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View Full Version : I tested my shelter in snowstorm with these results



T.S.Kobzol
12-10-2013, 09:35
As the midwest is bracing for a snowstorm I thought we could have a fun thread (perhaps a sticky) for all of the members who get snowstorms. Pitch your shelter in front of your house and take a photo before the storm and after the storm to show how it fared. It could be very informative given the size of the membership here. It could be an eye opener for some AT hikers who plan to start early. :-)

Old Hiker
12-10-2013, 09:50
Yeah.

Don't think that'll work too well here in the Tampa area. I'll have to wait and watch for any SoLong 6s to be shown.

Should be interesting, though.

Coffee
12-10-2013, 09:57
It is realistic for any three season shelter to hold up well with over a foot of snow?

leaftye
12-10-2013, 10:27
It is realistic for any three season shelter to hold up well with over a foot of snow?

Sure, especially when the only difference between them is which inner tent is used.

Mags
12-10-2013, 10:29
Also depends on your tent placement. In some sheltered woods or out in the middle of a meadow?

Nice post about this very topic form Sectionhiker.com
http://sectionhiker.com/can-you-use-a-three-season-tent-in-winter/

T.S.Kobzol
12-15-2013, 18:15
We received a little under 2 feet of snow yesterday and today. Yesterday I pitched my Hammock Gear Winter Palace and tonight when I returned froom the mountains I photographed the tarp after the snowstorm. I pitched it with only two guylines on each side. I could have done the middle guy line too. Shelter held up well. The snow slid down on one side perfectly. The other side had some remaining snow on the bottom section of the tarp.

before:
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3806/11391527215_5f41aa6d67_c.jpg
after:
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3806/11391527215_5f41aa6d67_c.jpg

T.S.Kobzol
12-15-2013, 18:16
After:
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3730/11391552834_84429fda52_c.jpg

Don H
12-15-2013, 21:17
I like my Six Moons Design Lunar Solo but it's a UL 3 season tent so I won't be pitching it so I can see if a foot or two of snow will destroy it.

handlebar
12-16-2013, 16:16
I had my SMC Wild Oasis out in a freak 18" snowstorm on the PA Mid State Trail in April 2012. Being Sil-Nylon it did sag toward my face enough to wake me as I lay sleeping. A couple of slaps on the sides of the tent caused the snow to slide down to the ground where I pushed it away from the ventilating screening from inside. This past weekend, I was out in an 10" snowstorm overnight with my Zpacks Hexamid. The cuben fiber stayed taut and shed the snow and the wind that reached into the sheltered area where I was camped. No sagging with this tent. Again, I needed to push the snow that had slid down the sides away from the tent through the mesh.

colorado_rob
12-16-2013, 16:27
Sure, especially when the only difference between them is which inner tent is used. Well, depends on the tent. There are four season tents and FOUR season tents. I have a Bibler Eldorado and two sizes of Mountain Hardware Trangos (the 3.1 and 4), plus a band new Big Agnes (string ridge). All have significantly heavier fabric and beefier poles than my “3 season tents”. Good for huge dumps of snow, I’ve had three feet overnight before, could be dangerous because of suffocation possibilities (ie: get up and shovel every few hours!). I have seen “4 season” tents with thin fabric and whimpy poles though, certainly.

Tipi Walter
12-16-2013, 16:38
After:
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3730/11391552834_84429fda52_c.jpg

Did you set this up intentionally high because you enjoy spindrift? Plus, it's one thing to set such a tarp up without occupancy and another to try it on a two week winter trip with no end in sight for such conditions. A bivy bag would have to be a mandatory piece of gear in such a case.

T.S.Kobzol
12-16-2013, 17:48
Hi Tipi. I'm a hammocker. That's my usual height

Sent from my vivid imagination and delusions of grandeur

T.S.Kobzol
12-16-2013, 17:49
Next snowstorm I will pitch my gotoground teepee.

Sent from my vivid imagination and delusions of grandeur

Ironbelly
12-16-2013, 18:14
I havn't tested any gear in snowfall yet this year, but in the recent years past I tested my hammock and tarp setup using a Warbonnet Superfly tarp during several different storms. Withstood several 1ft storms, and a 3 footer.

If I am expecting a heavy snow I will typically pitch the tarp much lower to the ground to help prevent spindrift. Not that spindrift is a big issue anyway for hammockers.