are canvas tents worth the money

[robert1965]

I want to buy a tent that can handel all four seasons. who makes the best all weather tents.

[Redlantern]

A couple questions for you. How are you going to carry it, horse, dogsled, backpack, car? The larger ones get awfully bulky and heavy. How many people are going to be using it normally? Are you going to use a stove in it? I've slept in canvas wall tents in the winter and while it was nice being toasty with a heater in it, I wouldn't buy one for myself. But my style of camping may be different than yours. I prefer smaller freestanding tents that are lighter and set up fast. Of course there is the trade off of not being able to stand upright in my tent. I really only use the tent for sleeping in the winter anyway.

I have a mountain hardware tent that I use in the winter. I also have used a northface for years. Rei had a tent that claimed to be fourseason but they didn't have cold weather shock cords in the poles so it didn't work out so well. That was quite a few years ago so maybe the problem has been corrected by now. A good winter tent should have larger diameter poles than a summer use one to handle potential snow loads,at least four poles , free standing so you don't need to use a bunch of deadmen, quick and easy to set up in the wind and cold, a bathtub style floor so you don't have leaks coming in, a rainfly that comes down almost all the way to the ground, decent ventilation so you can reduce the amount of frost build up on the inside of the tent. I prefer darker colors in my winter camping equipment so I can try to take advantage of the sun drying things out for me in the winter. A wet, frozen tent isn't always the easiest to pack up.

[traveler]

Good stuff from Redlantern. First issue is travel for sure. We use an army GP medium (16X32) for deer camp and it works great, cots, wood stove tarp floor...but it's 280 lbs:) As long as we have the space and muscle, it's perfect for us. Thier are smaller armys tents, as well as outfitter tents from cabelas and the like, but weight is the main drawback regardless.

[irvingdog]

Tents don't handle four seasons; different sleeping bags and good quality sleeping pads handle 4 seasons. Do not count on a tent retaining warmth without also retaining moisture. Wet=cold. A winter tent will reduce draft in the lower part of the tent, is more sturdy (heavier) and generally harder to set up.

None of what I've said pertains to wall tents with stoves for deer camp type situations. Thats a whole new kettle of fish...

[Esox_Magnum]

I have a 16x20 canvas outfitters tent from Davis tent and awning in Colorado. I use it as an elk camp only, camping at 10,000' in the Rockies in Oct. I have a fly to cover it so no moisture problems. Might be for sale for the right price. Has 3/4 floor, fly, stove pipe hole, and frame. Takes 2 guys 1/2 hour to set up. Works great for 4-6 guys on a 2 week trip.

[Powerstroke]

I like what redlantern wrote.

I disagree with irvingdog, because a normal 3-season tent may not have the ventilation or the strength to handle a snowload.

I've done plenty of camping in all 4-seasons, but this winter was the first time I used the canvas tent/stove combo. It is a fantastic luxury, but it does come at the price of weight and size. If you have the means to carry such a thing and you're happy harvesting lots of firewood, then it is fantastic.

Personally I prefer a freestanding dome tent also with a full coverage fly and a vestibule for boots/shoes etc.

I only use the tent for sleeping and maybe some poor weather shelter so I try to get it bigger than what I need for summer, and just right for sleeping in the winter so there is less space to "cool off".

REI does have much improved tents now. I own 3 of them in fact. I find them to have the same tech but at a "store brand" price. Actually they are some of the lightest tents out there and their return policy is unrivaled. Even then, I've only had one issue with their gear and it was related to a severe thunderstorm.

[irvingdog]

A winter tent will reduce draft in the lower part of the tent, is more sturdy....

[IFallsRon]

Esox, do you have a custom synthetic fly? I've never seen that combination but it's a genius move that allows the canvas roof to breath as it should while the fly does all the hard work. With canvas, breathability is one of the best qualities.

[Esox_Magnum]

Nope its a huge blue poly tarp I think 30x40 maybe. Works great, goes well past the sidewalls and about 6-8' out over the door.

[Powerstroke]

Tents don't handle four seasons; different sleeping bags and good quality sleeping pads handle 4 seasons. Do not count on a tent retaining warmth without also retaining moisture. Wet=cold. A winter tent will reduce draft in the lower part of the tent, is more sturdy (heavier) and generally harder to set up.

You kinda contradicted yourself in saying that tents don't handle 4-seasons, but that show how winter tents are different. No, they aren't insulated, but a 3-season tent isn't necessarily designed to handle winter conditions, especially if its not a backpacking or mountaineering tent.

I wasn't trying to pick on you. It is true you still have to plan a sleeping arrangement for the weather you are camping in, but I think having the proper tent will make a difference.

[Fishinguy40]

Big question is how you plan to use it. Canvas is heavy but what a luxury it is to be able to stand up when inside. Also great with a wood stove when camping in winter.

A couple years ago I camped by myself in a small 2-man dome tent during muzzle loader season. It was -8 degrees at night. I had two sleeping bags, a mummy bag inside another large winter sleeping bag. I did quite a bit of walking/still hunting through the day. That night I got a charlie horse in my leg shortly after I crawled into the sleeping bags. Every time I tried to bend down to unzip the bags the charlie horse got worse. Thank God I was alone because it took me ten minutes to get out of the tent so that I could stretch out my legs and I swear I was screaming like a little girl the whole time because of the pain. That night I decided that I'm too old for this....

That summer I researched and bought a 14x16 canvas wall tent with wood stove. Best investment I ever made. We've used it the last few years for deer camp. If you want to know more about canvas wall tents google The Wall Tent Shop. There web site has more information and answers lots of questoions.

[Jackpine Rob]

Some very good answers here so far! Of course, it all comes down to how you intend to use the tent.

For comfort and durability in miserable weather, a quality cotton tent simply can't be beat. Over time, your synthetics (such as nylon) will break down, while a cotton tent can last for generations if properly cared for. I've got an old wall tent that was made before grommets were in use. That old beast has shed many a raindrop and snowflake, and is still in use. As near as we can figure it was from the mid 1940's.

I've also got some quality nylon tents that have seen a lot less use and are retired due to age and fragility.

One of my favorite all-time tents is a Eureka Mountain Tent. It is a 2 man 5x8 pup tent, made of 4 oz poplin. It weighs under 8 lbs with poles and stakes. Talk about bomb-proof! Rain, snow - it doesn't matter. You simply don't get wet in that thing. As a big plus, it breathes, with no rainfly necessary. I wish I had purchased the 4 man version when they were still available....

My "big tent" if we have more than 2 people on a cold-weather trip is a Davis Tent 12x14 with 5 foot sidewalls, and a 6" stove pipe hole. Put the trusty woodburner in that thing and you can sit in shirt-sleeves and tell lies while the snow and sleet whistle past. I got that one in something they call "shelter cloth", which is a lighter-weight sunforger canvas. Its a bit bulky, but at 35 lbs with ropes I can stuff it in a Duluth pack. We refer to that tent as the Portable Shack.

The real values of canvas tents are 1)Durability and 2)Breathability. A quality canvas will shed water like a champ, without needing a rainfly, and still breathe. They can handle the sunlight without breaking down nearly as quickly as a synthetic.

The downsides are 1)package weight/bulk and 2)tougher set-up than a free-standing "modern" tent

On my wish list (for when I have more money than I know what to do with) would be an Egyptian cloth tent (or even 2) from an outfit called Tentsmiths. E-cloth is a lightweight form of canvas, and the old wall tent I mentioned earlier is made out of that type of material. Truly amazing stuff, but unfortunately it has a price tag to match...

Of course, for warmer weather trips, synthetic tents get the job done nicely, have fewer issues with mildew, and (like Pampers) are somewhat disposable.

Let us know what you're proposing to use the tent for, and I'm sure some of us would be happy to chime in again.