Tipi or Similar Advice

[eskimo]

Hi, I currently use a High Altitude 4 season tent when I am camping away with my family (Wife & 7 Year Old).
However we have decided to camp more frequently and especially in the winter time as we can avoid the crowds that usually come hand in hand with the sun.

I am wanting to purchase a Tipi or some other type of dwelling that can house a wood burner safely. It needs to sleep 3 in relative comfort. Because of the wet weather we are sure to encounter in the good old UK I would also preferably like one with a Bathtub Groundsheet. Weight is not a major issue as we will be traveling by car.

I am going to sell our current tent which I expect to get around £200 for, and also have about £200 spare from Christmas, and was wondering if anyone can recommend a good Tipi and also a wood burner? I am not 100% stuck to this budget (£400) but close to would be prefered.

Is this possible or do I need to dig much further into my pockets?

Many thanks in advance and hope everybody had a good new year!!

[rik_uk3]

http://www.madbearoutdoors.co.uk/products.asp?cat=10

[Jared]

Wondering if you get the next sized groundsheet up, if its possible to bathtub it with some tape.

[Scots_Charles_River]

http://www.madbearoutdoors.co.uk/products.asp?cat=10

Might be worth reading the post below.:cool:

http://www.songofthepaddle.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=5428

Nick

[Mike Ameling]

A tipi:

They can be great to camp in, and very good mentally. But they are something of a specialty type tent. First thing to consider is ALL THOSE POLES. A general rule to go by is you need poles 4 to 6 feet longer than the size of the tipi. You can get by with poles only 2 feet longer, but it takes a bunch more "tweaking" to get it set up just right. So a 14 foot tipi will need poles 18 to 20 feet long! And 18 foot tipi needs 22 to 24 foot long poles! And you will need 14 to 17 of those poles. Transportation of them becomes a major headache. Most people I know have a specially built trailer to haul them. I did so in the past, but I also hauled them in a rack on the top of my pickup truck. Both ways have their good points and bad points. But the MAJOR concern with a tipi is all those poles.

Next is the available space inside a tipi. They work best when you have almost no extra gear - very minimalist approach. A 14 foot tipi has generally a 14 foot diameter "footprint" inside. But you loose a lot of that floor space in use. That firepit or stove in the center takes a big chunk of space right out of the middle! A stove takes less than a firepit, but you still loose a couple foot diameter circle right out of the middle of you tent. And you also loose a little of the floor space around the edges because of that sloping side. To lay down sleeping, you will still be around one foot away from the outside(inside) edge of the canvas. To sit upright, you will be at least 2 feet back from the walls. Even a 1 foot high box or cooler needs to sit back from the walls around 1 foot. All that quickly shrinks that "available floor space".

Most people with a family that want to camp comfortably in a tipi will need an 18 foot one. You will still need to carefully manage all your gear inside, but that is often considered the minimum size needed.

I luv a tipi, have used one in the past, and have an older one right now that I need to get repaired and find/cut poles for. They are great! But they also take a much larger ... commitment ... to use when camping.

My usual suggestion to people asking about a tent is to go with some version of a walltent. The poles needed can be designed to be fairly compact for hauling around. And you generally only have that one large chunk of canvas to deal with. Plus that sidewall allows you to use the entire interior floor space. Most can be designed with a stove pipe hole through the roof or out one of the side walls - so you can use a stove inside. You will then also need something of a ground clothe to lay around inside. I often put down a simple clear plastic sheet (visqueen), and then cover it with a beater canvas tarp. That plastic sheet stops ALL moisture from coming up from the ground. And a little carefull tucking in around the edges will also keep water from running in from outside and over that ground clothe. Plus you have the option of leaving various parts of the floor uncovered - like under and around the stove. Sometimes that grass inside is nice.

With a little careful design/planning, the poles for a walltent can be made 6 foot long or shorter. And the canvas of the tent ends up being around the same size/bulk/weight as a tipi. So hauling it around becomes a lot simpler.

And, in the end, most people are more comfortable using a walltent instead of a tipi when camping.

Of course, these comments are only about the old-style traditional tipi and walltent. Modern tents can be far better and more comfortable than them - including using modern materials to cut down on the weight.

Just some humble thoughts to share. Take them as such.

Mikey - yee ol' grumpy blacksmith out in the Hinterlands

[Ogri the trog]

Eskimo,
have you considered a Bison Tundra Laavu either the 4 or 8 model (supposed to be number of occupants but theres nothing wrong with having a bit spare for added luxury. Pointbarwildernessequipment.so mething had the Tundra 8 plus groundsheet plus woodstove at around £560ish so not too far from your budget.

ATB

Ogri the trog