Why floorless shelter?

[molliesmaster]

Hey all, so obviously I'm new to this shelter/backpacking stuff. I'm still trying to wrap my head around why some things are better than others.

Right now I'm a weekend hammock sleeper on the east coast but that's the extent of my camping knowledge. Eventually I want to make it out west for some DIY hunts and I'm trying to gather a list for potential gear.

So why is everyone so crazy about a floorless shelter? What makes them better than a regular tent? Is it like bell bottom jeans, they just come into style every once in a while?



Thanks.

 

[zeroforhire]

You can roll out of your sleeping bag and pee. That is the best reason.

 

[zeroforhire]

Oh... And they are light, versatile, sometimes cheaper, doesn't matter if you spill... Etc etc

 

[COlineman78]

IMO there are 2 primary reasons.

1) Space for the weight. You get a lot of room for the weight. The Kifaru Sawtooth has a peak height of 6'6" and sleeps 2-3 comfortably with gear depending on if you are running a stove and weighs slightly more than a BigA CS UL3.

2) The ability to run a stove allows for several things including drying out gear and pushing the seasons. A 2lb stove allows you to go with lighter gear in other places, less clothing because you can dry out the stuff you have and you can be more comfortable in wet and cold conditions.

I have yet to take the plunge, but picked up a Mountainsmith Mountain Shelter LT to try out this year to see how I like it. They aren't the end-all solution and sometimes a tent is simply a better solution depending on your destination.

 

[snowcamoman]

Like mentioned above, the weight of a floorless can't be beat. Setting a floorless tipi shelter up on an area that would be tricky for a fully enclosed tent is easier at times. I can pick a spot where I can sleep flat and have some of the floor be lumpy and still completely use-able to lay my pack and gear. If I tried that with a tent, the thing typically wouldn't set up correctly and I'd be fighting lop sided pole tension. Cooking and dealing with water and food is stupid easy in a floorless shelter. I also like the ability to just dive into one when it's nasty out with my boots and dripping wet clothes on. I can do that on some tents with a vestibule, but it's really tough to change out of my wet gear without getting water inside the tent floor.

 

[durangobrad]

Usable space to weight ration was huge for me. I already carried a trekking pole with me so that was not a big deal. Muddy boots and wet clothes are no big deal and when it comes time to tear down you dont worry about shaking the dirt out of your tent.

 

[Seth1913]

I'm slightly new to posting here but have been lurking for awhile and it seems a lot of people enjoy floor less shelters for weight, yet still have a 40 lb pack. But your hammock would do just fine and be equally as light as a floor less shelter and comfortable. I currently use a Big Agnes Tent for me and my gal but I'm moving over to a hammock for solo trips.

 

[Poser]

I wouldn't say that floorless shelters are any more popular than hammocks these days. If you like your hammock, roll with that out West. Plenty of people do. As far as floorless, why carry around a surface of fabric (or 2 if using a footprint) that you don't need? Why carry around tent poles?

 

[zeroforhire]

By the time you make that hammock weatherproof/comfortable you are often just as heavy as a floorless.

 

[elkyinzer]

It's more of a personal choice than "being in style". Just like debating ford vs. chevy, there is no right answer. If anything I would argue that hammocks moreso fit the criteria of a trendy gadget just waiting to go out of style.

Versatility and space/weight ratio are my main reasons, as others cited. I'm not much of a fan of the true bivy hunting style so realize I'm coming from that perspective of not being an ounce counter. It's not the lightest but I am completely willing to carry an extra two pounds for the comfort it provides. Comfort = morale = success on a hunt. I don't need to own six different tents, this one gets me from summer canoe camping to mobile spike camps to winter camping. I don't need a flat space to setup, I've set up on the side of a 20% slope and slept in a deer bed. Compared to freestanding backpacking tents, its a taj mahal for two guys and gear. I can stand up and dress. Water management is so much easier. I can put it up and take it down faster. Someday I'll get a stove and that's just another benefit. Get a nest or a bivy and you are bug free. Those are my reasons.

 

[COlineman78]

The issue with hammocks IMO is 2 fold. Once you get to the higher altitudes it becomes more difficult to find locations to camp. Some prefer to camp/hunt at or above tree line where finding 2 trees of adequate size and distance is very difficult. The second issue is cold weather performance. In order to be comfortable in a hammock in cold weather the weight of the system starts to climb. This is a year-round problem at higher altitudes as I have had snow in July at 11,000ft.

 

[twall13]

If you are currently using a hammock, you are basically using a floorless shelter (your tarp) so you should already be familiar with a lot of the benefits mentioned above. The hammock adds even more versatility to where you can set up since you don't have to find a flat surface when sleeping in a hammock. That said, if you are above timberline or in the desert you are better off without the hammock. I'd still use my Warbonnet Superfly as a floorless ground shelter in most of those situations personally but there are better floorless shelters out there than tarps designed specifically for hammocks. I'm just too cheap to buy them when what I have works for 99% of the hunting situations I find myself in. If you are comfortable with your hammock system I don't think you'll need to change it just to hunt out west.

 

[sr80]

I like the simplicity of a floorless shelter. Currently have a mountain smith LT, figured id go cheap for my first floorless shelter and I really like it so far. Really roomy for one guy.

 

[Seth1913]

I agree that finding trees above tree line is quite a task. And yes snow in July is possible all through out the rocky mountains but a hammock system that can handle that weather and temperature change also can be lightweight. For example:
bias wwm hammock- 7.5 oz for the largest model
Hummingbird susp. - 2.1oz
Hammock gear 20 tq-17 oz
Hammock gear 20 uq- 20 oz
Hammock gear tarp- 6.5 oz
For a total of 53.1 oz or 3.3 lb

Fairly light weight and versital.

Floorless can be much lighter and I'm not against them at all and will be getting a tarp that can be used for both setups if trees are a problem or I want to go really light.

 

[Seth1913]

Unless your hunting mountain goats or big horn sheep, most western game can be found below tree line.

 

[molliesmaster]

Sorry guys, I didn't mean to say that I was trying to compare floorless shelters to my hammock. I was just trying to explain that hammock camping was the extent of my knowledge about shelters.

For my future hunts out west, I am looking at tents for peace of mind and extra space.

I really just didn't know anything about floorless shelters and their hype, so I thought I would ask the question.

 

[sodaksooner]

Stove option and slightly lighter, although the weight isn't huge for me. i can also run a lighter smaller sleeping bag. We spread the tent/poles/stakes/stove among 3 guys and it makes for a pretty light load, for the same weight as at 2 to 3 man floored tent, I get a 6 man and a stove.

 

[rayporter]

heat, my bones need the heat and them bath tub floors hold more water in than they keep out.

 

[Curtis C]

I like that the floorless shelters offer more room to move around in compared to similar tents. Spills in a floorless shelter are pretty much non issues so that takes away some of the stress of cooking in a tent. One of the things that is going to be a real benefit for me this year is a trip to Idaho, the Megatarp will be so much easier to pack for plane travel than any other shelter I have.

 

[MULEPACKHUNTER]

Maybe my best hunting spots are different but I only run a sealed tent for one reason, daddy long legs,!! They run in the hundreds where I hunt and for some reason go right for any foreign object. If it wasn't for that I would run floorless. I woke up one morning with hundreds of spiders on the nest screens and on my pack in the vestibule. I don't mind bugs but I'm not sleeping with 3 or 4 hundred spiders on me