View Full Version : Convert a 3 season into a 4 season tent?
Using some plastic sheets, Tyvec or some other tent material, someone could velcro a closure over the screens in a 3 season tent to make a inner wall for a 4 season tent (also keeping in mind that there needs to be some venting). I think this might be a good way to convert with little cost? I have a Mountain Hardware Skyview "convertible" so I am okay for a winter night but my friend needs help with their 3 season tent.
Any ideas ????????
Thanks for your input :)
Chip
Toolshed
11-19-2006, 22:56
Many 3S tents will handle a light snow load but that's one of the great things about a 4S tent - They can take a lot of snow and wind and maintain their form. Keep in mind that in a bad bitter cold windstorm if your 3S tent constantly "collapses" a little in heavy gusts and then stands back up, it usually expels warm air as it flattens and then sucks back in cold air - A miserable experience.
Just Jeff
11-19-2006, 23:48
That may work if the weather is good. But the poles on 4 season tents are often tougher than 3 season poles, or the tent has more guy-out points to protect the poles and reduce flexing, or a combination of the two. A good wind or higher snow loads can snap the poles if the tent isn't designed for it.
Programbo
11-20-2006, 00:09
The main differences between a 3 season tent and a "true" 4 season tent are as follows: 4 season tents are generally designed in such a way as to be more wind resistant (Lower profile) and able to withstand a snow load. They are also usually more tightly constructed to cut down on wind flap of the fly..The poles are either thicker and/or a higher density aluminum and there are usually more of them..The nylons are heavier..The stitching should be a sort of lock stitch where every loop doubles back on itself thus keeping the seams from opening should one or multiple stitches break... Etc.. Obviously there are a lot of differences between a 3 and 4 season tent other than just screen openings......Unless of course the advertising boys have been so successful over the years that they have made that the only difference in todays market
Using some plastic sheets, Tyvec or some other tent material, someone could velcro a closure over the screens in a 3 season tent to make a inner wall for a 4 season tent (also keeping in mind that there needs to be some venting). I think this might be a good way to convert with little cost? I have a Mountain Hardware Skyview "convertible" so I am okay for a winter night but my friend needs help with their 3 season tent.
Any ideas ???????? Thanks for your input :) Chip
Tent needs depend primarily on when, where and how often one winter camps. I went on winter expeditions several times annually for a quarter century and never carried anything but a sturdy three-season tent, since 1991 a Moss, two person tent. I've long since forgotten what they called it, starlite, maybe? Something like that.
The inner tent was mostly mosquito netting, which I always considered a winter plus. It ensured extra ventilation during heavy snow storms. Lack of ventilation is a major cause of winter tenting deaths.
My winter hikes were mostly one and two night affairs, though I've been out as long as a week at a time. I've walked 40 miles through the center of Baxter State Park in February, spent many nights at Baxter's Chimney Pond, bushwhacked to Mahoosuc Notch and through the notch in February, explored Bigelow and Whitecap ranges.
I've found that if you camp among sheltered trees and well below the timber line, you can survive quite well with minimum shelter. My Moss worked fine in temperatures that occasionally dropped well below zero and in storms that dumped up to a couple of feet of snow, driven by blustery winds.
I'd want sturdier shelter for a southbound AT hike in January, where I would be out for weeks at a time. But if you observe the weather reports and use common sense and be ready to escape when conditions threaten to become severe, I suspect most sturdy three-season tents will be sufficient for most hikers.
Weary
Just Jeff
11-20-2006, 01:05
Weary - did you ever get spindrift blowing thru the netting in your tent? That happened to some BGT testers on a supposed 4 season tent even though the netted area was really small. Just depends on what kind of snow you're in, I guess.
Weary - did you ever get spindrift blowing thru the netting in your tent? That happened to some BGT testers on a supposed 4 season tent even though the netted area was really small. Just depends on what kind of snow you're in, I guess.
I occasionally would wake up with a light dusting of snow on my sleeping bag, but nothing that was bothersome.
The real hazard on multi-day trips was the gradual build up of moisture in my sleeping bag, which was hard to get rid of in winter conditions.
None of my winter hikes involved major miles per day. We just enjoyed the winter environment and the challenge of being comfortable in a tent despite outside conditions that most people can't imagine camping in.
The best place to find "wilderness" in the east these days is in the mountains in January and February.
Weary
wilderness bob
11-20-2006, 14:50
Weary, I agree. Winter months seem to be the best place to discover a different type of "wilderness" as you called it. I have enjoyed and detested winter camping for many years. Indeed there are many benefits in hiking this type of wilderness. It seems a hiker can find the best sites with the best views available (no people or leaves). I never really noticed a difference in 3S an 4S tents until this thread (though the differences are quite evident and simply obvious).
Chip, your ideas are sound. Go for it and cover your bug netting. Pull the fly down as close to the ground as you can to keep the wind out and, if possible, suspend a tarp over your tent to eliminate the worry about the snow load. Kind of like setting up you tent inside of a shelter. I hope this helps save some cash.
Peace, WB
lucky luke
11-24-2006, 02:20
...
The real hazard on multi-day trips was the gradual build up of moisture in my sleeping bag, which was hard to get rid of in winter conditions.
...Weary
hi weary,
boil water, put it in your waterbottle and put the waterbottle inside your bag, wherever you need the moisture to be gone.... you can see it steaming...
i´ve done 1000 miles of at in the snow and never had a problem with my downbag.
greets
lucky luke
That's also a good trick for staying warm when you get in the bag yourself -- place a hot water bottle (in a sock so you don't burn yourself) at your feet if you have poor circulation, and another one in your crotch (major arteries there).
Just Jeff
11-27-2006, 01:25
Yep - I even put the bottle in there about 10 minutes before I crawl in...nice and warm as soon as I lay down.