Tentipi or other single pole tipi

[DaveS]

I'm after a tentipi or other single pole tipi if anyone has one lying about that's not being used.

[BobA]

Dave


There is a great camping centre very near to my sisters house, where they have about 3 of these erected outside in the displays.

They occasionally sell the display tents with small discount at the end of the season, so I can pop in and ask next time I'm passing if you want?

It's these people Camping Equipment, Tents, Trailers, Garden Furniture



Bob

[DaveS]

If they are Tentipi's and in good nick I might be interested, but I wouldn't normally buy tents that have been on show and they've had the whole world traipsing through them.

[DaveS]

Just looking at the Soulpad 5000 Tribe's.
Soulpad 5000 Tribe - Camping Forums UK
They look interesting... bit heavy for motorcycle camping though!!

[Austin]

Dave, I bought a Helsport 4-6 man tipi last year and I love it. I had it at the national - towards the top of the field. The other Tipi (near the entrance) was Stuart123456789's.

When I was looking I found only 3 premium brands of Tipis : Tentipi, Helsport and Mad Bear (I think). I have the advantage of living very near to Tamarack Outdoors http://www.tamarackgroup.co.uk/acata...yle_Tents.html who had some Helsport Tipis on display and after chatting to them I concluded that (a) I wanted one but more importantly (b) big is better than small as I had been tempted by the 2-4 man tipi and (c) cotton or poly cotton is too heavy for motorcycle use and only worth buying if you think you will be having big sparky fires in or very near the tent.

I eventually got one via ebay from a norwegian guy self importing direct from Helsport in Norway (or was it a swede from sweden?). Whatever i was happy with the deal and a lot lot cheaper than Tamarack - who I told and were OK as I bought a groundsheet from them. The one I got is a Euro only model called RainFjell or something and differs only in detail around guy lines from the Helsport Porsanger. I also got a small brazier/burner thrown in that clips onto the pole.

This is a single skin tent with no proper floor. The groundsheet I bought clips onto the outer at 8 points but does not make a good seal. I added another 8 clip points that improved matters considerably, but TBH a simple rectangle or 2 of waterproof material would suffice as when I am on my own in the tent I simply fold up the groundsheet to be a bit bigger than my ground mat and lie on it. This means you can more easily walk in, out, and around the tent without treading on the groundsheet and spreading mud grass or whatever all over the place.

In use the Tipi is very airy (in a nice way) - the sod cloth does not peg down - I have added 16 "cling-ons" to peg it out. Tamarack say the Tipi is designed for use in forests where wind isn't an issue and for cold weather where the sod cloth should be weighted down with snow. Despite being airy it is very good in wind and although it blows and flaps a bit it does not suffer from excessive bowing of the material and at one trip to North Wales where some other tents were literally blown away or damaged my tipi just sat there shrugging off the wind (and rain).
Equally the tent doesn't heat up excessively in sunny weather and with the top hat and side vents it is easy to keep cool.

Living in the tent, there is loads of room - mine is 4m diameter although practically it is the central 3metres or so that are habitable. It is also over 3m high, so you can stand to dress, look for stuff and walk in/out. To sleep you can lie which ever way you fancy given the ground, stones, or whatever. I "cook" inside mine but do open the door to prime the stove in case of any flare ups, but once going it is OK for routine boiling water, heating a can or whatever. If I was keeping a stove going a long time I would open a vent and probably the top hat too. At the top of the main tent is a "drying ring" - I hang damp towels, wet jackets, and stuff. Its alo useful for hanging torches or lanterns - I just hook on a bungee or two and have a bedside lamp. As you can imagine it doesn't take much sun to dry things out.

I have only used the brazier thing once. The guy I bought if from recommended using "barbecue logs" - those wax pretend logs to put on a BBQ when it dies down. I cut one into thirds and burned them in the brazier - about 30mins oer section and it got very hot inside. Felt safe too as the flame were never more than 12-15inches high. I did open the top hat wide and have the vents open though.

Putting the tipi up is easily a one man job although there is a lot of material to handle. I mark the spot where the centre pole goes with a peg and have a length of cord approx 2m long. I mark the first spot and push a peg in and attach the first section of the tipi. I then pull out the rest of the section of the tent and move the cord round and put the second peg in. repeat for all 8. Then I open the door go in with the pole 4/5th up and raise the tent. I then put the top hat on and hook it to its guying points. Then put the rest of the pole in to lift the tent to its full height. Then its a case of adjusting the pegs and top hat to get the tent straightened out and adding any further pegs if its windy. If its not it is just the 8 pegs. Dismantling is the reverse.

Mine will just pack into a 35litre ortlieb canoe sack or I just stuff it into a big HG roll bag along with sleeping bag and ground mat. The tent, pole, groundsheet, and pegs weighs about 6Kg. It is loads of space for 2, luxury for 1, but probably a bit cramped for 4. With 6 most of your kit would need to be outside and you would have to be good friends with you sleeping partners - although not as cramped as most 2 man tents and some 3 man.

If I was buying again I wouldn't pay the full prices that Tamarack are asking (mine was less than half that) but compared to other premium brand tents offering similar space a Tipi is still excellent value.

[Paul-S]

Excellent write up Austin

[DaveS]

Thanks Austin.
Tentipi Safir 9 CP now purchased and being proudly displayed in the garden.

Pack size very similar to a Khyam Biker!!! Slightly bigger but I reckon doable on a bike.

Now for a stove.