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I wonder if modern lightweight tent design can learn something from yurts, since they don't really seem particularly portable by comparison. (I consider a tent

• AlotOfReading 9y ago
  They don't solve the same issues at the same scales as a backpack tent. Primarily, yurts have to be larger. They need to accommodate entire families and their livestock in harsh winter storms. That can be keeping upwards of several dozen bodies alive in some of the worst weather on the planet. Secondly, they also have to manage the searing summer temperatures/sunlight of the southern deserts, along with incredibly high wind loads. Thirdly, they have to be repairable with the very few natural resources available in rural Mongolia. That said, regular tents probably could learn from them. Yurts are incredibly modular and flexible designs. You can combine multiple yurts into one larger one, or use them in very different environments. They're also fairly low impact, with the primary damage to the ground being sunlight deprivation and foot traffic. I doubt the design itself could be adapted to backpacking very well though. It's just fundamentally a bit overengineered for what campers require.