"Standard" Tent vs Tipi (floorless)..pros and cons?

[cornfedkiller]

I know nothing about tents, but wanting to learn.

What are the advantages of a tipi over a regular tent with a floor?

What are the downsides of a tipi?

Does one cover a larger range or temps/seasons/conditions than the other?

 

[reaper]

I know nothing about tents, but wanting to learn.

What are the advantages of a tipi over a regular tent with a floor?

What are the downsides of a tipi?

Does one cover a larger range or temps/seasons/conditions than the other?

Great reading here:

Fearlessly Floorless

Why Floorless Tents are awesome, and how to overcome the potential pitfalls.

seekoutside.com

Envoyé de mon Pixel 2 en utilisant Tapatalk

 

[RockChucker30]

I was going to post the same link reaper did. I wrote that article and think it is a really good primer on floorless tents especially.

To give you some bullet points, floorless tents excel at space to weight ratio, which to most people translates to a more comfortable camp that is still light enough to backpack.

For others who are more ultralight minded it may mean absolute lightest weight at minimum space to house however many people.

Traditional doublewall tents are usually bulkier and heavier and harder to ventilate in warm weather. If you get mud or water or bugs inside a tent with a bathtub floor it is really hard to get it out.

There are situations where a freestanding tent is better obviously....floorless tents like the ones we make rely on stakes so if you're on hard rock then a freestanding mountaineering tent is probably a better choice.

With either style you get what you pay for in terms of quality and customer service. Good and cheap usually don't mix.

 

[dutch_henry]

Why you'll love floorless tents:
-space to weight is awesome...that often translates to a lot more headroom, even standing room
-no-brainer to add a wood stove
-easy to vent
-can safely cook inside if you follow reasonable precautions
-less confining feel, more livable, esp. when there's downtime
-modular--you can add or subtract liners, nests, floors

Why you'll hate floorless tents:
-tent footprint looks big, but space near the edges isn't that usable b/c of angled walls
-fabric tension/solid stake placement are key to good setup. So site selection can be fiddly
-you'll probably end up carrying some extra stakes, cord for different situations, adding to stated weight
-lack of floor and single wall can cause heat loss and condensation problems
-more prone to dust and bugs

There's nothing better than drowsing in front of a wood stove in your tent when it's subzero and blowing snow outside. You feel like you're getting away with something. And it's really nice on the old back to be able to crouch or even stand to get dressed, or wait out a rainy day with room to spare. Stretch, play cards, cook, relax. That's a floorless tipi or 'mid for you at it's finest.

Otoh, on a terrible day, six of your 12 stake placements are marginal. The wind catches at your lousy pitch and the loose fabric blouses up and soaks through. You lose a third of your interior space to sagging fabric. It drapes on the foot of your sleeping bag, which wets through. Noseeums fly in at will. You wonder if you got sold on some ridiculous fad. Or if you're an idiot. Or a p*ssy. Or both.

 

[Troutnut]

Otoh, on a terrible day, six of your 12 stake placements are marginal. The wind catches at your lousy pitch and the loose fabric blouses up and soaks through. You lose a third of your interior space to sagging fabric. It drapes on the foot of your sleeping bag, which wets through. Noseeums fly in at will. You wonder if you got sold on some ridiculous fad. Or if you're an idiot. Or a p*ssy. Or both.

Haha, beautiful description of why I'm skeptical about getting a tipi. But the rest of your post describes why I want one.

 

[reaper]

Why you'll love floorless tents:
-space to weight is awesome...that often translates to a lot more headroom, even standing room
-no-brainer to add a wood stove
-easy to vent
-can safely cook inside if you follow reasonable precautions
-less confining feel, more livable, esp. when there's downtime
-modular--you can add or subtract liners, nests, floors

Why you'll hate floorless tents:
-tent footprint looks big, but space near the edges isn't that usable b/c of angled walls
-fabric tension/solid stake placement are key to good setup. So site selection can be fiddly
-you'll probably end up carrying some extra stakes, cord for different situations, adding to stated weight
-lack of floor and single wall can cause heat loss and condensation problems
-more prone to dust and bugs

There's nothing better than drowsing in front of a wood stove in your tent when it's subzero and blowing snow outside. You feel like you're getting away with something. And it's really nice on the old back to be able to crouch or even stand to get dressed, or wait out a rainy day with room to spare. Stretch, play cards, cook, relax. That's a floorless tipi or 'mid for you at it's finest.

Otoh, on a terrible day, six of your 12 stake placements are marginal. The wind catches at your lousy pitch and the loose fabric blouses up and soaks through. You lose a third of your interior space to sagging fabric. It drapes on the foot of your sleeping bag, which wets through. Noseeums fly in at will. You wonder if you got sold on some ridiculous fad. Or if you're an idiot. Or a p*ssy. Or both.

Hahahha well that's pretty much it

Envoyé de mon Pixel 4 XL en utilisant Tapatalk

 

[mlgc20]

First thing I will say is that if you’re going to go floorless, save your money and get a Seek Outside. Well worth the cost. Having said that, I only use my floor less shelter when I want/need to run a stove. It’s awesome for that purpose. For me though, that’s the end of my use case for it. For everything else, I prefer a “regular” double wall tent. If you star needing liners, nests, floor sheets, etc, for your floor less shelter, you have lost any savings on weight or bulk.

 

[Popper]

This is perfect, thank you for posting this!

Jon

 

[TradLife406]

Floorless is great especially for bad weather with a stove. If bugs are an issue a bug bivy works great.

 

[mfllood3800]

Condensation gets all tents/tipis.
Bugs get in all tents/tipis
Both take up space in your pack
Both add weight to your pack
Both force you to sleep on the ground
Both cause you to need a stove source for warm food
Both are hard to find at night in the dark

Get a camp trailer- none of the above problems.
LOL


I use a floorless Redcliffe for 75% of my hunts.
I have used a smaller floored tent occasionally.

It's up to you on what you plan to do and where and when.
If weather is ever a possible issue, Id go floorless with titanium stove.
If you hate snakes and bugs- well, get the trailer.

 

[Austink47]

For me it comes down to am I just sleeping or am I going to be hanging out in the shelter.

 

[MuleyFever]

I made the switch from floor to floorless last year. However, I'm using a nest. I have a Redcliffe, a HMG duomid and a MLD solomid.

They are harder to pitch perfectly that's for sure.

The reason I switched was for height and floor space. I was using some UL solo or 2 man tents and while stuck in wet weather I just didn't like them. I wanted a space in the tent to get in while it's raining and I'm wet and muddy. I can get in the floorless and be out of the weather while I take off wet clothes and muddy boots and then get in the nest.

 

[Shrek]

I really couldn’t imagine using a traditional floored backpacking tent ever again. A floorless to me is so much nicer. Room , ability to use a stove , no worries about the dirt I track into the tent , standing room in my Sawtooth ! If I can’t drive stakes into the ground I simply need to find another camp spot. Not many animals found in areas you can’t find a spot to camp that you can drive some stakes.
Come back to a floorless with a TI woodstove when you’re cold , damp , and hungry and light the stove , put some water on to boil , get undressed in the warm tent and hang your clothes around to dry. By then your mountain house is about hydrated and you’re warmed up. Have dinner and pretty soon all is right with the world and wake up refreshed with a good attitude.
If you time going to sleep with the stove burning out you can reach out of your sleeping bag before it has gotten cold in the tent and reset the stove to be ready to light in the morning. Come morning just stick an arm out and light the stove. In just a couple of minutes you can unzip your bag and get out into a warm tent to dress and eat. Makes for a nice start to the day.

 

[WeekendWarrior33]

The ability to stand up when getting dressed, undressed, etc. Especially if it's pouring down rain outside... crawling around a tent trying to get into dry clothes is a mess.

 

[Kentk]

Does the floor of the tipi not get all muddy when it’s raining hard?

 

[Shrek]

Does the floor of the tipi not get all muddy when it’s raining hard?

Not if it has been pitched on a high spot. If pitched over a low spot that water runs to then you’ll have water and mud in the tent.

 

[Hogyotedeer]

I like tipis, but have come to the conclusion that I'd prefer to use them without fabric inners to max space and keep weight down, by using a bug net door behind the fly door in bug season, and if you want further ventilation you can use bug netting around the perimeter. Keep in mind that bug netting sticks to snow like mad, so either use a dedicated winter shelter or have a way to remove or retract that bug netting in winter.

 

[Kevin Dill]

There are exactly 3 reasons for me to prefer a floorless tipi over other shelters.

1. No matter how nasty it is outside, I don't have to remove my boots to enter.
2. I can stand up completely in tipi, and I can walk in and out. No crawling.
3. The woodstove is a huge advantage on longer, colder and wetter hunts.

For those debating what to buy, just know every tent or shelter has its negatives. You're not going to ever buy a 'perfect' shelter....but it might be almost perfect for you on certain hunts. Expecting too much of a shelter, or being too fussy about little shortcomings is just a way to be disappointed on a constant basis.

I had every possible concern ever voiced about a floorless tipi, and I was definitely a doubtful looker. Good friends and experienced voices gave me some of the insight I lacked, and that allowed me to buy a tipi. A dozen years later and I've never once regretted it or wished for something better.

 

[cornfedkiller]

Wanted to bump this back up and add a follow-up question.. I ended up getting a cimmaron light and a stove for a late season hunt and it worked really well - but now my next trip won't be late season, so I've been doing more reading and research..

If I add a half nest to my tipi, my total weight is 75oz (4 lb, 11 oz).. which isnt crazy light, but its essentially the same weight as the SG Skyscraper)..

Is there any reason I'd need another tent?

 

[mossyoak52]

i don't see why you would but ill let someone else with more knowledge answer this
as the only camping we do is with a lance 1172 slid in to our f350