Seekoutside vs Kifaru
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I like design and ultralight performance of kifaru sawtooth but possible problem in main opinion will be condensation... In humid conditions I think that shelter without proper ventilation it will be real sauna... I love in seekoutside tipis better ventilation system and I think they are better options for camping than kifaru tipis...
I've had both (Kifaru 4-man, SO 6 & 8 man, SO LBO base/tarp/LBO base).
My preference is for the SO, because imho they are better built, offer much better value for money and the owners don't get hung up defending the indefensible (in Kifaru's case that relates to their stance on the strength or otherwise of their guy-out points, and having a proper zip cover). SO, for example, changed their tent build (from asymmetric panels to symmetrical) because they recognised it improved the tent strength.
A discussion on the Kifaru V Seekoutside tipis can be found here https://www.hillpeoplegear.com/Foru...id/9567/scope/posts/threadpage/1/Default.aspx
My preference is for the SO, because imho they are better built, offer much better value for money and the owners don't get hung up defending the indefensible (in Kifaru's case that relates to their stance on the strength or otherwise of their guy-out points, and having a proper zip cover). SO, for example, changed their tent build (from asymmetric panels to symmetrical) because they recognised it improved the tent strength.
A discussion on the Kifaru V Seekoutside tipis can be found here https://www.hillpeoplegear.com/Foru...id/9567/scope/posts/threadpage/1/Default.aspx
Thanks for the link, I will check it little latter. Tell me please, do you use wood stove in your tent and what the situation is with air flowing and ventilation in SO tipis? I would like to buy some light tipi tent if they are of good quality for solo and winter camping with a stove. My logic is that 4 man tipi will be enough for me, for general purpose and 6 man tipi for winter camping and sometimes with my better half. I check of course and tentipi tents, zirkon light and safir light but they are very expensive and with a floor little on the edge in the terms of weight for winter backpacking when you must caring so many things.
Sorry if my English is not good enough, it's not my native language.
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Yes, I use/have used a woodstove in all my Kifaru and Seekoutside tents. Ventilation is not a problem - the stovepipe itself goes out through the tipi/tent at the top, SO tents are provided with two high-level ventilation systems, and additional ventilation can be provided by raising the door zip a few inches to increase throughflow if needed.
Stoves used to date are all lightweight "flat-pack" stoves. Kifaru medium (stainless steel), Seekoutside Large (titanium and Hillpeoplegear Shepherd stove (SS). All work well - produce plenty of heat but will not burn for more than a couple of hours per wood-load, so will not burn throughout the night without reloading. On the plus side, the stoves, including roll-up pipes, are very light. THe SO large, for example, with 9ft stovepipe, is less than 2kg.
Re your choice of tents, I believe the quality of the Seekoutside tents is first-class. As far as size is concerned, its all down to how light you want/need to go! Unless weight is ultra-critical I'd accept the additional kg and go for the 6-man. My own 8-man SO tipi, including large SO ti stove and stovepipe, weighs less than 11lbs/5kg.
Stoves used to date are all lightweight "flat-pack" stoves. Kifaru medium (stainless steel), Seekoutside Large (titanium and Hillpeoplegear Shepherd stove (SS). All work well - produce plenty of heat but will not burn for more than a couple of hours per wood-load, so will not burn throughout the night without reloading. On the plus side, the stoves, including roll-up pipes, are very light. THe SO large, for example, with 9ft stovepipe, is less than 2kg.
Re your choice of tents, I believe the quality of the Seekoutside tents is first-class. As far as size is concerned, its all down to how light you want/need to go! Unless weight is ultra-critical I'd accept the additional kg and go for the 6-man. My own 8-man SO tipi, including large SO ti stove and stovepipe, weighs less than 11lbs/5kg.
Great! In your opinion which stove is the best in quality of those before mentioned? Weight is not my primary consideration, so little bit extra weight it doesn't matter. But if I can lessen my overall weight of backpack with light tipi tent and stove I will do it. For the winter time condition with -20 °C which size of stove will be appropriate for 6 man tipi in your opinion?
6-man tipi at -20C? All of the ones I've mentioned (although Kifaru medium would be a bit marginal) There is also another "fold-flat" stove manufacturer - Titanium Goat http://www.titaniumgoat.com/stove-WiFi.html . Their Large Wifi ti stove would do well as well.
As to which is best......
THe Tigoat wifi stove is nicely designed, and the stove-top and any pots etc on it is supported directly by the legs, rather than depending on the body to take the strain. On the negative side, the stove opening/door looks a bit flimsy and is not as wide as the others, limiting the size of logs you can burn.
The SO range is a little bit fiddly to put together, but works well. Plus features are its weight and good size door.
The new Kifaru range seem to be getting more fiddly, rather than less. Both the stove and stovepipe are now held together by twisting stainless steel wire together - in my opinion totally unnecessary. And a design feature I'm not impressed with is the lack of any airvents right at the bottom of the front of the stove, which - again in my opinion - help the stove draw in the most effective manner. All the other stoves mentioned have bottom airvents.
The Hillpeoplegear Shepherd stove https://www.hillpeoplegear.com/Products/tabid/762/CategoryID/5/ProductID/28/Default.aspx has a number of excellent features, particularly the way you don't need nuts and bolts etc to put the stove together. I'm not a huge fan of where they've placed the spark arrestor and damper (actually in the stovepipe), but to be fair to them it seems to work ok. Its also a fair bit bigger volume-wise than the other stoves mentioned above, and with the curved "belly" it seems to burn wood more efficiently. Its in stainless steel, but only weighs around 1.4kg plus the weight of the pipe. If you go for the Shepherd stove, its worth noting that the price for a 110inch stovepipe (4" diameter) is only $75.
As to which is best......
THe Tigoat wifi stove is nicely designed, and the stove-top and any pots etc on it is supported directly by the legs, rather than depending on the body to take the strain. On the negative side, the stove opening/door looks a bit flimsy and is not as wide as the others, limiting the size of logs you can burn.
The SO range is a little bit fiddly to put together, but works well. Plus features are its weight and good size door.
The new Kifaru range seem to be getting more fiddly, rather than less. Both the stove and stovepipe are now held together by twisting stainless steel wire together - in my opinion totally unnecessary. And a design feature I'm not impressed with is the lack of any airvents right at the bottom of the front of the stove, which - again in my opinion - help the stove draw in the most effective manner. All the other stoves mentioned have bottom airvents.
The Hillpeoplegear Shepherd stove https://www.hillpeoplegear.com/Products/tabid/762/CategoryID/5/ProductID/28/Default.aspx has a number of excellent features, particularly the way you don't need nuts and bolts etc to put the stove together. I'm not a huge fan of where they've placed the spark arrestor and damper (actually in the stovepipe), but to be fair to them it seems to work ok. Its also a fair bit bigger volume-wise than the other stoves mentioned above, and with the curved "belly" it seems to burn wood more efficiently. Its in stainless steel, but only weighs around 1.4kg plus the weight of the pipe. If you go for the Shepherd stove, its worth noting that the price for a 110inch stovepipe (4" diameter) is only $75.
Thanks for explaining me pros and cons of stoves... I think that from mentioned stoves SO and Hillpeoplegear is interesting to me... But one more thing will be necessary and that is snow and proper winter this year
Winters are every year little by little less colder and shorter in my country and region when i live...
I don't have much to add, but I used a Kifaru tipi for about 10 days down to -15degC in Alberta Canada, January 2012 (the -25deg cold snap ended the day we arrived ) Ours was the 6-man model and it was a tight squeeze for three plus gear. So tight that one of our number de-camped and went and set up in a hammock for half the time! We had one of the fold flat stoves, medium I think, whatever it was, it wasn't great at raising the temperature. The gap around the stove pipe exiting the heat resistant jack panel allowed hot air to escape before the lower part of the shelter ever really warmed. When sitting on our mats, there was a frost line at chest height. I guess though that this is all relative, it was a lot warmer inside than outside. The impermeable material the tipi is made of meant that we got lots of frost on the inside, and the stove never melted anything lower than 2 feet above ground. I am very glad that we had other cooking arrangements and did not have to use the stove for that too. We were able to borrow a Fourdog stove for the second half of the trip and that worked a lot better. It wasn't a fold flat, so had much better draft control, and it was able to raise the temperature a good deal higher. Actually, the first time we used it, it went a little too high. The Kifaru, due to poor air control, only really had two settings, flat out glowing red, and going out, so we always kept it stoked. Doing the same with the Fourdog meant that the upper part of the tipi, shoulder and head height when standing, got up to over 50degC! Didn't hurt the tent, but did rather shock us.
) Ours was the 6-man model and it was a tight squeeze for three plus gear. So tight that one of our number de-camped and went and set up in a hammock for half the time! We had one of the fold flat stoves, medium I think, whatever it was, it wasn't great at raising the temperature. The gap around the stove pipe exiting the heat resistant jack panel allowed hot air to escape before the lower part of the shelter ever really warmed. When sitting on our mats, there was a frost line at chest height. I guess though that this is all relative, it was a lot warmer inside than outside. The impermeable material the tipi is made of meant that we got lots of frost on the inside, and the stove never melted anything lower than 2 feet above ground. I am very glad that we had other cooking arrangements and did not have to use the stove for that too. We were able to borrow a Fourdog stove for the second half of the trip and that worked a lot better. It wasn't a fold flat, so had much better draft control, and it was able to raise the temperature a good deal higher. Actually, the first time we used it, it went a little too high. The Kifaru, due to poor air control, only really had two settings, flat out glowing red, and going out, so we always kept it stoked. Doing the same with the Fourdog meant that the upper part of the tipi, shoulder and head height when standing, got up to over 50degC! Didn't hurt the tent, but did rather shock us.I don't have much to add, but I used a Kifaru tipi for about 10 days down to -15degC in Alberta Canada, January 2012 (the -25deg cold snap ended the day we arrived
Interesting information about stove and possible problems with them... thanks! I plan to get 6 man tipi only for myself. I think that is optimal space for winter camping when you can be stuck most of the time in the tent... because of bad weather or some other reason...
The fourdog stoves are lovely bits of kit - beautifully built. But heavy! And of course don't pack flat, which is a problem for backpacking. The iron ones are pretty cheap, but you're looking at well over 30lbs for even the smallest. THe titanium ones are much lighter, but you're still looking at around 10lbs, lots of dollars - particularly if you get it fitted with baffles, and they use solid pipes, not roll-up. You can retrofit roll-up pipes I suppose. However, from their website it looks as if they might have stopped building the titanium ones.
