ELK Novice Questions

[schwaf]

You need a warm, dry place to sleep and recover after a hard day. A comfy camp does not make one lazy. It gives you a place to recover , dry out your clothes etc when needed, and get a good nights rest.
If you're just thinking backpacking route then your tents needs will be different than say truck type camping from along a remote FS road.
The Kodiak's sound great for a couple, easy to set up and perhaps a stove for warmth.
For a back country type tent I would listen to the folks on here on which are weather tight and sturdy for wind and snow loads.
One thing for sure, you don't want to battle the elements in a cheaply made tent. You need to stay dry at the very least.
I do agree about moving a wall tent. While not hard or really time consuming to set up they are not really conducive to quick camp changes. Great for a base camp but not mobile.

You might also find a few canvas game bags helpful for hanging meat at camp. Keep your light weight synthetics in the pack for packing out. Our Caribou bags have lasted well.

I agree that a comfortable camp is important, but I feel there is a difference between comfortable, and *too* comfortable. I've hunted with guys that won't get out of their sleeping bag unless a fire is ripping in their hot tent, or go back to camp mid day because they'd rather sit around. Then again, I'd consider them soft dudes who I haven't hunted with since, but I don't think its too unusual seeing parties midday at basecamp drinking beer. I can say for certain there were mornings that I woke up, got dressed and on the trail fast for the sole purpose of warming up, where if I could have made a fire I would have and lost 30+ minutes of walking time to warm up and have some coffee. Maybe I would feel differently if I was hunting in an area that was constantly wet.

Mind you, I'm biased toward back country equipment because I'm primarily a backpacker and choose to hunt the same way. If I was going back to a basecamp by the truck that I planned to not move, I would 100% use a canvas wall tent of some kind. Those Kodiaks look pretty sweet. If I could only have one tent, it'd be something I could use in the back country and move around.

 

[Ron.C]

I've always considered myself some what of a minimalist when it comes to my hunting camps. But a few years back we were on a late season elk/deer hunt that saw temps go from usual -5 degrees C to -30 degrees C for 7 days. This hunt caused me to change the way I think about base camp.

Weather aside, that year was a hard hunt. Add frigid weather and it was a challenge to stay motivated over a couple weeks. In retrospect, ending any one of those days with the crackling of a fire in a wood stove inside a warm tent would of been a game changer, and quite enjoyable. The same can be said for hunts where the rain just doesn't seem to want to stop.

Now, unless I'm only heading out for a couple days, am hunting early season by myself, or predominantly plan on backpack hunting I plan to use my wall tent/stove. Bought my good condition tent second hand at a fraction of the cost of new. Mine is 10'x12' with 5' porch, fits 2 hunters with lots of room, 3 is ok, 4 is doable but tight.

The downsides, wall tents (pole kits) and stoves are bulky and maybe not the best choice if flying or packing in. You need to have a way to dry at home if your tent was wet when you break camp.