Winter Tent

[jcramin]

Just a couple questions. I am looking for a winter 3 person tent to use in cold weather and maybe snow. Would I need a Expedition type tent ? Or would a good 3-season tent work ? I am concerned about the warmth and keeping the heat in, if that should be a concern ???

I have a Kelty Gunnison 3.1 which has a full cover fly. Would this work for winter cold snow camping ?

I dont mind buying another tent for this purpose if something else would work better, I just dont want to spend the money that some of these expedition tents cost.

Thanks,
J

[Jim Adams]

I have a Kelty Vortex-2 (pedecessor to the Gunnison), a Gunnison-2 and a Gunnison-3. All are great 3 season tents. The 3 person will be a little colder than the 2 because of more area inside to warm up but the big factor is snow load. Where will you be using the tent in the winter? If the snow loads are light then the tent will fuction fine however it isn't something that you want to actually take mountaineering due to snow weight and wind.

geek

[Cool AT Breeze]

For the most part four season tents can take a snow load. Tents will only be about 5 to 10 deg. warmer than outside unless you can burry it in the snow. So get a good sleepingbag and keep the tent.

[jcramin]

Well I will be tenting in the south or midsouth. Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi Missouri, Kentucky. So no major snow issues, but I was just thinking just in case. So keeping my Kelty and avoiding major snow would be the best choice then I guess.

Thanks,
J

[Jim Adams]

Well I will be tenting in the south or midsouth. Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi Missouri, Kentucky. So no major snow issues, but I was just thinking just in case. So keeping my Kelty and avoiding major snow would be the best choice then I guess.

Thanks,
J

It will work fine just beware that if you happen to get caught in one of those every hundred year blizzards then you need to constantly knock the snow off of it throughout the storm and use all of the tie down guy lines that you can to keep the wind from shredding the tent. BTW, your 3 man Gunnison @ 30* with 2 people sleeping overnight will have an interior temp of right around 38*-40*. If you had the 2 man Gunnison in the same situation the inside temp will be around 45*-48*.
Enjoy winter camping...it is a blast if you are prepared for it!

geek

[MintakaCat]

I use a Kifaru ParaTipi. Kifaru makes larger tents but they do cost a great deal. However, when it comes to winter camping they are hard to beat.





Good luck and stay warm

[Wags]

i'd go to 'buy' section of the forums and PM wyominglostandfound about the tipi he has for sale there

[Cool AT Breeze]

I don't think I would carry a tent with a stove in the south. I think it would be the bomb up north.

[Earl Grey]

What stove is that?

I use a Kifaru ParaTipi. Kifaru makes larger tents but they do cost a great deal. However, when it comes to winter camping they are hard to beat.





Good luck and stay warm

[Lyle]

I use a Kifaru ParaTipi. Kifaru makes larger tents but they do cost a great deal. However, when it comes to winter camping they are hard to beat.





Good luck and stay warm

Pictures like this just scare me, I would never be able to sleep.

Give me a regular tent and a good bag. In AM, if its really cold, bring your cooking stove in for about 2 minutes = 70* tent. Get dressed in comfort.

[Cool AT Breeze]

It's a great way to base-snow camp. Very safe.

[Wise Old Owl]

I use a Kifaru ParaTipi. Kifaru makes larger tents but they do cost a great deal. However, when it comes to winter camping they are hard to beat.





Good luck and stay warm

You hike with all that??? Wow!

[Gray Blazer]

That's pretty neat. It looks like it all folds together. How much does it weigh?

[brooklynkayak]

The difference between 4 season and 3 season tents is the snow weight issue. Warmth comes from trapped in air, trapped air means condensation in your sleeping bag, condensation means poor insulation, equals a cold nights sleep.

Let the air flow to keep everything dry and use a nice warm sleeping bag with warm clothes.
Also, when it gets cold, you need something to keep you head warm, either as part of the bag or a balaclava. I found out the hard way when I slept with my head buried in my bag and woke up with the top part of my bag damp from my breath condensing in the down.

[brooklynkayak]

PS. I do agree that most pyramid/tipi type tents make better 4 season shelters. Stronger, more wind resistant, snow slides off and they are almost always lighter than more popular 4 season designs.

They can also be pitched to be cooler in the summer than the more popular 4 season designs.
They are also usually the least expensive 4 season tent.

The usual argument against them is the lack of floor and bug screen, but a chunk of tyvek and/or a bug bivy/tent takes care of that argument.

[Gray Blazer]

I paid more than I wanted to for a tent, but, I like this one. Hubba Hubba. Two man supposedly. Will fit me and my dog and my pack although it has two nice vestibules. Not really guyed out in this photo.

[Cool AT Breeze]

GB I dont remember if you use poles or not but, you can guy out that tent to your poles stuck in the ground next to the tent. It pulls the fly out instead of down giving you better ventilation.

[Cool AT Breeze]

By the way nice picture.

[Bulldawg]

I paid more than I wanted to for a tent, but, I like this one. Hubba Hubba. Two man supposedly. Will fit me and my dog and my pack although it has two nice vestibules. Not really guyed out in this photo.

DAMN nice picture. Where is that at?

[Gray Blazer]

Thanks for showing me how to set it up Cool AT Breeze. I could have spread the poles out also since it doesn't need stakes. It's bomb-proof according to Jimmy(?) at MtnX. I haven't tried it out in the snow yet. I need to photo shop that sign out of there. It was taken on top of White Top, VA.