Lesson on 3-season tents

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wineguy
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Lesson on 3-season tents

Post by wineguy »

I've never owned a 4-season tent, but assume that they would be sturdier in the wind, and less ventilated so better at retaining heat. After my experience at the trailhead for Arc Dome in Nevada on May 15, I understand that another advantage may be structural strength in the snow. The photo shows my lightweight 3-person Big Agnes tent starting to sag, and after about 3 inches of heavy wet snow it collapsed (fortunately I was reading in my vehicle). I thought that a pole had broken so was relieved to find out that the skeleton had collapsed without breaking. To paraphrase Clint Eastwood: "A man's got to know his tent's limitations."
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pvnisher
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Re: Lesson on 3-season tents

Post by pvnisher »

Three inches of heavy wet snow is a tough test for any 3 season tent.
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SkaredShtles
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Re: Lesson on 3-season tents

Post by SkaredShtles »

Yeah - in general, "lightweight" 3-season tents mean you'd better not ever subject it to *any* snow load. They're lightweight because they're built fairly flimsily. NTTAWWT.

For the record - you can still find sturdy 3-season tents, but they are (necessarily) going to be heavier.
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Conor
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Re: Lesson on 3-season tents

Post by Conor »

My shoulder mountaineering tent is a hilleberg nallo 3. Probably around 4.5 lbs at the lightest configuration I have so far (I haven't done the Tom Pierce trick of cutting the tags off yet). A true 4 season tent backed by a reputable tent maker.

You're looking at a pound at most difference between the nallo and whatever big agnes tent you are using. I would also say a well designed tent is properly ventilated to strike the condensation/heat retention balance.
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Dave B
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Re: Lesson on 3-season tents

Post by Dave B »

Conor wrote: Thu May 20, 2021 8:41 pm ...lightest configuration I have so far (I haven't done the Tom Pierce trick of cutting the tags off yet)...
Holding your breath while packing your tent saves countless milligrams in potential condensation.
Make wilderness less accessible.
TomPierce
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Re: Lesson on 3-season tents

Post by TomPierce »

Dave B wrote: Thu May 20, 2021 9:10 pm
Conor wrote: Thu May 20, 2021 8:41 pm ...lightest configuration I have so far (I haven't done the Tom Pierce trick of cutting the tags off yet)...
Holding your breath while packing your tent saves countless milligrams in potential condensation.
And wear latex gloves when you pack it to avoid leaving oil residue from your fingertips. :lol:
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WanderingJim
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Re: Lesson on 3-season tents

Post by WanderingJim »

wineguy wrote: Thu May 20, 2021 7:05 amI thought that a pole had broken so was relieved to find out that the skeleton had collapsed without breaking.
Yeah, my Big Agnes collapsed during an overnight wind storm at Trail Camp after coming down from MT Whitney.

While some of the loops holding down the rainfly did break (I used rocks to hold it down for the rest of the night), the poles hadn't broken, just pulled apart and collapsed the tent.

Not sure, but that may be how they are designed to avoid breaking. Of course, they did give you an emergency split, so not indestructible.

I did do my first winter backpacking trek using my 3 season BA tent and had problems with it (it was very cold and did break one of the poles when packing it up (either it was more brittle due to the cold or I was clumsy folding it up... or both).

Got a 4 season after that. Mountain Hardwear Direkt. Very sturdy, but does get a lot of frost forming on the inside walls from my breath freezing overnight. Although it might have been overkill for the short winter backpacking trips I have taken.
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