Denali tents, 3p or 4p? (for 3 people)

[jesselillis]

Polling the masses.

 

Climbing Denali with 2 others (West Rib Cutoff)

 

For shelter, bringing

-2 bivy sacks for emergencies

-1 Megalight and floor for kitchen/backup shelter if our group divides

-1 4season, 3person OR 4person tent.

 

4person. Pro: Bigger, Less hating each other while storm/tent bound. Con: heavy.

 

3person: Pro: better for a party of two if one stays in the Megalight at 14000. Lighter. Con: less space, more frustration when tent bound.

 

Which would you bring?

 

I also don't see many 4person 4season tents on standard online retail sites. Make/model recommendations appreciated.

[John Frieh]

Bibler Bombshelter is 4 season 4 person and very light for a true 4 person tent. Downside is you likely dont want to spend that kind of $$$ for a tent you likely wont use that much.

 

I'd be willing to bet no one is going to want to sleep in the mid at 14 especially during a storm. What you'll likely do is throw all your extra kit in either the mid or the vestibule assuming the tent you select has a larger sized one and put everyone in the tent. So... if you go with a three person make sure it has a roomy vestibule.

 

Another option is take two 2-person tents. A Bibler I tent and an Eldorado weigh about the same or slightly heavier than most 3 person 4 season tents on the market. Down side is slightly more set up/tear down time.

 

 

 

[ivan]

all 4 big, hairy, nasty guys, or svelte, lillac-scented vixens?

 

i saw a team of 3 crammed into a technically 3 person tent completly explode in a hate-fuck scream-session at 11k - the fact they were all camped on top of each other seemed to be a contributing factor

[BGardner]

4 person.

 

You'll spend a lot of time in your tent. Three people plus all the gear is a lot of crap. It won't cost you more then a 1/2 pound per person to bring the bigger tent and will be well worth it.

 

I'd say the standard tent is the Mountain Hardwear Trango. Heavy but decent size and a very proven design.

 

If you can afford it I'd highly recommend Hilleberg tents. I used the http://www.hilleberg.com/home/products/keron/keron4gt.php on two West Buttress trips last year.

 

Really nice tent, a real 4 person with a huge vestibule, and really not that heavy. Extremely storm worthy too.

 

 

[yasso1am]

+1 to what BGardner said.

 

[ScaredSilly]

While having more room a 4 person tent will rarely be used in most cases and probably just sit around afterwards.

 

Another option is take two 2-person tents. A Bibler I tent and an Eldorado weigh about the same or slightly heavier than most 3 person 4 season tents on the market. Down side is slightly more set up/tear down time.

 

This! Except get the vestibules for both. If a shit storm hits and one tent is trashed all three go into one. Once you get to 14k leave a stash and the vestibules to save some weight. Whomever is going single gets to cook (i.e. no cook tent or bivy sacs).

 

If the party splits then no worries. We did something similar when we did the Cassin and while folks said putting two Biblers on Cassin Ledge would be hard we did it in style.

 

PS I have a Bibler I tent that I am willing to part with. It is one of the last ones made with two doors. Which is great when using the vestibule (which it would come with plus the ground cloth for when camping in the dirt/rocks).

 

[wfinley]

3 person. The Hilleberg 3 person Nammatj is huge (the 2 person Nammatj would be more than adequate for a 3 people for a few days). The giganotosaurus vestibule is nice but it's too much area to deal with (in terms of shoveling) in extended storms. Likewise if you're doing the Rib cutoff the 17 highcamp isn't that big and is very exposed. The smaller the better for that camp.

 

Everyone and their mother carries too much stuff on the West Butt so if you're stuck at 11 or 14 for days just walk around and make friends with people who have megamids. Much better than carrying and shoveling out spots for your own tent.

 

[jesselillis]

Thanks all for your insights.

I'm still not sure what we'll do, but we'll definitely be considering the points you've raised.