Goldilocks Tent/Tipi?

[Jackaroo99]

I am looking for some input for a new shelter.

This shelter will be mainly used for boundary waters canoe trips in Northern MN, but also to set up by the truck during hunting season. Last year my dad and I went on a mid October trip and used my Seek Outside Cimarron with a stove. Although that system has been great for back packing in the mountains. It rained on us everyday up there and for two people with gear it was just too small and you can't really sit up in it very well. Also it being floorless was not ideal in those conditions and the usable space leaves a lot to be desired. I love the shelter in the mountains where every pound counts, but for this trip I am looking or an upgrade.

I am looking for something that fits this criteria (if it exists):
- Ideally not too heavy as we do have to make portages so the lighter the better as always but willing to make some weight sacrifices
- The footprint can't be too big because it is thick timber up there and finding a spot to put the shelter can be difficult in some places
- It would be great if it could hold 4 people with a stove
- Having a floor would be great but could always rig something up myself
- Stove capability is hard not to have up there in the freezing cold nights

The two options I have looked at are the Stone Glacier Sky Dome 6P and the Seek Outside Courthouse. The Stone Glacier would be ideal but it is a pretty big footprint which worries me and it is possibly too heavy to be lugging around on portages. The SO Courthouse might be the answer as it is lightweight but it is floorless and it says it only holds three, which isn't ideal because I am usually with two people or four. Can you fit four in the courthouse with a stove? Those are the two options I have looked at most heavily without going down the rabbit hole of making my own. The perfect answer may not exist but something close would be an improvement over running the cimarron again.

If anybody has any insight or experience with those shelters, any advice is appreciated.

 

[*zap*]

4+stove is a big footprint.

 

[Jackaroo99]

It can be but with straight walls like the courthouse or a traditional tent it isn't as big as a tipi that can hold a similar amount. I guess something that just maximizes floor space is more what I meant as the tipis don't do great in that regard.

 

[*zap*]

Maybe 2 three man tents.

 

[Jackaroo99]

I've thought about that. But regardless, I will have to upgrade from the cimarron and I think moving away from a tipi makes the most sense for this setting.

 

[*zap*]

I like both tent & tipi.
Think it thru and you will be ok.

 

[rayporter]

i have taken a 12 man and a 6 man to the boundary waters and it is sometimes hard to find a place to pitch. the rock is the problem. the room is nice but a shelter that needs a lot of pegs can be hampered.

 

[Jackaroo99]

The rock was a pain in the butt pounding in stakes. Had to get creative a few times last year working around that issue

 

[Backyard]

Stick with a 4-man or less. The tent pads are usually only about that big. And you aren’t pitching it anywhere that isn’t a designated campsite anyway. I would highly suggest going with a floor as the mosquitoes will shorten your trip otherwise.


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[Jackaroo99]

I know the tent pads aren't big but I've never had an issue with the size of the cimarron so going a little bigger shouldn't be catastrophic. The nice thing about going in October is there are no mosquitos. I am more worried about getting iced in. But I am definitely going to get something a bit bigger than the cimarron. With the tipi design the usable space isn't great for two people and gear and stove, and you can't really sit up in it. With spending a lot of time in there to wait out bad weather and it gets dark pretty early something bigger is necessary. Just wondering if anybody else has had my experience or thoughts and what they went with to try and satisfy a few more needs even if they didn't check every box.

 

[AdamLewis]

I wouldn't want to put 4 people in a Kifaru Sawtooth, for sure not with a stove, but have done 3 without much of an issue. You can definitely sit up in one well, stand up even. Not a lightweight but not a tank either. No floor.

 

[dutch_henry]

You have options:

1. Don't underweight what @Zap says. Consider a floorless shelter with stove for meals and evenings, but sleep in a smaller tent with a bathtub floor. (SO courthouse would be great in this regard, SO Redcliff has a smaller footprint but you really, really lose headroom. Dan Cooke of CCS used to make some great-looking winter tents with greater headroom--now I think he's focused on his lean shelters.)

2. Buy a stove jack and sew it into your tent of choice. Or have an upholsterer do it for you. A friend of mine did this with a humble eureka timberline and it worked great for alaska winters. Others on this forum have done the same in the extended vestibule of hillebergs. You could pick up a good used dome tent, add the jack, and you'll likely have $1900 left in your pocket vs the SG Sky Dome.

3. Strictly on paper, the Nunatak Apex has a lot to like. Would be very portage-friendly until you start adding liners, etc. But it's new and I have no direct experience.

 

[Backyard]

You have options:

1. Don't underweight what @Zap says. Consider a floorless shelter with stove for meals and evenings, but sleep in a smaller tent with a bathtub floor. (SO courthouse would be great in this regard, SO Redcliff has a smaller footprint but you really, really lose headroom. Dan Cooke of CCS used to make some great-looking winter tents with greater headroom--now I think he's focused on his lean shelters.)

2. Buy a stove jack and sew it into your tent of choice. Or have an upholsterer do it for you. A friend of mine did this with a humble eureka timberline and it worked great for alaska winters. Others on this forum have done the same in the extended vestibule of hillebergs. You could pick up a good used dome tent, add the jack, and you'll likely have $1900 left in your pocket vs the SG Sky Dome.

3. Strictly on paper, the Nunatak Apex has a lot to like. Would be very portage-friendly until you start adding liners, etc. But it's new and I have no direct experience.

Heck. Go over to Dan and have him put in the stove jack for you.


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[rideold]

Take a look at snowtrekker

 

[JR Greenhorn]

I don't have any experience with the specific shelters you're asking about, but I do have experience in the Boundary Waters. I've been there every year for the past 10, some years 2 trips per year. The past 2 years, I've been on October trips, but never with a stove. I've been in with groups from 3-9. We've always single portaged.

My Goldilocks tent for the Boundary Waters and nearly everywhere else is an older Golite Shangri-La 5. It's a pyramid tent with a 9.5' square footprint. It's about as big a tent as I'd want in the Boundary Waters. We have slept 4 in it several times, but 3 is ideal. We don't bring all of the gear in the tent, only sleeping gear and some clothes. The rest stays outside, under a pitched flat tarp if weather dictates.



I also have a Seek Redcliff Light. I've used that in MT and MN, but never without a stove. I've debated bringing it into the Boundary Waters, but I fear the footprint is just too big for most of the campsites. It's a tent that would easily sleep 4 with a stove, plus room for gear.


I've rented a Snowtrekker, and one of those is near the top of my wishlist, but it'd be a sled-in tent only and not pack-in. I've looked at Seek's Courthouse as a pack-in Snowtrekker alternative. The Courthouse has roughly similar footprint dimensions to the Redcliff, with the similar advantages and disadvantages that brings. Personally, I prefer the pyramid format for a pack-in tent, and canvas if I'm not packing in.

I think I'd probably like a Cimmaron someday as a pack-in stove tent for 2.

 

[maya]

The SO courthouse is definitely a Goldilocks shelter. The vertical walls increase headspace while reducing required footprint in timber. It sheds wind well for a wall tent. I have one that's been set up and used only once if you're interested. I'm heading out of country for a while & am in the early stages of minimizing gear. Will be listing gear in classifieds in a few weeks as time allows. Lmk if your interested in nabbing it before its listed. Its olive green with door screens, cotton liner, xl stove, stakes/lines etc. Brand new condition. I'll send ya pics & offer a sweet deal if ya want. Just throwing it out there since it was specifically mentioned. I bought it with the same mindset as you & its awesome. I'd keep it if I didn't have to downsize.

 

[MNBob]

Jackaroo99 how did you land on this? Similar situation here. Been looking at the SG sky dome for winter camping in the BWCAW.​