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Frost River Campfire Tent (2 person)

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Appleton, Maine
I just spent 3 nights in my new Frost River 2 man Campfire Tent. Paddle in campsite, a few miles down a small lake here in Maine, camped on a island. Tent worked great, I made my own poles out of local ash but will be moving to lighter weight spruce. I used on site beaver chewed birch for the overhang.20240920_131745.jpg20240920_131814.jpg
 
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That is quite the setup! How bad does the canvas wet out in the rain? I have seen a couple videos where the campers put a separate synthetic tarp over the top, but that seems kinda overkill.
 
They are great tents. I purchased the 4 man size about 40 years ago and it is still functioning. Sheds water well with just the single cotton layer. The only drawbacks are the weight (mine is 35 pounds plus 10+ pounds of poles) and the difficulty of setup in areas with shallow soil for tent pegs and limited trees. Note the creative guy lines in Robin's photo. I never thought of making a set of poles. I will experiment with some aspen branches- which are all that I have here in the west. Are you planning on keeping a permanent spruce set Robin? Now that the kids, and many of the grandchildren are grown it would be nice to have the 2 man version. It is hard to believe that I used to portage that tent, along with my 65-72 pound canoes in the Adks and Maine. They were good times though.
 
How bad does the canvas wet out in the rain?
I think I’m supposed to wet it out and let it dry to make it waterproof. The weather forecast predicted dry conditions so I didn’t bother with the wet it out yet, although I did bring a CCS tarp. I read a review that the tent is watertight, no tarp needed.
Funny, spend a grand on a tent and get zero paperwork, no instructions, tips, or any other information. If it wasn’t for lowangle al I’d still be scratching my head trying to figure it out.

l. Is it destined to receive a stovepipe jack over the winter?
I’m not sure, I’m going grouse hunting in early October in the north Maine Woods, but that’s a drive in site, I’ll bring my wall tent/wood stove on that trip.
Frost River wants big bucks for the wood stove attachment with a stove Jack, I was pondering how to make my own this past trip, but then lowangle al says you can keep warm without the attachment, just open both wings and top and leave the stove out front. I won’t be doing any winter camping so Al’s idea might work for canoe in shoulder season camping.

Are you planning on keeping a permanent spruce set Robin?
Yes, I do plan on keeping the spruce poles permanently, I like the look over aluminum. There were some beautiful spruce right at the campsite but that’s a no no here, I could just see a forest ranger landing at my campsite as I’m lopping off the limbs…ouch. I know of some on private land for my supply.
My guy lines require a little more thought as this was all new to me.

This tent has a floor and front zippered screen, not like my wall tent which has no floor. While I prefer a cot, sleeping on my thermarest on the floor was fine. The best part was when I was taking down the tent, I found a big wolf spider on the outside of the bottom corner of the screen, probably looking for a warm body to crawl up next too.
 
Your guy line solution looked good to me. We had a really crazy setup while running the San Juan river one year. The campsite was primarily slick rock with no trees and little to no soil. Luckily there were a lot of boulders and big rocks around. We scavenged the end ropes from all of the canoes and had a maze of guy lines. It held during a thunderstorm. One of our favorite campsites in retrospect. A lot of good memories are associated with "big white" as the tent was nicknamed
 
Great looking tent. I've never used a canvas tent but I'm intrigued. As a single layer, do you have to avoid touching the canvas when its wet from the rain? For instance, what happens to a sleeping bag pressed up against the side of the tent in a downpour? If the walls get wet, does the edge of the floor wick water inward? I've always used double walled tents and the inner layer generally keeps the contents of the tent away from the fly, or at least is supposed to. Perhaps I would just need to size-up my canvas accommodations accordingly.
 
...but then lowangle al says you can keep warm without the attachment, just open both wings and top and leave the stove out front. I won’t be doing any winter camping so Al’s idea might work for canoe in shoulder season camping.
Or double up the sleeping bags (lighter bag inside of a heavier bag) like when you're cold camping. Extra bag is lighter than the wood stove but I'm sure the wood stove is nicer on a chilly morning.
 
Great looking tent. I've never used a canvas tent but I'm intrigued. As a single layer, do you have to avoid touching the canvas when its wet from the rain? For instance, what happens to a sleeping bag pressed up against the side of the tent in a downpour?

All the reviews and videos I have seen say the interior of the tent stays dry. While Frost River says it’s water resistant, they never say water proof.
“wet it down and let it completely dry to season the fabric and seams. It will be much more water-resistant once its been soaked and dried”
Pressing against the canvas should not allow water to enter as in the older tents.
 
Or double up the sleeping bags (lighter bag inside of a heavier bag) like when you're cold camping. Extra bag is lighter than the wood stove but I'm sure the wood stove is nicer on a chilly morning.
The beauty of the campfire tent is that you can hang out in it while you are awake, and this is the when you are warmed by the stove. Most people don't keep the stove going after they turn in for the night. If anything I'm more likely to leave my heavier coat home when I have the tent and stove.
 
This Campfire tent looks like an enlarged Baker Tent which is very intriguing. Really nice set up Robin. Looks cozy as ever.
 
Looks like a miniature Baker Tent. I have used them for years. Bill M would be proud.
Great set up Robin. I am surprised you gave up on your small wall tent.
 
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