One tent for Florida and the mountains?

[Gmccarthy19]

I live in North Florida and am trying to determine if it’s feasible to get a tent that will be usable both at home and for elk and bear hunting out west. Likely states are CO, UT, and WY. Would also want to use it for summer trips to the Smokies. It needs to sleep me and my son comfortably. I’m 5’10 170 and he’s blowing past me already even though he’s 14. He’ll likely be 6’2”-6’4” by the time he’s done growing.

For camping at home the main requirements are that it seal out bugs, snakes, and rain and is well ventilated. It does actually fall below freezing here a handful of days per year and I don’t camp here in the summer. Spring Turkey season temps get into the upper 80’s and take a while to cool off at night.

Really no idea what I need for out west. The more I research it the more confused I get. It seems like there is a lot of comfort to be gained from running a stove but don’t see us going out that late in the fall or early in the spring so not sure we really need one. Considering we live at sea level I’ll be looking for spots that aren’t as high to try and mitigate the risk of altitude sickness.

Would like to be under $500 all in (preferably around $300). Weight when camping at home isn’t really an issue so if we got something that you add a liner or “nest” etc. that might be a good solution. When backpacking we would split the weight so I’m thinking as long as it’s under 4lbs we should be good.

Any suggestions or should I just be looking for something that works for hunting out west as a separate purchase? Main reason for wanting to use it at home is to get familiar with the equipment and get more use out of it, a $100 car camping tent would serve my purposes here.

 

[Szwampdonkey]

3 season tent is all you need sounds like then whatever sleeping bag preference you want for warmth. You could go a 40 degree or above bag for FL and a 20 degree or less for out West based on what time and temps you’ll have out West. You’d die in a true 4 season tent in FL they don’t breath. For backpacking in with my son we go a 3 person Exped Mira, right at 31/2-4 pounds or so i think, but you could go a 2 if you’re that weight conscious and like to sleep on top of each other. We like a little breathing room.

 

[*zap*]

check the options from rei in a 3 person tent.

 

[Gmccarthy19]

3 season tent is all you need sounds like then whatever sleeping bag preference you want for warmth. You could go a 40 degree or above bag for FL and a 20 degree or less for out West based on what time and temps you’ll have out West. You’d die in a true 4 season tent in FL they don’t breath. For backpacking in with my son we go a 3 person Exped Mira, right at 31/2-4 pounds or so i think, but you could go a 2 if you’re that weight conscious and like to sleep on top of each other. We like a little breathing room.

Thanks the Exped Mira looks like a solid option but only finding it available in the EU the Exped USA sight only has a heavier less expensive version. Gives me something to go by though. I figured I was over complicating. Your suggestion looks like a light sturdy version of what I’ve always used.

 

[Szwampdonkey]

Thanks the Exped Mira looks like a solid option but only finding it available in the EU the Exped USA sight only has a heavier less expensive version. Gives me something to go by though. I figured I was over complicating. Your suggestion looks like a light sturdy version of what I’ve always used.

Mira III HL - Tent | Exped

www.exped.com

I believe this is it? However, ours is a few years old and there are tons of tent companies sorta in the same category and price range. MSR Hubba hubba and the Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2 come to mind. You could also check out the hunting company tents from Kuiu and Stone Glacier too.

 

[Terrance Lee]

A good quality 3 season with a couple sleeping bag options should do it for you. I grew up in the northwoods of Minnesota and have been living at 9,000' in Colorado the last 12 years. 90% of the time I'm using my 20 year old Marmot 3 season

 

[FLATHEAD]

I have a Big Agnes Blacktail 3.....I think.
I had the Seedhouse 2 but they warranted/replaced it.
Havent set it up yet.
I used the Seedhouse here in AL, N.GA, NM, ID.

 

[sneaky]

Exped makes multiple versions it seems like of each of their tents. Some of them they make an Extreme, regular, and ul version of.

With that being said, you're a day late for some killer deals on tents from REI. They had their REI branded tents for 50% off. You could have definitely hit your budget.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[NickyD]

So just about any 3 season tent with a good rain fly will work. I’m a big fan of big Agnes. I find their stuff to high quality but still a good value. It’s easy to overspend on gear but I think Big Agnes is in that sweet spot between quality and cost. I don’t know what there 3-4 man tent models are but I have the fly creek and it’s been amazing for me over the years.

I find “backcountry” stove tents to be excessive unless you’re dealing with very cold weather on a consistent basis like you’d find in November here in Colorado. September and October a stoveless tent is just fine. A stove is nice at night and in the morning but at night. I’ve heard full size stoves/wall tents are nice but those are very expensive.

Find a method to dry out your boots and you’ll be just fine without a stove. I sold my seek outside 8 man tipi last year because I rarely used it.

So of course the tent is super important equipment but it’s only one part of your sleep system. You need a warm sleeping bag as well as enough R value in your sleeping pad(s)

Synthetic sleeping bags are cheaper than down so that’s an option. I recommend a 0-15 degree bag. I use my 0 bag year round here in Colorado, though I don’t camp December through March. If you get hot just take a layer off or unzip your bag. I’d much rather have too warm of a bag rather than not enough warmth. Those become long nights and zap the energy from you.

Sleeping pad get a comfortable one and if you need additional R value add a closed cell foam pad or two. You add them together for a total R value (2+2=4). I like 4-7 R value on the low end for hunting. You can’t have too much but you certainly can have not enough.