Tipis

[thermocouple]

I love tipis. Of course I am biased because I own one. Tipis make wonderful long-term shelters because of their liveability and roominess, and they are among the most durable shelters in heavy storm conditions. They are completely sustainable and repairable in the wild, in most cases utilizing no modern materials. The frame members can be replaced with the stalk of a young tree, and the cover can be repaired either with surplus canvas or tanned animal skin. They can accomodate either a wood burning stove for warmth, or even an open fire within the structure. Also, tipis are excellent at bearing loads and shedding snow. A heavy winter storm that would blow down many tents and cave in the others would do neither to a properly erected tipi.

An obvious drawback to tipis is their extremely long poles. A trailer must be modified with a support frame in order to transport the poles. Also, a tipi cannot be erected by one person; two is possible, three is ideal. They are not difficult to set up, but you do have to know what to do, and that takes some level of instruction. In my opinion, for long term campouts, nothing is better than a tipi.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v19/cbatson73/tipis.jpg

[texasgal]

Which tipi company would you recommend? And what is considered a liveable size? I get claustrophobia in close quarters, so I need some room! :wink5:

[thermocouple]

Where you get your tipi really depends on your circumstances. Ideally you want to look into Mountain Man Rendezvous in your area, find out where and when these take place, and go visit one - most of them are open to visitors. Ask around and you should end up in contact with someone who can make the canvas and tell you where to get poles. This is definitely your best route for buying a tipi, people at these rendezvous know all about their structures, who can make them and who sells them locally.

Problem is that there's just no actual store-front for stuff like tipis. You can buy them online from Red Hawk Trading, and they say that poles are "available", but I have no idea what it would take to get them to actually ship them to you.

http://www.redhawk-trading.com/tipi.htm

If you want help checking to see if there are any rendezvous in your area, send me a PM and I will see if I can help.

[Julie]

I had a friend buy some tipis. He loved them and set them up in his front yard. (Wonder what the neighbors thoughts). I think this is the company he got them from. I thought they were reasonably priced. I would love to have a tipi. Wouldn't that be the talk at the next family reunion.:wink5:

http://coloradoyurt3-px.rtrk.com/tipis/index.php

[thermocouple]

Detailed tipi instructions, for assembly and function, including options and tips, can be found here. Going through this PDF will also give you a good deal of insight into the tipi design.

http://www.tipi.com/tipipoles/Tipi%20Instructions22.pdf

[Abinadi]

Now this is cool.

Abinadi

[thermocouple]

It really breaks down the assembly and use of the primitive tipi. Just found it online today.

[Abinadi]

Do you put your fire in the center of the tipi?
What do you put on the floor for winter?
Do you keep poles or cut new ones when you go out with it?

How does this differ from a pryamid tent besides size? advantages and disadvantages?

Abinadi

[thermocouple]

I re-use the same poles for years on end. I only replace a pole when one gets broken, which doesnt occur often. I dont use an open-pit fire in my tipi, mainly because the places that I always camp with it do not allow direct contact between the fire and the ground. I burn wood within my Cylinder Stove, and just use a couple of lengths of chimney pipe and let the rest of the smoke go about half way up the tipi height, it goes right out the opening in the top of the tipi. We have a suitable size piece of carpet that we keep rolled up in our tipi trailer, and we put this down in all seasons. The major difference between this and a pyramid tent is that tipi's require many large and heavy poles and quite a bit of effort and know-how to get them properly set up. A pyramid tent is one or two (modified pyramid) poles and some stakes, so they are far more simple. Tipi's will offer more room than a pyramid, and the opening at the top of the tipi also makes the structure much cooler than most tents (including pyramids) in the warmer months. Tipi is my first choice for a primary shelter, but to be honest when I am older and my kids have grown, I will be leaving the tipi at home and going to mountain man rendezvous with a modified pyramid tent instead, just because they are so much less work, from transport to set-up.

Abinadi, if you are seriously struggling with this decision, PM me and I will give you my ph#, you can call me and we'll talk about it for awhile.