Floorless shelter questions

[yogr]

After doing some research on here, I've decided that I want to give floorless shelters a try. I settled on the Luna 4 largely because of price and there seem to be a wide variety of add ons available through bear paw. One thing I noticed is that they offer anl snow skirt option, and I haven't seen that from other companies. Do you guys think that is a necessary feature?

I also was wondering if maybe there are 4 person tipis in a similar price range that you would recommend over the Luna 4.

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[WYCFM1]

If you will be hunting snowstorms in high wind you might like the snow skirt. I’ve spent the night in 40-60 mph gusts with a cheaper floor less tipi. It snowed and spat hail for about 4 hours. I never got touched by any of it.


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[rayporter]

my first floorless adventure was a megamid. it could not be pitched tight to the ground like the modern styles of tipis we have now. I added a skirt to it and it helped a lot to seal it. my kifaru 6 man and 12 man do not need the skirt. the early kifaru tipi was built as if it had a skirt. when pitched there was a large area that was flat to the ground. I guess they figured it was not needed.

 

[AK Troutbum]

One thing to keep in mind regarding sod skirts is that their purpose is to seal the shelter, which they do very well, this also significantly reduces air flow and can greatly increase condensation issues.


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[RockChucker30]

We put sod skirts on our tents as a standard option. They do very well at sealing out cold drafts. In hot wet weather you can raise the shelter to get more airflow.

The questions that people new to floorless have are most commonly about how to keep gear clean if it's muddy, what about ticks, mosquitoes, snakes, scorpions, and condensation. There are good ways to overcome all those fears, and with a bit of experience many people prefer floorless.

 

[yogr]

We put sod skirts on our tents as a standard option. They do very well at sealing out cold drafts. In hot wet weather you can raise the shelter to get more airflow.

The questions that people new to floorless have are most commonly about how to keep gear clean if it's muddy, what about ticks, mosquitoes, snakes, scorpions, and condensation. There are good ways to overcome all those fears, and with a bit of experience many people prefer floorless.

It sounds like you would recommend the sod skirt then, and in dry weather just pitch it higher?

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[Mike7]

I had a Luna 4 (son uses it now), and I had it in 50mph winds without a sod skirt without problems. I did have a perimeter 1 ft mosquito netting strip though, which cuts wind some, especially if blowing snow builds up on it.

The Luna 4 however does not have a Catenary cut, so it can be pitched low to the ground even without a skirt, if the ground is free of obstructions.

As long as you can raise your shelter enough for ventilation, I see no downside to a skirt other than added wt. If you aren't camping in Wyoming regularly though, it is probably not needed for the Luna 4 IMO.

At least a sod skirt shouldn't get caught on small bushes as easily as perimeter mosquito netting does, and could potentially allow you to get a good seal even when the shelter is pitched off the ground over small rocks, logs, and bushes.

Locus Gear, Seek Outside, Mountain Laurel Designs, Kifaru, etc. make similar likely more pricey pyramid shelters.

 

[Ok GW]

I have really been eyeing the seek outside lbo. Sure seems handy where you could use it as a solo tent or add tarp to make 3 man.