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       Kodiak Canvas?
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Date/Time: 03/28/2024 12:01PM
Kodiak Canvas?

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Previous Messages:
Author Message Text
Minnesotian 10/31/2019 01:50PM
Arceneaux: "Minnesotian: "Arceneaux: " A 12x15 Kodiak Canvas tent in action."




Nice setup.




A perfect example of why I am always hesitant about camping on the ice unless there is a lot of snow banked up. I haven't figured out a good way to shield the stove from melting the ice below it. "




The water on the ice out front was actually due to drilling a fishing hole in the front of the tent and we experienced a little flooding. Late season. I actually recommend the stove hearth mat from snow trekker and a piece of heat deflecting foil fabric strung b/t the stove legs - almost zero melt."



Ah yes, now I see the fishing hole. I have used my Snowtrekker as a ice fishing shelter a couple times. Nothing like waking up in the morning and catching fish while still in a sleeping bag and working on the first cup of coffee.


I'll check out the stove hearth mat. Is it really heavy? Looks like it rolls up good.
Jaywalker 10/31/2019 12:35PM
Minnesotian: "Arceneaux: " A 12x15 Kodiak Canvas tent in action."



Nice setup.



A perfect example of why I am always hesitant about camping on the ice unless there is a lot of snow banked up. I haven't figured out a good way to shield the stove from melting the ice below it. "



I thought this was for curling!
Jaywalker 10/31/2019 12:32PM
Shimbo: "Arceneaux: "...


Arcenaux, does your Kodiak Canvas tent have that rubber/plastic-y tent floor? Mine does. Overall, do you prefer this over no floor for winter camping?"

For me is seemed a bit strange at first going to a tent with no floor, but after one trip it made perfect sense. You end up bringing in a lot of wood so there are lots of wood chips, bark, and bits of kindling that gets broken up all over. Also sometimes bits of burning wood may slip out of the stove. Its' also nice to be able to spill you coffee by the stove and not worry. Many/most folks just use some sort of tarp or waterproof barrier under a portion of their tent. I just use a simple blue tarp over about 1/2 for my sleeping stuff and gear.
Gadfly 10/31/2019 09:06AM
Minnesotian: "Arceneaux: " A 12x15 Kodiak Canvas tent in action."



Nice setup.



A perfect example of why I am always hesitant about camping on the ice unless there is a lot of snow banked up. I haven't figured out a good way to shield the stove from melting the ice below it. "

We always camp on the ice and do experience melt under the stove as well. We reset the stove every day and cover the ice underneath with bark, sawdust and other small twigs to help insulate it. Luckily we have never really had an issue with slush near our house. We also do not drill holes anywhere near it to help with this.
Shimbo 10/31/2019 08:47AM
Arceneaux: "...


Arcenaux, does your Kodiak Canvas tent have that rubber/plastic-y tent floor? Mine does. Overall, do you prefer this over no floor for winter camping?
Minnesotian 10/31/2019 07:38AM
Arceneaux: " A 12x15 Kodiak Canvas tent in action."


Nice setup.


A perfect example of why I am always hesitant about camping on the ice unless there is a lot of snow banked up. I haven't figured out a good way to shield the stove from melting the ice below it.
Jaywalker 10/29/2019 03:37PM
80 lbs is a lot. If you have 3-4 guys it is not unreasonable that one guy hauls the tent and maybe stove and the others haul all the other gear. I'd guess I haul about 100 lbs on my UHMWPE toboggan when I solo. It can be a PITA going up hills, but I manage and on flat land it ranges from easy to challenging depending on the snow conditions. Gotta say though, that is a big, heavy tent.


Putting in a stove jack should not be too hard for anyone with some basic sewing machine skills. There are Youtube videos on how to do it out there. Snowtrekker also sells two sizes. For that size tent, I'd think the 5 inch would be best, and maybe the larger size Knife-co stove.


Not sure if you want to go this far or not, but if your tent has a floor you could consider cutting most of it out - leave about 6 inches around the edges then slit diagonal at the corners. This would allow you to flip the remaining floor under the walls to the outside to use as a sod cloth as AWB mentions.

One more thing - if your tent has poles that go straight down onto the ground that could be an issue on snow. You might have to bring some sort of pieces of plywood or something for them to rest on.
Minnesotian 10/29/2019 07:08AM

Like the other guys were saying and I agree with, an 80 lb tent is going to be a hard pull even on a sled. I have a Snowtrekker, an older model, and it in combination with my Kni-co Stove comes in at 40 lbs. Even with a UHMW sled that setup can be a pain to get over some portages.


If you do want to modify your tent to accommodate a stove, then you'll need a stove pipe insert. The one from 4 Dog Stove is good: Stove Pipe Insert I made a solo tent a couple years ago and sewed in one of these inserts from 4-Dog and it works great.


As far as possibly getting a Snowtrekker but for less cost, keep an eye out on this forum, Craig'slist, and Wintertrekker forum. I found mine on Craig'slist for a reasonable price.
awbrown 10/28/2019 02:00PM
It's going to be tough pulling a sled with an 80 lb tent, plus all other necessary winter camping gear.


You don't really "stake" down tents set up on top of snow. You trample down the snow area large enough to set up the tent. Winter tents have what is called a "sod cloth" which is a 12" or so flap sown to the bottom of the walls. This sod cloth goes outwards and you shovel some snow onto it, all the way around the tent. Guy lines can be tied to trees where possible or use a "dead man". A dead man can be a store bought winter stake or can be made using tree branches. Just tie you guy line to the dead man, stick it horizontally into the snow and stomp the snow down over it. The snow will "sinter" or set up hard in about 1/2 hour to an hour and then you can tighten the guys lines.


Setting up on ice using the same methods as described above, or obtain ice screws as Gadfly describes.


Original Four Dog steel stoves are heavy but very well made and were designed with pack horse, western elk hunting trips in mind. They are now, once again making steel stoves and titanium stoves, which are much lighter.
Gadfly 10/28/2019 12:26PM
Shimbo: "Gadfly: "..."



Thanks for the reply. Which stove do you have? I see that the "Four Dog" stove is listed at 55 lbs:



https://fourdog.com/four-dog-dx-camp-stove/"



I actually have the ti stove so it's much lighter.


Ti Stove
Shimbo 10/28/2019 09:48AM
Gadfly: "..."


Thanks for the reply. Which stove do you have? I see that the "Four Dog" stove is listed at 55 lbs:


https://fourdog.com/four-dog-dx-camp-stove/
Gadfly 10/28/2019 09:17AM
80lbs is a lot for just the tent considering my snow trekker tent and four dog stove are under 40lbs total. Depending on the conditions you can get away with the extra weight but its a gamble and if conditions change you could find yourself in trouble. I would suggest starting with a short trip and possibly in an area that receives a decent amount of traffic so you are not breaking trail. A 10X14 tent is pretty good sized and could easily sleep 3 or 4 so if you have extra help to distribute weight that would help as well.
I think it would be easy to set it up for a stove as you could have a stove jack sewn in.
As far as staking the tent I have found it much easier to camp directly on the ice for a couple of reasons. First you don't have to worry about finding a level spot and with ice screws you stake it down really well. Second you can set up well away from any campsites which can get you close to areas of downed trees that are not all used up from summer camping. Also I have found it can sometimes be difficult to steak a tent on the ground because of how rocky it can be. If you do chose to camp on the ice make sure to trample down the snow and set your tent up on top of it rather than shovel an area out as this will save you a lot of trouble if slush becomes an issue.
Shimbo 10/25/2019 12:05PM
I have a Kodiak Canvas 10x14 tent, and I'm wondering how well it will do for winter camping in the BWCA (or in general).

First of all, this thing is heavy. Nearly 80 lbs. This is a major draw-back, but can this be mitigated by pulling it on a sled?

Second, it requires a lot of stakes. From everyone's experience, how much of a draw-back is this? Is it easy to find good space to set up a tent while winter camping? (Ground is more level due to snow?)

Third, it does not presently have any sort of stove. I have seen many people modify their Kodiak Canvas tents to add stoves, and I would probably like to do this. Can anyone speak to the feasibility / usefulness of this?

Any other feedback would be appreciated. I see that there are great purpose-built hot tents like SnowTrekkers... but I'd prefer to save a bit (ha - more than a "bit") of money and use what I have.

Thanks in advance,
-Shimbo