Wall Tents

[smitty8202]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this but it kinda has to with elk hunting, but if need be please move to right place. i have a question about canvas wall tents i have been looking at getting a wall tent for my elk hunt next year. i am thinking about going with a cableas or montana tent. i am pretty much gonna go all out on it, stove, kitchen tent, frame, sewn in floor. what are some of the tents everyone has and what are the things i should look for.

[ghosthunter]

There is a thread some where here that went through wall tents. Look in the general section.

[ghosthunter]

Try    OTHER GEAR

[nwhunter]

I would check out Bravo Tents here in Washington. That will be my next tent. Well made and thought out tents. nwhunter

[elksnout]

Depends on your or rather your hunting groups needs. Do you want to cook indoors or under an awning? Leave enough room for drying clothes, etc. Do you want a wood stove or propane heat? But one item no west side hunter with a canvas tent cannot do without is a place large enough to hang it up to dry when the hunts over. Think about this when you are deciding on the tent size.

[throttlejocky20]

I would check out Bravo Tents here in Washington. That will be my next tent. Well made and thought out tents. nwhunter

Thats what we have and we love it. I have stayed in tents that require a center pole and I dont care for them.  one thing to look into is brass zippers they hold up to alot more abuse than the plastic ones.

[Tinner]

Throttlejockey is right about the zipper. Also, A Sunforger marine canvus and tripple stitching is a must. Try Yakima Tent & Awning. LJ

[HoofsandWings]

I don't know about sewn in floors. I put down outdoor carpet and if you trench the perimeter like you were taught in the army you don't need sewn in floors.
I have been using standard wall tents for 20 years in all kinds of weather without a problem. No frames either. Always dry inside.
Stovejack works great. The wood stove will drive you out due to heat. Water heater works great. Oven keeps the biscuits warm.
12x14 wall tent (5 foot walls). I usually hunt alone, so I have plenty of room.  Although the tent is getting heavier as I get older.
Of course if you don't like to cut wood and the occasitional mouse, that is a different story.
Speaking of mice, the best mouse trap I have found is an empty roll of tp, a wire, a bucket and peanut butter. Build a ramp to the top of bucket. Fill the bucket half full with water. String the wire between the handles and put the empty roll coated with peanut butter in the middle. The mice jump. The roll rolls, the mice don't swim. My record is 18 in one night. The guy who taught me the trick had 27.

[SnakeEyes]

Love our Bravo Tent. Sewn in floor sounds heavy and really hard to clean. We have a fold up floor that I power wash after the hunt. Its made of a heavy waterproof material. Bravo has those too. 

[smitty8202]

ok first off. HoofsandWings i am not in the army. I am a Marine. There is a huge difference. and yes i know how to build a trench around a tent. i have just always liked the sewn in floors. thanks for the info everyone.

[TheHunt]

I think he has zipped in floor as well.

[BuckHunter23]

Kwik Kamp tents

[SemperFidelis97]

Hey devil I looked hard into canvas for awhile, and decided to go with the cabelas alaknak 12x20 instead.  The alaknak has a floor built in they are bulletproof, light, easy to put up, and you get allot more footage for your money.  I bought a cabelas barrel stove to go allong with it allong with the roof protector for around the stove jack I dont think im more than about 1300 into it total with the stove, and protector.  For me it came down to something that my wife, and I could get up easily together, and had the room for us to have a kitchen area inside with some extra space for extra bodies as well.  Do some reading into them they are easily 40% cheaper than a similar sized canvas, and the frame is included.  They hold up to the extreme winds, and weather changes we experience every year where we hunt with zero problems I would buy another in a heartbeat.  Another thing to consider as a bonus I dont have to have an empty three car garage to dry, and seal the damn thing every year.

[Miles]

Call Rich and talk to him about what you are looking for.  I purchased a 14 x 16 wilderness from him after shopping around and he still has some of the same deals going on.  The will answer any and all questions that you might have, not to mention they are in Moscow, ID  so you could even travel their on a day trip and check everything out.

http://www.walltentshop.com/

[Miles]

Also, I believe Bearpaw and Backwoodsboy have both purchased wall tents from this company, so they might be able to answer some questions as well.

[aer212]

Look into a Kifaru Tipi. They are Very light and even the large ones don't weigh much. For example the 12 man tent weighs 11lbs and the 24 man tent weighs 27lbs. For comparison, last year I packed a 2 person tent, I think it was a coleman, and everything that goes with it and it weighed 7lbs. http://www.kifaru.net/TIPI2009.htmlComes with a pretty good price though.

[Bluesdude]

We have a 14' x 16' Davis Wall Tent out of Colorado.  Bought it at the Portland Sportsmans Show earlier this year.  They had a smokin deal and are very nice people to boot.  We got doors at each end, got to pick out the window and stove jack location.  We bought the tent with all of the tent frame couplers and then took the cut list they supplied and bought our own pipe and cut it ourselves, saved a ton of money that way.  We also bought one of their stoves, the mid size one "Ridge".  Came with a water tank, warming tray, etc. Everything nest in the stove.  Kwik Kamp (out of Miltopn Freewater Oregon) also makes one hell of a stove, used one once on a drop camp in the Eagle Cap, worked very well. 

http://davistent.com/

[mtncook]

My best advice is forget the floor.   Use some poly tarps and carpet pieces, throw away when they get bad.
The zippers are very important,  the YKK no.10 are OK.  Some of these tents are imported from Pakistan and the work is OK but the Zippers suck.  I bought a couple 14X16's to put end to end and the setup is OK but we replaced the zippers. Forget propane heat at somepoint it will fail you or cause condensation that you cannot deal with.  A good wood stove even if you have to feed it at night never fails.  Dry clothes on a rack or line near the stove.  Heat water and even do some or all cooking on the wood stove.  This comes from 40 years of use.

mtncook

[jackmaster]

i have a 15x18 bravo walltent and they are made custom in camas washington, and you can have it made any way you want and definatly up grade your zippers to brass like others have said and i also had my stove jack go through the wall instead of the ceiling, and john the owner of bravo tents also makes your tent he isnt a lazy person and believes in quality, if you go to the sportsman show at the puyallup fairgrounds he will probably be there again, you can also get everything you need for your wall tent through him, and he sells the best stoves you can get for a wall tent. if you want i can get you his number or better yet go to bravotents.com good luck you wont be disapointed

[elk101]

We have a Montana canvas and love it. Prefer stove jack out wall as to roof lot lest pin holes.
we have a door on both ends put a fly over that extends out each end and put shower out the back door and cook shack in the front.  Also agree use a floor that is not attached easier to set up and store. 

[allboy]

I have been in a few and I prefer the Rainier wall tents. Always get bigger than you think you will need. Same thing with a stove. It's impossible to keep a fire going all night. Get used to loading it up in the middle of the night. I'm not a big fan of the floors. I like to bring an outdoor carpet to cover about 1/2 of the floor.

[DuckDr.Duke]

We bought a 16'x12'Bravo tent in Spring of 2010 it cost $2,100 + we picked it up. It is a very nice tent and very durable. The tent included the angles for the frame (but we had to cut the tubing for proper fitting), zippers and tie straps, stove hole, and snow flap on the sides.

[DUCKDUDE]

The Alaknak II from Cabelas Is awsome I have The 12 by 20 cant go wrong with it

[HunterJim]

I've been using a 16'x20' from the WallTentShop.com in Moscow, ID.  GREAT PRICES!!!  Ordered the vinyl floor and we put carpet on top of that, very cozy.  Sewn-in floor seemed it would be too heavy.  Our rain fly was custom made to extend 1 1/2' over the sides and 5' over the rear to keep excess water off the sides.  It hangs 14' off the front for a cooking awning.  The wood stove really does make it too hot inside the tent, but by morning time we still have heat.

Here's a hint I'm not sure many are using....  I use the really large havy duty 44 gallon Rubber Maid trash cans to store and carry it.  One for the tent, one for the floor and awning/rain fly and one for the stakes, ropes, pole cennectors, hatchet, hammers, etc.  Keeps everything dry and clean in the off season, but you have to make sure it is thoroughly dry before packing it away.

Here's a few pics with the old plastic tarp awning (hope they work)....

[king]

Kirafu

[backwoods_boy]

Also, I believe Bearpaw and Backwoodsboy have both purchased wall tents from this company, so they might be able to answer some questions as well.

correct.
pm me if you have questions. look at my threads for some pics and details and tips

[backwoods_boy]

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,52634.0.html

[Buckrub]

I'll add....

make sure you get a tarp... I have one that will make a front porch area.

Forget the wood stove as well.... Mr. Heater is quick and easy.... Personal opinion

Forget the floor... and most definitely zippers

[jager]

I'll chime in...I've got a 14x16 Davis. The "hunter" cylinder stove with the water heater, etc.
Super high quality. Fantastic customer service.

[smartazz171]

We have a 14' x 16' Davis Wall Tent out of Colorado.  Bought it at the Portland Sportsmans Show earlier this year.  They had a smokin deal and are very nice people to boot.  We got doors at each end, got to pick out the window and stove jack location.  We bought the tent with all of the tent frame couplers and then took the cut list they supplied and bought our own pipe and cut it ourselves, saved a ton of money that way.  We also bought one of their stoves, the mid size one "Ridge".  Came with a water tank, warming tray, etc. Everything nest in the stove.  Kwik Kamp (out of Miltopn Freewater Oregon) also makes one hell of a stove, used one once on a drop camp in the Eagle Cap, worked very well. 


I bought a 20x16 from Davis tent. 3 years ago Love it! I shopped for a year and made a spreadsheet and compared many companies. Davis beat them all. Word of warning some companies have them mass produced in India ( where most canvas in imported from)! Davis is family run and gave me great service. Highest quality zippers, doors, and stove jack.

I also looked into the alaknak, which I do like for being much lighter. But for the money being spent I wanted to make sure it lasted me my lifetime. I don't know the longevity of that tents material. That's just the reason I made my decision.  Rainer and Montana canvas make good tents I just found them really pricey.
http://davistent.com/

[allboy]

Make sure you get a good frame. A good test is to see if it will support your weight if you hang from it. I can do pull ups on my Kwik Kamp frame.

I perfer a side stove jack. I use a Cylinder stove and have been happy with it. I hear good things about Kwik Kamp stoves too.

I would recommend getting a heavy duty rain fly. I use a very thick tarp that is about 20 lbs. for my 10X12 tent. I made it with about a 4 foot over hang on the opposite side of the stove outlet to keep rain away from the tent and works well for dry storage too.

[losdaddy7]

Yakima tent, 100%!!!  This is a great "local" company that has been around forever.  My 12X14 does fine with a big buddy..

[smitty8202]

Wow guys great info. i think the concensus is that its all about personal preference. now i just need to look at them. Thanks again.

[Roost Run]

Call Rich and talk to him about what you are looking for.  I purchased a 14 x 16 wilderness from him after shopping around and he still has some of the same deals going on.  The will answer any and all questions that you might have, not to mention they are in Moscow, ID  so you could even travel their on a day trip and check everything out.

http://www.walltentshop.com/

We bought ours from Rich as well.  Very helpfull.  Couldnt be happier

[backwoods_boy]

Call Rich and talk to him about what you are looking for.  I purchased a 14 x 16 wilderness from him after shopping around and he still has some of the same deals going on.  The will answer any and all questions that you might have, not to mention they are in Moscow, ID  so you could even travel their on a day trip and check everything out.

http://www.walltentshop.com/

We bought ours from Rich as well.  Very helpfull.  Couldnt be happier

we bought all our gear from them.
16x32 is the way to go with all the bells and whistles.

[WAcoyotehunter]

I have the cabelas 12x14 and like it pretty well.  We cover it with a tarp when it's set up to help with waterproofing and to add some protection.  I also pack it way back into the boonies and use logs as a frame- it works pretty well.

[jackelope]

  This comes from 40 years of use.

mtncook

Rookie.
 

[MHWASH]

We also prefer the stove jack on the wall vs the roof.

[Rainier10]

I have a Bravo and love it.  He made the floor mat also and it works great.  I also got the snow fly from him, it is white and lets more light in than a blue tarp.  He custom makes everything to your specs so if you want a slightly bigger tent, always go bigger than you think you need and you will be happy.  We have a 15x15 tent and a 15x9 extension.  I wish the extension would have been 10 feet instead then all of my side posts would have been the same size.  The other good thing he has is he makes the bags for all of the parts to keep it organized.  I would highly recommend Bravo to anyone.

[huntnnw]

I am a big fan of Montana canvas relite material...60% lighter than canvas..just as strong and will last 30 years and wil not grow mold or mildew