Cabela’s Ultimate Alaknak 12′ x 12′ Outfitter Tent

Cabela’s Ultimate Alaknak 12′ x 12′ Outfitter tent is a recent purchase of mine. In fact as of this writing up, I haven’t yet received it so this is essentially a product introduction. For the past month’s I have been having discussions around tents with my wife, I had originally wanted a roof top tent for my Subaru Crosstrek and while they are a cool type tent, the reality is that many of the places I would actually be tent camping, the use my subaru during the trip would be something that makes having to setup and take down a rooftop tent a spot in the “con” column. From here I started looking at rugged trailers that I could pull behind my Subaru Crosstrek. This past August 2021, my wife and I went up to Yellowstone, and we had some evenings where the temperatures dipped pretty low and I started thinking about the fact that I would like to camp in all four seasons, so I started looking at Kodiak Canvas tents, but ultimate decided to go with the Alaknak tent.

The Alaknak 12′ x 12′ Outfitter tent is a traditional wall tent with some enhanced safety features. Built for the backcountry, the Ultimate Alaknak features the roomy, high-wall design of an outfitter tent made with modern materials and features. Highly breathable and UV-resistant, the waterproof 250D polyester oxford X-Treme Tent Cloth body and roof delivers high tear strength with top fire-, abrasion-, and puncture resistance. Extra-tall 4′ walls and 9′ 8″ center height offers lots of head room for easy maneuvering inside the tent. The frame for the Ultimate Alaknak’s included awning starts at the tent’s peak, directing runoff away from the inverted T-style door for superior protection in the wettest weather. Held up with 10 perimeter tent poles and a center support pole, this tent holds steady in high winds. Sidewall condensation vents feature hook ‘n’ loop closures around the perimeter for better ventilation control. Mesh panels behind the tent door and 3 large, multipanel vinyl windows optimize ventilation when needed. Made of a 300D polyester oxford with 3000mm waterproof coating, the tent floor features a zip-open panel for safe placement and use of a heat stove. Stove jack (5″) in the tent roof features a roll-away storm flap to keep flap away from hot pipe while in use. Fold-down shelves on the sidewalls feature patented cup holders and gear pockets to hold gear. Angled roof window. Zippered window covers. Heavy-duty YKK® zippers. Comes with 12″ steel stakes, guy ropes, and a large zip-close storage bag. Footprint: 12’Lx12’W. Tent weight: 31 lbs. Frame weight.: 23 lbs. Total Stake weight: 13 lbs.

  • Ultra-rugged outfitter tent packed with modern materials and design
  • X-Treme Tent Cloth body – 250D polyester oxford with 1,000mm PU coating
  • Highly breathable, UV-, fire-, abrasion-, and puncture resistant
  • Easy to move in – extra-tall 4′ walls and 9′ 8″ center height
  • Unique awning design – directs runoff away from the tent door for top protection
  • 10 perimeter tent poles and a center support pole – stays steady in high winds
  • Sidewall condensation vents with hook ‘n’ loop closures for better ventilation control
  • Inverted T-style door with YKK zippers and screen door
  • 3 large, multipanel vinyl windows with zippered covers and screen panels
  • Rugged floor – 300D polyester oxford with 3000mm waterproof coating
  • Zip-open floor panel for stove
  • 5″ stove jack in roof with roll-away storm flap for safe use
  • Fold-down shelves on the sidewalls
  • Angled roof window
  • 12″ steel stakes and guy ropes
  • Large zip-close storage bag

 

As I mentioned the tent is scheduled to arrive tomorrow (Sunday – January 02, 2022) I plan to brave the current weather conditions and get the tent setup in the backyard so I can test out it hold up against the elements. I am in the Kansas City area, and we just got our first bit of snow and temps are in the negative numbers with Windchill factored in. Which is ideal cause my wife and I plan on heading back to Yellowstone in May were we expect the evenings will be cold and this tent with a Colorado Cylinder Stove inside should keep up plenty war at night. 

Check back for the rest of this product review.

 

Update: 01-08-2022

Well I received my Ultimate Alaknak 12′ x 12′ Outfitter tent January 1st. We got a winter storm which dumped about 2″ of snow in the backyard. I decided to set up the tent after the storm front past through, but that left several days in the low single digits, I also received basically the same day my Colorado Mesa Stove which I will discuss in its own product review. My initial thoughts on the Alaknak tent are positive, the tent’s construction is solid. I gave the tent a through inspection at the seams, and floor. Where the wall poles hook in the riveted locations along the tent wall are of solid construction, I didn’t see any areas of concern. 

I was able to setup the tent by myself without any problems, key here is staking it out well at the base, putting your poles in and prepping the guy ropes. Ideal setup is two people but I was able to do it no issues solo.

Since the Kansas City are was experiencing some wintery weather finally I decided I would put my tent to the test and see how comfortable I could be in my tent in 8 degree weather with my Colorado Mesa Stove. After properly curing the stove and then cleaning it out, I put my fire proof mat down installed my stove, placed my 35 degree sleeping bag and cot inside and settled in for a -4 by morning kind of evening. Wife thought I wouldn’t last the entire night, to hear surprise I did sleep the entire night in the tent.

Then tent performed well, there are three sidewall condensation vents, which I left closed so I wouldn’t lose heat, there is a triangular vent above the entry door and three vents at the center of the tent where the center pole pushes the tent upward, as a added piece of safety I purchased a carbon monoxide detector for the tent.

I had no issues with condensation, even while having 46.9% moisture in the air.

What I did notice and this is more of the tent stove than the tent itself, don’t use crap wood.  I found that the crap wood I got at Price Chopper just wasn’t up to the job, and found myself waking every three hours to stove the stove to get it back to a comfortable 60 degrees.

Today (01-08-2022) the temps have hovered around 39/40 degrees, I put some wood in the stove to get a good ember base going, I found these fuel blocks at Lowes, they are basically

100% hardwood blocks. Perfect for a wood stove or insert, low ash, high BTU’s and heat. Less ash mess. Great long lasting wood fuel for overnight use in wood burning appliances.

  • 100% Natural wood no additives

  • High BTU’s for heating

  • Low ash

  • Carbon neutral

  • No wax or additives

  • Very dense fuel for wood stove use

  • Great wood fuel for a wood stove

  • Long burning

I put one in the stove, had a good ember base the tent temp was 54.1 degrees. It took 10 mins to heat the tent to 60 degrees, It has now been about 29 mins at the temp has increased to 68.4 degrees and seems to be holding solid at that temp. I have to stove pipe damped down, and the front of the stove damped down to make sure there is a slow burn, and I wanted to see how well, this fuel block works and how long the temperature in tent stays above 60 degrees. That to me seems like a decent temp for the wife and I for when we head up to Yellowstone in May.