DOes anyone have experience with the Kifaru Tipt's. For two people, gear, stove, etc., would the six or eight man be a better choice?
One vote for the 8 man, but I don't own one!
8 man lets a guy like me @ 6-1 stand up in a lot more of the tipi. I just traded in my 4 man for the 8. The 4 is TIGHT for two guys hunting and you have to always be stooped over getting dressed and whatnot.
Two of us use my 8-man for 10-12 day hunts in Alaska's interior. We can both stand up in it simultaneously. We have lots of room for our bedrolls, firewood, duffels, packs and bows. I could make it work in a 6 man, but the extra room is welcome indeed when you're on a longer hunt.
Another vote for the 8 man tipi.
Another vote for the 8, great shelters.
Have a 6 man/medium stove....I'd think 2 with gear would be fine, but I'm only 5'7"....on a good day.
yep 4 man with a stove is a one man tipi for sure.
Rusty
Another vote for eight man. If you camp in flat country, even a 12 man. Problem around here is finding a level spot big enough for that large of a footprint.
I've got the 8 man with medium stove, great for 2 with all the gear.
8 man and a tarp for the floor. I love these tipi's but don't like not having a floor.
I have a 6-man with medium stove. It works well for two people. 8-person would definitely give you more room. Depends a little on how you're going to use it. If you're going to throw up the tent at the end of the road, the 8 would probably be better. If you're going to pack in, you might opt for the six. The 8-person isn't much heavier, but it has a substantially larger footprint. Even with the 6-person I have, it's often difficult to find a space big enough to set it up.
I've hunted in two of them. Rusty has a 4 man with a small stove and it's too small for 2 guys for any time in the field.
John has a 16 man that we have used twice for back country moose hunts. It's very comfortable for 3-4 guys for an extended hunt. He has the titanium stove for it . . . toasty.
Mike
I've used the 8 man and it's great.I have a 6 man and I think its alot more versitile.You can strip the 6 man down to just the tipi and stakes and it weighs a little over 5 lbs(cut a center pole at your campsite )If you are close to your truck you can use a liner and you have about the same amount of usable space as if you had an 8 man with no liner(because if you dont have a liner you dont want to touch the sides)
I think the 6 man has plenty of room for 3 guys
Don't know if this helps, but this is a 6 man next to my truck for scale. Myself and my two kids have camped several times, but the truck was nearby for storage.. If you're a minimalist, it would work fine and be easier to pack.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/paradocs/100_1154.jpg)
8 Man serving as base camp home for 12 days in central Alaska.
(http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g13/dillbilly/tipi.jpg)
Can you fit 2 cots in the 8 man? what size kifaru stove do you recommend for the 8 man S,M,or L.
Thanks, Phil
Bigger is always better. The weight difference and bulk difference between the 8-man and the 4 or 6 man is minimal when compared with the added space.
Like Mike said, my 16-man is comfy for 3-4 with gear, and generally that's a good rule of thumb when choosing what size Kifaru tipi to get. Divide the man rating by 4: 4-man is good for 1 person with gear. 8-man is good for 2 with gear. 12-man is good for 3 with gear, etc.
One thing to not overlook is headspace. The tipi is tall immediately next to the central pole but rapidly gets shorter as you move away from the center.
I might add that having used practically every form of man-portable tent for almost 4 decades I have NEVER found a better option for light-weight heated tent space than the Kifaru tipis. A top-quality product made right here in the USA.
What material are they made of? Are they durable?
I have had my eye on getting one of these buggers for long time and have often wondered whether the person rating is something to rely on. This post is very informational toward that end. If I get one, which I plan to one day, I will go with an 8 person or bigger. For those of you that have them, what accessories or add-ons do you recommend...like liner, etc. How easy is it to craft your own center pole in the bush assuming you have relatively straight skinny trees to work with? What is the advantage of a titanium stove other then weight...do they last longer than the SS ones Kifaru sells? Anyone know any know anyone with an 8 man plus for sale?
A liner for sure(especially for use in the Mid -West)and for that matter the mosquito netting would be a good idea back there as well.When weight becomes an issue you can always leave those things behind
Tim
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.
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.
Kevin......just had to say, "Great photo"! Successful obviously!
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4041/4352640398_81e22969fd.jpg)
four man model That I lived in for 2 weeks in Colo. I put a cot in mine and keep it all to myself.
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.
(http://i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae298/bfreese_2010/IMG_0014.jpg)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/osminski/2010%20POW%20Bears/P8300802-1.jpg)
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.
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/osminski/2010%20POW%20Bears/P9010845.jpg)
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...
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/osminski/2010%20POW%20Bears/P9010846.jpg)
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.
QuoteOriginally 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
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.
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.
(http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac186/wickles/IMG_0075.jpg)
8 Man on a coooold night, 4 four guys and gear.
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!
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.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v79/mwestvang/AK2010%20Moose%20hunt/ak_6.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v79/mwestvang/AK2010%20Moose%20hunt/ak_7.jpg)
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.
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!
I'm saving my pennies to get a Sawtooth for my solo backcountry elk hunts.
Kevin, that is an awesome picture.
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
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.
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.
Thanks for all the input - now I just have to save up to buy one before this fall!
I hunt in the arid west and the liner is optional. I rarely use mine and have not missed it. I have 5 seasons under my belt and the Kifaru is still going strong. (some minor repairs) On the flip side, we're planning a back country x country ski trip in few weekends. I have yet to use my eight man in deep snow. I bought the snow/tundra spikes... any suggestings.