Help me pick a new tent

thinhorn_AK

"DADDY"
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Jul 2, 2016
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Its time to replace my marmot tent thats ~15+ years old, its been good but its time for something new.

Im looking for a 2 person tent, free standing, lightweight because it will be used for sheep hunting. What should I be looking at right now??? Stone Glacier? Kuiu? Hilleberg?



Thanks!!!
 

tbone131

Lil-Rokslider
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Nov 18, 2012
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Anchorage, AK
I am in the same boat and really thinking hard about tents. I want a hille but the weight doesn’t seem worth it on most of their tents imo. I am looking hard at the Kuiu mountain star 2P.
 

tbone131

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Just pulled the trigger on the Mountain Star 2P with aluminum poles. I really wanted the carbon poles but the weight difference is less than 2 ounces and they were sold out of the carbon pole model. 15% off with coupon.
 
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thinhorn_AK

thinhorn_AK

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Just pulled the trigger on the Mountain Star 2P with aluminum poles. I really wanted the carbon poles but the weight difference is less than 2 ounces and they were sold out of the carbon pole model. 15% off with coupon.

I was given a 15% off coupon by a fellow rokslider, I was thinking of going kuiu for that reason.. Why did you decide on the mountain star over the stormstar?
 

tbone131

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Weight. Although you can split the weight if hunting with a partner the 2 lb difference doesn’t seem worth it to me. Time will tell.
 

hankharp

FNG
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Nov 11, 2015
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76
Kuiu is a very interesting option. Both tents are incredibly light for what they offer and their prices can be viewed as competitive when looking at features combined with a coupon. One thing that is holding me up on jumping into one is the fact that the tents are polyurethane (PU) coated rather than being silicone impregnated (like Hillebergs for example).

The PU makes them less expensive to manufacture (and thus less expensive for the consumer, theoretically) and makes it more waterproof than silicone coating in the short term. Most PU shelters are also heavier, but I think KUIU remedies that by going to lower denier fabrics than many PU-coated tents.

The downside, besides the lower denier fabrics being less durable, is that PU-coated shelters are prone to delamination (or degradation). It seems as though one the PU coating goes, the tent is dead (further looking suggests this isn’t the case, see: https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/restoring-a-shelter-with-a-degraded-pu-coating/ ). Sil tents, by my understanding, don’t face this issue because of the impregnation of the silicone into the fabric.

Stone Glacier’s tent is a nice option. A true 2-man set up with double vestibules. Not too bad for weight and it’s a great company that is putting their name on it. The downside to that one is that it sets up inner first, so the inner tent is vulnerable to rainfall if it is being set up in inclement weather.

Hilleberg has a number of options. Anjan 2, Anjan 2 GT, Rogen, and Niak all seem to fit into the characteristics that Hilleberg is known for: very durable, set up protects the inner tent, expensive. The big question with Hilleberg is if your needs require it’s durability and reliability.

Big Sky has a few options that you may want to look at, although reports from years ago about their lack of customer service still seem to haunt them. Great price and great tents from everything I can see, just be aware of the concerns from a while back.

Then there’s all the floorless pyramids (mids), tarps, and tipis. A whole new world.

All in all, like everything else in outdoor gear, there is no perfect selection. It depends on needs, use, budget, and personal preference. I think they’ll all do great on your average hunting and backpacking adventures.
 
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Grizz

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Apr 26, 2018
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TN
I've been looking at these same tents and others but will be purchasing a stone glacier tent when i have the cash. It's light for a 4-season tent and the bug screen/bath tub floor look nice for when its hot out. I tried a black diamond single wall on my last trip and was soaking wet at 2 am, so time to upgrade.
 

Scrappy

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Jun 5, 2013
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Take a look at tarptent before you pull the trigger, they have a few models that will fill your requirements perfectly.
 
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thinhorn_AK

thinhorn_AK

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Thanks everybody, Ill take a look at tarptent, right now I'm leaning towards a tent rather than a tarp/teepee though.
 

tbone131

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Anchorage, AK
Thanks everybody, Ill take a look at tarptent, right now I'm leaning towards a tent rather than a tarp/teepee though.

I have a Kifaru 8 man tipi with a large stove. That tent and stove combo is awesome! It’s obviously too heavy to pack into that mountains on a sheep hunt, at least for me. I use it when I go moose or caribou hunting when using my Polaris Ranger. Weight isn’t as much an issue then. With that being said there are good tipis out there which are smaller and lighter. I am still new to tipis so I am a little nervous to take one on an extended backpack hunt knowing that weather could turn bad and the wind will blow. I live in Alaska and the weather changes on a dime in the mountains. I am not confident enough in the tipi yet in adverse conditions to pack it. I hope that makes sense to all.
 

Shrek

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I have a Kifaru 8 man tipi with a large stove. That tent and stove combo is awesome! It’s obviously too heavy to pack into that mountains on a sheep hunt, at least for me. I use it when I go moose or caribou hunting when using my Polaris Ranger. Weight isn’t as much an issue then. With that being said there are good tipis out there which are smaller and lighter. I am still new to tipis so I am a little nervous to take one on an extended backpack hunt knowing that weather could turn bad and the wind will blow. I live in Alaska and the weather changes on a dime in the mountains. I am not confident enough in the tipi yet in adverse conditions to pack it. I hope that makes sense to all.
I’ve had my Sawtooth in some pretty wild thunder storms with heavy wind and extreme gusts and it’s rock solid. The tipi tents shed wind well. You should find Luke Moffit’s video of his on Kodiak in 70 mph winds. That video is the thing that gave me confidence in my Sawtooth before I had actual experience with mine in chity weather.
 
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I agree about the tipi tents taking a serious beating. We were on Kodiak hunting when this one hit last year http://kmxt.org/2018/02/high-winds-bring-trees-cause-power-outages-around-kodiak/ . I was in my cimmaron and my buddy was in his sawtooth. They were both taking it, but we had set up an emergency north face tent and ended up taking both our tipi's down after about 12 hours of abuse (just because we had the luxury and didn't want to risk anything getting ripped apart).

Packed the cimmaron sheep hunting this year and it was awesome with 2 people and all the room. It was in the back of my mind though that if the wind took it, it's gone and all of your stuff is exposed. At least if wind pulls stakes on a "regular tent", you are laying in it and it just collapses on you. I may look into one of them solo tarptent set ups. Good convo.
 

Shrek

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I agree about the tipi tents taking a serious beating. We were on Kodiak hunting when this one hit last year http://kmxt.org/2018/02/high-winds-bring-trees-cause-power-outages-around-kodiak/ . I was in my cimmaron and my buddy was in his sawtooth. They were both taking it, but we had set up an emergency north face tent and ended up taking both our tipi's down after about 12 hours of abuse (just because we had the luxury and didn't want to risk anything getting ripped apart).

Packed the cimmaron sheep hunting this year and it was awesome with 2 people and all the room. It was in the back of my mind though that if the wind took it, it's gone and all of your stuff is exposed. At least if wind pulls stakes on a "regular tent", you are laying in it and it just collapses on you. I may look into one of them solo tarptent set ups. Good convo.
So the tipis were fine but you took them down anyway ? If after 12hrs they hadn’t come apart what made you feel that they were in danger of coming apart ?
 
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Well, it started to blow early morning while still sleeping. We left camp mid-morning up the mountain to pick up what remained of our mountain goats. Got back to camp late in the evening. It got worse all day and was not letting up. No way to call out and figure out if it was going to get worse or better and it was starting to get dark. Fifteen degrees with just 60 mph wind is -20 wind chill and it was snowing on and off. You don’t take chances when the weather can kill you in minutes, especially on Kodiak. The tipis were along for warmth and drying out and they served their purpose for the other 6 days of the hunt. The other tent was along for a reason so we used it. Tipis are drafty with 20 mph winds. There was no sense in getting beat up all night with 80 mph wind. Or taking the chance on beating up a tent that I use for other reasons when I didn't have to.IMG_0845 (002).jpg

This was right before I took it down. Stakes were starting to pull out of the frozen ground from the wind.
 

Muttly

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I agree about the tipi tents taking a serious beating. We were on Kodiak hunting when this one hit last year http://kmxt.org/2018/02/high-winds-bring-trees-cause-power-outages-around-kodiak/ . I was in my cimmaron and my buddy was in his sawtooth. They were both taking it, but we had set up an emergency north face tent and ended up taking both our tipi's down after about 12 hours of abuse (just because we had the luxury and didn't want to risk anything getting ripped apart).

Packed the cimmaron sheep hunting this year and it was awesome with 2 people and all the room. It was in the back of my mind though that if the wind took it, it's gone and all of your stuff is exposed. At least if wind pulls stakes on a "regular tent", you are laying in it and it just collapses on you. I may look into one of them solo tarptent set ups. Good convo.

For what its worth..
Had a little experience this summer with heavy wind/poor sight choice/unwarranted optimism..
Little above a lake, poor grip for the stakes. Wind started howling off the lake around 11:30, few good gusts, figured it was holding. Wake up a few times while it,s rattling..
2:30, one mean gust, and wake up seeing stars, thinking the tipi has sailed off into the lake. The off side stakes held, little stand of trees between the lake and the tipi.

The take away was that I need to put together a couple, maybe four net ropes for occasions when you do get wind. And sacrifice ventilation, hunker that tipi down to the ground so the wind can't get underneath it. Usually have it staked a couple inches off the ground.
 
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Z pack and Ti Goat have been peaking my interest for a while. Not sure if floor less is for me so that would help my decision.
 
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Get the Hilleberg, whichever one you feel is right. 4 season. It will last and stay put in rough weather. Buy used to save some $$$. Happy with my Nallo3 and considering getting the Akto.
 
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