When temperatures drop, you need the right tent. Enter this review of the White Duck Alpha wall tent. There is nothing quite like firing up the wood stove when you get back to camp after a long day hiking in the mountains. That warm, inviting heat that only comes from burning wood is hard to beat.
I even heat our home with wood and wouldn’t have it any other way. There’s just something about cutting and chopping wood that is cathartic.
When it comes to heating your tent with a wood stove, there is nothing quite like a canvas tent. While they’re heavy, canvas holds heat well and helps provide an inviting place to hang out after long days in the field. When considering a canvas tent, there are plenty of options, and even a number of shapes and sizes to consider to best fit your needs.
White Duck Tents offers a wide selection of canvas tents that are wood stove compatible. In fact, we’ve had the pleasure of testing the White Duck Regatta Bell tent paired with the Winnerwell Woodlander Double View stove, and the Colorado Cylinder Stoves Spruce Package, as well as the White Duck Avalon Bell Tent paired with the Camp Chef Alpine wood stove.
Both of those proved to be incredible options, particularly due to their ease of setup. This time, we wanted to test the tried and true wall tent design that White Duck Tents offers, so we picked up the White Duck 12×14 Alpha Wall tent.
Why We chose The White Duck Alpha Wall Tent
When sorting through the available sizes, shapes, and options for canvas hot tents, there are a number of things to consider when selecting what will work best for your needs. Some of the give and take comes down to ease of setup, interior space, having a floor or going floorless, and your overall size needs.
WALL TENT VS BELL TENT
The first thing you want to determine to narrow down your selection is whether you want a bell tent or wall tent. There is a huge difference between the two styles. Yes, they are both canvas tents that are wood stove compatible, but their design and functionality are very different.
We’ve had the pleasure of testing and using both in the field, so here’s a quick rundown of the differences we’ve noted.
Wall Tents
- More usable interior space
- Taller side walls
- More snow load capabilities
- More difficult setup
- Heavier
- Free-floating floor (not sewn in)
- More parts/pieces (frame)
Bell Tents
- Faster, easier setup
- Lighter weight
- One person setup possible
- Sewn in floor
- Shape reduces usable interior space
- Lesser snow load capabilities
To simplify the differences, a bell-style tent is significantly easier and faster to set up and can be done with one person, whereas the Alpha Wall tent requires that you build the frame, then pull the canvas over the frame. While setting up the White Duck Alpha Wall tent can be done with one person, but it’s pretty difficult, and it’s a far better idea to plan to have a second person help with setup.
A White Duck bell tent offers offers less usable room inside and less standing room than a wall tent with the same square footage, so similarly sized wall tents offer a larger-feeling interior, but are much easier to set up. We found the circular shape of the bell tent more difficult to maximize when fitting cots, sleeping bags, coolers, the stove, etc.
WHEN TO PICK A WALL TENT VS A BELL TENT
If you are going to be setting up a base camp for an extended period of time and know you won’t be needing to move your camp spot, a wall tent is the way to go. It’s worth the extra time to set up, in my humble opinion. This kind of tent is simply more comfortable, as it doesn’t have any awkward corners to navigate like a bell tent. On the other hand, it’s kind of a pain to set up when compared to a bell tent.
For a comparison, I pulled the White Duck Regatta Bell tent out and set it up for the very first time and had it ready to go (not including the wood stove) in under 30 minutes.
Contrast that with the first time I set up the White Duck Alpha Wall tent, which requires building the frame. I had to read and follow the instructions the first time or two. It took a couple of hours when all was said and done.
After a little practice, we were able to get the setup time down to about an hour (including the wood stove, floor, and awning) with the Alpha Wall tent.
What Size Tent Do I need? White Duck Alpha Wall Tent
Once you’ve narrowed down the style of tent you want, selecting the best size for your needs can be difficult. There are so many White Duck Tent options that it can be tempting to go bigger when it’s not needed. That being said, I always like to err on the side of bigger rather than try to cram in with a tight fit.
Since weight isn’t a concern like it would be if you were backpacking, I tend to go bigger rather than smaller. With a base camp, and especially when cold-weather camping, everything takes up more space than you think. For example, those Cabelas Alaskan Cots we used are great to have but they take up a substantial amount of space. While they are super comfortable, you’ll need a bigger tent since they take up so much room.
12×14 Alpha Wall Tent: I will admit that I actually wanted to go with the next size up of from the 12×14 (which would be the 14×16), but it was out of stock, so I went with the 12×14. In this 12×14 White Duck Alpha wall tent we were able to easily and comfortably fit three size XL cots with plenty of room between them, a Colorado Cylinder Spruce wood stove, three large folding chairs and a table for our Biolite 1500 Solar Power Station to keep our cameras, phones, and headlamps charged. We could have fit another regular size cot in it as well if needed, but that would have been a bit tighter—still doable.
Interestingly, the 12×14 Alpha Wall Tent gives you 168 square feet, while the larger 16 ft Regatta Bell Tent gives you just over 201 square feet of space. Even so, I found the smaller 12×14 to fit three cots, a wood stove, and chairs better than the larger Regatta Bell Tent.
16ft Regatta Bell tent: We were able to comfortably fit seven of us and a wood stove in one of the White Duck tents—the 16-foot Regatta Bell—while using typical foam pads and sleeping on the ground. In addition, we had three camping chairs and a cooler in the tent with all of us, making for a tight fit, but it was family, so we made it work.
However, when we used cots, we were only able to get four of us in there comfortably with three camp chairs, a cooler, and the wood stove. Depending on your setup, you could easily get seven or more people in this 16-foot bell tent, or three people living luxuriously on cots.
White Duck Tents Canvas Color Selection
I find it interesting that all of the White Duck Alpha wall tents only come in your typical white canvas color, but the White Duck Bell tents are offered in a wide variety of colors. If you are looking at a color other than the typical white canvas, I found that there were a couple of considerations after using both the standard white and a darker Desert Red color.
- Lighter colored canvas lets in more light, but will look dirty a lot more quickly
- The darker color canvas are going to look nice a whole lot longer as they won’t show all the dirt and potential ash from burning a wood stove, but tend to make it dark inside.
I tried the Desert Red in the Regatta Bell tent, and the standard white canvas in the Alpha Wall tent. What I didn’t expect was just how much light the darker canvas blocked. In fact, during the later hours of the evening, if I was inside the tent it was difficult to know if the sun had set or not. The Desert Red color blocked a ton of light, and it meant using a lantern inside the tent even when the sun had not yet set.
This is very nice during the summer, since you may not want to wake up at 5am from the rising sun, but it wasn’t as nice during the winter months when the days are shorter. Your preference and use case will pull you one way or the other when deciding what color to choose. I did find, however, that it is an absolute MUST to have a couple lanterns and run them a lot more in the darker-colored canvas tent. For that, I picked up a couple of these 1800 Lumen Lanterns and that did the trick.
What Size Stove Do I need?: White Duck Alpha Wall Tent Review
Selecting the correct size wood stove can make a huge difference in how comfortable the inside of your canvas tent will be. While buying the largest stove you can find might seem like the solution, it can be counterproductive, because it will cook you out of the tent. A stove that’s too large won’t be able to burn at a low enough level to make the tent comfortable, and you’ll go through a lot more wood.
When testing the 16 foot Regatta Bell tent we started with the Winnerwell Woodlander Double View wood stove, size large. This stove has a firebox volume of 1500ci, which proved to be a bit on the small side for a tent this size. While we love the “double view” glass, which made for a fantastic glow when burning, you have to keep this stove really cranking to heat a tent this size.
Since that size wasn’t quite enough to keep the tent warm, we selected the larger size of the Colorado Cylinder Stove Spruce Package with a much larger fire box volume (46L, 2808ci), that was able to put out more heat.This ended up being a great fit for this size of at tent and was able to easily heat this 12×14 tent. Anything larger than this would have been overkill for sure.
The Testing: White Duck Tents: 12×14 Alpha Wall Tent
We needed a good cold weather wall tent for our 9 day, late October/Early November Colorado deer/elk hunt, and the White Duck Alpha Wall tent fit the bill perfectly. There were going to be four of us on the trip, so this would be on the upper limit of the space needed, but since the 14×16 wasn’t available, we made the 12×14 Alpha Wall tent work.
We ended up fitting three cots, a wood stove, four chairs, and a small table (for our Biolite1500+ Solar Power Station) in the tent with ease. One of the guys decided to sleep in his Seek Outside 8P Tipi so he could sprawl out, but he could have fit in this 12×14 Alpha Wall tent if he wanted.
Options & Accessories: White Duck Tents
When you’re considering a White Duck Wall Tent, there are a number of options that you can add on to make your winter (or summer) camping trip even more enjoyable. Thankfully though, and unlike many canvas tent makers out there, White Duck Tents includes pretty much everything you need to hit the road and enjoy your tent. When you purchase one of the White Duck Tents, you will receive a canvas wall tent that includes:
- Canvas wall tent
- All stakes and poles needed (plus a rubber mallet**)**
- Anodized aluminum frame pieces needed for assembly
- A nice, fully contained storage case for your stakes and mallet
- Two long-term storage bags (one for the poles and one for the tent and floor)
- Compression straps for the rolled-up tent
A few other options are available for the White Duck Wall Tents that might be worth picking up as well:
CANVAS PORCH
I elected to add on the White Duck Canvas Porch to give us some extra space to cook and store food outside the tent. While one porch is awesome and gave us the space we needed to cook under a covering, you can even stack multiple porches for additional space. This is a pretty sweet option for maximizing your White Duck Tent.
I do wish that the porch had an option for a door, so we could have enclosed the porch (in the event of blowing snow etc), but that unfortunately isn’t an option like the Kodiak Canvas Enclosed Awning. Nonetheless, I highly recommend adding the porch to the Alpha Wall tent.
FLY SHEET
This one is a must if you are expecting a lot of rain. While the water resistant canvas will keep some rain out, if you might get heavy rain, you’ll want to pick up the White Duck Fly Sheet to make sure you and all your gear stays dry.
The Specs: White Duck Alpha Wall Tent Review
Here are the specs of the White Duck Alpha 12×14 Wall tent that we tested for this review:
| White Duck Alpha 12×14 Wall Tent Specs | |
|---|---|
| Colors | White Canvas Only |
| Fabric Options | Water Repellent, Fire Water Repellent |
| Capacity | Sleeps 5-10 |
| Canvas Type | DYNADUCK fabric, with 10.10 oz army duck cotton canvas and a water repellent, mold & UV resistant finish |
| Doors | 1 |
| Windows | 4 |
| Built-in Stove Jack | Yes |
| Floor Material | Included – Free-floating 16 oz polyvinyl |
| Frame Material | Galvanized steel |
| Center Height | 8’8″ or 271 cm |
| Door Height | 6’9″ or 211 cm |
| Wall Height | 5′ or 152 cm |
| Total Weight | 199-205 lbs. |
Features: White Duck Alpha Wall Tent
The White Duck Alpha Wall tent is loaded with features that make it very attractive compared to other wall tents on the market.
FRAME AND STAKE KITS INCLUDED
Unlike just about every other wall tent on the market, the complete frame kit is included with the White Duck Alpha Wall Tent. Not only is this super convenient, but it also saves an incredible amount of time (if you were to build your own) and money (if you purchased the “add-on” frame kit). I absolutely love this about White Duck Tents. It seems crazy to me that all wall tents don’t come standard with everything you need to set up your new tent, but White Duck solves that issue by simply including all of the frame pieces and stakes you need to hit the road.
5FT WALL HEIGHT – WHITE DUCK ALPHA WALL TENT REVIEW
The wall height is somewhat standard for wall tents at 5 ft, and I’ve found this gives extra usable space inside versus the White Duck Bell Tents. That extra space comes with a few penalties, as noted above—namely extra setup time, extra overall weight, and generally a more difficult setup.
FLOATING FLOOR INCLUDED – WHITE DUCK ALPHA WALL TENT REVIEW
Once again, unlike almost every other wall tent on the market, the White Duck Alpha Wall Tent comes with a floor. These Alpha wall tent floors, however, are not sewn in like the Regatta Bell Tent and Avalon Bell Tent from White Duck. I wish that the floor was attached to the walls like the bell tents to keep bugs, mice, and other critters out, but the Alpha Wall Tentent floor is floating and doesn’t connect.
After setting up the White Duck Alpha Wall Tent, I can see why they didn’t sew in the floor, as the frame makes it nearly impossible to do so. That said, I believe there could be a way to use a zipper or something similar to seal the floor and walls. This came into play when we had some mice find their way into our tent during our Colorado hunt.
While not a huge deal, it was certainly an annoyance and there was simply no way to keep them out, especially once they found their route into the tent. The floor itself was very nice and thick, and the 16oz heavy-duty polyvinyl is an excellent material. I would also recommend using a fire-resistant floor mat to make sure your floor doesn’t get any holes while using your wood stove.
4 SCREENED WINDOWS– WHITE DUCK ALPHA WALL TENT REVIEW
White Duck tents come with screened windows as well as a large screened door, which is really nice. Again, these are included with your tent, so you don’t have an extra cost for these screens like you would with other tents on the market. You can keep nice airflow in the tent during summer by opening up the doors and windows. I only wish the windows had a way to open up to let some light in without letting in the cold air during the winter months. It would be nice to let more natural light in without the cold air.
BUILT-IN STOVE JACK– WHITE DUCK ALPHA WALL TENT REVIEW
All of your White Duck tents come with a built-in stove jack, so they are ready for your winter camping adventures. This is somewhat standard among canvas tents, but it’s nice that it’s not extra money or an add-on. The stove jack is pre-marked for 5-inch and 6-inch stove pipes to make cutting out the size you need easier. You do, however, have to cut out the stove pipe hole yourself, so don’t wait until the last minute or try to do that in the field.
SETUP – WHITE DUCK ALPHA WALL TENT REVIEW
As you’d imagine, setting up the White Duck Alpha Wall Tent isn’t as simple as their Regatta Bell tents. You have to assemble the frame before putting up any canvas, and there are a lot of pieces. While assembly is easy and pretty straightforward, it does take a time or two of practice before you have it down.
The angle pieces are nicely color-coated, which helps. I definitely had to reference the instructions the first two times I set it up to make sure I had things correct. After that, it has been smooth sailing. If you are looking for a little help setting up the White Duck Alpha Wall Tent, I put together this video to help:
Now, after doing it a few times, we can get the 12×14 Alpha Wall Tent set up from start to finish (including the porch and wood stove) in about an hour with two people. If we don’t set up the porch or wood stove, we can get it done in about 40 minutes, which isn’t bad at all.
MATERIALS USED – WHITE DUCK ALPHA WALL TENT REVIEW
White Duck Alpha Wall Tents are made with a heavier fabric than the White Duck Bell Tents, using their DYNADUCK fabric, which is a 10.1 oz Army Duck cotton canvas that is either water repellent or fire- and water-repellent, depending on what option you choose. It is also mold- and UV-resistant to help ensure your canvas tent looks great for a long time and doesn’t develop unwanted mold.
Hot Tent Camping Tips & Must Have Items
If you are new to hot tent camping, or even if you aren’t, venturing out to camp in the dead of winter can be downright miserable without the right equipment. Experience is a great teacher, so here are a few things that we found to be must-have items to make sure your experience is not just tolerable, but enjoyable.
WOOD STOVE / HEAT SOURCE
It goes without saying, but having a way to heat your tent is an absolute must when camping in cold winter temperatures. I know some folks have done that with a Propane Buddy Heater, but you have to be careful to properly vent your tent, as those heaters are not recommended for inside use.
While propane heaters are faster to deploy—and cleaner and easier to use—than a wood-burning stove, they don’t put off nearly as much heat. In addition to that, if you’ve ever used a wood-burning stove to heat a tent, you know it’s just a more desirable heating source all the way around. I know people who have heated with a propane-style heater, but it’s not something we’d recommend, since it’s just not safe.
Make sure to check out our other gear reviews and the Backwoods Pursuit YouTube Channel to help you decide what gear you’ll need to keep you in the field longer!
Instead, something like the Colorado Cylinder Stove Spruce Package or the new White Duck wood stove is a far superior way to safely keep your tent toasty warm. With a wood stove, you get much more heat output along with that welcoming “wood stove heat” feel. There is just something different about heating with wood, and that is never more apparent than when winter camping.
FIRE STARTER / LIGHTER
Assuming you go with a wood stove option (hopefully you do), you’ll want to make sure to have a quick and easy way to get your fire started. For that, we highly recommend Bigfoot Bushcraft Fire Plugs. I’ve been using these for years for everything from an emergency pack item to a campfire starter, and they’re my go-to fire starter on backpack hunts where we are taking an ultralight hot tent. I absolutely love them, and they work amazingly well. They are super easy to light and burn for over five minutes each, which is plenty of time to get some good kindling started.
SLEDGE HAMMER
I threw in a 2.5 lb sledge hammer with my tent kit to make getting those large tent stakes in the ground easier. This is key, particularly in rocky ground. While the rubber mallet that comes with the White Duck tents is nice, it’s nowhere near robust enough to handle ground that is difficult to get stakes into—especially in colder weather when the ground might be frozen.
DRILL / DRILL BITS – SELF TAPPING TENT SCREWS / Propane Torch
One thing we learned the hard way is just how difficult it can be to get tent stakes in the ground during winter conditions. You’ll want to be prepared for this, which can be done a number of ways:
- Self-tapping tent stakes.
- The most effective way we found to battle the frozen ground (or breaking through layers of ice) is to utilize some screw-in tent stakes. They are on the expensive side, but the headache they will save you when setting up and taking down your tent is worth the extra money. If you go this route, bring an impact drill, and your life will be much easier.
- Pre-drill your tent stake holes.
- Another option, although not nearly as effective, is to pick up some long masonry drill bits and pre-drill your tent stake holes to aid in getting your tent staked out. If you go this route, we found that drilling a hole slightly bigger in diameter than the stakes works best. This helps prevent the tent stakes from freezing into the ground, which makes taking them out when you’re tearing down the tent an absolute nightmare. Of course, you’ll need to bring a battery powered impact drill like this Dewalt to get the job done.
- Bring a small propane blow torch.
- Another option to handle frozen ground is to bring a small propane blow torch. This is more for getting your stakes out of the ground when it’s time to leave, as your stakes will freeze into the ground once you get them set. We had a very difficult time removing the stakes from the ground, and wished we had used either the self-tapping screws with an impact gun, or brought a blow torch to heat up the stakes enough to break them free from the ice in the ground.
POWER BANK
While this certainly isn’t a “must-have” item, a power bank is certainly a very nice item to have especially when winter camping. During winter months it gets dark early, and you can find yourself going through a lot of batteries in lanterns, headlamps, etc (unless you use a gas powered lantern). You can even use a power station like this Biolite Base Charge to recharge your power drill.
If you accidentally leave home with a partially charged drill battery only to find out halfway through setting up the tent—when using one of the methods mentioned above—that your drill battery is dead, a power bank is a lifesaver.
Having a power source like the Biolite Basecharge 600 can save you a trip, and you can use it to power devices or recharge whatever you need while enjoying life at base camp. If you want to bring some of your luxury items from home, you can even bring a coffee pot or other appliances to power your base camp.
COTS
Cots are something that can take your comfort in the backwoods to the next level. While they take up a lot of room in the tent compared to sleeping on the ground, they are a lot more comfortable and allow you to store things under your “bed.” There are a lot of great cots on the market, but the Disc-O-Bed cots are excellent. Don’t forget to snag a cot pad as well. The cot pad is what really makes these things comfortable!
LANTERNS
As mentioned above, you’ll want to make sure you have a way to light your tent if you are camping during the short, winter days. Taking along a couple of these battery-powered lanterns are a great way to go. These 1800-lumen lanterns last a long time, but you may need to recharge them after a few days of use. If you brought one of the Biolite Basecharge units with you to recharge it, you’ll be set!
DAMPER BRUSH
Another thing we’ve found to be helpful, if you’re going to be out for more than a weekend and potentially burning a lot of wood, is to bring a wire brush to make sure the spark arrestor doesn’t get plugged up and restrict the airflow of the stove. If this happens, you’ll find that your stove won’t burn very well and may even smoke you out of the tent. This really only comes into play if you are staying out for longer periods of time or burning wood that produces a lot of ash.
SNOW SHOVEL
The White Duck Alpha Wall Tent is not just a shelter; it’s a home away from home for those who enjoy winter camping. Its sturdy design and spacious interior make it an ideal choice for anyone looking to camp in cold weather.
Finally, if you might encounter snow when out on your winter camping trip, you’d be wise to throw in a snow shovel to assist in clearing out your camp spot. This will make getting camp set up a whole lot faster. It might seem obvious, but it’s an easy thing to forget. I keep a lightweight, foldable shovel like the Rhino Survival shovel in my pickup for situations like these.
CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR
If you are going to be using a propane or other gas-powered heater inside your tent, it’s a good idea to have a carbon monoxide detector to make sure CO levels don’t rise to an unhealthy level. It’s a small and inexpensive thing to throw in that could save your life. If you are using a quality wood-burning stove, it’s not nearly as critical, but still not a bad idea. It’s just another item to throw in your stove kit to have just in case.
SLIPPERS
This might sound a bit odd, but when winter camping, it’s a good idea to bring some good rubber-soled slippers like the LongBay slippers. Your tent floor will stay cold no matter how good your stove is, and a cold floor will keep your feet from warming up. Sure, you can just wear your shoes or boots, but it sure is nice to be able to take off your shoes and relax in a pair of slippers inside your nice warm tent. The LongBay slippers are ideal because they have a rubber sole so if you need to go outside quickly, you can.
Stove Tips: White Duck Alpha Wall Tent Review
GET THE CORRECT SIZE STOVE
As mentioned above, selecting the right size stove for whatever tent you select will greatly increase your enjoyment. Pick a stove that is too small and it’ll have a difficult time keeping up when the temperatures really drop. Pick a size that is too big and you’ll find yourself needing to open the doors of the tent because it’s just too hot inside. Don’t get caught up in the “let’s just buy the biggest stove we can” trap and regret it later.
BRING THE RIGHT SLEEP SYSTEM
Even if you are heating your canvas tent with a wood stove, you will still need to bring a sleep system that will keep you warm for the temperatures you’ll be out in. Unless you plan to keep the wood stove burning all night long, bring a sleeping bag that will keep you warm throughout the coldest part of the night, assuming you won’t be using the wood stove.
BRING YOUR WOOD CUT AND CHOPPED
I found it much easier to bring the wood I’m going to burn to base camp already cut and chopped into half or quarter rounds. Sure, you can do it when you get there, but you already have a lot to do to get set up, and having your wood already taken care of is a welcomed luxury.
CLEAN THE FIRE BOX
During this White Duck Tent Alpha wall tent review, we found that if you are going to be out for more than a weekend, you’ll want to be conscious of how full the fire box is getting and empty it every few days if you burn a lot. It’s also a good idea to bring a wire brush and make sure your spark arrestor stays nice and clear to ensure proper air flow in the stove (if your stove is equipped with a spark arrestor).
What We liked: White Duck Alpha Wall Tent Review
After testing out this White Duck Alpha wall tent , we came away with a number of things we absolutely love about this tent. The fact that it comes with a floor, all the stakes needed to set it up, and the full galvanized steel frame sets this wall tent apart. Not many wall tents come with a floor, let alone the full frame included in the price.
FULL FLOOR INCLUDED
We love that the White Duck Alpha Wall Tent comes with a floor. While the floor is free-floating and not sewn to the walls like the bell tents, it’s still a great addition.
BUILT IN STOVE JACK
The built-in stove jack is high quality and is conveniently marked with 5-inch and 6-inch options for cutting out the right-size hole for your stove pipe. This makes the process a whole lot easier than guessing—another plus for these White Duck tents!
GALVANIZED STEEL FRAME INCLUDED
It’s truly unique that the White Duck Alpha Wall Tents come with a galvanized steel frame at no extra cost. The price you see for the White Duck Alpha Wall Tents includes the tent, floor, all frame pieces, and stakes, which really helps set them apart.
HIGH-QUALITY ROPE/TENSIONERS
Another great feature of these White Duck tents is their robust and well-made ropes and tensioners. They are super easy to use, work extremely well, and will last a long time. We are a huge fan of these, and in combination with the elastic stake loops, they make getting the tension just right on the tent a breeze.
GREAT VALUE
Finally, the overall value of these White Duck tents is extremely high. They may not be the absolute best canvas tents on the market, but they most certainly give you a ton of value along with a lot of high-quality materials. You will likely spend a lot more for a similarly sized canvas tent from some of the other options out there.
Here is a quick rundown of the things we love about this White Duck Alpha wall tent:
- Included frame
- Built-in stove jack
- Included floor
- Nice carry case for the tent and stakes
- Mallet included
- Well-placed side pockets (two)
- High-quality rope and tensioner system for guy-outs
- Reasonable cost / excellent value
What We didn’t like: White Duck Alpha Wall Tent Review
There are always things we find that could be improved upon. This White Duck Alpha Wall Tent review was no different, and there were a few things we thought could be better:
- Two people needed for setup
- The floor isn’t sewn in, allowing bugs/critters in
- Bulky and heavy
MORE DIFFICULT/LONGER SETUP
Because this is a wall tent, it uses a full frame along with guy-out points to support it. It simply takes longer to assemble the frame than a bell tent, and in reality, it takes a minimum of two people to set it up. Sure…I could do it solo in a pinch, but it would be somewhat difficult without bending or damaging the frame.
FREE-FLOATING FLOOR
I get it that almost no wall tents have a sewn-in floor, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. A perfect example of why I prefer a sewn-in floor (or even a zippered floor) is what happened during our Colorado hunting trip. We weren’t the only ones who liked the warmth of the wood stove in our tent—mice also found the inside of our tent inviting. We found ourselves with little friends scurrying about when we returned to camp after a long day of hunting, and even heard them scurrying around during the night. A sewn- or zippered-in floor eliminates this problem entirely.
To help minimize this issue, I installed some Velcro to seal off most of the floor to the mud flap/wall of the tent, and it did a great job for the most part. However, even after doing that, those pesky mice found the small places that couldn’t be sealed with Velcro. Once they found their way in, it was game over, and we had mice for the rest of the trip.
STAKES BEND TOO EASILY – REPLACED WITH DIFFERENT PINS
Another thing we found when setting up this White Duck Alpha wall tent was that the smaller stakes (they call them “pins” in the instruction manual) bend far too easily. It wasn’t a problem in good weather, but if you hit rocky soil or frozen ground, don’t even bother.
I also found that these “pins” caused a problem with the floating floor, so I opted to pick up some L-Shaped “Pins” to replace them so the floor would lay flat. I don’t know why the pins included have a loop on the top as this caused the floor to bubble up anywhere a pin was installed, and created a hazard for your foot if one was stepped on.
It would be nice, especially with darker colored canvas, to have windows near the peak of the tent. This would let some light in without letting the heat from your stove escape and help keep the tent feeling like a dungeon.
Conclusion:White Duck Alpha Wall Tent Review
White Duck tents makes some great canvas tents that simplify the process of selecting one. Since all of their tents include a floor of some kind, and the price you see includes everything you need to set up the tent (frame, stakes, poles, etc. —minus a stove if you are winter camping), you don’t have to piece together various features to get camping. Take a look around the White Duck Tents website, and you’re likely to find a size, shape, and model that will fit your needs like a glove. They are relatively affordable, well-made canvas tents that make camping in any season enjoyable.
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