Cimarron half nest

[codym]

Hey guys, I used my Cimarron on my elk hunt last week and it was miserable. I made some mistakes like pitching it in high grass and near a stream but that's all I had to work with. It rained for about 24 hours straight one day and the water was misting into the tent and everything was wet. I spoke to SO and they said it was a condensation issue and to use the line locks and stake the tent off the ground. Problem is there were mice and moles that would try and get in the tent at night. I have a stove jack but didn't run a stove on this trip. Also the bugs and spiders kinda sucked. Would a half nest solve my problems or is a single wall floorless shelter just not for me??

 

[Muttly]

Could be looked at as a more modular approach to a tall tent, in some regards,.but here's what seems to work for me.
I run a half nest from Bear Paw, along with an SO ground cloth covering the other half of the tipi. Reason I went Bear Paw over the SO nest was mostly for the ability to have a taller bathtub floor. Live in SE Alaska, it can dump the rain on occasion..and with the Cimarron normally pitched a couple inches of the ground, slows the drafts down a bit.
I usually try to seek out slightly higher ground if possible. That being said, I have pitched it damn near a bog, kind that almost has water seeping from knee or foot prints. Only issue that time was a ptarmigan sounding off with a pre dawn wake up call just outside the tent.
Guess he didn't like me there..

 

[codym]

Thanks Muttly, I will check out the bear paw nest

 

[moxford]

Do some research on BPD, especially some of the unhappy customers and poor products that have come out of there. Not saying "don't do it" but folks over on BPL have had quite a few very poor experiences there.

 

[Netherman]

I would look at mesh bivys too. I've got an EE recon bivy that I use under my tarp and redcliff. it's not as roomy as the nest but give me more modularity. After playing with the recon I think I might have been better off with a MLD bug bivy 2. YMMV

 

[JeffRaines]

Hey guys, I used my Cimarron on my elk hunt last week and it was miserable. I made some mistakes like pitching it in high grass and near a stream but that's all I had to work with. It rained for about 24 hours straight one day and the water was misting into the tent and everything was wet. I spoke to SO and they said it was a condensation issue and to use the line locks and stake the tent off the ground. Problem is there were mice and moles that would try and get in the tent at night. I have a stove jack but didn't run a stove on this trip. Also the bugs and spiders kinda sucked. Would a half nest solve my problems or is a single wall floorless shelter just not for me??

So we have a few big nonos.

Pitching near a water source
Pitching on grass(high grass)

Even if you had a double wall shelter, you would’ve had condensation issues... they wouldn’t have been as bad, but still present. If it were me, and I knew that’s all I had available, I would’ve went with a double wall shelter OR at least brought a stove along. Problem is, even in a double wall, when the rain hits the tent it’s gonna knock condensation off onto the tent body. If it’s mesh(as most of mine are) you’re still getting wet. If you look at most 4 season shelters, I think the tent body is mostly a solid material with mesh here and there.

As far as the mice and bugs, they sell inexpensive lightweight bug nests on amazon that work great for keeping them out of your sleeping area if they’re an issue. I think they run 15 bucks or so and weigh a few ounces.

 

[Lawnboi]

Condensation can happen. Sounds like you had a perfect storm to create condensation. Keep in mind sometimes it’s totall unavoidable. This last week I had my tarp pitched 1.5 feet off the ground and still had condensation a few days.

When bad condensation hits my remedy is a bivy for my sleeping bag, and dealing with it. It really sucks when it forms and rains on you in the tent. As said above proper site selection, if available helps along with some way to get some ventilation.

As far as bugs, mice and moles. Bugs can be kept out with a nest, or bivy. Mice and moles will get to whatever they want regardless. Iv had mice come through my floor less shelters. Iv also had mice chew through a screen of a double wall tent while I was sleeping, and proceed to come on it. They are an unavoidable part of backpacking and again site selection can get rid of a lot of that problem.

IMO a nest is not the answer, when it’s bad you can still get wet with a nest. An ultra lite bivy will keep bugs off you at night and also be a little extra protection for your bag.

I wouldn’t give up on the floor less shelter quite yet, sounds like the conditions you had would have caused condensation in about any lightweight shelter. It’s just part of backpacking.

 

[codym]

So we have a few big nonos.

Pitching near a water source
Pitching on grass(high grass)

Even if you had a double wall shelter, you would’ve had condensation issues... they wouldn’t have been as bad, but still present. If it were me, and I knew that’s all I had available, I would’ve went with a double wall shelter OR at least brought a stove along. Problem is, even in a double wall, when the rain hits the tent it’s gonna knock condensation off onto the tent body. If it’s mesh(as most of mine are) you’re still getting wet. If you look at most 4 season shelters, I think the tent body is mostly a solid material with mesh here and there.

As far as the mice and bugs, they sell inexpensive lightweight bug nests on amazon that work great for keeping them out of your sleeping area if they’re an issue. I think they run 15 bucks or so and weigh a few ounces.

So I had never hunted this part of the unit and we had pack animals so we were forced to camp where they would have access to water. What really bugs me is people say you would have condensation issues in a regular tent, but my buddy and his dad are camped two feet away in a cheap browning tent and they are dry, our food and tack is in a $20 dollar walmart tent and it's dry. I would have brought the stove if I would have thought I needed it but just didn't think I would on an elk hunt that hits 70's during the day and only getting down to the 50's at night. If I can't stay dry with the tipi and a nest then I'm going back to a regular tent. Maybe a BA copper spur or a Hillaberg tent. The little advantages aren't worth the hassle for me at this point.

 

[milunchbox]

So I had never hunted this part of the unit and we had pack animals so we were forced to camp where they would have access to water. What really bugs me is people say you would have condensation issues in a regular tent, but my buddy and his dad are camped two feet away in a cheap browning tent and they are dry, our food and tack is in a $20 dollar walmart tent and it's dry. I would have brought the stove if I would have thought I needed it but just didn't think I would on an elk hunt that hits 70's during the day and only getting down to the 50's at night. If I can't stay dry with the tipi and a nest then I'm going back to a regular tent. Maybe a BA copper spur or a Hillaberg tent. The little advantages aren't worth the hassle for me at this point.

If you are going to sell I would be interested.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[codym]

I will let you know. I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet. I know my site selection was a big problem. I'm going to try again for my december coues deer hunt. I have a feeling with a nest, pitching off the ground and using my stove I won't have an issue.

 

[JeffRaines]

So I had never hunted this part of the unit and we had pack animals so we were forced to camp where they would have access to water. What really bugs me is people say you would have condensation issues in a regular tent, but my buddy and his dad are camped two feet away in a cheap browning tent and they are dry, our food and tack is in a $20 dollar walmart tent and it's dry. I would have brought the stove if I would have thought I needed it but just didn't think I would on an elk hunt that hits 70's during the day and only getting down to the 50's at night. If I can't stay dry with the tipi and a nest then I'm going back to a regular tent. Maybe a BA copper spur or a Hillaberg tent. The little advantages aren't worth the hassle for me at this point.

That makes sense though - the browning tents I've seen(and I haven't seen them all so I could be wrong) have all had a rainfly with a mostly solid tent body. That mostly solid tent body kept them from getting wet, but make no mistake they had condensation.

If it were me, I think I'd go for a custom option. Maybe get BPW to make you a nest thats mostly solid with some venting at the top?

 

[codym]

Jeff I think this what I'm gonna do. I contacted them and they said they can make me a half nest with a good bath tub floor and venting at the top. This should allow me to pitch well off the ground and be able to keep the mice, bugs, and snakes at bay. I went back and read and listened to things about single wall shelters and everyone talks about this condensation thing and how to avoid it and what makes it worse. I did just about everything wrong and had conditions that exacerbated my ignorance. Live and learn. I will tell you my kifaru slick bag saved my ass, kept me dry and warm. Hopefully my next couple go rounds will get me dialed in.

 

[JeffRaines]

Jeff I think this what I'm gonna do. I contacted them and they said they can make me a half nest with a good bath tub floor and venting at the top. This should allow me to pitch well off the ground and be able to keep the mice, bugs, and snakes at bay. I went back and read and listened to things about single wall shelters and everyone talks about this condensation thing and how to avoid it and what makes it worse. I did just about everything wrong and had conditions that exacerbated my ignorance. Live and learn. I will tell you my kifaru slick bag saved my ass, kept me dry and warm. Hopefully my next couple go rounds will get me dialed in.

Nice, and I'm sure you'll get it dialed in! Let us know how it works out with BPW.

 

[jhm2023]

A few tips I've found to help in a floorless over the years, both in a cimmaron and tigoat vertex. First: Get some longer stakes for better holding power, that way you can pitch the tent really tight by extending the center pole. This helps keep condensation from falling on you in windy conditions and allows it to roll down the wall instead. Second: I cover most of the ground with a lightweight tarp or ground cloth. This keeps your stuff dry in case you roll off your pad and minimizes ground moisture evaporating into the tent. Third: Go to a local archery shop and ask for a couple of scraps arrow pieces from trimming arrows (about six inches). Insert a knock on each end creating a spreader bar type deal for the doors. Unzip the door from the top about 1/4 of the way, insert arrow piece allowing zippers to go into the knocks then zip the tent back up as much as you can. This creates a diamond shaped opening allowing for more ventilation when its not raining. During warm weather it also lets out heat and bugs as both go to the top of the tent.

You will have condensation regardless of site selection because on average a human expels about 1 pint of water through breathe. Obviously site selection can better or worsen the matter though. The tips above have worked for me from Kodiak to the tundra on the North slope, both very wet places.