What is best tent for 30 people in snow and rain?

[Big Silver]

A bit off track here, I started a Scout Troop last October and am building the Troop equipment inventory from scratch at this point. As a boy, my Troop 214 used GP small for leaders, and GP medium for snow trips to Mingus Mt., shelter half pup tents for the boys desert camping around Phoenix, and the SM barrowed a Duce and a Half and Water Buffalo from Nat Guard for transport. Can't swing that deal anymore... What is the better tent in your opinion for winter camping/shelter in storm (rain/snow) for a group of about 30? Temper Tent, GP Medium, 16x 32 frame tent ( rfab/afab?)? Opinions on vinyl vs canvas?
Thanks,
Big Silver

 

[Desolation]

This makes me feel old… As a Boy Scout Coughseveral Cough decades ago, we used a 20 foot square rain fly (heavy when wet) and had to pack our own tents... Rain, Snow, Sun, Wind, you were out in it, part of the reason for being there I suppose... Fall in at daybreak get that cooking fire going… In the mountains or desert, you packed it in and you packed it out. Times change.

Sorry, no real help but a bump!

 

[Mayne]

I remember snow camping in the Scouts in two man dome tents. That is what we did on a budget, do with what you had. You might contact Springbar, as they make good legacy equipment. They may have a product that works for your application, and they generally get good feedback. They cost more, and if weight is an issue, ie; hoofing it into camp, then it's back to the small dome tent. The cost is generally outstripped by the life of the Springbar product though.

Mayne

 

[SunTzuNephew]

Small, 2 or 4 person tents for the scouts to sleep in. If you really NEED a big tent (why?) I'd go with the vinyl over Canvas, the canvas has to be swept (both sides) to get the crap off it before it's stored. It also has to be dry. The vinyl? Roll and go.

 

[MDH33]

30 people camping in one spot isn't exactly teaching the scouts good Leave No Trace ethics. Why not split up into smaller groups and use 3-4 person tents. Much better weather protection in cold/wet weather.

 

[MotoDave]

Small, 2 or 4 person tents for the scouts to sleep in. If you really NEED a big tent (why?) I'd go with the vinyl over Canvas, the canvas has to be swept (both sides) to get the crap off it before it's stored. It also has to be dry. The vinyl? Roll and go.

This is what we did, we had a supply of 4 person dome tents from REI that held up well to careless boy scout abuse We always camped in our patrols of 8-16 people, and had our own cook boxes and cooked our own dinners. There was usually a central 'adult' campground with a more established cook area, and one or two dinners would be cooked for the whole troop there.

 

[Corey]

Thirty in one tent?
Better make sure it is well ventilated.
That is a lot of methane gas from franks & beans from after dinner to deal with.

I agree, when I was a Boy Scout back in the early 70s we had groups that big, but we had three man nylon tents.
Back then our backpacks were canvas and wood frame too

 

[SunTzuNephew]

Back then our backpacks were canvas and wood frame too

And all the trails were uphill....in the snow. :wings:

 

[sjk99]

The best is probably the kind that doesn't cost too much, zippers work, has a rain fly and the poles are unbroken.

Craigslist
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/search/spo?query=tent&catAbbreviation=spo&minAsk=min&maxAsk=max

bunch of 5-8 person tents for sub $100. Do some car washes to fund raise, a few of these and you're all set. Plus you can break up the group by patrol.

Do you have plans for backpacking trips in the future where you'd want to take troop tents along or is it mostly car camping?

 

[joebob]

And all the trails were uphill....in the snow. :wings:

And we LIKED it!

 

[SunTzuNephew]

And we LIKED it!

We sure did!

These young kids....back in my day, it was plastic tube tents (which, if careful attention to where you are setting up isn't given, will channel water right into your sleeping bag) and svea stoves...

Still have the stove.

 

[Dave Bennett]

A bit off track here, I started a Scout Troop last October and am building the Troop equipment inventory from scratch at this point. As a boy, my Troop 214 used GP small for leaders, and GP medium for snow trips to Mingus Mt., shelter half pup tents for the boys desert camping around Phoenix, and the SM barrowed a Duce and a Half and Water Buffalo from Nat Guard for transport. Can't swing that deal anymore... What is the better tent in your opinion for winter camping/shelter in storm (rain/snow) for a group of about 30? Temper Tent, GP Medium, 16x 32 frame tent ( rfab/afab?)? Opinions on vinyl vs canvas?
Thanks,
Big Silver

Hit a surplus joint for a newer condition GP medium. Good team building excercise just erecting one

 

[Big Silver]

Ok, some background explanation is required. As for leave no trace, I have a deal in place with a campground owner who shuts down for the winter. Large accessible parking lot is snow covered yearly. Large tent will not damage anything. I do teach and follow leave no trace. Dealing with Scouts you rarely have right sleeping bags, pads, or cloths for snow camping, especially with limited income families. This type of setup allowed my Troop as a boy to host another Troop along with ours for a weekend in the snow, safe and comfortable. Lots of work, yes. Lots of fun for the boys who never would have left Phoenix to play in the snow, priceless! Small tents, 2 man, and the like are ideal for getting into the back country. Most Troops are not well equipped enough to pull that off and car camping in the snow is a more realistic option. The GP medium we used when I was a boy held up well in a 10" snow storm on Mingus Mountain above Jerome Az but was very work intensive. After we got home we would set the tent up again to dry out before we could store it. I'm also looking for a safe haven in case of severe weather. Always have plan B, C, and D. From my perspective a good outdoor experience is a far more valuable teaching tool in the long run. One bad outdoor experience and you have lost the opportunity to teach stewardship of our backcountry resources.
Stepping down from my soap box now...
Really, all I am hoping to find out is how well the vinyl versions of the GP's holdup, and whether there is a better option than the GP's in a newer technology military surplus tent.

 

[The Swiss]

We are using 3 men tent in our troop and big canopy (or in the woods just tarps) to eat and meet in the dry if needed. Lot easier to transport than a big bulky tent. Also more versatile as the numbers from scouts that get to go on the trip fluctuates from about 3 to 20. But now keep in mind; we don't do too much snow camping here in NW Georgia :elkgrin:

 

[off.track]

30 in 1? teepee, yurt