Tipi In Wet Environments...Floor or Not?

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Couple buddies and I will be heading out of Bethel AK on moose drop hunt this September, all indication is that we will be in low swamp type areas. We will have a seek outside 6 man with liner and small kifaru stove. We are debating on getting the seek outside floor or just bringing a tyvek sheet (or similar) to use if needed based on exactly where we can set-up camp. We will also be using the ultralight cots to get us off the ground a bit, anybody have any feedback on which way we should go on this one?
 

Beendare

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I had to pitch my tipi over the muck on an AK drop camp moose deal last year....it sucked. We didn't have a choice...no dry ground within 20 min walk of drop site. You have to be flexible on these deals.

We had to cut 18" branches for stakes as the ones I had didn't reach into that muck.....bring a fold up saw for sure.

I would always recommend having a tarp or floor with you in that case...probably not Tyvek but something that is waterproof. Easy to make something up for that.
 
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Thanks Beendare - that exactly what we are trying to plan for, sounds like I should get some longer stakes for the tipi as well as a floor option. Did you have a floor in your tipe, if so was it bathtub style or just a ground sheet?
 

Beendare

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I had a couple extra sil nylon tarps...good to have as they don't weigh anything. Good for many uses....a guy should probably have 3-4 of those on a trip like that in different sizes.

I'm considering sewing up a bathtub floor for mine after that debacle.

Heres a pic of that swampy spot....though from that angle you can't see that water goes in under it.
first lake.jpg
 
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Thanks - that picture is pretty much what I envisioned, looks like a floor option is a must. Was that up by Bethel?
 

MTSabo

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I have a bunch of military surplus aluminum tent stakes that I use for ground like that in my SO 8 man.

As far as sleeping on very wet ground I have been using a poly tarp. Just picked up a urethane coated nylon tarp as a replacement but I haven't tried it out yet.
 

Beendare

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Thanks - that picture is pretty much what I envisioned, looks like a floor option is a must. Was that up by Bethel?

No west of Wasilla in the Kahuitna[sp?] drainage......as you probably already know, you want to spot them from the air so you know you are in a good spot. Have the pilot fly around- BIG advantage. Our problem was that the outfitter/drop guy didn't tell us we would need a packraft or 2.....either that or bring a Speedo
 

mcseal2

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I haven't been on a trip like that yet, we are going this fall too and still debating bringing out Seek 8 man or just using the outfitters regular tents with floors.

We used out Seek 8 man last year on a muley hunt where we got 15" of snow the first night. We used the half floor from Seek. It worked well for that trip but we were on higher and firmer ground. We left the half with the stove floorless since you don't want a floor under the stove they said. We put gear and wood over there and slept on the half with the floor. It was sure nice to have that floor to stand on in our socks getting ready. We camped near the truck on that trip and got the whisk broom from under the seat to keep it clean of pine needles every day or two.

I guess the idea of camping in a swamp with a floorless makes sense the more I think about it. A floored tent isn't likely not to leak in those conditions, and at least a floorless you can walk to your cot with your boots on. We haven't owned our tipi long, last year was our first 2 trips in it one scouting in August and hunting in October. How is the tipi and stove combo for condensation on waterlogged ground? Does it turn into a sauna with the stove running or is the wood heat dry enough to prevent that?
 
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After messing with a floorless on some soggy hunts in western Wa for the first time last season I have come to the conclusion that a tyvek sheet or simple ground cloth is
Better than nothing if its soggy, unless you find that one in a million ideal spot to camp in the rain or wetness.
I think one of those bathtub style nests would be much better for all around situations in the soak.
Tyvek sheets suck even in dry areas, I made the mistake of camping in an established campsite where the ground was dry and nothing but bare fluffy dirt. I looked like pig pen the next morning for stirring up all the dust and grime inside my cimmaron.
Maybe floorless isn’t for me.
 

MTSabo

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In my experience the stove does wonders to dry out everything, even on waterlogged ground. Although I always use a 6'x8' tarp in those conditions as I use a thermorest neoair not a cot. That tarp probably helps keep the ground moisture at bay to some extent.

Don't get me wrong Id like to have a lightweight low to the ground cot to use as I think it might work well, I just haven't acquired one yet.
 
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mcseal2

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I bought my Thermarest elsewhere, but this is a link to the same model I use:

Mesh Cot | Lightweight Camping Cot with Easy Setup | Therm-a-Rest(R)

It worked great in our tipi last year. His cot was a different model a little taller, bulkier, and much more of a pain to set-up. We could set both up on the floored half of the 8 man tipi but the bottom of my sleeping bag did brush against the tipi some. My buddy had a cheap sleeping bag without much moisture resistance and I had a Kifaru slickbag so I could let mine do that and stay dry despite the condensation. I will say that with the cot and truck camping a full zip rectangular bag would have been easier to get into, out of, and situated in than my Kifaru while using the cot. My set-up worked fine but I may get a different bag for use with the cot when not packing camp on my back.
 
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MTSabo

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I bought my Thermarest elsewhere, but this is a link to the same model I use:

Mesh Cot | Lightweight Camping Cot with Easy Setup | Therm-a-Rest(R)

It worked great in our tipi last year. His cot was a different model a little taller, bulkier, and much more of a pain to set-up. We could set both up on the floored half of the 8 man tipi but the bottom of my sleeping bag did brush against the tipi some. My buddy had a cheap sleeping bag without much moisture resistance and I had a Kifaru slickbag so I could let mine do that and stay dry despite the condensation. I will say that with the cot and truck camping a full zip rectangular bag would have been easier to get into, out of, and situated in than my Kifaru while using the cot. My set-up worked fine but I may get a different bag for use with the cot when not packing camp on my back.

That looks pretty nice for tipi use. My problem with finding one is I'm 6'4" so they are not always comfortable haha. I use a slickbag as well and I agree for truck camping full zip rectangle is better.
 
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