teepee style tents

[rosscrazyelk]

I will admit that at first I was caught up in this fascination of the trend of these tents.  The longer I look at them I am trying to understand why they are so popular now.
Have you stood up in one.  You have to navigate around a pole.  The only standing place is in the middle and it slowly slants to a place that is unusable.
Am I looking at this all wrong?
Please enlighten me

[Ccortez]

I will admit that at first I was caught up in this fascination of the trend of these tents.  The longer I look at them I am trying to understand why they are so popular now.
Have you stood up in one.  You have to navigate around a pole.  The only standing place is in the middle and it slowly slants to a place that is unusable.
Am I looking at this all wrong?
Please enlighten me

I would say something about the pole but I will just keep my mouth shut 

[ghosthunter]

One fellow in our camp has one and he loves it.  He sleeps five in it around the edges no problem. Smaller foot print than a wall tent and can sleep more folks for its size.

Not for me.

All depends on your needs. He just sleeps in it. We have a seperate cook shack. So you get up get dressed walk out.

[hogslayer]

I am going to be getting a kifaru mega tarp with stove for this fall. I think the big factor for the floor less shelter Is the ability to run a stove.  And you can have a tarp with a stove for under 4lbs.  That is pretty light for the ability to do long hunts in the fall.  That is what makes it worth it for me. 

[Miles]

Golite SL-5 is 2 lbs 4 oz (without the nest) and you get a 9.5' by 9.5' foot print.  Even on a solo trip that's a ton of room for a mere 2lbs.  We've slept 3 comfortably and you could do one more without all the gear if you had to.  It's easy to sit up and move around in the morning while getting ready as well. No shaking out the tent or worrying about mud/dirt/pine needles when you have to pack up.  Just roll the thing up and stuff it in your pack.

You don't always need a pole in the middle.  My SL-5 has a loop in the top and it's as easy as putting a rope through and securing it.

[whitey]

My Cabelas Outback lodge is awesome.

[hogslayer]

Kinda sucks but Golite went out of business. 

[rosscrazyelk]

Golite SL-5 is 2 lbs 4 oz (without the nest) and you get a 9.5' by 9.5' foot print.  Even on a solo trip that's a ton of room for a mere 2lbs.  We've slept 3 comfortably and you could do one more without all the gear if you had to.  It's easy to sit up and move around in the morning while getting ready as well. No shaking out the tent or worrying about mud/dirt/pine needles when you have to pack up.  Just roll the thing up and stuff it in your pack.

You don't always need a pole in the middle.  My SL-5 has a loop in the top and it's as easy as putting a rope through and securing it.

I have heard this.  But as stated almost impossible to get a go lite now a days.
I am not made of money and this might work during hunting situations but doubt the wife would sleep in a floorless tent in the summer with bugs

[jackelope]

My SL5 has a floor and a bug net/nest.
I had an SL3. It wasn't big enough for me because I'm 6'4" but when you consider the space that a SL type shelter has compared to a traditional 2 person freestanding tent, there's no comparison. The SL5 is a lightweight palace. Plus you can sew in a stove jack and put a small stove inside if you want.  I think in a short time, those Golite shelters will come down in price a little. They spiked recently for sure.
Bearpaw wilderness designs will build a floor/bug nest for probably about anything you could come up with.

[7mag.]

As you know Ross, I use an SL3. I think the advantage of a tipi style shelter is the usable square footage for the weight. They also handle weather really well. For car camping, I don't see much advantage, but for backpacking, they are a good option.

[whacker1]

weight vs. usable square footage. I wish I would have picked up an SL5.  Yes, standing up for taller guys is around the pole, but if under a tree and tied up high, no pole.  Smaller than SL5 they don't really make as much sense.  Go Lite was the only affordable route, as the Kifaru and seek outside are too rich for my blood.

[j_h_nimrod]

If you are not getting farther off the road to camp than you can throw a full duffle then the traditional wall tent is for you. If you want space and a few miles on your boots before you camp then a tipi has a lot to offer. I still consider that fairly plush and pansy like, I don't understand why people insist on sleeping in a plush, climate controlled environment when they go out to "rough it".  I have come to the conclusion most people (hunters included) are wimps and pansies. Carrying a weeks worth of (comfortable) hunting camp on your back in SE Alaska is not difficult. I have to laugh when people debate the weight of a tent stove, why do you need that?  In 95% of hunting situations there is 0 (zero) need for a stove other than to cook and that is dubious. In at least 30% of hunting situations a tent is totally superfluous, it's not cold, it's not wet, it's not windy, it's not buggy.

I am far from hardcore but still don't see how people are as soft as they are today. I hunted with a few guys that remember hunting goats and sheep with their dads and granddads when comfort was semi-dry, semi-warm, and fresh meat on a smoky fire. There is a lot to be said about the new gear (which I am a gear geek for) but sometimes people go too far.

I could probably get more off thread but I wont.

Long rant short, read the first two sentences.

[huntnnw]

I spent my whole life growing up camping and "roughing it" being cold and wet at night sucks!Now that I am older I dont have to spend nights like that and love coming back to my tent with a wood stove and being warm and dry!

[jackelope]

If you are not getting farther off the road to camp than you can throw a full duffle then the traditional wall tent is for you. If you want space and a few miles on your boots before you camp then a tipi has a lot to offer. I still consider that fairly plush and pansy like, I don't understand why people insist on sleeping in a plush, climate controlled environment when they go out to "rough it".  I have come to the conclusion most people (hunters included) are wimps and pansies. Carrying a weeks worth of (comfortable) hunting camp on your back in SE Alaska is not difficult. I have to laugh when people debate the weight of a tent stove, why do you need that?  In 95% of hunting situations there is 0 (zero) need for a stove other than to cook and that is dubious. In at least 30% of hunting situations a tent is totally superfluous, it's not cold, it's not wet, it's not windy, it's not buggy.

You've apparently not been in the Cascades high country in September and October.

[hogslayer]

Likewise.  When it is 38 degrees and raining all day, it is nice to come back to a stove when you are miles away from your rig.

[TheHunt]

I do not own one but I hunted with a friend who had one.  Like the others have said it was wonderful to come back wet to a tent that would be in the 80's after about 15 mins with that wood stove going.  It was great to have your stuff dry out for the next hunt.   That in my opinion is the number 1 reason I would purchase one. 

He also had a nest which was 1/2 of the floor space.  That nest kept us dry and clean.  If I was to get one, I would get a 1/2 size nest with the waterproof floor tub.  The titanium stove was crazy light and putting it together was very interesting.  I would only do it with some type of gloves on. 

[j_h_nimrod]

If you are not getting farther off the road to camp than you can throw a full duffle then the traditional wall tent is for you. If you want space and a few miles on your boots before you camp then a tipi has a lot to offer. I still consider that fairly plush and pansy like, I don't understand why people insist on sleeping in a plush, climate controlled environment when they go out to "rough it".  I have come to the conclusion most people (hunters included) are wimps and pansies. Carrying a weeks worth of (comfortable) hunting camp on your back in SE Alaska is not difficult. I have to laugh when people debate the weight of a tent stove, why do you need that?  In 95% of hunting situations there is 0 (zero) need for a stove other than to cook and that is dubious. In at least 30% of hunting situations a tent is totally superfluous, it's not cold, it's not wet, it's not windy, it's not buggy.

You've apparently not been in the Cascades high country in September and October.

LOL!  I spent weeks in Oct, Nov, and Dec in SE Alaska in the field where the Cascades look downright balmy. Inches of rain daily and an average of 38 degrees will separate the men from the boys and we never had a stove and though I would have enjoyed one I would not have enjoyed packing it in. We had a few cabins we based out of but spike camps were  tent, tarp, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag.

[syoungs]

If you are not getting farther off the road to camp than you can throw a full duffle then the traditional wall tent is for you. If you want space and a few miles on your boots before you camp then a tipi has a lot to offer. I still consider that fairly plush and pansy like, I don't understand why people insist on sleeping in a plush, climate controlled environment when they go out to "rough it".  I have come to the conclusion most people (hunters included) are wimps and pansies. Carrying a weeks worth of (comfortable) hunting camp on your back in SE Alaska is not difficult. I have to laugh when people debate the weight of a tent stove, why do you need that?  In 95% of hunting situations there is 0 (zero) need for a stove other than to cook and that is dubious. In at least 30% of hunting situations a tent is totally superfluous, it's not cold, it's not wet, it's not windy, it's not buggy.

You've apparently not been in the Cascades high country in September and October.

LOL!  I spent weeks in Oct, Nov, and Dec in SE Alaska in the field where the Cascades look downright balmy. Inches of rain daily and an average of 38 degrees will separate the men from the boys and we never had a stove and though I would have enjoyed one I would not have enjoyed packing it in. We had a few cabins we based out of but spike camps were  tent, tarp, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag.

 Next can you tell us a story about how you taught chuck Norris to be so tough?

fact is, I would assume being as tough as you are, the extra 4-6# of proper shelter and stove wouldn't have bothered you at all!   

[huntnnw]

 

[Jonathan_S]

All you that dry off with a towel after a shower are pansies too.

[jackelope]

If you are not getting farther off the road to camp than you can throw a full duffle then the traditional wall tent is for you. If you want space and a few miles on your boots before you camp then a tipi has a lot to offer. I still consider that fairly plush and pansy like, I don't understand why people insist on sleeping in a plush, climate controlled environment when they go out to "rough it".  I have come to the conclusion most people (hunters included) are wimps and pansies. Carrying a weeks worth of (comfortable) hunting camp on your back in SE Alaska is not difficult. I have to laugh when people debate the weight of a tent stove, why do you need that?  In 95% of hunting situations there is 0 (zero) need for a stove other than to cook and that is dubious. In at least 30% of hunting situations a tent is totally superfluous, it's not cold, it's not wet, it's not windy, it's not buggy.

You've apparently not been in the Cascades high country in September and October.

LOL!  I spent weeks in Oct, Nov, and Dec in SE Alaska in the field where the Cascades look downright balmy. Inches of rain daily and an average of 38 degrees will separate the men from the boys and we never had a stove and though I would have enjoyed one I would not have enjoyed packing it in. We had a few cabins we based out of but spike camps were  tent, tarp, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag.

What if..........

I'm not supporting the "need" for a stove at all. I don't own one, mostly because I can't justify the "need" for one versus the cost...but I'm a huge supporter of surviving and doing what I can to be mostly comfortable. It's not a survival contest. It's a hunting trip.
Some of the ideas you've mentioned are almost unsafe. Ever heard of hypothermia?

[Colville]

Hunting  goals are wildly divergent.  Some are not satisfied if they can’t do what some mule skinner from 100 years ago did, with his gear set.  Why stop there?  Why not what Grog would have done 7500 years ago?  Spears and animal furs for clothes, cave? It’s as logical a decision as avoiding other modern gear because if you use it you might catch the gay.  I don’t know what Grog’s word for weak sister would have been, but he’d have called me that.

Anyhow. Tipi’s and stoves are what they are, tools.  They’ll be very good  for certain work and very poor for others. Still confused at the damning of smaller tipis because you can only stand at the pole.  Considering you can, in fact, stand at the pole.  Whereas, in non tipi’s you can stand at the nowhere.  Anyhow you’ll like tipis if:

You’ve done floorless and get it.
You don’t want to move your camp daily.
If you’re not solo at great distance.
If you’re a modest distance with access to good wood and it will be very cold or very wet.
Are hiking a long ways but have 3 or more guys and the weight penalty is now diminished.
If you are car camping but the road system you use has crap for decent pull outs for a wall tent set up, or a great spot is at some distance to the road.
Want a large set up that takes a miniscule fraction of the weight and space of a wall tent camp.
Horse hunt and can occupy a great camp at the cost of 20 Lbs all in for a group of 6.
Won’t be able to keep things dry in a cold camp no matter how hard you try.
Find basking in the glow of a red stove rewarding at any weight penalty.

I don’t use them on the high hunt for a couple reasons. Weight penalty. Nothing to burn way up there. Frequent fire restrictions.  If weight’s not an issue, then a base camp tipi for multiple guys with bivi-tarp set ups for where you find yourself is great.  Experience breeds the decision making on things like this.  Absent experience, the advice of others is a poor substitute.  If you can borrow a tipi and stove, do so before buying one.

[syoungs]

Lmao..... might catch the gay!

[7mag.]

Hunting  goals are wildly divergent.  Some are not satisfied if they can’t do what some mule skinner from 100 years ago did, with his gear set.  Why stop there?  Why not what Grog would have done 7500 years ago?  Spears and animal furs for clothes, cave? It’s as logical a decision as avoiding other modern gear because if you use it you might catch the gay.  I don’t know what Grog’s word for weak sister would have been, but he’d have called me that.

Anyhow. Tipi’s and stoves are what they are, tools.  They’ll be very good  for certain work and very poor for others. Still confused at the damning of smaller tipis because you can only stand at the pole.  Considering you can, in fact, stand at the pole.  Whereas, in non tipi’s you can stand at the nowhere.  Anyhow you’ll like tipis if:

You’ve done floorless and get it.
You don’t want to move your camp daily.
If you’re not solo at great distance.
If you’re a modest distance with access to good wood and it will be very cold or very wet.
Are hiking a long ways but have 3 or more guys and the weight penalty is now diminished.
If you are car camping but the road system you use has crap for decent pull outs for a wall tent set up, or a great spot is at some distance to the road.
Want a large set up that takes a miniscule fraction of the weight and space of a wall tent camp.
Horse hunt and can occupy a great camp at the cost of 20 Lbs all in for a group of 6.
Won’t be able to keep things dry in a cold camp no matter how hard you try.
Find basking in the glow of a red stove rewarding at any weight penalty.

I don’t use them on the high hunt for a couple reasons. Weight penalty. Nothing to burn way up there. Frequent fire restrictions.  If weight’s not an issue, then a base camp tipi for multiple guys with bivi-tarp set ups for where you find yourself is great.  Experience breeds the decision making on things like this.  Absent experience, the advice of others is a poor substitute.  If you can borrow a tipi and stove, do so before buying one.

Might the best post I've read in a while. It made me laugh, and I agree.

[fillthefreezer]

i much enjoyed hearing of peoples fear of catching the gay.

im still up in the air about tipi's, i really like 'mids for the space to weight ratio they provide.

[WaltAlpine]

Tagging because I use a tube tent on the high hunt because I can't decide what system to use. A tube tent costs 8 dollars and sometimes I can even use it more than one year!
And it weighs almost nothing.

[Okanagan]

Ditto on space vs weight advantage of a tipi.   4 lbs. for my 13' diameter 135 sq. ft. shelter 8' high or higher in center if I want.  I do not carry center pole nor stakes nor nest nor any other acoutrements for the tipi.

For the past 35 years I have backpack hunted with a minimal homemade tarp and a fair amount of the time solo without a sleeping bag.

However, in my dotage and following two blizzard & cold backpack hunts with sons and grandsons where I did not hunt but merely kept camp--- I went out and bought a Seek Outside 6 man tipi, intended for three people.  Have used it on one multi-day trip in -25 F temps, with two of us sleeping in it.

1.  No center pole needed.  You can eliminate the pole in several ways.   Tie it up to an overhanging limb or extended pole and suspend the tipi.  Or make a tripod of poles larger than the tipi and suspend it from the center with sides and bottom tied out to the poles.

2.  No stakes needed:   Skip the stakes by tying to logs and rocks (which we had to do with hard frozen ground).

3.  Need more head room?  Pitch it higher.  I pitch mine high enough to let the 6" sod skirt become a hanging  low side wall, which makes the edges much more useable.  I don't plan to ever use it when mosquitoes are a problem but if so will use my REI mosquito net as I do now whether under a minimal tarp or not.

I only plan to use this in late Fall storm condition multi-person backpacking, or in car camping when I want more space.  Solo, I take a minimal tarp.

I have built two stoves and am still learning about using them.  My first one was too small for that much space in -25 weather.   But it felt wonderful to come into the tipi from -25!







 

[dreamunelk]

Tagging because I use a tube tent on the high hunt because I can't decide what system to use. A tube tent costs 8 dollars and sometimes I can even use it more than one year!
And it weighs almost nothing.

Tube tents    That brings many memories of misadventures of my youth in the North Cascades

[WaltAlpine]

This is a great thread.
I now remember learning most of what I know about the outdoors starting at 14. I spent summers in Canada in lots of rain building shelters out of 6 mil plastic 8 miles deep on the first night.
Bugs, wet, cold etc was just part of what it was all about.
That's why a tube tent seems so cool to me I guess

[actionshooter]

Hunting  goals are wildly divergent.  Some are not satisfied if they can’t do what some mule skinner from 100 years ago did, with his gear set.  Why stop there?  Why not what Grog would have done 7500 years ago?  Spears and animal furs for clothes, cave? It’s as logical a decision as avoiding other modern gear because if you use it you might catch the gay.  I don’t know what Grog’s word for weak sister would have been, but he’d have called me that.

Anyhow. Tipi’s and stoves are what they are, tools.  They’ll be very good  for certain work and very poor for others. Still confused at the damning of smaller tipis because you can only stand at the pole.  Considering you can, in fact, stand at the pole.  Whereas, in non tipi’s you can stand at the nowhere.  Anyhow you’ll like tipis if:

You’ve done floorless and get it.
You don’t want to move your camp daily.
If you’re not solo at great distance.
If you’re a modest distance with access to good wood and it will be very cold or very wet.
Are hiking a long ways but have 3 or more guys and the weight penalty is now diminished.
If you are car camping but the road system you use has crap for decent pull outs for a wall tent set up, or a great spot is at some distance to the road.
Want a large set up that takes a miniscule fraction of the weight and space of a wall tent camp.
Horse hunt and can occupy a great camp at the cost of 20 Lbs all in for a group of 6.
Won’t be able to keep things dry in a cold camp no matter how hard you try.
Find basking in the glow of a red stove rewarding at any weight penalty.

I don’t use them on the high hunt for a couple reasons. Weight penalty. Nothing to burn way up there. Frequent fire restrictions.  If weight’s not an issue, then a base camp tipi for multiple guys with bivi-tarp set ups for where you find yourself is great.  Experience breeds the decision making on things like this.  Absent experience, the advice of others is a poor substitute.  If you can borrow a tipi and stove, do so before buying one.

Excellent post!
 Tipi's have there place, they are definitely not the "do everything" tent. One of the worst mistakes I have made was using a floorless tipi, without a liner on gravel bars for 2-1/2 weeks while float hunting a river. Worst condensation I have ever seen.
 But in the Idaho high country, they are awesome.

[dscubame]

Golite SL-5 is 2 lbs 4 oz (without the nest) and you get a 9.5' by 9.5' foot print.  Even on a solo trip that's a ton of room for a mere 2lbs.  We've slept 3 comfortably and you could do one more without all the gear if you had to.  It's easy to sit up and move around in the morning while getting ready as well. No shaking out the tent or worrying about mud/dirt/pine needles when you have to pack up.  Just roll the thing up and stuff it in your pack.

You don't always need a pole in the middle.  My SL-5 has a loop in the top and it's as easy as putting a rope through and securing it.

I am looking to buy a SL5 if anyone has any leads on one.... 

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

My Cabelas Outback lodge is awesome.

 

[fillthefreezer]

I am looking to buy a SL5 if anyone has any leads on one....

the new seekoutside cimmaron appears to be everything the sl5 was and better

[whacker1]

I am looking to buy a SL5 if anyone has any leads on one....

the new seekoutside cimmaron appears to be everything the sl5 was and better

Thank you for those that have recommended the Seek outside Cimmaron.  I am exploring the Cimmaron & Beyond Timberline 2 most likely with the BT 2 nest.  Both would give dual entrance so that you aren't climbing over the hunting partner to go take a whizz.  other than height and slightly different foot prints, would anyone like to compare other differences that I may have overlooked between these 2?

Feel free to compare to the SL5 as a used SL5 is still the preference.
I like the nest and base set up better on the SL5, but I think these two options via Seek outside are probably built at a higher level and should last longer.

[fillthefreezer]

SL5 nest is heavy as F!
BT is more akin to the sl3 imo. awkward for taller guys or 2 people. i would think great for solo, under 6'. shuck wind better than almost anything.
sl5 tie down loops are the best, but easily accomplished with some cord and a tautline hitch.