Floorless shelters in Florida?

[DataDriven]

I'm leaning heavily towards a floorless shelter but wonder if anyone has experience using it in Florida or another hot climate. I'm attracted by the ability to use a stove to dry off when it pours but also the flexibility of taking it everywhere when I travel out of state.


Is this a poor choice? I'd be getting bug netting and/or a bug bivy as well. Does anyone have experience using something like a Kifaru sawtooth in these climates?

 

[FlyGuy]

I'm in Houston, not Florida, but my 1st Guess is that it should work great. I've used the tut over here plenty. The sawtooth with a liner would be even more ideal. Also a little easier (I think) to get airflow through a sawtooth than the tut. I dont have a bugscreen, but Bugs (ie.: giant killer mosquitoes) tend to congregate up near the peak, so even though they are inside they haven't been too much of a problem for me.

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[Runningwater]

What's the tick situation in Florida?

 

[Tim in Wa.]

You can get a bug nest from Bearpaw Wilderness designs and ust it during warm buggy weather

 

[Jordan Budd]

It's the whole snake thing that would make me discourage such activity...

I'd definitely recommend a bug nest of some sort if you think bugs would be a problem. I'm pretty much a floored girl in warm temps where anything that slithers is a thing.

 

[DataDriven]

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for the input.

Re: Ticks, I'm not sure of the intensity and it varies by season. However, they are present like in most forest areas.

Re: Snakes. Another concern. However, are there ways to mitigate the risk?

 

[jmden]

I would think in that state you will want a bugproof/snakeproof design. Alternatively, there are designs that will 'flex' to the trip and let you use a stove, i.e., WildSide Systems make Tipis that have complete inner wall/floors that zip in/clip in to the outerwall so that you can have a complete inner wall floor or zip it out to have a floorless design and use a stove with either.

 

[Seth1913]

The thought of a giant snake crawling over me gives me the chills lol no thanks

 

[Desk Jockey]

Man, I used to try tarp camping growing up in Louisiana. Blue tarps not space age back packing stufff. 9 mos a year some kind of bug Net was essential. I am talking swarms of mosquitos. I think warm weather probably increases the number of creepy crawlers on the ground.

In fact, we tried tarps, ponchos, net hammocks, jungle hammocks with built in roofs and nets, thatched huts, debris shelters, bug netting, face masks, candles, smokers, gallons of Deet.

Nothing worked apart from tents. The mosquitos would sit on the screens by the hundreds and just wait for you to come out. And don’t roll over next to the mesh window / door or they will bite you right trough the screen.

If I were to go back, I would take a 3 season backpacking tent with a full mess inner canopy for air flow. I might bring a small tarp to rig up over my fire or lounge area in case I got rain and didn’t want to be tent bound.

 

[Violent Hippie]

I second what Desk Jockey said. 3 season tent with great airflow / mesh and a secondary tarp for fire area. Way too many poisonous snakes and insects down there for me to go floorless.

 

[Northernpiker]

You obviously haven't watched the movie "ANACONDA ". I would stay in a motel.

 

[DataDriven]

Hi Everyone,

Well, it seems like the message is clear. And I found a steal of a deal on a Hilleberg Nallo 2 GT so I think I'm going that route.

Another question, though, is whether people think a quilt like the Kifaru Doobie is good enough for weather down here where it hits 40 degrees on a rare day.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Doobie would be fine unless you are in some crazy cold snap. Probably to warm for parts of the year. In the dead of summer, we used a bedsheet or an old school poncho liner, if anything inside the tent.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

Coral snakes, pit vipers, noseeums, lots of critters make floorless undesirable. Get a nest. Maybe a hammock with nest (like a Clark) so the gators don't get ya.