New to the forum.

Looking for advice on an upcoming hot tent purchase.
Any satisfied or unsatisfied Seekoutside or Redcliff users out there?

I've hot tented a couple times for single nights in really basic borrowed canvas tents in the BWCA and in Colorado. I've cold camped several times in the BWCA using my 20 year old North Face mountaineering tent, and I've cold camped out west in other mountaineering tents at high elevation. I'd like to get myself a tent actually designed to be a hot tent for camping in BWCA and elswhere in MN during the winter.

I know that for a lot of folks the SnowTrekker tents are the gold standard, and I've looked at them for years, assuming that they were really the only option worth purchasing. I've done more research and I now know that there are other options, but its been harder for me to find actual feedback from people using them in Minnesota (I want more than curated photos on a company's instagram).

At the point I am trying to decide between a Crew from SnowTrekker or a Redcliff from SeekOutside. Planning to use the 'Trekker' from KniCo for either.

Has anyone used the Redcliff, or a similar tent for hot tenting in deep winter in MN? The Seek Outside tents have a lot of happy users out west, but I'm having a hard time finding folks that have used them in our different winters here.

The SO Redcliff sleeps 3 with a stove and weighs under 5 lbs and will cost me about $800. It is a synthetic tent.

A ST Crew that sleeps 3 will weigh 21lbs and will cost $1375. Cotton/natural fiber tent.

I like the idea of the lighter Redcliff since it would make solo trips easier, and it's almost $600 dollars cheaper. However, I've heard about Snow Trekker tents for the last decade it seems and its always been positive (and they are clearly made to a very high standard of quality). Either of these tents will be a be a major purchase for me so I'm trying to be as informed as I can.

Any satisfied or unsatisfied Seekoutside or Redcliff users out there who have used them for hot tenting in the BWCA, Quetico, or other similar area december-february?

Thanks.

I highly recommend renting one before buying. Stone Harbor in Grand Marais rents Seek Outside tipis starting last year. I do several winter trips a year, mostly using Snowtrekkers and DIY converted hot tents. One member of my crew had been dreaming of a Seek Outside tent for years. We pitched in and rented one last winter for a large group trip. I think these tents have their place but it was not for us. It took way longer to pitch and had more moisture issues than we were used to and had much less space than we expected from the write-ups. That rental saved my friend from an expensive disappointment.

I can not speak to what the canvas tents are like but I can speak to what tipi tents are like. I have a Luxe Megahorn tipi tent that is similar.

Pros
Lighter weight
Less expensive (sub $300)
Fairly simple set up

Cons
Usable space is not comparable to footprint
Can be tricky to get taunt
Sags when wet
No snow load bearing
Doesn’t hold heat as well

The Onetigris Iron Wall might be a cheaper introduction into hot tenting.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

I was considering getting a snowtrekker but ended up buying a seek 8 man tipi off a member here. I like how easy it is to set up when alone, which is how I do most of my winter camping. It is also relatively lightweight and packs small enough to fit on the dogsled with my two-dog stove.

Haven’t done any camping in sub zero temps with it yet.

The seek pack is the one on top of the sled, it’s not tiny but still impressively compact.

When Dave and Amy Freeman spent a year living in the BWCA, the tent they used was a Seek Outside 8. Here is a write-up from them:
Gearjunky: Seek Outside 8

Minnesotian: "
When Dave and Amy Freeman spent a year living in the BWCA, the tent they used was a Seek Outside 8. Here is a write-up from them:
Gearjunky: Seek Outside 8 "

Wow, that’s impressive.

All of these responses have been really helpful! Great to hear some pros and cons from folks experiencing MN winters. Thanks!

Also fun to see Fry Bake get some love in that gear write up, my fry bake has been an indispensable part of the cook kit for the last ten years.

Snowbound: "I highly recommend renting one before buying. Stone Harbor in Grand Marais rents Seek Outside tipis starting last year. I do several winter trips a year, mostly using Snowtrekkers and DIY converted hot tents. One member of my crew had been dreaming of a Seek Outside tent for years. We pitched in and rented one last winter for a large group trip. I think these tents have their place but it was not for us. It took way longer to pitch and had more moisture issues than we were used to and had much less space than we expected from the write-ups. That rental saved my friend from an expensive disappointment."

Snowbound- do you remember which size Tipi you rented? I agree that to buy one of these the best thing to do would be to try one! Looks like I'll need to make a trip up to Stone Harbor to check one of these out in person, at least to see what in the interior space is really like.

DKalis: "I was considering getting a snowtrekker but ended up buying a seek 8 man tipi off a member here. I like how easy it is to set up when alone, which is how I do most of my winter camping. It is also relatively lightweight and packs small enough to fit on the dogsled with my two-dog stove.

"

DKalis- Shot in the dark here but do you any chance live around the twin cities and if so would you be up for me checking your 8-person Tipi out in person (proplerly distanced)? Stone harbor has them but that's a 6 hour drive for me just to see if one of these will work for me, I'm trying to track one down closer to the cities to check out. No prob if the answer to either is no! Do yo uhave any other pictures of your 8-man setup?

Regardless though, the other insight you might have as an 8-man owner; does the 8-man feel like the minimum amount of space you'd want, in terms of headroom and floor space, etc? I'm now trying to decide between and 6 man and an 8 man. I'll be mostly soloing this year, but I've heard that the 6 man is really a 2-3 with a stove, and the 8 is more like 3-4 with a stove. What is harder to figure out without seeing these tents in person is the actual headroom for drying stuff out!

-Al

For moving camp on a sled the lighter smaller is better.
Usable space in a Tipi is not the footprint! I believe a sidewall gives you far more room.
Nylon tents will condensate more than a canvas. Sealing off the floor from the snow on the ground helps to reduce the moisture in the tent.
There are other shapes and sizes out there with more usable room in them.

It seems to me most hot tents do not move much as the need to gather wood to make the tent hot seems to make it easier to stay two days in 1 place. It can and has been done to move every day; this observation may be a generalization of what I have seen and experienced. I have base camped with nylon hot tents and I have done move every day trips with them.

Hard decisions as the choices you make will dictate how you do your hot tenting for years to come, as it is too expensive to try it another way after you purchased your tent and set up.

AlexHL: "

DKalis: "I was considering getting a snowtrekker but ended up buying a seek 8 man tipi off a member here. I like how easy it is to set up when alone, which is how I do most of my winter camping. It is also relatively lightweight and packs small enough to fit on the dogsled with my two-dog stove.


"

DKalis- Shot in the dark here but do you any chance live around the twin cities and if so would you be up for me checking your 8-person Tipi out in person (proplerly distanced)? Stone harbor has them but that's a 6 hour drive for me just to see if one of these will work for me, I'm trying to track one down closer to the cities to check out. No prob if the answer to either is no! Do yo uhave any other pictures of your 8-man setup?


Regardless though, the other insight you might have as an 8-man owner; does the 8-man feel like the minimum amount of space you'd want, in terms of headroom and floor space, etc? I'm now trying to decide between and 6 man and an 8 man. I'll be mostly soloing this year, but I've heard that the 6 man is really a 2-3 with a stove, and the 8 is more like 3-4 with a stove. What is harder to figure out without seeing these tents in person is the actual headroom for drying stuff out!


-Al"

Email sent.

At 6’ 3”, headroom is definitely an issue with the tipi. I have to duck a lot moving around inside.

Dan makes some good points mentioning how sidewalls will give you much more usable space and nylon probably isn’t the premier choice for a hot tent material.

Nylon is a better choice for materials if you move from campsite to campsite. For me weight and space are are a much bigger issue than man hauling the bulk and weight of canvas.
For base camping the canvas breathability nearly eliminates condensation issues.

Tipis with the door in the"roof" you lose "protected area in the shelter as you open and come and go- snow or rain can go onto the floor area the roof covers when the door is closed.

8' peak 30" Knee walls Vertical door



10' peak 30" knee walls Vertical door

So after thinking over how I will likely use the tent most of the time, and reading a bunch of posts on forums like this one, I went with a Snowtrekker 8x10 Crew, and I've loved since the first setup in my backyard. After a couple real relaxed car camping trips with it to get some low stakes practice, I am really pleased with it and excited to take it farther off the path. I love the feel of the breathable canvas, its super fast to put up and take down (less than 15 minutes) and I like the fact that the light color of the fabric makes the most out of gently light from candle lanterns.

I sorta suspect I'd feel this way with that super cool looking CCS Winter T Hexagon if that's what I had ordered, and maybe a SeekOutside, but something about canvas really drew me in. Dan, I really appreciated your input, and I've used your awesome products in years past. I worked in the canoe shop at camp Menogyn up the Gunflint from 2009-2012, and I had the pleasure of outfitting many canoes for your spray skirts for the trips we sent up to Nunavut. Got to use them up there myself and they were great, and super durable. I've used your duluth packs as well and they are great.

Thanks for everyone's thoughts on Silnylon vs Canvas, and Tipi vs other shapes, it was helpful! Looking forward to learning more now that I've taken the plunge.