Floorless or not to Floorless...

[camping1601]

I picked up a Mountainsmith LT off a fellow Rokslider. I will give it a try on some scouting strips this spring/summer.
If all works out, then I will drop some $ on a larger shelter.
What would a good one be for 2 men, gear for a week, stove, with some roominess and standing ability.
I like the TiGoat 6.5. Good weight and size.
~Wojo

I went through last year and ended up with a Redcliffe and still don't think there's a better choice for me and my wants.
I have thread somewhere on it with real world spec, and pics from PA and CO.

 

[justinspicher]

I never really used a tent, it's always been a floorless model. My only shelter is a GoLite SL5 with a stove jack. I've used it in Washington, Oregon, Montana, Kansas and Colorado. I've used the nest once and got soaked so I don't use it anymore. I've used is several times in the snow, it's pretty rad to dig out the snow and have benches and sleeping platforms in your shelter.

 

[Kevin Dill]

I think most guys who speak negatively or skeptically about floorless shelters just haven't really spent enough time in them to realize what they are actually like. First of all....no tent is perfect in all conditions. That includes a floorless rig. Most of the concerns I read and hear about seem to be related to water, insects, animals and dirt. I've done a lot of time in floorless rigs and haven't had a single problem with any of those things. Most of my use has been in Alaska where there is an over-abundance of water, bugs, critters and dirt. Up to 15 straight days in every kind of weather imaginable...70 degree days, heavy rains, single digit temps, snow, huge winds. None of it would have been better in a conventional tent with a floor.

I too am a guy who has had enough bending, stooping, crawling and cramping myself unnecessarily. I like the ability to get up...stand up...get dressed and move about without imitating a Hobbit. I like my stove in settings where it's useful and it's almost always useful in cold or wet locations. Stove fuel is easy as long as there is any around. I cut (and split) a good bit and toss it in the shelter to dry. I've carried long pieces of dry wood into camp balanced on my shoulder as I return from hunting. Gathering wood has never occupied me to the point of being a negative. After all....I'm camping and hunting. I almost never build an outside fire, and you won't see a fire ring in camp. Dry wood is valuable and I save it for my stove. Amazing what a 2 hour burn will do to dry out a shelter or drive moisture out of damp clothing.

Like most pieces of gear, knowing how best to use it will give you the best results and satisfaction. I was a skeptic too...and now I'm an advocate.

 

[Jimss]

For those of you that have used floorless (especially those that have used them in Alaska) I would be curious if you've ever used them without a stove? I hunt Alaska on a regular basis and have to haul all my gear up there each year to hunt. The less bulk and weight the better! I've always used a Hilleberg tent with large vestibule for hunting with few problems. I use a small propane stove for cooking and would prefer not to worry about firewood...especially on mobile hunts similar to dall sheep and mtn goat in treeless country. I don't enjoy gathering firewood and building a fire when I return to camp at 10 pm after a rough day! I would much rather use a stove that I can light and cook almost immediately. I am super sensitive about my clothes and gear having any tint of smoke and am super careful year round to keep smell off my hunting equipment! I hunt deer and elk in Colo and Wyo on a regular basis and there is no way I want to be anywhere near smoke! I also tend to be super mobile on these hunts and often move from 1 camp to another. Dealing with drying firewood, building a fire each day. and trying out the inside and walls of the floorless tent doesn't seem like a viable option for my style of hunting. The inner floor and walls of my Hilleberg remains dry on these hunts which has always been nice!

Anyway, I would be curious if anyone that hunts Alaska or other wet areas on a regular basis has had success going floorless without a wood stove? I want nothing to do with the stove. If it works without it in wet conditions I may be interested in trying it out!

 

[FlyGuy]

I think I remember Aron Snyder on a podcast say that if he is hunting sheep well above timberline with no available firewood, then he uses also uses a Hilleburg.

Others on here with more experience than I will hopefully chime in, but I would expect that without the stove the remaining advantages are getting pretty small. You still have the ability to stand up and not crawl in and out, leave your boots on inside, greater flexibility for pitching, a very fast pitch (on the Tut at least) if you get caught in a sudden heavy shower, and maybe a little weight savings in your pack. Those are all pretty nice, but they may not be enough to risk a change when it sounds like you have a squared away system in place already.

 

[Kevin Dill]

I think it was 2009...I was sick when I arrived at my moose camp and the stove never got put up for the 12 day hunt. Sure, some mornings were cold but not any colder (inside) than a conventional tent. It didn't really affect me to not burn the stove.

In 2015 I went solo caribou hunting far above treeline and there was NO reasonable fuel within a full mile of camp. I didn't even take the stove. I rode out the worst multi-day storm I've ever been in and had no heat source. Didn't really matter, as I was able to keep things dry and again...a conventional tent wouldn't have made things any better. For the record, I would go floorless every possible time...with or without a stove.

Probably the one setting I might not like a floorless tent would be for camping in sand or extreme dusty dirt.

 

[Beendare]

Its not an all or nothing proposition with floorless. A guy can make a floor for these...or 1/2 floor which i think is perfect.

The 2 problems I've had with floorless that haven't got a lot a play in this thread is Mice and Moisture.

I will post the pic [on my other computer] of my favorite merino shirt that the mice had their way with [and it was up off the ground!]. I've had them scurrying across my bag at night, turned on my headlamp at it was like a party in there with all of the mice scurrying around. Tough to sleep sometimes. Its usually not too bad in remote spots/cold weather...but can be terrible in warmer weather....or spots where others have camped. hint- A little DCon in a ziplock takes care of the problem by the second night- grin

The other thing is moisture from the ground. A lot of the condensation problems in these tipis is from ground moisture. Throw a tarp down and the problem isn't near as bad.

 

[cuerro viejo]

Okay so I'm also considering floorless. My main concern is that there tends to be a fair number of rattle snakes where I hunt. I really like that they can't just slide into my tent while I'm sleeping. Anyone else using floorless in snake country?

Technically just about every where under 8-9k ft in sept in the continental US is rattlebug country. In Idaho, CO and NM I just done it and not thought about it. Now in Texas? No way. Especially stx.

 

[bourbon]

I am super sensitive about my clothes and gear having any tint of smoke and am super careful year round to keep smell off my hunting equipment! I hunt deer and elk in Colo and Wyo on a regular basis and there is no way I want to be anywhere near smoke!

Interesting. I can't think of a better "cover" scent than wood smoke. It is a naturally occurring smell in the wild and IMHO works wonders to somewhat mask human odor.

 

[discopotato]

When trees are plentiful hammocks are amazing, provided your back allows you to sleep in one. A tarp with doors on both ends and an underquilt will keep you remarkably warm and dry.

 

[Beendare]

When trees are plentiful hammocks are amazing, provided your back allows you to sleep in one. A tarp with doors on both ends and an underquilt will keep you remarkably warm and dry.

Yeah, I guess a hammock would be considered "Floorless"...grin

IMHO, Hammocks are great for summer backpack trips but terrible for these Mountain or wilderness hunts. A hammock does one thing well...it doesn't have all the utility/versatility of a tent/tipi type shelter that does many things well.

 

[JigStick]

We switched from a Cabelas Big Horn outfitters tent to a Seek Outside 16man tipi, and it is the cats ass. So much easier to transport and erect. Plus it just looks badass too. I didn't think I would like the floorless idea, but so far it hasn't been an issue. I haven't used it in "bug season" so maybe this summer and fall Ill have something to pay attention too. Ticks are horrible in PA recently. But from what Ive read it doesn't seem to be an issue.

 

[Wojo14]

Well, I set ups the Mountain Shelter. I like it! I will be using it on a scouting trip last week of April, as well as, summer scouting.
I plan on treating the shelter and my bag with permethrin.
Anyone ever burn a citronella candle in their floorless shelter.?
~Wojo

 

[blackdawg]

There is a website for a floored shelter very similar to the Kifaru and Seek , it is called the TipiTent Shelter- Wildside Systems. Anyone have experience with them?