Sheep Hunting Tent

[AllDay]

Just wondering what peoples thoughts are on sheep hunting tents.

I have used an MSR Hubba Hubba nx for the last few years. The newest model has not been great on minor quality issues, but I am still open to the idea of getting another one.

Does anyone have any input on the Big Agnes Cooper Spur tents? Are they too fragile for sheep hunting - placing rocks in tent to keep it from flying away can put holes in tents. What about the BA in wind?

If anyone that spends a lot of time in the mountains, up on ridges, very windy exposure, etc, has some input on tents I would appreciate it.

Thanks

[ryanb]

None of the lightweight tents are going to be the best in high winds, but the heavier duty ones don't do much better, so I always try my best to pitch a tent where it's at least somewhat sheltered from wind.

Big Agnes tents are okay. I have used a fly creek ul2 for 10 years. It's really a spacious one person tent. I went shopping for a true 2+ person a couple years ago and ended up with a mountain hardware Aspect 3. It comfortably sleeps 2 with room for packs/gear in between the 2 people, at 4 lbs. I have been REALLY impressed with this tent so far. The quality seems a fair bit superior to my BA at comparable or slightly cheaper price point. Plus it's a hunting friendly grey colour.

[backstrap]

I got a deal on a Kuiu stormstar a few years ago which is their 4 season tent. it is a bit heavy but took an absolute $hit kicking for a few days last season and was unscathed. I’ve had it in all sorts of conditions and it’s been great but I was blown away at how it handled the wind we had (pun fully intended). It’s pricey, I’d buy another one but I doubt I’ll have too.

[ccrcc]

been using a big agnes tiger wall ul2. its been a really great mtn tent. 2 lb!

[backcountry99]

I’ve used a hubba hubba for years but when pitching in high wind areas the 3 season tents get beat on. I’ve now gone to a hilleberg 4 season model and with the fly going right to the ground it handles the wind much better but with a weight penalty. My 2 cents is if weight is your primary concern the hubba hubba or big Agnes are top notch but if you want a tuff handle all weather rig the hilleberg is hard to beat.

the new SG tents look appealing to but I don’t have any experience with them.

[BgBlkDg]

Hilleberg NIAK, my favourite of four Hilles and many other tents I have used over nearly 60 years.

[decker9]

I ran the hhnx for 4-5 years before the fly failed, good tent, but kinda disposable I found. I picked up a hilleberg nallo 2, the quality difference is very noticeable. Though it’s not the tent for me, I will be looking at another hilleberg, but free standing. If you plan on using it a lot, I suggest paying the premium for a top end tent, it sucks when they fail in the field. On that note, my nallo 2 is probably available if your interested.

[Ride Red]

I have a Mountain Hardware Aspect 3 landing here this week. Reviews are solid and a lightweight tent that I fit in. At 6’5”, I need to cut the sidewall out in most tents for my feet.

[Bustercluck]

I’ve been talking about this with my hunting partner too. He wants more room. We’ve been sleeping in a 2 man hubba tent the last few years and I’ve been pretty happy with my msr tents. I’ve had my 3 man elixir in a situation where we were on the edge of a tornado warning with no issues and I’ve had my two man hubba in some pretty nasty spots in the mountains without too much issues. I remember waking up a couple times in the night because the tent pole was beating me in the head from the wind and it held up without raining blowing under the fly. He was asking me about tipis last night, but neither of us want mice running across our face in the middle of the night and I’m not sure how hard they are to set up in a hurry on ground that’s less than flat when the weather turns shitty. We’re pretty nomadic too, we don’t set our camp up in one spot and day hunt, we tend to just pack our gear up and keep moving which is a lot nicer with an msr tent that sets up in minutes in any weather.

Maybe some of you guys with the four season tents could chime in, but I stayed in my brothers 4 season msr last November in pretty cold weather(at least -20, probably -30 overnight) and it was pretty damp in the morning. My sleeping bag, pad and gear was damp. That’s really the last thing I want when I wake up. I’m wondering if he didn’t have some of the vents open.


I need another three man backpacking tent for the family, so I think I’m going to buy another hubba 3 man which we can use for hunting as well.

[allan]

I have a big Agnes copper spur ul3, It tends to get flattened in the high winds on a ridge line. But it always bounced back. However with that much wind one can’t sleep anyways bc it’s just too loud. I like my comfort when sleeping so I use it as a solo tent. All my gear, plus me 6’5 fits easy with room to spare. I will even cook under the vestibule when the weather gets really bad.
the only downside is the meager Velcro tab holding the vent on the fly down on it. It tends to blow open in the wind. I will be fixing it before my next trip.
Ps the tent does incredibly well in rain.

[decker9]

I’ve been talking about this with my hunting partner too. He wants more room. We’ve been sleeping in a 2 man hubba tent the last few years and I’ve been pretty happy with my msr tents. I’ve had my 3 man elixir in a situation where we were on the edge of a tornado warning with no issues and I’ve had my two man hubba in some pretty nasty spots in the mountains without too much issues. I remember waking up a couple times in the night because the tent pole was beating me in the head from the wind and it held up without raining blowing under the fly. He was asking me about tipis last night, but neither of us want mice running across our face in the middle of the night and I’m not sure how hard they are to set up in a hurry on ground that’s less than flat when the weather turns shitty. We’re pretty nomadic too, we don’t set our camp up in one spot and day hunt, we tend to just pack our gear up and keep moving which is a lot nicer with an msr tent that sets up in minutes in any weather.

Maybe some of you guys with the four season tents could chime in, but I stayed in my brothers 4 season msr last November in pretty cold weather(at least -20, probably -30 overnight) and it was pretty damp in the morning. My sleeping bag, pad and gear was damp. That’s really the last thing I want when I wake up. I’m wondering if he didn’t have some of the vents open.


I need another three man backpacking tent for the family, so I think I’m going to buy another hubba 3 man which we can use for hunting as well.

We’ve been using the mutha hubba for fam jam trips. Generally the weather is not to bad on family trips, it’s served us well.

Iv read horror stories about 4 season tents and condensation. I generally leave all my vents open anyway, but definitely would on a 4 season tent.

[Sakokodiak338]

I use a Hilleberg Niak and love it

[Bustercluck]

We’ve been using the mutha hubba for fam jam trips. Generally the weather is not to bad on family trips, it’s served us well.

Iv read horror stories about 4 season tents and condensation. I generally leave all my vents open anyway, but definitely would on a 4 season tent.
I should also mention, I always use a ground sheet with my msr tents. That probably keeps a lot of moisture out in bad weather

[SBvias]

I've been using the Niak. I like it.
Thought about going 4-season for a do-it-all tent but i don't usually camp out late season and a 4-season gets pretty hot in the summer and nice fall days.

[Bustercluck]

I have a big Agnes copper spur ul3, It tends to get flattened in the high winds on a ridge line. But it always bounced back. However with that much wind one can’t sleep anyways bc it’s just too loud. I like my comfort when sleeping so I use it as a solo tent. All my gear, plus me 6’5 fits easy with room to spare. I will even cook under the vestibule when the weather gets really bad.
the only downside is the meager Velcro tab holding the vent on the fly down on it. It tends to blow open in the wind. I will be fixing it before my next trip.
Ps the tent does incredibly well in rain.

Get used to sleeping with ear plugs in. Nothing will bother you.

[Silver Stones]

He was asking me about tipis last night, but neither of us want mice running across our face in the middle of the night and I’m not sure how hard they are to set up in a hurry on ground that’s less than flat when the weather turns shitty. We’re pretty nomadic too, we don’t set our camp up in one spot and day hunt, we tend to just pack our gear up and keep moving which is a lot nicer with an msr tent that sets up in minutes in any weather.



I've been running small tipi/floorless shelters for a couple years now (started with a buddy's Kifaru megatarp, and I'm using a Black Diamond Megalight), and the floorless hasn't been an issue at all - I pack a siltarp with me whenever I'm out anyways, so that works as an awesome ground sheet when needed. The BD is probably as poorly designed tipi as you'll find, but I've had it set up about 75' from a hovering helicopter (long lining sewage barrels from Mt. Rainier) and the thing held up really well. The biggest downside you'll find with any Tipi is the footprint - it's not always easy to find a 10x10 space flat enough/dry enough to get it set up. We added a mesh/silpoly floor (apparently my wife isn't as keen on floorlesss as I am), and at under 3.5# it will sleep a family of three with all of our gear inside.

As for condensation, as it gets colder you're probably just going to have to live with that - some double-wall tents do better than others (and almost anything is better than a single wall), but there is a weight penalty. You're always going to have tradeoffs, but for me I've found the Tipi to be as close to a quiver-of-one shelter as I'm likely going to find.

Ag

[KodiakHntr]

I wore out an original Hubba Hubba, and then went to the Hubba Hubba NX for hunting sheep. That was ok, but definitely cramped for space. Have since gone floorless with a Seek Outside Cimarron and that is the cats ass. I definitely like the floorless shelters especially when it comes to smaller spaces in the brush or where you can't find a flat spot. We had it set up on what was around a 15% slope and just kicked out flat spots for the matts and it was perfect. As long as the center pole is reasonably vertical you don't need to be on flat ground.

That said, I'm probably going to add an LBO into the mix as well for sheep hunting, merely to get the footprint a little more versatile and to keep the overall height of the shelter down. The tipi style tent absolutely sheds wind better than a traditional poled tent. I have had the Hubba Hubba squashed flat down onto me during big rain storms in the mountains when winds hit around 70 kph+, and we had 90 kph + winds last fall and there were zero issues with stability.

[BigSlapper]

Last sheep trip I used the Hille Nallo GT ... worked like a charm through 3 brutal tent days of pounding rain and wind.

[weed782]

I'll give another shout out for the Mountain Hardware Aspect 3. For the price point, I've been super happy with mine. Great for two people. I'm 6', hunting buddy is 6'3". Adequate room for us and gear and no overlapping of elbows......... Withstood the beatings us and weather have put it through so far. Wind, Rain, Snow etc, etc.....

[grizzly550]

MSR, Big Agnes, Mountain Hardware, Hilleberg, Nemo, Kuiu....Invest in any of those higher end 2 person and you have yourself an awesome shelter. Always shoot to pitch your tent as out of the wind as possible and DO NOT put rocks inside your tent (that abrasion will ruin any tent). Utilize your stake points and guy lines!!! I personally have a Kuiu Mountain Star 2P and it has been excellent through all kinds of weather. The reason I like it above the rest is due to being able to pitch it in rain with the fly already in place (so the inside of my tent never gets wet from rain), the poles are on the outside when pitched. Lot's of great tent's out there though, don't stress too much about which one you get as long as you buy a higher end model.

[BCHunterFSJ]

I hunted sheep out of a Moss Olympic for some 20 years. Don't know if they still make them...

[BigSlapper]

I hunted sheep out of a Moss Olympic for some 20 years. Don't know if they still make them...
They don't make them anymore ... but I can attest to the MOSS as I still have one from 1990 ish. Still works like a charm although it doesn't see much use anymore

[AllDay]

Thanks for all the experience and information. The responses have given me a lot of good information going forward!

[stoneramhunter]

For myself i like a little more roomier tent as i hunt solo a lot. i will go with a 3 season 3 man ultra lite tent. im willing to carry a little more weight for the comfort of being stuck in the tent for days if need be. I have had a few hilliberg tents they are awesome but the weight is a drawback for me. if you can spread the weight between a few hunters it's not to bad. Ofcourse im talking backpacking in. If i went with my horses well i had a lot more latitude with what i would bring in. i have a 12 x 12 wall tent (Not Canvas) with poles weighed 30 pounds and a variety of other tents.

[Darksith]

So many new products since this thread started. Im excited to run the Argali Rincon 2P with full insert for our next sheep hunt. The whole setup is only 42oz

My other tent is the Stone Glacier skyscraper 2P