Kifaru Tipi

[Dave Earley]

too expensive for what you get, IMHO.  I used a 6 man some years ago for 10 days in the Flattops in Sept for an elk hunt:  the condensation made me crazy, and the small stove was too small.

[Kevin Dill]

Bummer about that Dave. I guess they're not for everyone.

If mine were stolen I'd buy it all back at full retail in a heartbeat. I agree...very pricey, but nothing has ever come remotely close for the kind of backcountry hunting I enjoy. I run the medium stove in my 8 man and at 30 degrees (outside) you can lounge in your briefs inside. I personally love the floorless design, because I can walk in with boots on, and can cook in it without worrying about spills. I was concerned about moisture, but actually it gets so dry inside that the ground gets dusty.

The fabric is siliconized nylon and it is quite strong. If you'd see one pitched, you'd understand why they are so durable and wind-resistant. As far as condensation goes, I use the optional liner and the problem is moot.

A lot of guys on the Kifaru forums search out tipi owners in their area, and then go see one in person before buying. That's a good idea. I looked at Angelo C's tipi before buying mine.

[D Harris]

Kevin......just had to say, "Great photo"! Successful obviously!

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

four man model That I lived in for 2 weeks in Colo. I put a cot in mine and keep it all to myself.

[stickhorse]

I use the 6-8" high cots in mine, they work great as you can set them closer to the wall and get more room in the middle. 8 man my pref.
 

[Steve O]

I took a 4 man to a small island off Prince of Wales in SE Alaska last September.  As I stated, with the small stove, it is tight for 2 guys and gear and I could not stand up completely in it.  Still worked just fine for what we needed.  You can't haul an Alaknak in a Super Cub.  Well you can, but that costs an extra trip...

I was very glad to have the stove and was so impressed with how the tipi held up to the never ending rain, I don't believe I will ever be without one!  The liner is a necessity IMO.  A friend has a TiGoat tipi and the lack of a liner kept me from purchasing that system.

 

This is my buddy wondering if the cener pole is going to hold during one of the storms we spent in the tipi with 50 knot sustained winds.  This is how I spent the time...

 

No worries.  Dry and cozy with a little fire in the stove.

I kept the stove, sold the 4man, and bought a Super Tarp and Annex for solo trips along with an 8man and large stove for base camp setups with a partner or two.

These units have been to Everest and back.  They are well thought out and engineered.  Over engineered actually.  They are expensive, but I learned a long time ago expensive pays for itself over the long run.

[Mike Vines]

Originally posted by Steve O:
 They are expensive, but I learned a long time ago expensive pays for itself over the long run.

Oh so very true

[John Havard]

In the mid-70's while caribou hunting on the Alaskan Peninsula I had an inexpensive tent blow down around my ears in the middle of the night.  Winds in excess of 50 mph, horizontal sleet mixed with snow, and nothing dry with which to make a fire within miles of our location.  Times like that make a relatively expensive tent look like a dam*ed good bargain.

If you're going to be camping in very remote areas where rescue may be days away (weather permitting) with little/zero chance of surviving a walk out, a bomb-proof tent that will protect you and stand up to the worst that mother nature can dish out isn't a luxury- it's a necessity.  Kifaru tipis are the way to go if you want light-weight (airplane or man-portable) with the ability hang in there.

[Autumnarcher]

I just bought a KIfaru paratipi for my son and I for bivy hunts away from base camp. I know full well its gonna be cramped for extra space, but its very light, easy and fast to set up and also has a stove. Only time we will be in it is to sleep at night. IF we get socked in with bad weather, we'll likely st pack up and hke out to base camp to ride it out and dry out.

BASe camp is the other extreme, a canvas tent with stove. My plans down the road are to get either a 6 man tipi or the Sawtooth. Not sure yet. Im not interested in a tent that holds more than 2 people, 3 at the most. Gets to chaotic with gear etc. 2 per tent is perfect.

[WCSims]

8 Man on a coooold night, 4 four guys and gear.

[Preston Lay]

Another vote for Kifaru here. I have the 8 man with the medium stove. I as well have slept soundly through heavy snow and high winds while hunting. I think the liner is a must,I could never manage the condensation. Got the liner and its a nonissue now.They are amazing at how light and compact the are. They go hand in hand with traditional archery. Nothing like seeing the smoke bellowing from the stove pipe in a mountain setting!

[wingnut]

Here is our camp in Alaska this year with John's Kifaru.  Very comfortable, especially when the weather shut us in for over 2 days.


 

 

[John Havard]

X2 on the liner.  The tipi is a single-wall tent and depending on the ambient humidity and ESPECIALLY how wet the ground underneath the tipi is, there will be condensation inside.  The liner solves that problem nicely.  The liner takes up a bit of room inside which is another argument in favor of getting the next size up.

You can't carry in or fly in a 300-pound wall tent with wood stove.  But you can have the same warm and dry tent if you get one of these.  The 16-man has a slightly oval diameter of 22'X24' as I recall.  It plus the titanium wood stove and stove pipe, central pole, stakes, everything (guts, feathers, and all) weighs just under 37#.  That includes an over supply of mondo pegs.  The smaller tipis are much lighter.

[Kevin Dill]

John,

Great perspective on the relative advantages of the larger tipi. In my book, they are unbeatable for how we do it in Alaska.

Speaking of Alaska, I Googled up a story about a newly discovered geologic formation in the area you hunt. Seems geo or land-sat recon picked it up and the military was studying it...Eilson AFB if I recall correctly. Someone thought it was a remote missile silo. Upon closer and detailed inspection of the images, it turned out to be approximately the color and size of a brown Kifaru 16 man....

Those suckers are big!

[BMG]

I'm saving my pennies to get a Sawtooth for my solo backcountry elk hunts.

[Milk River Stickman]

Kevin, that is an awesome picture.

[J. Oles]

We use two of the 8 mans for the summer field season.  The are the cook tent and communion quarters for our field camps.

The only complaint that has surfaced it needing longer pegs in high winds and on tundra.

Our alpine camps are using the super long pegs to anchor the 8-man.

Jason

[Kevin Dill]

For the record: My good friend and hunting partner Bryan Burkhardt took that picture in Sept 2009. He had a phenomenal year in that camp, and we returned in 2010. The tipi once again was pitched on that same spot. When we struck camp last September, I drove 4 spruce stakes in the ground to mark the "key" stake locations for my 8-man. With luck, we'll be right back there in 7 months.

[Steve Chappell]

One thing I can say is while I may have struggled with shelling out the premium price for the high quality hunter tested and approved products; I have never regretted one of these purchases. In fact, I have found that when you buy the best normally there is a good market to sell them when that day comes to upgrade or you no longer need the item. Based on everything I have read on those that have Kifaru Tips, they fall into the best! If one of these tips goes up for sale, it rarely is for sale more than a few days. I will have an 8 man or bigger and stove one day.

[Roughrider]

Thanks for all the input - now I just have to save up to buy one before this fall!