Liteoutdoors tipi

[Voyageur]

Really good to hear reports from the field. I'm hoping you will update us again after a season of use.

 

[BackcountryBloodline]

Really good to hear reports from the field. I'm hoping you will update us again after a season of use.

That's the idea, I plan on posting my own thread with a thorough follow up after I've really put it to the test, just wanted to get my initial impressions out in the meantime!

 

[Agla06]

I'm suddenly really interested in this. I was just about to pull the trigger on a Luxe Octpeak, but I think I like the layout with the stove jack in the middle and more head height better with this.

Anyone able to compare these two options. They seem to be the closest on value (cost / quality).

 

[sneaky]

I'm suddenly really interested in this. I was just about to pull the trigger on a Luxe Octpeak, but I think I like the layout with the stove jack in the middle and more head height better with this.

Anyone able to compare these two options. They seem to be the closest on value (cost / quality).

Have you looked at the Jimmy Tarps Hudson? Another option to consider that isn't overly expensive

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[Agla06]

Have you looked at the Jimmy Tarps Hudson? Another option to consider that isn't overly expensive

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I hadn't, but they appear to be the smallest, lightest, and cheapest of the 3 with less features.

Jimmy Tarp Hudson
9'-4" x 9'-4" x 5-2" tall 1#-8oz ripstop 2 sil-poly, stove jack, trekking pole center, not seam sealed, no snow skirts, $319+tax & shipping

Luxe Octopeak
10'-0" x 10'-0" x 6' tall 3.12#, 40D Ripstop Nylon (Silnylon) fabric, stove jack, folding aluminum pole center 12.2oz $39, seam sealed, snow skirts, $319+tax & shipping

Lite Outdoors Plateau 5
10'-6" x 10'-6" x 7' tall 3#-8oz, 20D ripstop nylon with a silicone/polyurethane hybrid coating, stove jack, aluminum pole center 1#-1oz, seam sealed, 9" snow skirts, $449CAD+tax = about $329USD+,tax.

 

[BackcountryBloodline]

I hadn't, but they appear to be the smallest, lightest, and cheapest of the 3 with less features.

Jimmy Tarp Hudson
9'-4" x 9'-4" x 62" tall 1#-8oz rooftop 2 sil-poly, stove jack, trekking pole center, not seam sealed, no snow skirts, $319+tax & shipping

Luxe Octopeak
10'-0" x 10'-0" x 6' tall 3.12#, 40D Ripstop Nylon (Silnylon) fabric, stove jack, folding aluminum pole center 12.2oz $39, seam sealed, snow skirts, $319+tax & shipping

Lite Outdoors Plateau 5
10'-6" x 10'-6" x 7' tall 3#-8oz, 20D ripstop nylon with a silicone/polyurethane hybrid coating, stove jack, aluminum pole center 1#-1oz, seam sealed, 9" snow skirts, $449+tax & shipping

Just a heads up, that price for the LO tent is in CDN $$, if you're spending USD I would definitely take advantage of our crumbling economy right now...they do free shipping on tents too. Have heard good things about Jimmy Tarps as well! I don't have any personal experience with Luxe, there was a recent Luxe thread that might be worth reading though.

 

[Agla06]

Just a heads up, that price for the LO tent is in CDN $$, if you're spending USD I would definitely take advantage of our crumbling economy right now...they do free shipping on tents too. Have heard good things about Jimmy Tarps as well! I don't have any personal experience with Luxe, there was a recent Luxe thread that might be worth reading though.

Good catch. Edited to convert to USD.

 

[Agla06]

Just a heads up, that price for the LO tent is in CDN $$, if you're spending USD I would definitely take advantage of our crumbling economy right now...they do free shipping on tents too. Have heard good things about Jimmy Tarps as well! I don't have any personal experience with Luxe, there was a recent Luxe thread that might be worth reading though.

I've read most of the Luxe threads. This is what I got out of them.

There seem to be two categories of people who don't like them. 1) They can't fathom buying anything except the most expensive brands with the biggest prices. Budgets aren't a thing when it comes to gear like tents and sleep systems. Or 2) Don't want to buy Luxe because they are manufactured abroad and imported even though the material used for some tents / tipis is also imported but manufactured domestically.

There appears to be one category who like Luxe and that is the actual owners. They admit it isn't the same quality of a comparable SO Redcliff that is double the price, yet the Redcliff only has 30D fabric while the Luxe has 40D. Almost to a person they say the Luxe Octopeak is a great value.

I did a bunch of searches and research and was ready to pull the trigger on an Octopeak with a Lite Outdoors 18' stove. Then I found the Plateau 5 and it's thrown a wrench into everything.

The Jimmy tent seems too small, too thin material, and doesn't have snow skirts or comparable features for the same cost so it's out.

The Plateau 5 is bigger, about the same price, but has a better layout than the Octopeek with a center stove jack and make sense to buy the Lite Outdoors Plateau & 18"stove combo. The Plateau actually accommodates 3 with the stove where the Octopeak is only 2. But the Plateau 5 is a little heavier and with 20D fabrick to Octopeak 40D. So I'm just not sure. I don't have the funds to buy again if change my mind.

I only get to use this set up once a year in Colorado chasing elk above 9k' in one of the wilderness areas I backpack into. Maybe twice if I talk the family into a camping trip. So really hard to justify spending double for more high end tents that sound higher quality.

 

[BackcountryBloodline]

I've read most of the Luxe threads. This is what I got out of them.

There seem to be two categories of people who don't like them. 1) They can't fathom buying anything except the most expensive brands with the biggest prices. Budgets aren't a thing. Or 2) Can't fathom buying Luxe because they are manufactured abroad and imported even though the material used for most tents / tipis is also imported but manufactured domestically.

There appears to be one category who like Luxe and that is the actual owners. They admit it isn't the same quality of a comparable SO Redcliff that is double the price, yet the redcliff only has 30D fabric while the Luxe has 40D. Almost to a person they say the Luxe Octopeak is a great value.

I did a bunch of searches and research and was ready to pull the trigger on an Octopeak with a Lite Outdoors 18' stove. Then I found the Plateau and it's thrown a wrench into everything. The Jimmy tent seems too small, too thin material, and doesn't have snow skirts or comparable features for the same cost so it's out. The Plateau is bigger, about the same price, but has a better layout than the Octopeek with a center stove jack and make sense to buy the Lite Outdoors Plateau & 18"stove combo. The Plateau actually accommodates 3 with the stove where the Octopeak is only 2. But the PLateau is a little heavier and with half the strength fabric (20D to Octopeak 40D). So I'm just not sure. I don't have the funds to buy again if change my mind.

I only get to use this set up once a year in Colorado chasing elk above 9k' in one of the wilderness areas I backpack into. Maybe twice if I talk the family into a camping trip. So not enough to justify spending more for Seek Outside redcliff that I can't really afford at more than double the cost.

Ya I feel like that's pretty similar to the general outlook on the LO tent, I haven't paid too much attention to that perspective though since it seems to be incredibly selective...the vast majority of everything we use and trust on a daily basis is made abroad. What stood out to me was customer service complaints, highly possible they were unwarranted and anyone can have a bad day but so far I've had nothing but stellar service from Brennen at LO personally and haven't heard anything otherwise.

I had similar thoughts on the size of the JT, being able to stand up in the tent truly is a game changer...keep in mind though I'm 5'11 and it's still tight standing up in the 7' plateau with the wall angle, in a 6' tipi with an even steeper angle I would be crouching a bit.

Honestly don't think you could go wrong with either one though, like I said I don't have any personal experience with the Luxe tents but I assume they're very comparable...if you are planning on buying an LO stove as well though keep in mind there is a package deal on the stove/tent combo.

If you do go Luxe though definitely let us know how it works out for you, most people definitely do seem plenty happy with them!

 

[reaper]

I second on customer services from Liteoutdoors always have a super great service.

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[sneaky]

I've read most of the Luxe threads. This is what I got out of them.

There seem to be two categories of people who don't like them. 1) They can't fathom buying anything except the most expensive brands with the biggest prices. Budgets aren't a thing. Or 2) Can't fathom buying Luxe because they are manufactured abroad and imported even though the material used for most tents / tipis is also imported but manufactured domestically.

There appears to be one category who like Luxe and that is the actual owners. They admit it isn't the same quality of a comparable SO Redcliff that is double the price, yet the redcliff only has 30D fabric while the Luxe has 40D. Almost to a person they say the Luxe Octopeak is a great value.

I did a bunch of searches and research and was ready to pull the trigger on an Octopeak with a Lite Outdoors 18' stove. Then I found the Plateau and it's thrown a wrench into everything. The Jimmy tent seems too small, too thin material, and doesn't have snow skirts or comparable features for the same cost so it's out. The Plateau is bigger, about the same price, but has a better layout than the Octopeek with a center stove jack and make sense to buy the Lite Outdoors Plateau & 18"stove combo. The Plateau actually accommodates 3 with the stove where the Octopeak is only 2. But the PLateau is a little heavier and with half the strength fabric (20D to Octopeak 40D). So I'm just not sure. I don't have the funds to buy again if change my mind.

I only get to use this set up once a year in Colorado chasing elk above 9k' in one of the wilderness areas I backpack into. Maybe twice if I talk the family into a camping trip. So not enough to justify spending more for Seek Outside redcliff that I can't really afford at more than double the cost.

We get it, everyone has a budget, but to try and throw shade on American made shelters using American made silnylon is wrong. The Luxe tents are made with 40D material that is a lower quality material than the US made 30D that SO uses. That isn't even a fair comparison. Just because it's a heavier denier fabric doesn't make it stronger. There's a lot of us who like supporting American companies using American made materials and employing American workers to sew them. I would bet that the 20D material that LO uses is comparable in strength to the Luxe material. At the end of the day, support who you want to, but these days I'm supporting US made gear before I'm supporting the Chinese. It's one of the few market items where we can.

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[Southforkguy]

Looking at buying this one for just myself, I had the Cimmaron and thought it was far to small especially since I prefer to run a cot. I want the extra room of a wall tent without the hassle of setup. The efficiency of this Tipi makes sense to me. Anyone running a cot in this tent ??

 

[sneaky]

Looking at buying this one for just myself, I had the Cimmaron and thought it was far to small especially since I prefer to run a cot. I want the extra room of a wall tent without the hassle of setup. The efficiency of this Tipi makes sense to me. Anyone running a cot in this tent ??

Are you running a full size cot? Those things eat up space in any slope walled shelter

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[Southforkguy]

Are you running a full size cot? Those things eat up space in any slope walled shelter

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I run one of those coleman cots. im 6foot 1. i have 2 of them so i steal the other pad and duct tape both to the cot. drape a blanket over all that then i have my whole bedding setup on that. pretty friggin cushy but yes they eat up room

 

[sneaky]

I run one of those coleman cots. im 6foot 1. i have 2 of them so i steal the other pad and duct tape both to the cot. drape a blanket over all that then i have my whole bedding setup on that. pretty friggin cushy but yes they eat up room

Good thing you're only 6'1", any taller than that and your head would be on the bar lol

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[Southforkguy]

pretty close now i lose my pillow enough to consider making a pillow keeper! lol

 

[Agla06]

We get it, everyone has a budget, but to try and throw shade on American made shelters using American made silnylon is wrong. The Luxe tents are made with 40D material that is a lower quality material than the US made 30D that SO uses. That isn't even a fair comparison. Just because it's a heavier denier fabric doesn't make it stronger. There's a lot of us who like supporting American companies using American made materials and employing American workers to sew them. I would bet that the 20D material that LO uses is comparable in strength to the Luxe material. At the end of the day, support who you want to, but these days I'm supporting US made gear before I'm supporting the Chinese. It's one of the few market items where we can.

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I didn't throw shade on any company. I was asked if I read the Luxe reviews and I summarized what I got from them. I hear what you're saying regarding quality, but that doesn't make sense for the fabric. Maybe I just don't understand the fabric enough (which is very possible). From what I read denier is a rating. It isn't subjective. The higher the number the thicker, sturdier and more durable. I'd love a big Seek Outside tipi, but unfortunately their similiar sized tipis are double the price or more than the Lite Outdoors and Luxe tipis.

Bear Paw is the only company I saw that specifically said the fabric was made in the USA. LiteOutdoors doesn't specify, but that's not surprising since they aren't a USA company. Seek Outside says their products are made in the USA, but doesn't specify regarding the materials. We know where Luxe is made.

Some of those might have everything including material that's made in the USA. I'm in manufacturing in a different industry. It isn't uncommon for companies that say their products are manufactured in the USA to have non-made in the USA materials. It's not an all or nothing . That doesn't mean they are made in China. There's dozens of countries that can make fabrics and plastics and films quicker and cheaper than we can in the USA even with shipping costs. It just is what it is.

Our company tried to only use made in the USA products, it just wasn't feasible or even an option for some materials. Just because the materials aren't made in the USA doesn't mean they aren't quality materials. The quality and value of the end product are on the company that manufacturers them. I don't think there is any question there regarding Seek Outside or similar companies.

 

[sneaky]

@Kevin_t can you share some info on the material, specifically your 30D silnylon, used in your shelters?

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[Dirtydan]

If you look at the numbers the Luxe6 man is more the size of a SO Cimarron. That makes the price difference a hundred dollars, certainly not double. Luxe advertising is WAY misleading. Their 3 man is sized more in line with a Silvertip which is clearly marked as a 2 man less stove and a single with on the SO site. I’ve owned both and think craftsmanship, customer service, and the little tag that says Made in the USA is worth my money.

 

[Kevin_t]

@Kevin_t can you share some info on the material, specifically your 30D silnylon, used in your shelters?

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Yes .. it depends , we use the best fabric for the purpose. For instance, packs Cordura is USA, X-Pac is USA but SpectraGridHT is from a South Korean mill .. it's the only place for it and it actually may be the best fabric of the bunch per weight. Sorry if I offend anyone .. but it's arguably as strong as Cordura at 65 percent the weight (and it does have Cordura mixed with the Spectra) and has a superior waterproof coating to boot.

Tent fabric - Dyneema is all US (Good news ..we should take our big shipment soon and Dyneema is doing well on production). Our Nylon is South Korea, but it is more complex (you know Hilleburg fabric is South Korea as well right ?) . The base of our nylon tent fabric is Cordura yarn which is imported to South Korea from the U.S where it is woven and coated. We choose this mill because they have a really really good coating and are pretty consistent (We have processed several hundred miles of fabric from that mill ). In the U.S we could not get the enough of the fabric with a good coating to meet our demand period.

Now on to the specifics of fabrics ... there are basically a few things that go into creating a great, reliable tent fabric that has many years of hard field use. The basics are type of fabric (Polyester, Nylon , High Tenacity Nylon ), Fabric Denier, and Fabric coating. A 40 denier fabric is thicker than a 30 denier fabric, BUT it is far more complex. High Tenacity Nylon or Cordura Nylon (High Tenacity is basically generic cordura) is far stronger than regular nylon, and nylon is stronger than polyester. So in essence a 30 Denier Cordura nylon can be stronger than a 70 denier fabric. Furthermore, fabric coating plays a HUGE part. Silicone coating is the lightest AND strongest BUT it can not be seam taped (that is why everyone gets the pleasure of seam sealing our nylon tents). PU coatings are heavier and weaken the fabric BUT can be taped. Blended (Sil and PU combined ) are really sort of in the middle.

For a perspective, Seek Outside has made in the past
70 Denier Nylon PU coated fabrics (I know some on here have big 12 person camo tipis from it .. troutbum)
70 Denier Nylon Silicone coated fabrics (I know some on here have those as well .. Tan tipis Robby )
30 Denier Cordura Nylon Silicone coated fabrics .. (an absolute sh*t ton on here have those )
Dyneema Tents
We also have customers that request the heavier denier fabrics because they equate it with more strength .. BUT it simply is not so. Currently we only use 30D Cordura and Dyneema for tents because they are the strongest , longest lasting fabrics. The other fabrics are just less expensive but they are NOT better and in the case of lighter PU fabrics such as a 30 D or 40D they can be prone to catastrophic rips and tears.

So what does this mean .. it means you may well be fine with a heavier fabric that is polyester or regular nylon with a PU or blended coating BUT the odds favor the Cordura Nylon with a Silicone coating or a Dyneema tent by a long shot in the long run .. especially in bad weather or any sort of issue. We have the data to back it up.

Kevin