Random Tipi Thoughts

[Voyageur]

After buying my first tipi (a Kifaru 8 man) about 18 or so years ago I used them heavily and almost exclusively for close to 10 years. After that time I gradually drifted back to mostly using tents, not because I didn't like the tipi, but more a result of when and where I was hunting or trekking. After spending close to two weeks hunting moose this fall I had plenty of time to reassess my preferences.
My lightweight backpacking tent that I used for my moose hunt worked just fine, but I would have been way more comfortable using my tipi. One of the major factors contributing to this was the lengthening hours of darkness each night....about 6 minutes more each day. My tipi with a warm crackling fire in the stove and me seated beside it in my Crazy Creek chair would have been far more enjoyable than laying on my back in my small tent waiting for it to get light outside or waiting to go to sleep at night. On a caribou hunt earlier in the season when light is almost endless these things aren't a problem. On a later season moose hunt they are.
One of the things that kept me from taking my tipi on my previous caribou hunts and this moose hunt was the extra 5 or so pounds of weight. During the past two weeks I decided even if the extra weight meant paying for another gear flight it would be worth it to bring the tipi.
Those of you that use your tipi for AK hunts, and elsewhere that weight is a consideration, I'm curious what you use for stakes??? I have always been doubtful of the durability of the plastic stakes that came with my Kifaru tipi. Having said that I do have to admit to never having one of them fail me.
Would appreciate any and all thoughts on this topic of using tipis for weight restricted hunts from those of you who have experience doing so.
Thanks.

 

[realunlucky]

@Kevin Dill uses his kifaru yearly moose hunting hopefully he'll chime in.

I've had great luck using the msr cyclone stakes in less than ideal terrain.

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk

 

[Clovis]

There is a lot of pleasure in having a tipi under the conditions you describe--I don't do it all the time, but a late fall solo hunt I did where I backpacked in a Kifaru 6 man and medium woodstove was one of the coolest experiences of my life because the time around a warm fire after dark was so pleasurable in what was a legitimate snowy wilderness. To your stake question, I have replaced most of the original Durapegs from my tipi with longer MSR Groundhogs or generic equivelents and have broken a bunch of the Durapegs driving them into rocky ground as they have gotten older. I am not sure, but I think that they have grown more brittle over time (about 10 years or so), which makes sense for anything made of plastic.

 

[Beendare]

A tipi is just so efficient.....I''m using mine almost exclusively. I make mine...in fact, I'm making another smaller/lighter version shortly.

A pic of mine in MT backcountry

I did a AK drop camp in a swamp with this same tipi and we had to cut willows for longer poles just to get down to semi solid ground. Sometimes I leave the pole at home and just cut a pole when I get there....but you can't count on doing that in AK.

 

[MBAO-millennialbyageonly]

Just ordered the SO cimarron light this morning pretty excited to get into the tipi game!

 

[Catch-34]

Just orders a sawtooth with med box stove and can’t wait to try the floor less tipi and stove.

 

[MTElkChaser]

I like the MSR Cyclone stakes too, but ordered the 8” Easton Aluminum stakes a year ago and they are awesome. That’s all I’m buying moving forward. Yep, they’re that good. Good luck!

 

[rayporter]

my tipis get used the most, i have used the six man in AK 3 times and in the boundary waters i took the 12 man twice.
one shelter will not be perfect every time. you need more that one to fit all the different places you can camp.

 

[Voyageur]

A tipi is just so efficient.....I''m using mine almost exclusively. I make mine...in fact, I'm making another smaller/lighter version shortly.
View attachment 218207
A pic of mine in MT backcountry

I did a AK drop camp in a swamp with this same tipi and we had to cut willows for longer poles just to get down to semi solid ground. Sometimes I leave the pole at home and just cut a pole when I get there....but you can't count on doing that in AK.

Looks like you do quality work.

 

[Voyageur]

I like the MSR Cyclone stakes too, but ordered the 8” Easton Aluminum stakes a year ago and they are awesome. That’s all I’m buying moving forward. Yep, they’re that good. Good luck!

Are these the Easton stakes you are referring to?

 

[*zap*]

Those eastons are light and pretty good, I have had some of the tops pull off of them and just epoxied them back on.

 

[tdot]

I've bent a number of the Easton Gold stakes, but they are from atleast 10+ years ago. The news one in the pics look like they have a different head, so maybe changes have been made. Anyone bending them in semi-firm soil? Otherwise I prefer the MSR stakes.

I prefer mid style tents over teepee's, you can get them light enough that they wont be changing your total weight. Tents from Seek Outside in DCF are crazy light and cheaper then a 2nd flight.

 

[Tryin]

my tipis get used the most, i have used the six man in AK 3 times and in the boundary waters i took the 12 man twice.
one shelter will not be perfect every time. you need more that one to fit all the different places you can camp.

How was it rigging out a tipi in the BWCA? We are going next year and I figured I would have to buy a freestanding tent just for the trip because of all the exposed/shallow granite.

 

[Steve O]

I got rid of my 8 man Kifaru tipi after a few trips in my Sawtooth. Best of both worlds and IMO just about the same useable space. I use(d) those MSR Cyclones for the cardinal points and Groundhogs for the others. One trip to Kodiak had my Cyclones being thrown 50’ so ended up pounding my disassembled trekking poles into the soft ground. DEEP.

 

[rayporter]

we got caught once when a storm was coming in and we had no choice but to take the next place we could get off the water. it was nearly all rock. i did manage to get the 12 man tipi up with several stakes left out before the storm hit. it was raining sideways and serious wind. the stakes held and we spent the night.

we were able to choose camps that were not solid rock on the other nights and had no trouble pitching the tipi. but it could be a problem.

one guy use a hammock and got along well with it.

 

[MTElkChaser]

Are these the Easton stakes you are referring to?View attachment 220647

Yes. Those are the ones. I cut the last batch of them down to 6” stakes for a particular Tarptent I just got. Super easy and awesome stakes.

 

[mouri010]

Wondering how big of a problem condensation is for all the tipi/floorless people? Is it worse early/late season?

 

[Wrench]

Wondering how big of a problem condensation is for all the tipi/floorless people? Is it worse early/late season?

With no stove, it's a typical single wall shelter....plus the evap from under you.

With a stove, it's dry as a popcorn fart.