Quote:
Originally Posted by PwhyTwhy
I am in the market for a flip tent I believe. It will primarily be myself and infrequently a friend or my six year old son. So I think a flip is best for my needs. Enough of my friends have the big pop ups so I can always get into one of those if enough friends are going.
At what point is a 2 man flip up tent too heavy? Is an 80lb empty flip tent setup heavy? I am a young half-fit person. I dont mind a bit of work but I dont want to be training for a biathlon either. Are there any 2 man tents liggter then 80 lbs in the flip style?
|
If you can drive to the lake and then just have to walk across packed snow or ice to get to your spot you can pull a fair bit of weight.
If there is deeper snow, drifts, hills etc on the walk to lake then that is when weight becomes a serious downside.
The same goes for just choosing a sled too. The Otter sleds are awesome but heavy. Great if you are going to tow them behind a quad/snowmobile but by hand they can be a bear. Much more difficult to pull then a light calf sled.
In short choosing the right tent or sled and determining weights all depends on the conditions a person fishes in most often and their physical abilities.
80 lbs tent/sled plus power auger, tackle, heater, propane, camera or flasher etc adds up quickly. On ice or hard pack your fine especially for shorter distances. Deeper snow, any significant trails or distance you are going to get a workout and then some.
The thing with the flip tents is you don't want to necessarily go the cheap lighter weight way either. The ones with better quality sled and seats and more durable material are heavier but more comfortable and will last longer.
There is no good tent for every situation. That is why I used a 1 man flip, 3 man, 6 man or 6120i tents and different sleds depending on the situation.
Just for comparison if you are always walking on you can get a 3 man popup uninsulated (~20-25 lbs), 2 light comfortable camp chairs (~5 lbs each) and a middle size lighter style sled (~10-15 lbs) and total is around 50 lbs vs the 70+ for most good flip tents.