Hunting specific tent?

[Jon_G]

I own a big agnes tiger wall 2 person tent that I literally just opened up yesterday. I've had it for about a year so I couldn't return it and buy a hunting specific tent. Are hunting tents really worth it when compared to other ultralight tents? Like do they provide better wind resistance or ease or setup or other features that may make it better? My big agnes was not cheap by all means but hunting tents from like stone glacier or kuiu are a few hundred dollars more. Not to mention I would have to sell this one and very possibly lose money on it now that's opened as I am definitely not looking to spend over $1000 on both tents. What are your thoughts?

 

[WeiserBucks]

Buy the tent you need based on your requirements. Doesn't matter who makes it unless you want made in the USA vs overseas.

 

[Jon_G]

Thanks for your input! So I guess "hunting specific" doesn't really make them better feature-wise?

 

[WeiserBucks]

Thanks for your input! So I guess "hunting specific" doesn't really make them better feature-wise?

Nope. Almost all of the best tents in the world are not made by hunting companies unless you start looking at canvas wall tents ect.

 

[FrancoisStrawman]

If you want the best hilleberge is your go to, but they are expensive. If you want ease of set-up and wind resistance, I would go with a cheap generic brand tent from Rei-co op or any outdoors sporting good store. Generally the heavier the tent the better the wind resistance, ideally you would want something closer to 4 pounds and under a 100$. You could also swap out the tents based on what you feel you need for that particular expedition.

 

[def90]

What does a hunting specific tent do that a regular tent doesn’t?

 

[Titan_Bow]

What does a hunting specific tent do that a regular tent doesn’t?

Cost more


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Titan_Bow]

Seriously though, just like with clothing or any other aspect of gear, you have to understand your use case for it, and understand what the stuff is made of and capable of. Otherwise, you are likely going to just be paying the marketing teams salary.
Any of the reputable outdoor companies; ie. Big Agnes, MSR, Nemo, Mountain Hardware, REI, etc. is going to make a tent capable and light enough to cover you pretty much anywhere.
Again though, you have to know what specifically you are looking for, and what the different tents are capable of. Unless you are going floorless hot tent, you have tons of options and your BA Tiger Wall will work fine unless you are specifically looking for a stove or some other specific feature.

 

[sargent]

You have a nice tent. As long as it's not go to snow a bunch, I'd take it hunting.

 

[rcb2000]

Henry Shires was on the Exo podcast and they asked him what made a tent on their site marked for “hunting”.
From what I recall he mentioned an adequate vestibule, considered hunters have more gear usually than just a hiker. I also feel like he mentioned something about them being used in later seasons, so maybe something about a double wall or something.

 

[Jon_G]

What does a hunting specific tent do that a regular tent doesn’t?

That was my question lol I wanted to know if they had anything that I wasn't aware they had

 

[Jon_G]

Henry Shires was on the Exo podcast and they asked him what made a tent on their site marked for “hunting”.
From what I recall he mentioned an adequate vestibule, considered hunters have more gear usually than just a hiker. I also feel like he mentioned something about them being used in later seasons, so maybe something about a double wall or something.

I saw the whole "single and double wall" stuff and I don't know what it means. Perhaps my search should have started there Lol

 

[rcb2000]

Sounds like you need to work backwards.
Determine where you will be spending most of your time camping back/hunting, what time of year, if you will be by yourself, or with a partner, and then your budget.

 

[MT_Wyatt]

Big Agnes generally will be of lower build quality than the SG (Slingfin) tents. Kuiu I haven’t seen for years, but having owned one, I’d say the same thing. BA makes nice stuff, but they generally use very thin materials and aren’t up for more severe weather duty. Now you can mitigate that with some site selection. If you have a good 3-season tent you like, no reason to jump ship to a “hunting” tent unless you’re looking for more shoulder season protection.

It isn’t really hunting vs non-hunting as others have said. It’s the shelter itself.

Things to consider would be:
Typ trip Duration
Climate (wet vs dry)
Weight tolerance
Wind
Above or below tree line.
Packability/size.
Poled vs trek pole setup
# if people
Gear storage
If backpacking, Bivy camping or leaving shelter up and spoking out each day?

Single vs double wall: if you don’t know the difference the answer is generally double wall. You need to have experience and judgement using single wall shelters. They aren’t rocket science, you just need to manage condensation more thoughtfully. Site selection really plays into this.

If you’re generally in lower-risk type trip situations (ie hiking out is no big deal) then you have more leeway to experiment and takes risks.

If you still think you’re on the hunt for a tent, try and answer some of those questions, and start by reading some tent summary articles. I’d try and narrow down seasonal application first, then size, then between a trek pole or regular poled shelter. Then you can decide mid, dual poled, dome, vestibules, hot tent, etc to narrow down your search.

 

[Jon_G]

Big Agnes generally will be of lower build quality than the SG (Slingfin) tents. Kuiu I haven’t seen for years, but having owned one, I’d say the same thing. BA makes nice stuff, but they generally use very thin materials and aren’t up for more severe weather duty. Now you can mitigate that with some site selection. If you have a good 3-season tent you like, no reason to jump ship to a “hunting” tent unless you’re looking for more shoulder season protection.

It isn’t really hunting vs non-hunting as others have said. It’s the shelter itself.

Things to consider would be:
Typ trip Duration
Climate (wet vs dry)
Weight tolerance
Wind
Above or below tree line.
Packability/size.
Poled vs trek pole setup
# if people
Gear storage
If backpacking, Bivy camping or leaving shelter up and spoking out each day?

Single vs double wall: if you don’t know the difference the answer is generally double wall. You need to have experience and judgement using single wall shelters. They aren’t rocket science, you just need to manage condensation more thoughtfully. Site selection really plays into this.

If you’re generally in lower-risk type trip situations (ie hiking out is no big deal) then you have more leeway to experiment and takes risks.

If you still think you’re on the hunt for a tent, try and answer some of those questions, and start by reading some tent summary articles. I’d try and narrow down seasonal application first, then size, then between a trek pole or regular poled shelter. Then you can decide mid, dual poled, dome, vestibules, hot tent, etc to narrow down your search.

Great answer. Thanks a lot for your input. I think I'll stick with my BA and just try to take care of it as much as possible because it is definitely very thin material. I guess that's what makes it as light as it is.

 

[VernAK]

I have a substantial portion of my garage shelving dedicated to tents for varying purposes that were accumulated over a half century of Alaska hunting/fishing/canoeing.

I haven't researched all brands nor do I care to. My first research would be with Hilleberg to see if they have a design that fits my needs. For this area, I would look at the Hilleberg Black Labels for hunting. My Tarra is about the most bomb proof tent that I've owned.

 

[Jon_G]

Jeez I can imagine a garage full of tents that's crazy lol. I will definitely look into your suggestions and see what I come up with as far as if I'll sell this or not lol. Thanks for your response!

 

[def90]

That was my question lol I wanted to know if they had anything that I wasn't aware they had

It's the same idea of Crispi boots vs Scarpa.. One has decided to call itself a hunting boot company while the other is a hiking/mountaineering company. The product is the same.