I've got a Marmot Limelight 3P. I've tripped so far in June and September, and temps are pretty cool, so we use it with the rainfly/etc attached.

Tent for reference:
https://www.marmot.com/limelight-3p/27940.html

My wife and I are headed to Sawbill August 10th. How do we stay cool in the tent during this time? It seems there's no airflow in the tent, and I'm worried we'll cook in August. Do you all remove the rainfly (or roll it up) if rain isn't expected? How do you keep your bags dry without the vestibule?

No ice jokes. We already have a thread for that.

Just roll up the fly in front of the doors. The tent has plenty of ventilation if you don't need the fly completely rolled down.

My packs and other equipment aren't left in the tent. Their stashed under my tarp, not under my vestibule. Or I'll stash stuff under one vestibule and leave the other one open.

i have kept the rainfly off our tent in hot times and suspended my ccs tarp over the tent. plenty or air movement on those warmer evenings. stayed plenty dry.

I no longer camp much in the summer due to climate change. But yes, you can remove the fly completely. Leave it clipped at two corners and roll it up at the base of the tent in case you need it. If you leave the fly on, stake the ends out as far and as high as possible and roll both doors up over the top. Be careful of condensation on your sleeping bag.

Pitch it in the shade, near the lake, where you can get a breeze.

LilyPond: "I no longer camp much in the summer due to climate change."

Does it look like average July temperatures are increasing in Ely? Historical data from weatherunderground.com. I've included average daily maximum, average, and mininimum temperatures.

Goal Zero makes a small silicone blade fan that you can run off a small recharging pack or USB source. I have one but haven't used it yet.

Goal Zero Fan

Northwoodsman: "Goal Zero makes a small silicone blade fan that you can run off a small recharging pack or USB source. I have one but haven't used it yet.


Goal Zero Fan "

20 years of summer travel in a motor home in urban environments have taught me the importance of a fan. Having said that I typically canoe trip during August and usually have little problems with excessive heat unless it is a hot afternoon nap.

If you are on a base camp type trip with not a lot of travel you could bring a Royobi fan which runs off a 20 volt lithium ion batter like what you would use with a cordless drill. Those fans are big enough to move some air, just turn it off after a few hours. That should help.

Like other trippers, I look for a shady spot to pitch the tent, but regardless of whether I find shade, I will leave the fly rolled back. If it starts to rain, I can quickly pull the fly back over the tent and secure it. As for packs, they are either under a tarp or hanging from a small stub of a broken branch under a dense tree canopy.

Thanks everyone. These are good tips, including some obvious things. For example, I forgot I'll be bringing a bug shelter, so our packs can shelter any storms under that tarp, and it would also be a good place for us to rest/play games other than in the tent.

I don't really want to debate climate data, but I never avoid a good chance for data analysis. I grabbed numbers from the MN DNR, these were from the Twin Cities since 1873 to 2017, for summer months as an annual average of June, July, August. It shows us 1.5 degrees warmer on average compared to a century ago, using a 2nd order polynomial to find a line of best fit (and leaving the scatter to show the unrelated data averages).

Northwoodsman, do you have any trips before mine (August 10th) that you'd be trying out that fan?

Most would say try to pitch the tent in a shady area. But that means zero airflow. If you can find an area next to the water pitch your tent there. Leave the rain fly off unless it looks like rain.

One option which you may want to try is to leave your rain fly off the tent and set up a larger light weight tarp over your tent. I have used this method on a number of trips and it does allow for more breeze to enter via the top of the tent. You still should bring the rain fly just in case you have a day with a really serious storm.

newguy: "Thanks everyone. These are good tips, including some obvious things. For example, I forgot I'll be bringing a bug shelter, so our packs can shelter any storms under that tarp, and it would also be a good place for us to rest/play games other than in the tent.


I don't really want to debate climate data, but I never avoid a good chance for data analysis. I grabbed numbers from the MN DNR, these were from the Twin Cities since 1873 to 2017, for summer months as an annual average of June, July, August. It shows us 1.5 degrees warmer on average compared to a century ago, using a 2nd order polynomial to find a line of best fit (and leaving the scatter to show the unrelated data averages).


Northwoodsman, do you have any trips before mine (August 10th) that you'd be trying out that fan?"

Over the years I've adapted to the unbearable heat. Also, as a former TA I feel compelled to deduct a few points for not including the equation of this fit curve on the chart. ;)

newguy: "Thanks everyone. These are good tips, including some obvious things. For example, I forgot I'll be bringing a bug shelter, so our packs can shelter any storms under that tarp, and it would also be a good place for us to rest/play games other than in the tent.


I don't really want to debate climate data, but I never avoid a good chance for data analysis. I grabbed numbers from the MN DNR, these were from the Twin Cities since 1873 to 2017, for summer months as an annual average of June, July, August. It shows us 1.5 degrees warmer on average compared to a century ago, using a 2nd order polynomial to find a line of best fit (and leaving the scatter to show the unrelated data averages).


Northwoodsman, do you have any trips before mine (August 10th) that you'd be trying out that fan?"