Developed for testing in extreme cold weather, this modified version of NEMO’s Award winning Moki mountaineering tent, has no floor in order to save weight and avoid condensation issues associated with flooring in that environemnt. However, it’s cool to see MultiCam Alpine used for a tent.
This shelter is not available for purchase. Lessons learned will be integrated into future NEMO products.
Tags: NEMO Equipment
Can someone clarify what they mean when they say ” has no floor” and how that’s ok for extreme cold/ snowy conditions?
It literally means that there is no floor in the tent, like with the shelter half. These days, most tens have integrated floors which are part of the tent. There is a school of thought which says that in extreme conditions, you are going to bring snow or other moisture into the tent, no matter how hard you try to avoid it. This moisture will become ice. And you don’t want to carry icy equipment, like a tent, around with you.
Here is the Norwegian biouvac manual in English, there are a couple of reasons why you don’t want a floor.
https://forsvaret.no/en/ForsvaretDocuments/6%20UD6-81-6E%20BIOUVAC%202010.pdf
A floorless tent for winter use allows the users also to dig down and increase the internal volume within the shelter. While the tent is lightweight, portable and easy to set-up, mountaineering or, four-season tents are notoriously cramped; a compromise between livability and structural strength to handle snow/wind loading. Condensation build-up (as noted) is another of a list of issues that you need to manage when living in winter conditions.
Snow is a versatile medium, it can serve as a very good insulator, build an igloo or, the easier quinzee and you’re well protected from the outside elements. Just remember to build a cold sink in the vestibule area.
Multicam Alpine looking good, I own a set of Hyperstealth’s Snow MARPAT overwhites and Rucksack Cover paired with a White MICH cover for a winter kit. Another cool Snow Pattern. 😛
It also prevents the floor freezing to the ground, which is an issue we have had to deal with before.
I run a tent without a floor for wood-stove use.