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Anyone ever use a canvas tent while canoeing? I like them for winter camping, but I'm thinking it might be a pain for canoe trips because of weight, moisture etc.
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Thanks. Anyone use one for an extended trip (weeks)?
My school club still uses the big 12 x 14 prospector canvas tents for trips up to two weeks long. They are indestructible, which is good when dealing with lots of kids. No zippers to break. They are quite heavy, but considering that you can fit a dozen kids in them, the weight is not that bad. Some pics in this report
http://www.canoetripping.net/forums/showthread.php?559-Onaman-Lake-to-Longlac
http://www.canoetripping.net/forums/showthread.php?559-Onaman-Lake-to-Longlac
Funny. I immediately thought of Robin too (I think it was him.) But I was thinking about his week long hunting trip setup at Low's. Guess he'll chime in eventually.
I used my cut down canvas tent for a week last year in the ADK's, sort of a 12 mile paddle in base camp to deer hunt on Low's. I also used it this spring for 5 days just after ice out in Maine (Flagstaff lake)
Mine was originally a 8x10 with a 6'6" ridge with an interior frame set up that weighed a ton ( the tent, frame and stove all where heavy)
I cut it down to 7' wide to 6" deep with a 5'6" approx ridge line, built a lighter interior frame which sets up in minutes, and cut my wood stove down from 12x12x24 to 12x12x12 with a smaller pipe which stores inside the stove. My tarp from canoe camping fits perfectly over the canvas tent roof and it stays very dry. The tent has never been water proofed. I can carry stove and tent with angle kit for the frame in a #3 Duluth Pack. The frame poles made of hardwood dowels fits in an old tent bag I had laying around.
I brought a cot, a chair and extra food (eggs, bacon, steaks) so my outfit got heavy, but I could go with just the tent and stove with a wannigan to sit on after the bug season.
No floor in my tent and mice can be a pain, especially if you don't bring a cot.
I tried winter solo camping in it, it got dark so early I got bored sitting in the tent by myself in the long nights. I was able to pull my whole outfit on a wooden toboggan though.
When I tie those guy lines down, the frame becomes very sturdy and stable in wind and snow. Where I camp, NY and Maine, there is no cutting live trees and finding suitable down wood is time consuming so the frame is worth the extra effort.
No a high portage route solo outfit, but good with a big canoe and few portages.
I would say there is enough room for two without cots comfortably, 3 folks could fit too.
The last picture shows some leakage in the roof, my old tarp has some sew in tie downs that needed fresh waterproofing.
Mine was originally a 8x10 with a 6'6" ridge with an interior frame set up that weighed a ton ( the tent, frame and stove all where heavy)
I cut it down to 7' wide to 6" deep with a 5'6" approx ridge line, built a lighter interior frame which sets up in minutes, and cut my wood stove down from 12x12x24 to 12x12x12 with a smaller pipe which stores inside the stove. My tarp from canoe camping fits perfectly over the canvas tent roof and it stays very dry. The tent has never been water proofed. I can carry stove and tent with angle kit for the frame in a #3 Duluth Pack. The frame poles made of hardwood dowels fits in an old tent bag I had laying around.
I brought a cot, a chair and extra food (eggs, bacon, steaks) so my outfit got heavy, but I could go with just the tent and stove with a wannigan to sit on after the bug season.
No floor in my tent and mice can be a pain, especially if you don't bring a cot.
I tried winter solo camping in it, it got dark so early I got bored sitting in the tent by myself in the long nights. I was able to pull my whole outfit on a wooden toboggan though.
When I tie those guy lines down, the frame becomes very sturdy and stable in wind and snow. Where I camp, NY and Maine, there is no cutting live trees and finding suitable down wood is time consuming so the frame is worth the extra effort.
No a high portage route solo outfit, but good with a big canoe and few portages.
I would say there is enough room for two without cots comfortably, 3 folks could fit too.
The last picture shows some leakage in the roof, my old tarp has some sew in tie downs that needed fresh waterproofing.
I like how you hung all your stuff off the lateral supports (last pic)... very homey-looking!
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If someone else would carry it, I would sleep in it... because it looks pretty cozy for this time of year 
I bet my wife would go winter camping with one of those... hmmm... maybe a pulk, a canvas tent and a stove are in my future.
I bet my wife would go winter camping with one of those... hmmm... maybe a pulk, a canvas tent and a stove are in my future.
I would like to see one packed up to see what a typical canvas tent packs down into. And not that monster one from GDHS.
I can see late season trips into the fall and having multi night trips of it being very practical. But for a multi portage per day, multi day trip I just couldn't see justifying carrying the weight when other creature comforts would be better to take up the space and weight....like lawn chairs and beer.
I can see late season trips into the fall and having multi night trips of it being very practical. But for a multi portage per day, multi day trip I just couldn't see justifying carrying the weight when other creature comforts would be better to take up the space and weight....like lawn chairs and beer.
My canvas tent is way too big for me to solo.. Its for camping in the winter with another. Mine is a Snowtrekker. I got it used , gently, on E bay for less than half of new. And Snowtrekker rents them. As they might be in your area Red, that is something looking into if you are interested.
My tent which is the EXP shortwall 3 person packs into a duffle the size of my ten year olds hockey bag.
http://www.snowtrekkertents.com/
The weight is for sure more than I want to portage solo but its not that much heavier than my cold tent for four seasons three people. I guess for me the issue is not the weight of the tent but that my stove is too big.
My tent which is the EXP shortwall 3 person packs into a duffle the size of my ten year olds hockey bag.
http://www.snowtrekkertents.com/
The weight is for sure more than I want to portage solo but its not that much heavier than my cold tent for four seasons three people. I guess for me the issue is not the weight of the tent but that my stove is too big.
Snowtrekker in my area? Is this new?
Just taking a wild guess though NW Ontario is a big place. If you are in Thunder Bay perhaps rental is not such a big reach.
http://www.snowtrekkertents.com/rentals.html
http://www.snowtrekkertents.com/rentals.html
I would like to see one packed up to see what a typical canvas tent packs down into. And not that monster one from GDHS.
I can see late season trips into the fall and having multi night trips of it being very practical. But for a multi portage per day, multi day trip I just couldn't see justifying carrying the weight when other creature comforts would be better to take up the space and weight....like lawn chairs and beer.
I agree with the multi portage problem, just too bulky to move in and out of the canoe too many times. The stove in mine, like YC's is too big still for "shoulder" season camping or carrying very far even after I cut it in half. It heats the tent up fast and hot, might be fine for cold weather, but when the temps are in the 20'/30's it gets too hot inside the tent. I sleep cold with no heat, so a smaller stove is next.
I tend to carry too much stuff in the food box, it's nice to eat well I guess, but it's a bear to move.
Lawn chairs and beer really fit well on a canvas tent campsite.
I have a 10 x 12 prospector style tent, made from egyptian cloth, or sail cloth, whatever they call it. Extremely light and rolls up quite small. Wouldn't be a problem packing along. Too much set up for a normal canoe trip for a lazy guy like me though. My buddy got a Snowrtrekker last year, he's bringing it moose hunting, depending on how many people come along, I might bring the sailcloth one.
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