I am looking at getting the 8x8 Mountain Spike Tent from Outfitter Warehouse. I'll go ahead with 4 foot sidewalls and a stove jack. I know there won't be a ton of room in this one but it's usually just me and one, rarely two, other people. So it doesn't make sense to carry more weight if not needed.

Have any of you used this style tent? Do they work out pretty good? Any other tent ideas? Thanks guys!

Spike Tent

Snowtrekkertents.com

The tent you linked to has a floor sewn in. Which tells me it is NOT using material that is rated well enough to be flame retardant for a stove.

Honestly, snowtrekker.com or bust.

The hot tent market for snowshoeing/skiing is an extremely small market and they are the only ones serving it (as far as I know).

All the other hot tents are either extremely heavy (and usually made for hunters/bas campers that can use a vehicle to transport it) or they are not made with the right material for having a stove.

Now I have seen a few other companies over the years that make a somewhat similar product (i.e. a teepee) but nothing comes close to a snowtrekker tent.

If it is out of your budget, I would highly recommend renting one (many places offer them out at a reasonable price) for your trip and waiting till you can afford a snowtrekker.

Anything else and you will be disappointed.

PS: I have seen numerous snowtrekker tents in the BWCA over the years but never a surplus tent...that tells me something.

We use snowmobiles to get to a basecamp set up on lakes or campgrounds- so we opted for more space. Spent about 1 week living it last winter- AMAZING!

Interior video- Ignore the guy who hates to be filmed!

THAT IS AWESOME!

Hey Karola, just my opinion but that looks like great winter tent for the money. I my self was going to order one. though if it were me I would go with the 10x10 with 2ft walls for a few reasons. 1 being you are going to have to carry less stove pipe, (it's not to heavy but can be pretty bulky) 2 being wind, 2ft walls are going to catch less wind and make sturdier tent, 3 floor space is far more valuable than head room in my experience, (as long as there is some portion of the tent you are able to stand in). also I would cut most of the floor out, leaving an 8inch sod cloth to lighten the weight up. and I would also skip the frame from them, it is far to heavy. An adjustable kelty Noah staff works great for the center pole, and old aluminum tent poles cut to size work out pretty good for the walls. Keep in mind I have no idea how far you travel on foot on your winter trips or the style of camping that you prefer. This is just stuff I learned through trial and mostly error. happy camping!

quote ripple: "We use snowmobiles to get to a basecamp set up on lakes or campgrounds- so we opted for more space. Spent about 1 week living it last winter- AMAZING!

Interior video- Ignore the guy who hates to be filmed! "

LOVE IT

quote catfish72: " Hey Karola, just my opinion but that looks like great winter tent for the money. I my self was going to order one. though if it were me I would go with the 10x10 with 2ft walls for a few reasons.

Thanks for the feedback on this. What size tent do you use, I know it's the A-frame style. The reason I was thinking 8x8 is I usually only have 1 other person with me and I figured there would be enough room for gear, stove, us. Do you think it will get tight in there?

I usually hike in 3-7 miles so I know that the extra 9lbs the 10x10 is would be noticed. Thanks again!

my A frame is 9x9 it fits 2 pretty comfortable with gear. 3 would be tricky. the 8x8 I am thinking would be pretty tight. though ones standards for comfortable are all relative. but the 4ft walls should give you a much greater since roominess. My math was a difference of 5 lbs between tents. I do suppose that you could just buy the 8x8 and set it up with all your gear in the yard to get a feel for it then return it if it not feeling big enough. Just give them a call and see what there return rules are like first. As an after thought. I ordered my Teton tent from them and just ordered the base model and they sent me the up charged fire retardant model with out charging me the extra money. Minnesota does not allow non fire treated tents that have a stove jack installed to be shipped here. Considering its a 250$ up charge I would go with the cheapest material model and hope the same happens for you or they send you the untreated model with the stove jack installed. I would hate to see you spend all the extra $ on that when you can buy fire retardant and mold inhibitor spray for fabric at JoAnn fabrics for about 10$! let us all know how it all works out.

I stressed over which tent for a long time. Finally ended up sewing my own, which I don't recommend to anyone without experience. It took way longer than I had figured, didn't turn out nearly as nice as the professional ones, and in the end I saved $300 bucks at most. Buy the snowtrekker as others have suggested.

If you want to see other options, check on Winter Walkers Companion (Alexandra Conover) from the library. They have some tent designs in it, finding the canvas and someone to sew it will be a challenge and in the end you'll probably not save much $'s. There is an option for a single pole round tent, I'd like to see one in person. Snowtrekker is where I bought my canvas, great service, nice people.

You can rent the SnowTrekker now.

Yes rent. From Piragis and a couple of other places.

hey Karola,
I just got back from Alaska. I was moose hunting for the past three weeks or so, and I was just wondering if there is any news or decisions on that new winter tent you were thinking about?

Good stuff here. I've worked with a number of warehousing solution centers such as 3PL Consulting & Warehouse Distribution Centers When working for other companies before there, I recall consulting for pick and pack service solutions for some camping gear companies that were shipping gear internationally. Some of the best companies with the most reliable gear were known to package their goods just like they made their products, extremely efficient in space, packaging, amd DURABLE! Which lent itself to an easy distribution process that streamlines business for the distributors, just like a tent company would make the process easier for camping. There's always wear and tear to your gear, but if its made right the first time, then it will obviously outlast the cheaper solutions which don't give you much bang for your buck when it comes to long term.