Whether you’re hunting, camping, or surviving nothing beats a good wall tent. They’ve been around a long time and if you have a need to spend time outdoors they’re pretty tough to beat, especially when you add a stove.
Elk Mountain Tents have created a traditional style wall tent with some very innovative features while solving some of the issues that plague traditional canvas tents.
Traditional wall tents are heavy due to the weight of the material and the traditional treated cotton or canvas is susceptible to dry rot, staining, and mold.
The Elk Mountain Tent material looks and feels very similar to traditional canvas but is actually an 11oz poly blend of some sort. It is lighter in weight but substantially stronger (roughly twice the tear strength of traditional cotton/canvas). If you compared a traditional canvas tent with an Elk Mountain Tent (EMT) of similar size the Elk Mountain Tent would be substantially lighter. Being lighter makes it easier to move from storage to campsite and it also makes it easier to set up. Your horse will thank you.
The poly canvas material is nearly impervious to moisture, dry rot, and mold. I spent 4 days and 4 nights in the EMT while it rained and snowed the entire time. The weather didn’t break to take down camp and so the tent got folded up and put away wet. I didn’t pull it out for almost 3 months and the material was unaffected. Don’t try this with a traditional canvas tent. The material also seems less susceptible to staining from dirt.
If you were to feel the material with your fingers it still feels like canvas. The poly cloth breathes and is quiet. It’s not like a big box store poly tent at all. Elk Mountain Tents will send you a material sample if you want to see and feel before buying.
My personal Elk Mountain Tent is the one pictured and is the 13×20 foot model with a screen in the front door. I set it up the first time ever in the dark on the mountain at about 10:30 pm and it probably took me a little over 40 minutes. Most of that time is spent putting the angle kit and frame together. Once it’s together, the tent drops right on the frame and you stake it down.
It comes with the angle kit which allows you to cut your own electrical conduit and save some money. The angles come with thumb screws for locking it together. There’s also an option to purchase the frame (connecting pipe) from Elk Mountain, which is what I did. Now that I’ve put it together a few times I’m sure I can do it in less than 30 minutes.
If you were to haul the tent into the backcountry you could certainly use a traditional lodgepole setup or there are huge D rings in the eaves that would allow you to suspend the tent between two trees. Speaking of hauling, the 13×20 I have weighs about 70lbs.
The tent comes ready for the weather (no seam sealing or waterproofing required). I’ve tested it out in rain and snow and the tent had no issues with leaking or condensation, even with 7 people staying in it and drying out their wet gear each day. A good stove helps.
As far as size goes, we fit one bunk bed cot and 4 traditional cots inside the tent and still had plenty of room for tables, stove, and chairs.
Some of the more innovative features include D Rings all over the tent, corners that velcro and tie together so that in the event of a hurricane or crazy snow load the tent won’t tear, a vent system in the eaves that you open and close with an ingenious mechanical pulley system (see video), overhang on the roof, adjustable tie-outs, screened windows, stove/pipe jack with a flapper cover, and more. It’s a very well thought out tent.
Specs
- 4 Screened Windows for the (13 x 13), 6 Screened Windows for the (13 x 16 & 13 x 20)
- 15 Piece Angle Kit – 3 truss for the (13 x 13) 20 Piece Angle Kit – 4 truss for the (13 x 16 & 13 x 2)) – This allows you to build your own complete frame out of 3/4″ EMT conduit
- Wire Support System
- Waterproof
- 5ft sidewalls
- Zippered Front and Back Door
- Zippered Front Screen Door
- Ridge Openings
- Uncut Fiberglass Stove Pipe Jack w/ Cover (can cut 4″,5″, or 6″ opening)
- Reinforced at all corners, ridges and pole locations – corners velcro and tie so you never have to worry about them ripping out
- Eave Ropes and Tensioners
- Tent Bag and Angle Kit Bag
- 13 x 13 comes with storm buckles on front and back door
- Eight (13 x 13 ) Ten ( 13 x 16, & 13 x 20) 18″ Steel Tent Stakes
- Instructions for purchasing and cutting conduit for your frame included
- 13×20 – $1045
- 13×16 – $945
- 13×13 – $845
As you can see in the above video you can open and close the vents by just pulling the rope, which is fantastic as it’s quite high and would be hard to reach otherwise.
I love my Elk Mountain Tent and will likely buy another smaller one for those time I don’t need a huge one. I expect it to last me my entire lifetime and if for some reason it doesn’t, I’m confident after talking to the folks at Elk Mountain Tents that they will stand behind any issues that might arise.
I’m certain after having shopped for wall tents that you can’t beat the weight, features, strength, and price of an Elk Mountain Wall Tent.
For more information about the canvas tents sold by Elk Mountain Tents, be sure to check out their website.
Very useful info in this article. In fact, “GunsAmerica” is a terrific email product. Thanks !
Need some prices and weigths.
Gary….go back through the article and look for “SPECS” – – – -there you’ll find the sizes of tents and the price. There is no weight listed for the tents.