Tents and Tundra

[rayporter]

a couple of cheap tarps have lots of uses. one goes under my pads. i use an inflatable and a closed cell since i cant sleep on the small cots. i thought the ultra light cots would be the ticket to comfort but not for me. i cant sleep in a hammock either.

bugs have been a non issue in canada and alaska. if you are really paranoid carry a bug coil to burn and kill them. a half inch of coil burned will kill them.

 

[VernAK]

a couple of cheap tarps have lots of uses. one goes under my pads. i use an inflatable and a closed cell since i cant sleep on the small cots. i thought the ultra light cots would be the ticket to comfort but not for me. i cant sleep in a hammock either.

bugs have been a non issue in canada and alaska. if you are really paranoid carry a bug coil to burn and kill them. a half inch of coil burned will kill them.

The coils really work. In our summer trout camp, I burn about an inch of coil in my tent prior to retiring and it even kills the spiders.

 

[Trial153]

No issues with floorless for me for moose and caribou in Alaska

 

[Kevin Dill]

The bug coils are an excellent tip. I think I've been exclusively floorless for about 15 years now. Any bugs give me more issues outside than inside my shelter. In those years I can't ever recall being irritated by bugs on the inside. I used to worry with some type of tarp or cover on the ground inside my tipi but even that was too much hassle for lazy me. Voles are a legit issue if they're around camp. Bring one or two plastic snap-traps just in case you need them.

They Were Floorless When Floorless Wasn't Cool:

There are some real long-term floorless users out there, and some of them steered me toward the tipi and stove. I had all kinds of buts and concerns which turned out to be mostly misconceptions due to my own ignorance. I mostly could not imagine living on/over a natural floor. Looking back all those years ago I'm glad I went floorless even when so many people thought it was a little weird and eccentric.

 

[mtnbiker208]

cut up a mattress bag for ground cloths, ect. cheap and easy to get at any furniture store or mattress shop. just chuck it when done.

 

[Wildone]

Kevin Dill nailed it . The Kifaru SST pins have worked great. Have been using floorles tipi's in everywhere for 2 decades with no problems. Get something you can stand or at least sit upright in for weather days. You definitely could make the pins yourself with a trip to HD or Lowes.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I have slept on the tundra quite a bit in my hilleberg allak. It can be ok or it can really suck. Next year I’m taking a cot.

 

[Schoolhousegrizz]

Definitely get a liner for the seek outside. Condensation can get bad. The bigger stakes are a must!

 

[HoneyDew]

MSR Cyclones x 10". Might want to consider bringing 4 Kifaru SST (Sand-Snow-Tundra) pins if you know you'll be out in softer tundra areas.

Kevin Dill nailed it . The Kifaru SST pins have worked great. Have been using floorles tipi's in everywhere for 2 decades with no problems. Get something you can stand or at least sit upright in for weather days. You definitely could make the pins yourself with a trip to HD or Lowes.

I’m curious what size you’d recommend for a cimarron on the tundra? Kifaru sells a short (18”) and a long (32”). Would you use them for all anchor points or just the critical ones like the four corners and then use cyclones for the rest?

 

[Kevin Dill]

I’m curious what size you’d recommend for a cimarron on the tundra? Kifaru sells a short (18”) and a long (32”). Would you use them for all anchor points or just the critical ones like the four corners and then use cyclones for the rest?

Bring 4 of the 18" SST pins. Bring enough Cyclones for all usual stake-down loops. Use the SST only if needed. Try like crazy to avoid pitching on spongy soft tundra which has basically no ability to resist stake movement.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

doubt you'd drive a 32" stake into Alaska ground anywhere except maybe on thick spongy tundra, but for that purpose I'd encourage the longer ones (our 18" sometimes ain't enough bite on tundra in high winds. The 18" spiral stakes have served us extremely well on all other substrates. But we usually do employ on or near gravel bars when terrain allows. Agree that Kevin nailed it. I've been in tipis when even Kifaru wasn't sure they were cool enough. Bugs have never been issue. The liner seems to trap them between that and the tent. We don't have dangerous crawlies so they've got advantages on top of advantages in my book. Liners are a must. Cots are a strong "should." Stoves I can take or leave even when cold. They require a lot of attention to feed and are good for quick bursts of warmth but not sustaining. Makes my partner lazy too. I've shot more moose with him inside the tent than outside.

 

[keller]

Taking a 8 man so tipi to ak for moose this year would 1 or 2 liners be recommended?

doubt you'd drive a 32" stake into Alaska ground anywhere except maybe on thick spongy tundra, but for that purpose I'd encourage the longer ones (our 18" sometimes ain't enough bite on tundra in high winds. The 18" spiral stakes have served us extremely well on all other substrates. But we usually do employ on or near gravel bars when terrain allows. Agree that Kevin nailed it. I've been in tipis when even Kifaru wasn't sure they were cool enough. Bugs have never been issue. The liner seems to trap them between that and the tent. We don't have dangerous crawlies so they've got advantages on top of advantages in my book. Liners are a must. Cots are a strong "should." Stoves I can take or leave even when cold. They require a lot of attention to feed and are good for quick bursts of warmth but not sustaining. Makes my partner lazy too. I've shot more moose with him inside the tent than outside.

 

[John Havard]

Keller,
tipis are solar stills - they cook moisture out of the ground when touched by sunlight. This is especially true if you're camping on a riverbed or near a river where the water table is just a few inches/feet under the surface. I've used tipis since 2004 and would NEVER use one without a liner unless I relished the idea of getting everything inside of the tipi nice and soaked and moldy.

Where I camp is on a ridge top well above tree line, so drainage and moisture are much less of a problem. Still, would never use either my SO 12-man or my SO 16-man tipi without full liners. Photo is of my prior Kifaru 16-man.

 

[AKDoc]

Taking a 8 man so tipi to ak for moose this year would 1 or 2 liners be recommended?

If you're using your SO tipi as the primary sleeping shelter, then I vote for full-liners. As noted above, a tipi is a condensation monster, especially if you're sleeping in it....and when the wind gusts it's like being next to a dog shaking-off from a water retrieval LOL!

I have mostly used my SO 4-man as a day shelter to get out of the wind for a break, etc. We each sleep in different tents. I leave both my liners at home on those trips...don't need them.

Edit: I've logged a lot of nights in a tent in Alaska every fall, but I don't even some close to LB's experience noted below!

 

[Larry Bartlett]

Taking a 8 man so tipi to ak for moose this year would 1 or 2 liners be recommended?

one liner is all we've ever used, by only experience has been tipis made by Kifaru and SO.

 

[keller]

Thanks gentlemen that pretty much answered my questions we are going to have 2 tents. Figured one to sleep in one as a common area.was trying to decide which one for sleeping. as I know when I set tipi up in my yard in wi nice plush green lawn.close it up sun comes out.go in their walls are soaked and its like a sauna. Used in Wyoming dirt no condensation at all.does a floor liner help with condensation?

 

[keller]

This will be our first trip with papa bear so we have no idea if we will be dropped in a swamp or dry ground that adds another element