crazy tent idea

[270man]

Fellow camping hunters (or hunting campers),

We've had lots of posts on tents for hunting camps over the past few years. I've owned a number of different types myself, but am still looking for the "perfect" tent. Requirements include being rugged, water repellant, roomy, fairly vertical walls, not too heavy or bulky, not too difficult to erect, etc.

I've had the privilege of staying in a couple of different canvas outfitters tents in bitter cold weather. With the sheepherder stove going, I could relax in toasty warmth in my T-shirt. One was 10'x12' and the other a bit bigger at 12'x14'. After helping erect and strike both tents, I realized that they were both too big and bulky for my taste.

A lot of the strength in these tents was provided by the sturdy metal poles and heavy-duty couplings. They have to be strong to hold up the heavy canvas, which is draped over the entire frame.

Now here's the crazy idea. Why couldn't nylon be used for the tent material and the tent suspended from the external frame via hooks or ties sewed into the tent seams? The tent itself would be lighter and additional weight could be saved by going to smaller diameter poles. Like the canvas outfitter tents, this nylon version would be floorless and have the option for a sheepherder stove.

Anyone every seen something like this or made one from scratch?

270man