Help me decide on which tipi to take

[hunt1up]

So 3 of us are going moose hunting in AK next fall. Between us we have two Seek Outside tipis, a 6-man and a 12-man. We've hunted for elk out of both shelters with 3 guys in recent years. The 12-man obviously has a ton of room for us and gear. The 6-man works but it starts getting a little cozy.

As it stands, we don't know exactly what sort of terrain we'll be in. That will be decided between us and our transporter as the hunt approaches. I originally intended on taking the 6-man, as it is much more compact and the diameter is much smaller. But now the 12-man seems more appealing due to the space it would provide. With that I'll have more weight to contend with, and my larger concern would be finding a suitable area to pitch it if we're in a very soggy area.

So, has anyone ever taken TOO large a shelter on a hunt like this? Is there such a thing? Have you had trouble keeping a large tipi pitched in soft boggy ground? Should I consider longer stakes? Everywhere I've ever pitched a tipi has been firm and dry. My experience hunting wet areas is quite limited. Perhaps I'm overthinking this but it's that time of year!

 

[VernAK]

I had a 4 man and quickly sold it to buy a 12 man and that was 13 years ago. The 12 is about right for 3 hunters IMO.
The rougher ground in the tent can be used for groceries and firewood etc.

 

[AKDoc]

Where are you going in AK and for how long?

 

[hunt1up]

Where are you going in AK and for how long?

16b for 10 days.

 

[Beendare]

A couple of thoughts. We did a drop camp [2 guys] a couple years ago with my home sewn tipi [12 1/2' dia] It was perfect. 3 would have been too tight.


More room is almost always better...and with the condensation issues with most tipi setups, the extra air space will help with 3 men. I don't have condensation issues with my tipi due to the ventilation system. Most do.

Its good to bring additional options for good [longer] stakes and tarps for a footprint. I would bring a saw or small axe to make longer stakes if needed. That little Gerber axe is nice and doesn't weigh much.

On one trip we were dropped in a swampy mess- zero dry ground, but that's where the moose were- We had to cut willow branches to about 18" long to reach down enough to anchor the tipi. We also had to cut boughs to make a grid getting us up off of swampy wet ground.

If you happen to be on the coast....don't be this guy...unless you sleep on a GOOD inflatable mattress /grin [a pic I pulled off of another forum] Ak gets some big tides!. Have a great trip and any specific Q's feel free to PM.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Take the 12 person tipi, if it’s a little too big you can always set it up as an 8 person.


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[hunt1up]

Take the 12 person tipi, if it’s a little too big you can always set it up as an 8 person.


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Derp! I knew that feature existed and it completely slipped my mind! I think you guys have made the decision easy for me. Not to mention, I already have liners for the 12 man and I still need to purchase some for the 6-man.

Thanks.

 

[mikkel318]

I will second the 12 man recommendation. In wet conditions it is a lifesaver to have a nice place to dry out and stand up. I went with a buddy this fall out of Bethel. We got lucky and had a spot with wood for the stove and I barely put on my raingear. There are some considerations with stakes and putting a platform underneath your pole, but those are easy fixes.

One thing I never heard before taking the trip was that the tundra is full of spiders. I don't know if we just hit a crazy spot, but I bet we killed 500 in a couple days. Can't do much about it with a floorless shelter and don't let that stop you.

 

[hunt1up]

I will second the 12 man recommendation. In wet conditions it is a lifesaver to have a nice place to dry out and stand up. I went with a buddy this fall out of Bethel. We got lucky and had a spot with wood for the stove and I barely put on my raingear. There are some considerations with stakes and putting a platform underneath your pole, but those are easy fixes.

One thing I never heard before taking the trip was that the tundra is full of spiders. I don't know if we just hit a crazy spot, but I bet we killed 500 in a couple days. Can't do much about it with a floorless shelter and don't let that stop you.

I think my mind is made up. We have enough of a weight allowance per person that taking a little more weight in the form of a larger shelter should be no problem.

And I've never heard of the spider thing either. Weird.

 

[AKDoc]

Good decision sir. If you decide to expand your tent stake options, take a look at the MSR Cyclones and/or Blizzards. They're pricey, but I have a combination of both that I take with me for pitching on tundra. That said, 16b is highly varied topography, and you may not be on tundra. Ask your transporter about likely settings that you will be pitching...and of you've already asked once, ask again!

 

[hunt1up]

Good decision sir. If you decide to expand your tent stake options, take a look at the MSR Cyclones and/or Blizzards. They're pricey, but I have a combination of both that I take with me for pitching on tundra. That said, 16b is highly varied topography, and you may not be on tundra. Ask your transporter about likely settings that you will be pitching...and of you've already asked once, ask again!

I'll check those out. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[AK Troutbum]

I’ll second the MSR Cyclones, they hold like nothing else. I think if you look around at places like Amazon, you could probably find some knockoffs for much cheaper. Hell, they’re all made in China anyway.


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[hunt1up]

I’ll second the MSR Cyclones, they hold like nothing else. I think if you look around at places like Amazon, you could probably find some knockoffs for much cheaper. Hell, they’re all made in China anyway.


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Looks like an 8 pack on Amazon is $15 shipped. Sold!

 

[rayporter]

I have both a 6 and a 12 but have only taken the 6 for moose and bou. with 3 guys I would want the 12.

now there is the drawback of finding a big enough footprint to pitch it.

 

[Kevin Dill]

I had a 4 man and quickly sold it to buy a 12 man and that was 13 years ago. The 12 is about right for 3 hunters IMO.
The rougher ground in the tent can be used for groceries and firewood etc.

Vern is famous for his backcountry accommodations and hospitality!

 

[Jwhitney]

I did a DIY drop hunt last year with 3 guys in a seek 6man with a stove, for 12days. We all fit in the tipi fine for sleeping but we had to sit under tarps outside. The 12 man would have been nice. We asked our pilot to put us on some ground that was a little drier. He found us a nice spot, in the general area he was alrrady planing on putting us down in, that had a few fir trees for firewood and we weren't sleeping in a puddle.

 

[mcseal2]

We used an 8 man for 2 of us last year. I'd say you are making the right choice going with a 12 man for 3. Part of what the outfitter provided on our hunt was cots. I sure didn't mind having the cot to use with a floorless shelter in the swamp we were in. We had liners for our Seek 8 man and condensation was never an issue. We had rain for most of the first 5 days and nights, 20+ hours of rain each of those days.

We had one area big enough and dry enough for our tipi. It had a foot deep moose trail running through it and it wasn't real level, but we made it work. I packed the moose trail with ferns where the tipi wall came over it to block the draft.

One thing I'd consider is taking a large waterproof duffle bag. I bought one of the Kuiu Taku 9000 bags to put most all my gear in, including my pack. Using that I didn't have to worry about my pack being considered to big to be a carry-on or it's straps getting caught up somewhere using it as baggage. On the hunt it worked great as storage for my gear and clothes in the tipi. I could shove the waterproof bag up against the tipi wall without worry about the contents. The large zipper made finding what I need much easier than using a roll top dry bag. That bag is big enough I did have to pay extra on baggage fees due to the length. I think it was worth it personally. My buddy apparently did too, he plans to buy one before this fall.

I used some imitation MSR cyclone stakes from Amazon and some Kifaru SST short stakes. They worked very well for our set-up. After buying the Kifaru stakes I saw that they could be made pretty easy if a guy wanted to. I think we had a dozen of the SST's and 30 of the imitation Cyclone stakes for our tipi and tarps. We didn't use the stove or have any firewood where we were unless we wanted to cut and split standing dead stuff. It really wasn't cold enough to be worth all that we figured.

I took a GB small forest axe and it was handy. I used it to cut saplings to elevate the ridgeline on our cooking tarp. to make a tripod to shoot from standing at camp, to drive stakes, several things. I also made a couple pegs to tie our boat too. One we took with us and one I drove in to leave at camp. We had some pretty good winds and we didn't want our boat to drift off so we anchored it really well everywhere we left it.

Good luck on your hunt.

 

[hunt1up]

We used an 8 man for 2 of us last year. I'd say you are making the right choice going with a 12 man for 3. Part of what the outfitter provided on our hunt was cots. I sure didn't mind having the cot to use with a floorless shelter in the swamp we were in. We had liners for our Seek 8 man and condensation was never an issue. We had rain for most of the first 5 days and nights, 20+ hours of rain each of those days.

We had one area big enough and dry enough for our tipi. It had a foot deep moose trail running through it and it wasn't real level, but we made it work. I packed the moose trail with ferns where the tipi wall came over it to block the draft.

One thing I'd consider is taking a large waterproof duffle bag. I bought one of the Kuiu Taku 9000 bags to put most all my gear in, including my pack. Using that I didn't have to worry about my pack being considered to big to be a carry-on or it's straps getting caught up somewhere using it as baggage. On the hunt it worked great as storage for my gear and clothes in the tipi. I could shove the waterproof bag up against the tipi wall without worry about the contents. The large zipper made finding what I need much easier than using a roll top dry bag. That bag is big enough I did have to pay extra on baggage fees due to the length. I think it was worth it personally. My buddy apparently did too, he plans to buy one before this fall.

I used some imitation MSR cyclone stakes from Amazon and some Kifaru SST short stakes. They worked very well for our set-up. After buying the Kifaru stakes I saw that they could be made pretty easy if a guy wanted to. I think we had a dozen of the SST's and 30 of the imitation Cyclone stakes for our tipi and tarps. We didn't use the stove or have any firewood where we were unless we wanted to cut and split standing dead stuff. It really wasn't cold enough to be worth all that we figured.

I took a GB small forest axe and it was handy. I used it to cut saplings to elevate the ridgeline on our cooking tarp. to make a tripod to shoot from standing at camp, to drive stakes, several things. I also made a couple pegs to tie our boat too. One we took with us and one I drove in to leave at camp. We had some pretty good winds and we didn't want our boat to drift off so we anchored it really well everywhere we left it.

Good luck on your hunt.

Thanks for the insight. I like the idea of taking a waterproof bag and I think I'll do the exact same thing. I have a smaller one but I'll likely hunt for a large one now.

 

[mcseal2]

Mine is really to big for what gear I had in it, but the extra size sure makes it convenient to find things in it and organize stuff a bit. Really a 5500 instead of the 9000 would probably be plenty. I'm sure other companies make cheaper ones too.

 

[hunt1up]

Mine is really to big for what gear I had in it, but the extra size sure makes it convenient to find things in it and organize stuff a bit. Really a 5500 instead of the 9000 would probably be plenty. I'm sure other companies make cheaper ones too.

I was wondering about that. 9000 is pretty dang large. There's a lot of options out there so it looks like I have one more gear consideration to help me pass the time for the next 6 months.