll need.

Err on the side of large. My 12x14 Davis with doors on both ends is not even close to being too big for 2 men. You will not regret a 14x16 with your size crew.

Get 2 tents if you're not packing. One for sleeping and one for cooking, eating and socializing.

2, 12X14's should cover it.

Another nice thing about that 14 X 16 size is that one guy can still move the fabric by himself. If you go much bigger than that it takes 2 guys every time.

When giving advise about sleeping quarters space, you should probably include the disclaimer that you're used to sharing a 6x8' cell with another man.

Get the very biggest you can handle, and don't look back.

Bigger keeps more consistent temperatures, and can handle a larger stove that multiplies that advantage. Firewood seems always free for the taking, most areas. Bigger tents/stoves can keep a fire longer.

Larger tents are far better if you hit wet weather. Picture clothes lines everywhere you can imagine them?

You can always just get unorganized (I could write that book) , you can never get organized enough for a tent that is too small.

My $0.02 cents, find out what you can lug around, then get something just a little bigger. You will figure out how to move it around.

This year I am going to a 16' X 32' with 5' 8" walls. Truck camp, and this tent will only take me an hour at most more to set up then anything smaller.

The advantages by far out weight the disadvantages!

I use a 14' x 16', and i think it is the perfect size.
You are much better off one size bigger then you need, the one to small.
I can put mine up by myself with no problem.

Kevin

Go with the bigger.Do not worry about the BS of not cooking in the same tent.I have done it for about 30 years with absolutely no problems.I don't live in grzzly country ,but do have some blacks around.Still no problems. I have killed an elk just about every year for 20 + years, some years two or three, with cooking inthe tent.
I don't cook bacon though.

Keeping yourself clean with sponge baths etc., is heck of a lot more important.

Seeing generally good advice here regarding not getting one too small. First experience was a borrowed 9X12. Tight quarters, especially in pouring rain in MT ranforest. 3 people could not sleep on cots in it. In fact only 2 slept on lawn chair chaise lounges in tent, one in the back of a truck. Army cots would have been too big.

We use a 12X12 Eena, 5 foot walls for 2 people, a small table, a stove and gear. Enough room, but not roomy. We can sit 2 other people with folding chairs. You could not get 2 cots end to end.

A friend just bought a 9X2 with stove with the idea he andhis wife would have enough room. Not really so. He wrote recently that he had decided it was the perfect size for one person.

Lay out cots, stove - with heat buffers all around, and oher furniture on a tarp or something of the floor size and see how much aisle space you have. If too cramped, you knock things like drinks and lamps on the floor.

Another thing, most temt mfgrs will note that tent size is stated from the size of the fabric before it is sewn. Seams take a few inches, then canvas shrinks a few times after wetting, so a 12 foot wall may not really be 12 feet when finished.

If you skinp on size you will likely wish you had not.

I was sure that a 10x12 was more than enough for my needs(wants). Now not so sure I may look at the 14x16. I looked at how wide a cot is and it is amazing how much room one will take up let alone three side by side across the back wall.

Can someone give me an estimate of the longest pole length for a tent that sized 14x16. I have a half ton truck with a 6.5 foot bed and would like to fit everything in the bed. As I never kill anything I have plenty of room. Not ture two years ago I got a bear, deer, and elk (on different hunts).

I ues a Davis 14x16 and my longest pole is 92".
The frame is a 4 column and the longest poles are the rafters in my case.
I too have a truck with a 6' bed.What I do is open the sliding window on my topper and truck and slide the longset poles part way into the cab to haul.

Hope this helps,Scott

Rethink your layout. It's real nice to have doors at either end.....





If you use a packer style internal frame, the longest pole will be the height of your sidewall.

GWL

Going from a 10' X 12' to a 14' X 16' (120sq' - 224 sq' ) your almost doubleing your wiggle-room.

Or better put, going from wiggle room to really stretching out. 14' X 16' is a very popular size for a lot of reasons.

Something like a 3-Dogs or a Davis Ridge and you would be good down to sub-zero� temperatures!

With an EMT conduit frame, you could use couplers and make the poles as short as you wanted/needed. I had a 10x12 and two guys, cots, stove and gear is tight. Four guys in a 14x16 is not terrible.

I have a pair of 14 X 16 Davis tents. Wood stove, propane cook stove and 3 cots is comfy. 4 cots make it pretty cozy, but workable. For your needs a 12 X 14 would work, I wouldn't go smaller.

Not all that much BS. Hang out in griz country and get back to me. You can't be too careful. If you cook and sleep in the same tent it's nearly impossible to remove all smells. If you are it would behoove you to hang all your outer gear away from the cooking smells and tent area.

If you have the ability to have 2 tents and it isn't any more arduous to do so or a financial burden. Why wouldn't a guy take the extra safety measures. Life's short.

The other reason's I was suggesting 2 tents is clutter, organization and it sure is nice to "retire" to a sleeping area away from the main "hub". I've yet to be in a camp when everyone grabs their teddy bear and blankee at the same time.

just my .02

As I stated, I don't liven in grizzly coutry.
Avoid strong cooking odors,but run of the mill, won't bother much if you watch the wind while hunting.Which all should do no mater waht. Elk don't care if you smell a bunch or a little.If they smell you at all,they are gone.

Echoing the others. I have a Davis 14x16 with traditional pole setup and we have used it for 3 seasons so far with 2-4 people in it depending on year. It is cozy at 4 but big enough. Wouldn't be big enough for more than 4 IMO unless use bunk cots. No regrets with size on my part.