Beginner Solo Shelter System

[Wapiti16]

I have been an avid reader of this forum for years but never posted. I am looking for advice on shelters.

I'm from the Southeast but I've hunted out west for years; usually, dayhunting from a base camp. I am branching out to short multiday backpack trips, so I'm looking for a new shelter system. There are so many options out there today, it is difficult to decide what is best, especially since many of them are good but very different, and it heavily relies on personal preference.

I only need a shelter for one person, but am open to two-man shelters for more room and comfortability. 3-season. Will mostly be used for mid/late September elk in 7,000 - 10,000 feet. Packability is important, but function/comfort trumps weight for me. Needs to be lightweight but not necessarily minimalist (though it can be). Tents, bivys, tarps are all fair game. Let's see what you've got!

 

[Wapiti16]

Just FYI, so far I've been looking hard at something like the Seek Outside Silvertip, Seek Outside Lil' Bug Out, or Stone Glacier Sky ULT.

 

[307]

Big Agnes tiger wall ul2

 

[Desk Jockey]

Welcome. How much backpacking have you done? What is your budget? How tall are you?

tarps and floorless are great But its an acquired taste and takes a bit more effort and skill to set up right. A seek outside dst tarp is a badpass, cheap way to try this style and you can get very speedy all the way up to kifaru and dyneema teepees. If you go this route, think about the whole system. If you ended up pairing a floorless shelter or tarp with a bivy, Bug net and/or a ground cloth, you May erode and weight or cost savings.

tents are a fine option too. Big Agnes nemo and a few others make great options. Copper spur gets a lot of love here.

I am a bigger guy so prefer a 2 man shelter. I find that is enough room to handle me and gear in comfort. I have and use a couple of one man shelters and they work but it is cozy.

 

[Kevin_t]

Full Disclosure I own Seek Outside but honestly, I'd feel the Silex is hard to beat. Paired with an inner, it's barely over 2 lbs, handles weather really really well and is large enough for a hunter and his gear. You can use it floorless , or as an emergency tarp, or even run it with a stove.

 

[Dirtydan]

I agree with Kevin, the Silex is going to be hard to beat. I've run a Silvertip and a DST for a couple seasons each and now have the Silex. Before that I did the traditional backpacking free standing tents and although they work, they are typically heavy unless dropping quite a bit of coin. The nice thing about the SO is the price point for just the outer. It'll be hard to get into a shaped tarp for less.

 

[hikenhunt]

Tarptent has some great lightweight options you should check out, the protrail and rainbow are popular options.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

Full Disclosure I own Seek Outside but honestly, I'd feel the Silex is hard to beat. Paired with an inner, it's barely over 2 lbs, handles weather really really well and is large enough for a hunter and his gear. You can use it floorless , or as an emergency tarp, or even run it with a stove.

I was going to recommend looking at the Silex myself! I currently run a Kifaru Supertarp and love it. I'm 6'5" and the supertarp is long, which suits me well. But if I were buying again the Silex would get a long look. If you're just getting into backpacking for longer trips you might as well jump straight into floorless shelters. I like the extra room you get without weight penalty in a tarp shelter. It comes in handy in bad weather.

 

[CO-AJ]

I like the offerings from Seek Outside and Tarptent. Budget can play a factor for sure. I am waiting for my SO Cimarron with LBO nest to arrive. Expensive, but it is big and light. The SO Eolus and Tarptent Rainbow series are good as is the Stratospire. One huge benefit to SO is they are all made here in the good ole USA.

 

[Max333]

I’m a big stone glacier fan. Quality stuff which they do much field testing on, its light weight and awesome customer service.

 

[Wapiti16]

Full Disclosure I own Seek Outside but honestly, I'd feel the Silex is hard to beat. Paired with an inner, it's barely over 2 lbs, handles weather really really well and is large enough for a hunter and his gear. You can use it floorless , or as an emergency tarp, or even run it with a stove.

Thank you. I am looking at the Silex now and it looks like a great option. I might still go with the Silvertip + nest option which gives me more future flexibility in case I want to use it for a differnt type of hunt; I'm over 6' and a big guy, I will gladly carry a little extra weight for more room.

Are you guys running some kind of floor under these tipis or are the nests enough?

 

[CO-AJ]

Thank you. I am looking at the Silex now and it looks like a great option. I might still go with the Silvertip + nest option which gives me more future flexibility in case I want to use it for a differnt type of hunt; I'm over 6' and a big guy, I will gladly carry a little extra weight for more room.

Are you guys running some kind of floor under these tipis or are the nests enough?

I went with a bit smaller nest which is the SO little bug out nest. Gives more tent space. I find whenever I am in a tent it rains, in the RV clear blue and 72, so I wanted a smaller sleep area and mosre space to set up a helinox zero chair and watch it rain. Also I want the flexibility to add a stove to try some winter trips, so I wanted the nest smaller to create additional space away from a titanium stove. SO does make full and 1/2 nests, also there is a company called Bear Paw Wilderness Designs that can custom build a nest or liner for pretty much anything. Weight wise I purchased the CImarron in DCF so the tipi itself is just over 1 lb if I remember. The Eolus in DCF costs $10.00 more and would give additional space. Food for thought.

 

[Kevin_t]

Thank you. I am looking at the Silex now and it looks like a great option. I might still go with the Silvertip + nest option which gives me more future flexibility in case I want to use it for a differnt type of hunt; I'm over 6' and a big guy, I will gladly carry a little extra weight for more room.

Are you guys running some kind of floor under these tipis or are the nests enough?

Silex feels bigger for solo 6 footer is less expensive, and in all but the most extreme weather I think a better shelter

 

[307]

I have LBO, tarp, vestibule, stove. I might be an outlier but I'm not sure I like the system much.

Seems like a lot more work than a simple tent and I don't spend much time in them to really appreciate the stove at all.

I keep trying to like it, thinking that it must be something I'm doing wrong, but I might just be ill suited for it.

 

[JRMiller]

There’s a billion options but specifically for backpack hunting I would highly recommend a 2 man tent or a 1 man with a large vestibule.
And keep it under 2.5-3lbs

 

[Jordan1292]

Multi use equipment is the way to go. If you can get a tent like the six moon designs lunar solo or other trekking poles supported tents it will help shave weight. Also luxe minipeak may be an option you would want to look at.

 

[Wapiti16]

Multi use equipment is the way to go. If you can get a tent like the six moon designs lunar solo or other trekking poles supported tents it will help shave weight. Also luxe minipeak may be an option you would want to look at.

The Minipeak or Minipeak XL are others I’m looking at closely; I forgot to list. I have a buddy who’s used the MP with the inner tent in Colorado and New Mexico and really likes it.

 

[CO-AJ]

Multi use equipment is the way to go. If you can get a tent like the six moon designs lunar solo or other trekking poles supported tents it will help shave weight. Also luxe minipeak may be an option you would want to look at.

Luxe has a great pricepoint but many comments on this forum state that the Luxe products are pretty shoddy as far as fit and finish of the product. As mentioned above there are hundreds of options, so why even risk going with a lower quality or the chance of a lower quality.

 

[Ross]

Having used 3 setups in the last 8 yrs will give some feedback on each.

kifaru supertarp can pitch anywhere and simple setup with options of Annex...for one only and limited gear...great if not wanting to move around And crawl a lot....very light weight option with a+ construction

seek outside Silvertip shape requires practice for perfect pitch..offers a good deal more room than supertarp plenty of room for all gear for one and you don’t crawl round as much two can squeeze in with no gear for short duration advantage over supertarp more head room room to dry things and can squeeze in two if needed again very good construction only downside pitch not as easy

seek outside Cimarron lite....basically same weight as silvertip, setup much quicker than silvertip, bigger footprint so need more area than silvertip...plenty of room for two and gear and can move around much easier than in silvertip...great option for one if any thought of having two in future with no need for upgrade or change unless simply wanting a bigger setup..very good construction again

for Areas where poisonous critters are not a concern tough to go wrong with one of the many Floorless options available simply about size And weight decisions the old days of 25 yrs ago heavy marmot tents with taped seams sit idle on a shelf to never be used again

 

[PlanoDano]

If you are looking to stay mobile and take full advantage of the late hunt, you might not even start looking for camping spot until after dark. The limiting factor becomes the finding enough clear flat area to support your tents footprint in the dark. I started with a hammock and tarp but found it not practical for hunting (hammock and winter quilts weigh a little more than ground systems, useless above treeline or in J&P). I recommend using a light weight bivy (non-waterproof) alone on dry nights. I use a Katabatic Gear Bristlecone Bivy but I have also heard good things about the MLD bivy. If there is a chance of rain I will set a tarp over the bivy but you would have lots of options. I have used the bivy in combination with a SMD Deschutes and a golite shangri-la 1. Unfortunately the Bivy is a little too long to work in my tarptent stratosphire. I might try it this year with a Golite poncho tarp as I have an October hunt in a dry area.

Forget a waterproof Bivy in September.