4 season back country camping

backcountrymuleys · Nov 18, 2016

I recently have been looking into better gear for backpacking in the late seasons. I have come to a crossroads where I can't seem to see a clear solution to which type of shelter is better when the weather turns really nasty. I either want to get a tepee/stove set up like what is offered by Kifaru (truth be told I might just make my own) or a 4 season tent like a Hilleberg. It seems the tepee set up with a stove would be great when you have the stove running, but when it dies out while your asleep the draft due to the tent being bottomless seems like it would make you cold really fast? I do think the ability to dry your gear out with the stove is probably what tips the scale in the direction of this set up. But I cant help but think that you may be warmer in a really good 4 season tent with a good sleeping bag? Does anybody have and good insight on this?

copple2 · Nov 18, 2016

Check out the Marmot Thor tent. It's pretty bomber.

WapitiBob · Nov 18, 2016

I'd call Aron and ask him what he's found over the years.

RELH · Nov 19, 2016

You have some members on here that are connected with:
IReviewGear.com that are very good at testing hunting gear over an extended period of time and giving a honest fair rating. Try to connect with them and see if they have tested out various tents.

RELH

Sherlock · Nov 20, 2016

I ran into this problem last year. My set up that I had used in snow camping didn't quite cut the extreme cold I experienced on a particular backcountry hunt. Looked into the stove idea, but just doesn't seem like it's the way to go for me. The improvements I made were as follows:

1) New/better sleep pad: NeoAir by ThermaRest. Great pad, even much better than the ThermaRest I had been using. Great improvement.

2) Sleeping bag linger: Seat-to-Summit's Thermolite Reactor. Wish I had gotten one before. Comfortable and reportedly takes sleeping bag down another 15 degrees. I don't know if that's true, or not, but it certainly did make me much warmer in my zero deg bag. And as an aside, it can be washed easily and minimizes washings of your nice down bag.

3) Hot water bags/bottles to sleep with, and double as drink containers.

4) Higher quality "hand warmers"...no more cheap stuff out of the discount bin, too unreliable when sorely needed.

Next improvement will be to get a good 4-season tent. I've been winter camping with me light weight 3-season tent, which has been 'ok' with the above improvements. But i imagine a 4-season tent would make hauling around and assembling a light weight wood stove completely unnecessary.

bowhunt · Nov 21, 2016

Sherlock nailed it!
There are a few good 4 season tents out there.
Hilleberg are among the VERY best.

c3 · Nov 21, 2016

I spent 6 nights last season in night time temps from 10 - 20 degrees. I will say its imperative to have a heater to dry your gear and thaw out your water filter if you plan to use stream water instead of melting snow all night long.

A buddy and I hauled in a propane heater and tons of gear. You have to be really careful with those things as they release all the moisture out of the air and you get extraordinary amounts of condensation on and into anything even close to the edges of your tent. A wood fired heater would be a much better choice for sure.

Unfortunately last year, my kid broke his collar bone the day before the end of the season and I couldn't get back to the camp and it snowed almost two feet that day and the next. Needless to say those tent poles are in a number of pieces and the tent was a total loss.

In any case if you can get setup with a heater and tent that will accommodate it, it comes highly recommended. This setup pictured was much more fun than the winter bivy camps I've done in the past. Those hunts never last more than a night or two for me, even with all the nicest gear.

Cheers,
Pete

Sherlock · Nov 22, 2016

Hey Pete,

I found that freezing temps can damage a filter (maybe depends on filter type). Instead, for freezing temp conditions, I use a UV pen (SteriPen, or similar). If the water is a little too dirty, then pre-filter with coffee filters. Works great. And, since I might be a little OCD, I always have at least one backup system. In this case, I bring some iodine tablets (and a spare battery for the Steripen). Both of these systems are freeze proof.

Also, a buddy from the marines that went with me on one trip taught me to put my damp clothes in the sleeping bag with me at night to dry them out. Not always the most comfortable, but surprisingly it worked. The moisture wicks away through and out of the bag. At least it's an option if you are looking to cut weight and not carry a heater.

And another benefit to sleeping with warm water bottles, you have unfrozen drinking water in the morning. Also, I like to keep a large enough empty pee bottle in the tent, too. Really hate getting out of the tent at night to go pee when it's frigid cold, but spilling it really sucks (happened once and will not happen again).

Frozen boots/laces are still a problem in the morning, though. I guess a heater would be nice.