Cabela's "Alaskan Guide" Tent...

[TreeDoc]

Anybody have ANY experience with it. I'm considering a purchase and would like to know of some personal observations. I'm thinking along the lines of a 6 man to serve maybe three hunters and gear.

Cabela's "Alaskan Guide Model" Tent Link

[Tater]

Never heard a bad word about it. I've been eyeballin' it myself for a while. I think I may get come September.

[TreeDoc]

That's what I'm hearing so far. I've done a few Google searches and come across reviews as far back as a few years ago and they are all very positive. I think I'm gonna get it now so I can have all the potential bugs out of it before my Draw hunt comes up in October. We are going to an area in the Eastern Sierra where the weather can be very unpredictable at times and I've decided that my buddies Kelty tent is just to flimsy and we've been very lucky that we haven't been caught up in it. Wind is bad enough for it.

Another regular that hunts this area told us a story about having several days of warm sunny weather and then one day it clouded up in a matter of a couple hours, before he knew it, it was actually snowing pretty hard. He made it back to camp in time to grab some of his stuff and make it up a 4wd hill using the winch on his old Bronco. It was nearly 3 weeks before he was able to get back in to take his small travel trailer and Honda 90 out! I wanna be prepared for that kind of weather!

[Larry in Bend]

If you buy this tent be sure and get the metal poles. Wind totally destroyed an 8 man that I was in in AK one night (it had the springy glass poles). You can't tie down this tent tight enough to keep it from wrecking itself in a high wind. If I were going into unpredictable country weather/wise by vehicle I'd definitely get a canvas wall tent and a wood burning heating stove - not a nylon tent.

[Chimmer]

I have this tent!! I suggest getting it with the alum. poles- It makes for a much tighter and stronger set up. Also, the vestubule (sp) is a great thing as well.
The only thing that has failed on this tent is the zippers. After about 3 seasons of heavy use, I had to replace all zippers on the tent, rainfly, and vestubule. Other than that its been and still is a great tent with all kinds of room and, it doesn't take as much to set up as a canvas tent.

I use a Mr. Heater when I'm in late hunting season and it stays nice and toasty.

Hope this helps,
Chimmer.

[GoodOlBoy]

Most that I have talked to have given it good ratings, myself I keep looking at the old style canvass tents with the build in hole fer the wood burning stoves smoke stack.

GoodOlBoy

[270man]

Chimmer,

I've experimented with a few different tents for my hunting camps and haven't found the perfect one yet. I'm interested in your comment about a "Mr. Heater" for warming your tent in late season. Tell us something about this. I'm about to embark on a December elk hunt and will be using an old 9x12 Coleman nylon wall tent and gas (Coleman fuel) catalytic heater. Neither one is made anymore. A friend of mine heats his tent with a radiant propane heater. Safety is the biggest concern for me.

270man

[Chimmer]

270man,

The "Mr. Heater" is put out by Colman I believe. Its a propane heater that has a Oxygen sensor in it. If the air gets to thin in tent or room etc... it will shut off. It burns propane, and I recomend getting the longest hose you can, I think mine is some 12ft or so. This allows you to put the propane tank outside.

They don't really recomend you leave it on all night, but I have at times. As long as you can open a window for some fresh air. You will probably want to anyway cause this heater throws out some heat.

Paulin also makes this heater, but by a different name.

I'll be using mine this weekend at my late elk camp.

Hope this helps.

Chimmer

[TreeDoc]

Just to clarify...

The Mr. Heater is not a Coleman product. Coleman makes the "Black Cat" catalytic heaters in a couple different sizes. I have a smaller one and it works for very small spaces but you need to be in front of it. I also use the Mr. Heater which comes in various sizes and accomadates various sized propane containers. I have the small one that is approved for indoor use and runs on a 1 lb propane bottle. I bought a high pressure hose for it and run it of a pancake shaped 4# propane cylinder in my small trailer. It is designed, as chimmer said, to shut off if knocked over or if the oxygen sensor is deprived. I believe it requires a minimum 6x6 opening for ventilation. It gets nice and hot when using it. I also have the bigger Mr Heater which mounts on a big cylinder. That kicks out serious "patio" heat and you can even cook on it if you lay it down. It CANNOT be run in a confined area.

Mr Heater

Similar to my larger Mr. Heater

[M.T. Pockets]

TreeDoc, have you gotten a tent yet ? Sorry I didn't post earlier. I've had this tent since '95 and love it. I got the 8 man version for family camping and it works great. I have the fiberglass poles, I'm sure the aluminum ones are better but don't stay home just because you have fiberglass poles, if these poles can't handle the conditions it's time to get to the vehicle anyway.

For 3 people I'd suggest the 8 man. I spent a week in Alaska a couple years ago hunting caribou near the Mulchatna. Not a tree in sight and it blew like crazy for a week. The outfitter provided the tent - A Cabela's Alaskan Guide Model. I pitched it in the willows and it stood up fine. The outfitter had a shed full of them. It was a 6 man and it did get a bit crowded with 3 men & gear. The vestibule is a must for storage & cooking.

I go out of my way to take care of my tent, keeping it clean & storing it dry. I use a plastic liner underneath and another smaller one inside the tent.

This tent has been out for over 10 years and has stood up well. No tent is perfect, but this one serves it's purpose well at a reasonable price.

[TreeDoc]

Thanks for the heads-up. No, I haven't bought one yet but I think I still might. I was planning a Deer Hunting trip back when I originally posted this query but than the season dates for Duck Hunting were established and they overlapped. Duck hunting the opener took presidence this year because I bought into a new club and wanted to be there for the first fiasco of the season.

Not sure what I'm doing for Deer hunting next year. I'm seriously thinking about throwing in the towel on it all together. I have put way too much effort and serious amounts of dollars towards it and have had no payoff in years. The only reason I'm doing it is just to shoot the damn guns that I have so much invested in, that's about the only enjoyment I get from it but I don't need to hunt to do that! We'll see what happens...there may be a big sale on rifles and handguns soon!

[hofts]

i have the 8 man tent w/fiberglass poles and it has been a great tent. been in a few nasty thunderstorms and held up great.
aluminum poles are lighter and stronger, but i have no complaints about the fiberglass.

[Unregistered]

I too researched this tent, great site for great reviews - outdoorsdirectory.com I was a bit suprised to read the not so good reviews....

[TreeDoc]

Well, I have read a few reviews and found them all to be good, positive reviews in addition to what I have heard from others that own the tent. Ironic that this thread should come back up as I am waiting on delivery of a 4 man version as I speak. A guy on another forum had the 4 man for sale, only used 4 or 5 times in a few years with the Deluxe Vestibule, footprint protector,a nd aluminum Easton poles, for only $250! It's like brand new. I initially wanted a 6 man but only because I was looking for a little extra room but with this huge vestibule on the 4 man I should be good to go.

I'll post up when I get it and set it up. I'll be using it pretty soon too.

EDIT:
I went to that site just now for the reviews and I would take the poor reviews with a grain of salt as one of them said. I personally received reviews from owners of these tents and they essentially were all very happy with the performance of these tents but the common bond was that they need the aluminum poles in those heavy conditions....doesn't surprise me one bit. The other common bond was that the naysayers had never used one of these tents so take that into consideration.