Tipi's, Kifaru?

[1784police]

I have tried the Moskoselkatan TIpI in cotton and was very impressed with it. However, it is too dear for what I will use it for which is occasional winter camping with a stove. Has anyone tried the Kifaru kit or any knowledge/experience of these things. I am visiting the USA later int he yerar and may treat myself to a tipi and heater.

Thanks

 

[innocent bystander]

Check this thread out mate :

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=4939&page=2&pp=10&highlight=kifaru

Unfortunately i think the piccies have gone, though it did look good as i recall..

 

[Stuart]

I havent seen there tipis but i have heard lots of recommendations and praise for Kifaru's kit

 

[CLEM]

Does this company have a web site?

 

[Stuart]

http://www.kifaru.net/

 

[CLEM]

Thanks Stuart.

 

[Danceswithhelicopters]

Just bought a Kifaru Marauder Rucsac which is turned into the most expensive bergan in Christendom (Can I say that anymore...?)
Fantastic build and material quality which would bode well for the Tipis.
I could cry at how much I paid and I imagine the cost of a Tipi to buy, ship and pay customs on will be also high.
A long moment of 'must have' madness that I'm slowly getting over.

 

[John Havard]

I just used one of Kifaru's new 16-man tipis along with their arctic stove this September while hunting moose in Alaska with my longbow. I would not give the Kifaru tipi high marks. I own three of their military backpacks and rank them absolutely second-to-none. But the tipi was not well suited to handling stiff winds and the fabric was not waterproof (as later admitted by Patrick Smith, the owner). It seems that their supplier sent them a bad batch of fabric that had been poorly coated and therefore leaked like a sieve. To Kifaru's credit they offered to replace everything, but I decided to try some other form of shelter. Their rucksacks score a 100 out of 100, but their tipis - especially the largest one - may be pushing the limits of a single-pole tipi design.

I am interested in learning more about the Tentipi Varrie 9 lightweight and any experience other readers may have had with it. It's a bit smaller than what I want for a hunting base camp, but it does appear to be well made. I'd want to use a Four Dog titanium stove inside of it, and am also pretty sure I'd want to have the inner liner as well. Again, any first-hand experiences with this tentipi would be most appreciated.

John

 

[jerv]

I been thinking about one of their tipis for a long time. Asides from the price I have a few concerns about how they'll hold up in really really evil weather the website talks about blizzards and storms but not about weeks of mist gales and the kind of insidious long term wetness that we all love in this country. Has anyone used one in scotland or scandinavia. Alternativley does anyone know a uk stockist. it's one of those things i'd like to see before I buy.

 

[MagiKelly]

If you do a search on here you will find a few threads on Tentipis. You moght get more answers on them than a post about Kifaru

That said I have a 7 man canvas TenTipi and I am very pleased with it. I set it up on my patio to dry out after the Scottish Meet and it rained for a week, as is the tendency in Scotland, and it was still dry inside. So I would have no hesitation in using it for a long trip in these climates. Plus if you have a heater or stove burning it will be constantly drying the inside.

And here is one of the threads I was talking about

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=6958

 

[John Havard]

Hi John,

Thanks for the suggestion. In fact I had already done such a search and had found and read your posts. Cute girls! It reminds me that my "baby girl" is now a junior in college. They do indeed grow up too fast (or we age too quickly, one of the other!).

I will send you a PM and ask a few specific questions regarding the tentipi.

John

 

[MagiKelly]

I have posted your questions and my answers on the other thread as I thought others may also be interested.

 

[mmcniven]

I have a 4 man kifaru teepee with medium stove which I bought last year and have used it in Scotland and Norway. It is an excellent tent, without a doubt the
best I have used in the winter, not so good in the summer with the Scottish
midgies but I am making some modifications to it to improve this for next
summer. If you are after a light weight tent that will allow you to carry it in
without any problems then this is the tent for you, I have carried it while
cross country skiing in Norway by myself without any problems. The whole tent
and stove weights less than a 4 season 2 man mountain tent, less than 4 kg.
The stove is very limited in burn time getting less than an hour out of a medium
stove when fully packed with wood and left to burn out. This isn't really a
concern to me when back packing but I did make an air tight stove (see my other
thread) for using when I am camping near to a road and this does give me far
greater burn time and more control over the burn.
If you are going to buy one in the US there are a couple of things to remember,
Kifaru only sell from their factory in Colorado, it is hand made so there is a
waiting list, mine took 5 weeks to be made so you will have to contact them a
fair bit before you travel in order that it is ready for you. If you get one in
the states I would also buy an airtight stove at the same time, they are less
than £100 and well worth it if you do camp near the road.
I have never had any problems with my tent and have been in some pretty rough
weather with it, I would happily use it throughout a Scottish winter without any
concerns. If you want any photos or have any question please feel free to
send me a PM.

Michael

 

[John Havard]

Michael,

I appreciate the information. When I purchased the 16-man tipi & stove from Kifaru it was with use as a bomb-proof base camp in mind. It would be flown into our hunting location and then set up. While the Kifaru tipis are indeed very lightweight per person, the 16-man is beyond my definition of man-carryable! I felt that if it handled wind and rain comfortably then it would be just the ticket. Unfortunately mine handled neither very well.

I'm sure the batch of fabric from which mine was made was just a bad batch. In fact, Patrick said that they had never had a batch (prior to mine) that wasn't water proof. All I know is that mine leaked water directly through the fabric like a sieve, and Patrick confirmed that fact after they received my returned tipi. Having everything (including myself and my camp mates) inside the tipi as wet as if it was laying outside directly in the rain was most unpleasant. Also, the stove pipe was bent over and started flapping against the top of the tipi once the wind reached sustained speeds of approximately 45 kph. Hardly equivalent to Everest base camp winds as their ads suggest.

Again, let me emphasize that Patrick was wonderful to deal with. He apoligized for my bad experience and offered to replace everything. I just decided that I'd prefer to find something a bit more substantial than the Kifaru tipi, and that's what led me to find the tentipi. Unfortunately they don't make a single-pole version as large as the Kifaru 16-man, but I'm definitely interested in the Varrie 9.

John

 

[bilko]

Hi John
Just to put the cat amongst the pigeons can i suggest you look at a Lavvu Tipi from http://www.outdoorcode.com/ ( no affiliation ). I saw one at the northern meet recently and was quite impressed with it. I understand they will be the sole distributers in the UK and that the Lavvu is well thought of in it's country of origin.
I don't know what sizes they'll be doing but a phonecall may save you some heartache.
Just a thought.

 

[mmcniven]

John

Sorry my comments and experience were aimed at the originator of the thread asking for people with experience of Kifaru teepees and not at your unfortunate experience with them. I maybe should have made that clearer

Michael