Wall tent vs bell tent help me decide

[Eastfork]

Ok,

Not sure if I'm in the right place, if not some one can direct me.

Here's my deal,
I have a davis wall tent with cook shack awning out the front. 14x16 tent with 16' cooking awning. All metal frame. I love it besides the set up and tear down. And then the clean up and dry out once I get home...
And some times I'm doing a bit of this by my self with some young boy help.

But I'm looking at a bell tent. White duck or similar brand. Set up and tear down time would be a fraction of the time. Why less stuff and wayless weight. Anyone have any experience with using a bell tent for hunting. Rain/snow experience? Heating I'm not worried about. Would love to still have a cooking awning out front some how. My davis tent setup is awesome bit extremely time consuming and heavy....just looking at options

 

[EcoastDG]

I have a white duck bell tent. It’s been great in rain, snow, and high wind. The only suggestion I have is to invest in better stakes. It is pretty easy to bend them in hard ground.
It is super easy to set up and take down.

 

[Aaron-in-CO]

I've had a 13' White Duck Avalon for a year now. It's done well for me so far. Held up just fine with moderate rain, several inches of snow, and 30-ish mph winds. Haven't experienced anything more extreme than that yet, though I'm sure it can handle more. The only thing I would really be worried about is my stove pipe toppling from high winds, but that doesn't really have to do with the tent.

White Duck has an awning setup for a couple hundred buck. You could probably rig up the same setup with a vinyl tarp without much issue.

You'd probably have to go with the 20' model to get comparable room to your current setup. I don't have experience with wall tents but I find the circular footprint of the bell tent to be harder to organize and use efficiently.

The one thing I dislike is all of the staking that's required. About 3 dozen stakes to hammer in - 2/3rds of which are thick rebar stakes. Sometimes it's no problem. But its a PITA when all you have is hard/rocky ground.

I can setup the whole thing plus stove, by myself, in 45min or so with reasonable staking conditions.

 

[Eastfork]

I've had a 13' White Duck Avalon for a year now. It's done well for me so far. Held up just fine with moderate rain, several inches of snow, and 30-ish mph winds. Haven't experienced anything more extreme than that yet, though I'm sure it can handle more. The only thing I would really be worried about is my stove pipe toppling from high winds, but that doesn't really have to do with the tent.

White Duck has an awning setup for a couple hundred buck. You could probably rig up the same setup with a vinyl tarp without much issue.

You'd probably have to go with the 20' model to get comparable room to your current setup. I don't have experience with wall tents but I find the circular footprint of the bell tent to be harder to organize and use efficiently.

The one thing I dislike is all of the staking that's required. About 3 dozen stakes to hammer in - 2/3rds of which are thick rebar stakes. Sometimes it's no problem. But its a PITA when all you have is hard/rocky ground.

I can setup the whole thing plus stove, by myself, in 45min or so with reasonable staking conditions.

The wall tent has way more stakes, and the frame. To tie down my tent and rain fly I bet I have close to 50 stakes if not more. Lots of stakes, lots of ropes and lots of time. With 3 guys from unloading Trucks to laying on cots its probably close to 2 hours. Maybe a little less. But with 2 guys it's way longer. And almost impossible to do it with 1 guy. I have done it just to see if it can be down but it's a serious PITA....

 

[Eastfork]

I've had a 13' White Duck Avalon for a year now. It's done well for me so far. Held up just fine with moderate rain, several inches of snow, and 30-ish mph winds. Haven't experienced anything more extreme than that yet, though I'm sure it can handle more. The only thing I would really be worried about is my stove pipe toppling from high winds, but that doesn't really have to do with the tent.

White Duck has an awning setup for a couple hundred buck. You could probably rig up the same setup with a vinyl tarp without much issue.

You'd probably have to go with the 20' model to get comparable room to your current setup. I don't have experience with wall tents but I find the circular footprint of the bell tent to be harder to organize and use efficiently.

The one thing I dislike is all of the staking that's required. About 3 dozen stakes to hammer in - 2/3rds of which are thick rebar stakes. Sometimes it's no problem. But its a PITA when all you have is hard/rocky ground.

I can setup the whole thing plus stove, by myself, in 45min or so with reasonable staking conditions.

How many guys did you sleep in the 13' ? And do you know how tall your side walls are?

 

[Eastfork]

I have a white duck bell tent. It’s been great in rain, snow, and high wind. The only suggestion I have is to invest in better stakes. It is pretty easy to bend them in hard ground.
It is super easy to set up and take down.

Which size do you have? And how many will it sleep comfortably

 

[EcoastDG]

Which size do you have? And how many will it sleep comfortably

I have the 13’. With a stove, we have slept 3 guys with most of our gear very comfortably . No stove you could get 4 guys in there. I can fit my family of six (4 kids 17 and under).

 

[robby denning]

Ok,

Not sure if I'm in the right place, if not some one can direct me.

Here's my deal,
I have a davis wall tent with cook shack awning out the front. 14x16 tent with 16' cooking awning. All metal frame. I love it besides the set up and tear down. And then the clean up and dry out once I get home...
And some times I'm doing a bit of this by my self with some young boy help.

But I'm looking at a bell tent. White duck or similar brand. Set up and tear down time would be a fraction of the time. Why less stuff and wayless weight. Anyone have any experience with using a bell tent for hunting. Rain/snow experience? Heating I'm not worried about. Would love to still have a cooking awning out front some how. My davis tent setup is awesome bit extremely time consuming and heavy....just looking at options

If by bell tent, you're also meaning tipi style, I just covered most of your questions in this review. you are spot on in the difficulty of solo setup of a wall tent vs tipi/bell style.

That is their big 15 man tent, they do have other options. The distributor is @Mansfield Outdoors , a rokslide advertiser, but the brand is Tentipi.

check them out

Tentipi Safirflex 15 Review

Robby reviews the Tentipi Safirflex 15 Tent on a 9-day all weather deer hunt. If you‘re looking for a big and easy-to-set-up tent, this is your review

www.rokslide.com

 

[Aaron-in-CO]

How many guys did you sleep in the 13' ? And do you know how tall your side walls are?

Side walls are either 2.5 or 3’, I think. Website should have those specs.

Our record so far for the coziest camp is two couples (one queen size air mattress and two individual pads), 3 dogs (45-60lbs), a large dog crate, and stove. Almost all of our equipment/belongings stayed in the vehicles/outside. We did two or three nights and it wasn’t too bad.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

The one thing I dislike is all of the staking that's required. About 3 dozen stakes to hammer in - 2/3rds of which are thick rebar stakes. Sometimes it's no problem. But its a PITA when all you have is hard/rocky ground.

Some guys are using 10" galvanized lag screws and an impact driver to put in for stakes. I haven't tried it, but might be something worth looking into.

I've been eyeballing these bell tents also, some interesting designs, so in for the input as well. I did put a Flex-Bow on my wish list for quicker trips but if that doesn't pan out for Christmas I may be switching it up.

 

[Eastfork]

If by bell tent, you're also meaning tipi style, I just covered most of your questions in this review. you are spot on in the difficulty of solo setup of a wall tent vs tipi/bell style.

That is their big 15 man tent, they do have other options. The distributor is @Mansfield Outdoors , a rokslide advertiser, but the brand is Tentipi.

check them out

Tentipi Safirflex 15 Review

Robby reviews the Tentipi Safirflex 15 Tent on a 9-day all weather deer hunt. If you‘re looking for a big and easy-to-set-up tent, this is your review

www.rokslide.com

looks like a helluva tent! love it

 

[muskysaloon]

Me and my buddy bought a Springbar Classic Jack 140 with a Winnerwell stove this year. It sets up super easy and worked great.

 

[Wrench]

I ran a 12x12 alalnak for years. Super easy for one guy to set up, way lighter than a wall tent, waterproof floor and you can dry it with a box fan in almost any room without setting it up by just putting the fan in a door and blowing it up like a bounce house.

 

[lifeisgoodsteve]

Some guys are using 10" galvanized lag screws and an impact driver to put in for stakes. I haven't tried it, but might be something worth looking into.

I used this on my Kodiak 10x14 and it was great !! A real time saver when pounding in 16 or more heavy duty stakes.

 

[thegrouse]

I use a combo of 10" and 14" lag screws with my tents. I also attach a few links of chain with a fender washer so I can quickly guy out tents. I use fender washers on all the lag screws. I had one time where my battery died in my impact. Fortunately I had a socket set in the vehicle I used to remove a few stakes.

 

[Archer86]

I bought a 16 bell tent this summer used it 3 times this fall. It was much easier set up and take down then the 14x16 wall tent I was using. I can have the bell tent up in 30 minutes Alone. You do sacrifice some room but it worked good for my family of 5 with a stove

We have had it in rain snow wind and have had no issues. All I used for a front awning was a well secured pop up set up over the front door when truck camping.

 

[Slug]

Hey Guys, I understand this is old post but new to rockslide and need to post a few things before they trust me...I get it.
I purchased the 16' Yukon Bell from Elk Mountain tents out of Nampa Idaho. 3 guys with all gear for a week elk hunting. I also added a Four Dog stove. Spent lots of nights in wall tents but have to say this is the best tent for both worlds. Tons of room, lighter overall, great price and easy to setup. The wind and snow we get in November can be a problem and this thing took all that was thrown at it. I love the blended fabric, easier to clean, tougher than traditional canvas, breathes great and no condensation. Yukon Bell from Elk Mountain is a game changer for us.