Denali tent recommendations

Creator

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May 23, 2022 at 8:34 am #67510

Steve
Participant

Hello everyone!

Not sure this is an ok place for this but gonna ask because I know the knowledge is here:
One of my goals is to head to Denali in the next couple years. I am heading to Rainier in July.
My question for the folks that have been to Denali – what tent did you use?

I am trying to get a tent before I head to Rainer to use it for practice and training.

I know it’s overkill for Rainier in summer but I am more interested in the training component.

Happy to take the convo offline my email is olesensa@gmail.com if that is better.
You can also find me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/olesensa to chat. 🙂

Cheers,
Steve
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Posted In: PRIVATE Mountaineering Training Group

Moderator

MarkPostle on May 23, 2022 at 8:59 pm #67549

Steve, Depending on the number in your party I would consider the MHW trango tents or the Hilleberg Keron or Keron GT. For a west buttress climb, if I am not bringing a separate kitchen tent, I typically bring a tent that is rated one bigger than the number in the party unless you want to be super cozy. Happy to discuss further.

Participant

Steve on May 24, 2022 at 5:57 am #67551

Thanks Mark. That was the initial thinking. Bring a 3P tent for 2 people so there is some room for gear, etc. I have been looking at the Trango3. Also looked at the Hilleberg Nammatj 3 GT, the BD Mission and the Marmot Thor. All in the 3 person versions. I think they are all double wall construction (thoughts on using single?) and come in around 8-10 lbs. This would be a West Buttress climb – I have more skills building before trying any other route I think 🙂 Some of the key points I have been comparing are the overall surface area, number of doors, vestibules and size along with pole construction / materials. Seems like they all are using DAC Featherlite NSL for the poles. Steve

Participant

Victor Grijalva on May 24, 2022 at 7:56 am #67559

Steve,

I climbed Denali on a guided expedition and we used the North Face VE 25 tent (see attached picture), it is a 3 man tent we used for 2 people and that worked out great because we really needed the extra storage. It is also a double walled tent which I think you would need for Denali. It was very easy to set up, had great interior pockets and did a great job in some pretty harsh conditions.

I have also used the MH trango and it is an excellent tent, they are pretty similar.

I have an Eddie Bauer Katabatic 3 tent (double walled 3 person, 4 season tent) which is an excellent tent that I no longer need. It was given to me new two years ago and I used it once, not much use for it here in Texas. Here is a link to the tent : https://www.eddiebauer.com/p/82300158/katabatic-3-tent?sp=1&rrec=true Check out the video

I saw this tent used on Denali. If you are interested in this tent please email me at victor@altion.net. I can probably save you a good bit of money if the tent will fit your needs.

Victor

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Participant

Steve on May 24, 2022 at 8:23 am #67562

Thanks Victor. Love to hear more about your Denali trip. Thanks for the feedback on the tent options. I saw the VE25 pop up in some of my searches. A few comments about condensation inside the tent – any issues that you recall with that?
I will check out the EB tent you shared, always looking to save a few $$$ if I can while meeting the requirements for the trips.
Separate note, I spent a few years in Chicago and regularly spend one or two weeks a month there for work, so I feel your pain on finding elevation for training.

Steve

Participant

Victor Grijalva on May 24, 2022 at 11:05 am #67570

I do recall we had some condensation but not to the point that it was a problem. I attributed it to the weather on Denali, it was very cold at nights so I think it would be hard to avoid all condensation. The tent did have multiple ventilation flaps. Do other tents vent better, maybe, I don’t know.

Denali was a great experience, I highly recommend it!

Victor

Moderator

MarkPostle on May 24, 2022 at 11:12 am #67571

Sounds like youre on the right track. For a WB trip I would probably avoid any of the single wall options (although they’re tempting with weight :)) the condensation and lack of robustness in the wind just isn’t worth the weight savings for that kind of trip in my opinion. The Hilleberg is definitely the most spacious for the weight and the GT versions are amazing to cook in with the size and shape of the vestibule, have used those up there for several trips and all in all I am a pretty big fan. The downside is they don’t do as well in the wind especially when it’s shifting and hitting the tent from the side so good walls and camp building skills are key higher on the mountain if it’s super nasty out. Basically, all the other options are slight variations on the same thing and you’d be fine with any of them, ve 25, MHW trango, Marmot Thor etc. I think the MHW feels slightly roomier with the angle of the side walls being slightly steeper and the ventilation is a bit better with the clip system instead of sleeves but these are mostly nuances and definitely won’t make or break a trip.

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