Tent size for very cold weather Comments and random thoughts

[Edward John M]

Rather than hijack another thread I thought it pertinent to start a new one.

Trading thoughts back and forth with others I offer the suggestion that deep winter and small tents do not go together and that sometimes UL is stupid lite. I was reading though the gear list for IceTrek for an Arctic training camp in Svalbard and also the Antarctic and I saw that they supply and use Hilleberg Keron 4 tents to be used by 2 people. I wonder if this is because you really need that much room or because they have built in a big safety factor just in case a tent or two get fully thrashed and unusable?

I deliberated for a long time about my own tent before choosing a 3-person with extended vestibule for my own deep winter trip for 2 people and I think I made the correct decision but now I’m seriously thinking the others have gone a little small as they are looking at a 2-man Namatch, but one of these fellers has been on Denali before and I haven’t so I am not really in a position to advise him.

What are peoples thoughts? Yes I am probably over thinking things; I do that a lot.

[Roger Caffin]

I wonder if this is because you really need that much room
The factor left out so far is ‘who is the other person?’

My wife and I sleep quite close together when it is cold (very close when it is very cold!), and that works for us on a 2200 mm x 1300 mm groundsheet. We even manage to pack gear on the outside of our two mats to keep us off the bucket walls.

But if your tent partner is just another member of the party, you may need more room. If you have to use your tent as a ‘home’ for the two of you during bad weather, you may also need more room.

So I don’t think there is any one simple answer here.

Cheers

[David Thomas]

Winter means more time in the tent, more activities like cooking in the tent and more gear or at least a larger volume of gear in the tent with you.

It’s a rare “2-person” tent that holds 2 non-intimate partners and their gear even in summer. If you’re going to hike all day and then just sleep 8 hours in the tent, fine. But if weather, light, or your endurance puts you in the tent for 12-18 hours a day, consider the added tent volume a requirement for one’s mental health.

[Edward John M]

David my big sleeping bag is about the same size as the FF Snowy Owl. It completely filled the Macpac Minaret the one time I used it here in that tent

[Edward John M]

There’s something else I can’t yet figure out also.

In a lot of photographs on the Helsport website they show their extreme weather tents often in pairs being used in conjunction with a very large tarp, what would be the reason for that? Summer here I get the need for lots of shade and I often take an UL tarp along; but in the Arctic?

[Gary Dunckel]

When I worked a summer season at McMurdo Station in Antarctica we often got to do a boondoggle. One was called the “Happy Camper’s School,” where we would set up the 2P TNF tents, and then after dinner we would spend the night sleeping in the tent. Considering that we slept in our big red Canada Goose parkas and leg insulation, I was surprised that we didn’t crush the down of the bags. There was absolutely no extra space inside the tent for anything besides the white gas stove and our water bottles. So yes, I think it would be better to have a true 3-person tent. If the tent is too large, you would lose the benefit of any warmth you might get from sleeping near your tent mate.

[Jenny A]

For my fall/shoulder season adventures into Yellowstone, I take along a 3-season tent as well as a winter tent, because fall there can be 70 degrees and sunny or 15 degrees and full-on winter.  I am usually solo in a 2-person Trango, for all the reasons that have been listed so far.  Additionally, the extra wiggle room to change clothing is nice, and my extra large Downmat fits nicely.  I can deal with minimal space in a tent in the summer, but winter conditions require more luxury.

And nothing about the Trango is light weight.  This is my version of glamping.

[Roger Caffin]

extreme weather tents often in pairs being used in conjunction with a very large tarp
Glamping!
Four man party with two 2-man tents. Pitch them together with a tarp over the junction and use the tarp area for both pack storage and for cooking. Quite luxurious, and common on expeditions.

Cheers

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