What size Tipis?

[1eyemountainmen]

I am wanting to buy a Tipi. I was wanting to know what size I should get. It will be me and my wife only. I was thinking about a 14 footer. I will have to set it up buy myself and I was thinking that a 14 footer would be easy to handle?

 

[Kanu]

A 14' is on the small size but good for shorter camps , I'd pick a 16' for 2 people more headroom and space for walking around the fire. Not any more difficult to pitch solo.

 

I'd love to learn how to set one of these up and camp out in one. Doesn't get much cooler than that!

Post some pics when you get yours up and running!

Billy

 

[mrbortlein]

1eyed,
My Father-in-law uses a tipi and now in his 50's and does a great job. If you are concerned about setting one up by yourself, just start setting up when there are other spectators around if possible. My fahter-in-law told me that tipis fascinate people and many would love to have the chance to set one up. Just make sure that you know the proper way to set up before you let any unexperienced on-lookers help. One more thing, don't set one up for your first time in the dark!! Or you might loose the tipi in the divorce.
mrbortlein

 

[mazo kid]

My first tipi was an 18 footer built in 1980. We used it up until about 8 years ago and sold it to a friend. Lots of good memories of that lodge. I agree that a 14' might be a little cramped unless just used for short camps. Who's law is it that says the amount of stuff you take along is directly proportional to the amount of space available....? Emery

 

[ameling]

The most common sized tipi you see at rendezvous is an 18 footer. It's a good using size for a family or several people - and ALL THEIR STUFF. It's always amazing how much space all the gear we bring along takes up. A good comfortable compromise is a 16 footer. A 14 footer is going to be fairly cramped for 2 people if they take along a bunch of stuff.

It always sounds like there is a lot of room in that 14 foot diameter circle of a tipi, but you actually have less usable space inside. First, that fire pit takes a big chunk of space right out of the middle. So you will have to bend over a bit to stand up - unless you are standing right next to the firepit. And the poles/liner shrink the "footprint" by around 1 foot - expecially when you add in the slant/slope of the sides. You can tuck/stash gear way out to the sides if it isn't too tall, but head height is lacking right out near the outside edges (just like in a wedge tent).

Setting up a tipi isn't much harder for the larger sizes. The only real difference is that the poles are longer, and the canvas is heavier and a little more bulky. The actual process of setting up is the same. Yeah, practice setting up helps a lot! Book of Buckskinning vol. 1 has one whole chapter on setting up a tipi and furnishing/arranging/decorating it.

The smaller the size tipi you get, the more you need to cut down on the gear/stuff you bring. With a 14 footer, you shouldn't have much more than your bedrolls, one or two clothes/gear boxes, and food box. Anything more is going to use up lots of any extra floor space you have left. Storing your food/cooking stuf outside does help clear up space inside. But once you put in the firepit, you really need to go the minimalist route for your personal gear and furnishings.

I ran with a 16 footer for a bunch of years. It was a good size for 1 or 2 people, but you also had that little extra room for a couple guests when needed. But I had to really control the amount of "stuff" I brought along.

I picked up the cover/liner of an old 18' tipi from a friend - who had it originally made back in the late 70's. It needs some patching and TLC. Plus I have to gather some poles. But I always loved the look/feel of a tipi, and need to get it back into using shape. It will fit in great for the mid to late 1800's camps. I'm ... bound ... to go ... round ... again!

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

Mikey - yee ol' grumpy German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands

p.s. I'll use it in the right historical time period camp/events of course - Rocky Mountain or Great Plains fur trade events. A tipi at a Rev War or F&I War event is such a big NO-NO. An historical concept some people just can't seem to understand.

 

[Many Klatch]

A friend of mine spends time in the Rocky Mountains and finds a lot of old TiPi rings where the people left the rocks that used to hold down the bottom of the TiPi instead of using stakes. He measured them and found that most of the rings were 14' or 16' across.

Interestingly he found that they were usually set up at the edge of a bluff. He thought that was pretty unusual until he considered the tactics of the time. Setting a TiPi at the edge of a cliff means that horse mounted raiders can't get at you from the cliff side, and can't ride straight through camp from the back side, but have to stop and turn around in the middle of the camp.

Just a little aside on TiPi's, I reckon the original inventors of the TiPi didn't carry as much stuff as we do.

Many Klatch

 

[Kanu]

I have found quite a few tipi rings above coulees as well this was along the South Saskatchewan river and the 40 mile coulee . Most of them have been rather small 12 ft or even a bit less. Remember that until the coming of the horse Indians used dogs to help drag their belongings on a travois so tipis had to be smaller.

In the summer tipis would be set up on the prairie rather than the river bottom to catch any breeze to help blow away the mosquitoes and trust me the prairies have a lot of mosquitoes. In the winter tipis would be set up in the river bottoms to get out of the wind as much as possible and be close to firewood .

 

[Wefarmasmidgen]

We had a 14' for several years and went to a 16' for more space. The two of us old geezers can set it up quite nicely. The only place we have to do the same thing together is the lift pole - otherwise, we each have our portion of the job and we don't argue about it. I HATE it when two good people argue either setting up or taking down (or both) when otherwise they are perfectly happy together. :wink: At any rate, we like the bigger tipi - affords more room to put our goods - including the fake firepit (that we've doctored to look almost real) in the middle.


Soaring Spirit
Don't take life too seriously, it isn't permanent.

 

[wildeagle]

Just some casual observations from, past experiences. I started with a 14',used. It worked well for me and my better half, easier to heat and we had very little to keep in it. We progressed to an 18', used , after the appearence of tiny toddling folks and more gear. Along with the experience with the 14' the 16' was not any more difficult to handle. Personally a tipi is the way to go for me but their use is dictated by the time frame you emulate and how correct you want or need to be. Remember that before contact for trade material the most common material for construction was of buff hide. This would dictate size. Early lodges fell between 12' to 14' range. These people were nomadic and followed the herds so size probably did matter. Changes happened quickly and probably is why there is overlapping styles, sizes, material, ect. For the right time frame and location IMHO the lodge is a very efficient shelter and will give you many hours of enjoyment and fine memories.

 

[wildeagle]

After reading back over the thread I noticed a thought about a fire pit in the center of a lodge. When placing your pit you might want to place it a little more towards the door opening , this places the fire more under the smoke hole opening and makes it easier for the smoke to exit the lodge. And remember that a lodge is similar to a large lantern in that it is flammable. A small fire is easier to manage. When weather is warm there is not much need for fire inside, cooking can be done outside. When weather is cold even with a small fire inside it's not to hard to stick your arm out from under your bedroll and put some wood on the fire. As a side note, if you plan on a fire inside try to avoid synthetic materials as bedding as they flame violently, natural materials such as hides or wool will take longer to erupt into flames and you can also smell them if an ember does land on them. Just some humle thoughts after a few yrs of use.

 

[Claude Mathis]

After reading back over the thread I noticed a thought about a fire pit in the center of a lodge. When placing your pit you might want to place it a little more towards the door opening , this places the fire more under the smoke hole opening and makes it easier for the smoke to exit the lodge.

Doesn't a tipi lean toward the back, away from the door, placing the smoke hole closer to the rear?

 

Yes sir. It's supposed to anyways.

 

[wildeagle]

Claude , you are correct in that the back of the tipi is straighter, and the front more slanted. When the cover is wrapped around the poles it is tight against where the poles intersect( towards the back of the lodge ). In the front , the hole being elongated or teardropped extends toward the door. The TIPI BOOK by laubin is a exellent resource. I have read mine countless times. As you pointed out about the slant of a lodge, we also should remember that the "footprint" is not cicular but oval in shape, this also aids in the aerodynamic properties of the lodge. Regardless of where the pit is located, if the cover is left a few inches off the ground it provides the needed draft to keep the smoke exiting through the hole at the top.

 

[Claude Mathis]

In the front , the hole being elongated or teardropped extends toward the door.

Ah, makes sense. :thumbsup:

 

[wildeagle]

I wasn't quick enoughy on the keyboard to edit, Even though it has the appearence of leaning back, the poles are not all the same length where they are tied off. If you look at the top above the tie off you will notice a distinct crown or pattern to the tips. Even though it appears to lean the tie point is fairly well centered in the "footprint" of the lodge. I hope I didn't muddy the waters to baddly :redface: Wild Eagle

 

[Claude Mathis]

I wasn't quick enoughy on the keyboard to edit, Even though it has the appearence of leaning back, the poles are not all the same length where they are tied off. If you look at the top above the tie off you will notice a distinct crown or pattern to the tips. Even though it appears to lean the tie point is fairly well centered in the "footprint" of the lodge. I hope I didn't muddy the waters to baddly :redface: Wild Eagle

But, the rear poles are definitely more "vertical" than the front poles. No? I seem to remember reading this in Laubins (sp?) book.

"As a check, the length from the butt of the D pole to the mark should be some-what longer than the distance from the butts of the other three poles to their marks. This longer door pole distance results in the Tipi leaning backwards slightly. (The degree of leaning depends on the cut of the fabric and the size of the Tipi)."

http://www.icon.co.za/~tipi/SetUp.html

 

[wildeagle]

By golly jeeves I think you've got it. Imagine if all the poles were the same length, where tied, and it was sitting on perfectly flat ground, it would form a perfect cone with the poles intersecting smack dab in the center with all sides being equal in slope.I'm sorry Claude, I get a little long winded when it comes to lodges. I just can't promote them enough, IMHO they are an amazing shelter. I love being able to lay under my buff robe and look up through that hole at the moon and stars. It's just hard to do that in any other tent or shelter. :yakyak: :yakyak: :yakyak:

 

[runningbadger]

I had a 16' for about 15 years, I went and bought a 18' so the kids could come with, like that has happened. It is just as easy to put up and to warm up, with much much more room. Amazing what 2 feet will do.

 

[Andy Mueller]

I was reading your posts and thought I might add some thoughts. If you get a new tipi, remember that if the canvas wasn't pre-shrunk, you'll get a decent amount of shrinkage and an 18 could be a 17 really quick. Also, I have a 16, and although I like it, I will definitely go with an 18 or 20 for my next one. A 16 is great for two to three people, but any more than that and it gets a little crowded. ( I know that there are people who say that you can cram more in there, but hey if you're going to use a tipi you might as well be comfortable!)

As to the question of the leaning and the placement of the fire, I don't claim to be an expert, but I prefer the fire to be a hair closer to the front of the tipi than the exact center. In my tipi, I don't like the fire being right under where the poles cross, so I move it up a bit. I think this is only because its a smaller tipi if it was an 18 or larger, the fire probably wouldn't be situated underneath the poles. (I don't know if any of this is actually true because I can't look down at my tipi's set up, it only appears this way.)

one final thought, the tipi rings you were talking about earlier might not be an accurate reference to the size of the tipi. When it was time to take the tipi down, the rocks that were sitting on the liner were simply rolled off (like pulling a table cloth out from under the china) so the rocks were rolled slightly in from where they were actually placed.

I don't know if any of this helps, but oh well
Scouter