Seeking: Floorless Tent w/ Sod Cloth

[TWHrunner]

Last fall, I tried an ultralight floorless tent that pitched with my hiking poles. I liked it but had an issue with the cold wind coming in under the tent. I know some may say that I pitched it wrong and not tight enough to the ground but honestly all the photos I’ve seen show a gap, unless it’s one of those that requires a dozen stakes around the perimeter. What I would like and would solve the issue is a sod cloth like my canvas wall tent that would hang down inside the tent. I figure it would add maybe 2 oz to the tent but create a superior product, that didn’t have the cold wind coming in against my body. Does anyone make one?

 

[The Real IronMan Fierro]

I've been looking at floorless shelters the last couple weeks and I am pretty sure I seen one with an advertised sod cloth. May have been seek outside. Which shelter did you use last year? If you don't mind me asking.

 

[AK Troutbum]

So here’s the the deal, pitch it tight to the ground to eliminate drafts and deal with the possible condensation issues, or off the ground to reduce/eliminate condensation but have to deal with a draft. You can get one with a sod skirt and eliminate pretty much all draft issues, but you will be dealing with condensation much of the time. That’s just my take on it.


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[Bronc]

Bear paw wilderness designs offers it as an option on their tents.

 

[tdot]

Seek Outside has a sod skirt in a couple of their models.

 

[TWHrunner]

So here’s the the deal, pitch it tight to the ground to eliminate drafts and deal with the possible condensation issues, or off the ground to reduce/eliminate condensation but have to deal with a draft. You can get one with a sod skirt and eliminate pretty much all draft issues, but you will be dealing with condensation much of the time. That’s just my take on it.


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Appreciate this. Good stuff.

 

[RockChucker30]

We have sod skirts on all the bigger tents, and the Silvertip, LBO, and standard Cimarron will as well.

On smaller tents I prefer to run without one for warmer weather and then add a DWR bivy at 6-8 oz in cold drafty weather.

 

[sram9102]

Most of the luxe hiking gear shelters have skirts available as an option

 

[TWHrunner]

I've been looking at floorless shelters the last couple weeks and I am pretty sure I seen one with an advertised sod cloth. May have been seek outside. Which shelter did you use last year? If you don't mind me asking.

It’s a go-lite shangri la 5 that I bought a looonnngg time ago. I don’t think the company makes tents any longer.

 

[TWHrunner]

We have sod skirts on all the bigger tents, and the Silvertip, LBO, and standard Cimarron will as well.

On smaller tents I prefer to run without one for warmer weather and then add a DWR bivy at 6-8 oz in cold drafty weather.

Can you add one to an eolus?

 

[RockChucker30]

No, it wouldn't work with the door geometry.

 

[BackcountryBloodline]

I picked up the lite outdoors plateau 5 this fall, haven't really had a chance to put it to the test yet but it has a 9" sod skirt and ventilation peaks. We'll see how it does with condensation this spring!

 

[TWHrunner]

No, it wouldn't work with the door geometry.

Maybe on just the other two sides?

 

[RockChucker30]

It wouldn't have any benefit. The door geometry on the Eolus is such that you will normally have a 3-4" gap. You can pitch it tighter, but it works best with that gap. So a sod skirt under the rest of the perimeter would be needless.

 

[Kevin_t]

• The single biggest thing you can do to reduce drafts is have a sod skirt , which most of our tents have.
• The single biggest thing you can do to reduce condensation is to have a gap at the bottom which the Eolus and Silex have. The Eolus is extremely good at reducing condensation for a reason.

It's a balance and there are trade offs. Line Locs, which allow you to adjust the pitch height pretty easily are a good balance. Natural features can be used to reduce breezes as well from non sod skirt tents (Think pulling over a log on the windy side )

 

[Bubblehide]

I get the condensation issues, but on the other side of that is that I have never had condensation issues in sub-freezing conditions.

 

[Desertrek]

sod skirt will block wind, but hold in condensation as well.

 

[Kevin Dill]

One often-overlooked benefit of a skirt is their assistance in keeping a shelter safer from heavy winds in exposed settings. Sometimes there's just not a sheltered place to camp:

The picture above was my caribou camp and I was actually at sheep elevation. There wasn't a tree anywhere close. My tipi did not have a skirt. The terrain was extremely irregular and I couldn't get a tight-to-ground pitch. This was no problem until a mega-storm arrived. The wind gusts were getting under the lower edges and threatening to yank stakes. I put a heavy stone on every stake, plus I had the guy lines out. I still fought that sucker for almost a week as I could NOT keep the 50-70 mph gusts out.

I came home and immediately had a skirt added to my tipi. With the skirt I can opt to put rocks on it and add additional hold-down force if needed.

I'm a lot more concerned with excluding wind than preventing condensation, hence I will almost always opt for skirt-equipped floorless shelter.

 

[TWHrunner]

One often-overlooked benefit of a skirt is their assistance in keeping a shelter safer from heavy winds in exposed settings. Sometimes there's just not a sheltered place to camp:

The picture above was my caribou camp and I was actually at sheep elevation. There wasn't a tree anywhere close. My tipi did not have a skirt. The terrain was extremely irregular and I couldn't get a tight-to-ground pitch. This was no problem until a mega-storm arrived. The wind gusts were getting under the lower edges and threatening to yank stakes. I put a heavy stone on every stake, plus I had the guy lines out. I still fought that sucker for almost a week as I could NOT keep the 50-70 mph gusts out.

I came home and immediately had a skirt added to my tipi. With the skirt I can opt to put rocks on it and add additional hold-down force if needed.

I'm a lot more concerned with excluding wind than preventing condensation, hence I will almost always opt for skirt-equipped floorless shelter.

We have shared the same experience. Many thanks.

 

[TWHrunner]

When the weight of a little 7oz canvas isn’t an issue, this set up with sod cloth is a dream. Condensation just disappears in a moment after the stove is lit.