Backcountry shelter systems

[jackburcs]

Any advice out there on freestanding tents vs semi-freestanding vs staked/guyed systems?

 

[Kevin Dill]

If you camp on rocks, don't buy anything that requires stakes.

 

[Jimbob]

Honest question, do people use freestanding tents and not stake them down? what about wind? Every freestanding tent I see needs the fly to be staked out.

 

[Mike 338]

You almost have to know where your going to pitch your tent if your to make that type of determination. Free standing is handy but I've never felt like I absolutely needed one. I've had some pretty crappy loose pitches and survived.

 

[Kevin Dill]

My comment above could be interpreted as 'if you do a lot of camping in predominant rock-covered areas, I wouldn't choose a shelter which had to be staked....as in pegs pounded into soil'. In such a situation I would go with a freestanding unit and use available rocks or other anchors to help secure the pitch. That said, I figure most guys aren't primarily camping in areas comprised of mostly rock and stone.

Staked and guyed is the way to go in a wind-exposed camp. It's also the favored setup for an extended basecamp home.

Beyond this, it matters whether it's a solo vs shared shelter. Heated or not.?Minimalist or a having a bit more space and features? Expected weather conditions during use? Budget?

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I prefer a 100% free standing tent.

 

[Bighorse]

I hunt in SE AK with tent tarps and tepee from Seek Outside. I just ordered their Eolus that uses trekking poles for support but have three other models from them. I got free standing shelters too. I prefer those when I'm leaving the camp site for extended periods or snow loading. There's not wrong way really as long as your warm and dry in the morning.

 

[jackburcs]

Thanks for the input. For those that have non-freestanding shelters, have you encountered many situations hunting in mountainous/hilly areas in which you couldn't properly pitch your shelter?

 

[FlyGuy]

Thanks for the input. For those that have non-freestanding shelters, have you encountered many situations hunting in mountainous/hilly areas in which you couldn't properly pitch your shelter?

That’s never an issue with a floorless shelter. I just lay out my pad 1st, lay down on it, and adjust it, lay down, adjust, etc until it feels level. Then I pitch my tarp over it. I only need a very small area that’s level and then I can sleep like a rock. I’ve even had logs or stumps inside my shelter before.

It could be more of an issue to find with a tent I suppose due to requiring a larger footprint, though you would have to be in some seriously steep country to not be able to find a flat spot ANYWHERE.





You can’t cheat the mountain

 

[Mosby]

I prefer free standing tents but that is what I have the most experience with. I am a creature of habit.

 

[Kevin Dill]

I prefer a floorless tipi which of course requires staking, or at least some way to hold the perimeter down and taut. The worst time I ever had with it was on a mountainous hunt for caribou. I was dropped in sheep country (in terms of elevation and terrain) and then chose to backpack my gear another couple miles up/in for a better perspective. I had a heck of a time just finding a semi-level area with fewer rocks. I managed to get a decent pitch but the only way to keep things secure was to use heavier rocks on top of every single stake.

Incidentally, not one stake went in without jamming into a rock first and having to be re-angled or moved. I even had a sizable angled rock jutting up inside the shelter. I called it the bootjack rock and it came in handy every evening.

 

[*zap*]

In moderate winds you can pop up a freestanding tent and throw your pack in it to finish staking out plus they are easy to move to a nearby 'better' spot. Really no downside to a freestanding tent in freestanding vs non freestanding comparison.

 

[strand]

If you have some cordage in your pack to add to stake points as needed you can pitch a floorless shelter pretty much anywhere as long as you have the right stakes for the ground you're camping on. I've also started packing a couple extra stakes to do a double staking at a few points around the shelter if needed. A few small stakes and some 1.8mm cord doesn't weigh much.

I started backpacking with a freestanding tent and I think it was the way to go for me and my experience level. Being able to set up the tent and move it around until you like where it's at is handy. Starting out, my tent footprint always took up more space than I thought it would. As you get more experience you'll get better at judging space required to put up your shelter. In my experience the learning curve is a steeper using floorless or non-freestanding floored shelters. Benefits are worth it, but you need to have some know how and practice pitching your shelter especially if you're running floorless with a single pole.

I've only been truly scared one night in a tent and that was running a floorless shelter on clay soils in a nasty, rainy, windy as hell thunderstorm. The stakes were all solid at noon when I pitched the tent, but around 2 AM after hours of rain and wind I was holding the fly down from the inside hoping like hell it wouldn't blow away. Plus side is I learned a lot about pitching a tent on that trip.

 

[Bighorse]

Site selection for floorless....I've gotten into ridgeline situations where I put a rock perimeter around the shelter to wind shear and reduce the risk of loosing my shelter. Anywhere that is uneven on the mountain requires some creative use of guy lines on adjacent trees and shrubs. I have the stakes looped with the attachments. I never want them to slip off and once sinking the stakes I'll place rocks over them if I feel the pitch is at risk in foul conditions. I also stake out my Bivy with Titanium stakes. I like that secure and in it's place through the night. My two cents after running floorless in the mountains of Alaska for a decade or so.

 

[wind gypsy]

Really no downside to a freestanding tent in freestanding vs non freestanding comparison.

Besides weight at least.

 

[Wiscgunner]

Site selection for floorless....I've gotten into ridgeline situations where I put a rock perimeter around the shelter to wind shear and reduce the risk of loosing my shelter. Anywhere that is uneven on the mountain requires some creative use of guy lines on adjacent trees and shrubs. I have the stakes looped with the attachments. I never want them to slip off and once sinking the stakes I'll place rocks over them if I feel the pitch is at risk in foul conditions. I also stake out my Bivy with Titanium stakes. I like that secure and in it's place through the night. My two cents after running floorless in the mountains of Alaska for a decade or so.

What sort of tent stakes work best in Alaska's varied terrain?

 

[Kevin_t]

For general overall use I like the 9" MSR core stakes. I've used them in the mountains and in the rocky desert and they are substantial enough for smaller shelters like the Eolus in primarily sandy situations. Honestly, for me, I have only had a couple times I couldn't stake a tent well and most of the time it was more like I did not have stakes for the job. I have done cordage around rocks on gravel bars a few times but that works pretty well. For me, more often than not, level ground is a bigger challenge regardless of shelter.

 

[Bighorse]

Stakes are an important consideration. In rocky situations, the Ti spike style stakes are bomber and slip in between rocks well. The MSR's are great all around stakes. On my big shelter I have scooping sand stakes and even steel stakes like used for concrete forms. I use the 12p tepee on beaches in SE AK or flying to lakes, where weight isn't a huge concern. Getting your shelter anchored down is #1. The permanent attachment is my preferred technique. I'll even go as far as burying the stake and slapping a rock on top if I see a storm brewing.