Stormproof Shelters

Stormproof Shelters

While at Icelandic Jamboree in 2024, we encountered hurricane level winds.  This is apparently a normal feature of Icelandic weather.  We quickly discovered that many of our lightweight tents were NOT designed for high winds.  High winds flattened several tents at the jamboree and broke several poles.

We borrowed Norwegian tents designed for high winds and did well for the rest of the Jamboree.

We also noticed that tunnel tents were more popular in Europe and did well in high winds compared to dome tents. 

In the Pacific Northwest, we generally don't see heavy winds, except in the mountains (where different tents are warranted).  We might see them by large lakes or on the coast.  In other parts of the world, like Iceland and Ireland, high winds are common.  In Iran and Afghanistan, they have a Wind Season (باد صد و بیست روزه, "one hundred and twenty days wind") from May until late September.

Recommendation

• Avoid camping in high wind conditions

• If going to a high wind area, rent appropriate tents

Stormproof Tent Design

Tents designed for high winds had a few special features that included:

• Many tents use a tunnel design relying on tent stakes for structure

  • Design allows for large interior

  • Tube shape is strong and deflects wind better than tents with floppy sides

  • These are much more aerodynamic than traditional Dome Tents

  • Most of the economy tunnel tents we saw in Iceland seemed to do well in the heavy winds

• Loop poles were used on the rainfly, and NOT on the inner tent

  • This provided more structure to the outside layer of the tent

  • The tent can be erected without soaking the inner layer

• Some storm resistant tents came with a steel center pole

  • This makes the tent very ridged

• Guylines, guylines, guylines

  • All tents designed for high winds had many guylines to anchor the tent and helped make the sides of the tent taunt

• Non Freestanding

  • All these tents MUST be staked down, otherwise they will collapse

  • This is probably why they are not popular in the US

Resources

• Tents in Strong Wind: What You Need to Know 

• Tents in Strong Wind: Terrain and How to Choose the Best Pitch 

• How to Secure Your Tent for Strong Winds and Storms 

Example Tents

Tunnel Tents

• Tunnel Tents are very popular in Europe

  • Require staking down of all sides

  • Guylines must be used for high winds

  • Great at withstanding high winds, heavy rain and snow

  • Fabric can be heavy duty and designed for harsh weather or light duty for ligther weight

    • Choose tent wisely

• Hilleberg Tents 

  • Swedish Company (made in Estonia)

  • Black Label Tents - Excellent Expedition Tents

  • Red Label Tents - "Lightweight" all season Tents

    • Hilleberg Akto solo tent

  • Yellow Label Tents - 3-Season AND in "protected terrain"

• Helsport

  • High-end Norwegian Company 

  • Highly respected manufacture in Scandinavia 

• Nordisk Oppland 4 PU Tent 

  • Made in Germany

• Tatonka

  • German Company (made in Vietnam) 

• Fjällräven

  • Swedish Company (made in Ching and South Korea)

• High Peak

  • German Company

    • Considering the build quality and price point for these - there is NO Way these are made in Germany

  • Economy Tents 

  • Many were used in Icelandic Jamboree

  • Can be rented or purchased in Iceland

• Vango

  • Found in rental shops in Iceland 

  • Developed and designed in Scotland 

    • Reports state these are mostly made in China

Cone/Pyramid/Bell/Tipi Tents

• Lavvo Tents (aka Lávvu per Northern Sámi)

  • Used by the Sámi people of Northern Europe

  • Many similar structures:

    • Lávvu 

      • Used by Northern Sámi of Scandinavia

      • Uses poles resting against tripod

      • Covered with reindeer hides

    • Native American Tipi - more vertical than Lávvu 

      • Used by indigenous peoples of the Plains in the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies

      • Made with 8-15 buffalo hides

      • Less stable in high winds

    • Goahti

      • Northern Sámi structure

      • Uses two arches made from 4 curved poles inside shelter to spread out poles (see laits.utexas.edu)

      • Spreads out poles so they don't meet at top

    • Chum 

      • Used by the nomadic Uralic

      • Similar to Lávvu, but larger

    • Tupiq

      • Traditional Inuit tent 

      • Made of 5-10 seal skins

    • Kohte 

      • German Scout tent

      • Uses two poles on outside of tent to hold up center

    • Bell Tent

      • Used by people throughout history

      • Uses a central supporting pole

      • Inner guylines might be used to make sides more ridged

  • Lavvo and Tunnel Tents are main tent designs used for camping in Scandinavia

    • These designs can withstand high winds and heavy rain

• Bergans WigloLT 4-Person Tent

  • Norwegian Company (made in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Turkey, Norway, Korea and Japan)

• Tentipi Safir

  • Swedish Company (made in China)

• Hyperlite Ultramid 4

  • US Company (made in Mexico)

  • We used one in Iceland

    • Extra guylines were used on all corners and on windward side of shelter

    • This held up against heavy and sustained winds

    • It was comfortable inside and without any noticeable drafts

    • It was but noisy when the wind picked up

    • It's not really designed for this type of use and there was a concern that the guyline loops would tear, but they didn't

    • For heavy winds, we recommend:

      • Use an extendable steel center pole

        • We also used an extendable steel center pole instead of the carbon fiber pole we brought due to concerns the carbon fiber pole could shatter and impale someone during high winds

      • Use guylines on every attachment point, to include the very top (often missing on other brands of pyramid tents)

        • Gutlines can be attached directly to top loop...or

        • Make a loop to fit around the very top cone of pyramid and use 4 guylines from the loop

Air Pole Tents

• Use inflatable tubes to hold up sides

• Deforms rather than breaks

• Did surprisingly well in the wind

• Dometic Ascension FTX 401

• Colemanuk.co.uk

• Vango Air Beam Tents

Kohte (aka Black Tents; Schwarzzelt)

• • • Open topped tent used by German Scouts based on the Sámi Lávvu 

      • If you go to an international jamboree with German Scouts, you will like these the black structures

    • Basic troop tent uses:

    • 4 identical canvas panels (black

    • 2 tent poles (crossed into inverted "V")

    • 2 crossed sticks to suspend panels from top

    • Tent pegs

    • Guylines

    • Sleeps 4-6 Adults or 8 youth

    • Top is open to allow for cooking in the tent

    • Sides walls are somtimes used

    • Side walls were traditionally made with 12 rectangular 165x165 tent sheeds of the German Heer of WW1

    • Many structures can be made with the basic sections:

      • 1 panel: Unterstand ('Shelter')

        • Basically a tarp over ground

      • 1 panel: Kröte ('Toad')

        • Staked to ground with opening at head

      • 2 panels: Lok (short for Lokomotive; 'Locomotive').

        • Uses single pole in middle

        • Opening in middle of shelter

      • 4 panels: Kohte 

        • Kohte 

          • Basic troop tent

          • Fits: 8 people, 8 backpacks, campfire, work areas

        • S-Kohte 

          • Skirts under Kohte

        • Hochkohte 

          • Square panels under Kohte to allow for standing

      • 5 panels: 

        • Fünfer Kohte (5er tent)

          • Bigger tent

        • Fünfer-Jurte (5er yurt)

          • Uses rectangular panels to make taller mini-yurt

      • 6 panels: Jurte ('yurt') 

        • Jurte

          • Uses 12 square panels to make the vertical side walls

        • Superjurte

          • Tall version of Jurte

          • Uses 12 rectangular panels to make the vertical side walls

          • Use has group kitchen, assembly tent or sleeps twenty 

        • Theaterjurte

          • Elongated version of Superjurte

          • 3 triangular panes at ends

          • 4 rectangular panels between ends (2 on each side)

      • 8 panels: Großjurte

        • Großjurte

          • Like Jurte but larger roof

        • Supergroßjurte

          • Großjurte with rectangular side panels

      • Gigaset

        • 2 levels tiered roof

          • Center circle is a 6-panel jurte

          • Outer/lower circle is uses alternating rectangular and trapzoid panels

      • Jurtenburg

        • Jurtes and other structures can be joined to make Jurte Castles (Jurtenburg) and Tent Villages (kohten dorf)

      • See:

        • tortuga-gmbh.de/kohten 

        • troll.de/aufbau_kohte.htm 

        • katalog-black-line.pdf 

        • The Black Tent Archive 

        • 75 Jahre Kohte