Keep It Simple Tipi Tents

The same great wood stove capable tents in a stripped down less expensive package. Let me know if you have a question. Special intro pricing which I'm sure you guys will like. Multi colored tent in the photo is for example only.



Same construction quality, same capabilities, a few less features, less cost. What is not to like ?

Let me know if you have any questions.

I'm guessing these will sell like hotcakes!

Sweet! Do you have dimensions yet?

Same as our regular tipis just stripped of a few features

Thanks Kevin! Talking with the wife right now about a 8 man.

I can dig it... Pretty sure I'll have a 6 man before too long.

Is the KIS 4 man lighter than the "4 lbs 6 ounces all inclusive" listed for the fully featured 4 man?

As an aside - I see BCSs are no longer available, only the BCS2. Is that permanent?

Looking good!

To clarify. These are essentially the same tent, and same as our normal sizing. The differences are minimal. They canopy is a few ounces lighter than our standard basic tents, so yes take the minimal weight and subtract about 3 ounces if you use our pole and stakes.

The poles and stakes are optional. You can purchase a pole and stake set, or use your own. We can advise as to what poles will work. Most sporting goods stores sell poles that work well for less than $40.00. The drawback is they are a bit heavier, but usually within a pound of the current pole we use. Even with the purchase of the pole and stake kit these cost less than our standard tents. If you source your own pole, it is much less. In fact, do to the way we do our poles, you could purchase for example and 8 person and a 4 person with an 8 person pole and use the same pole for both. Lots of ways to do it.

Looks like they are quality products, but $400 for a tipi without a floor???

Are there features that I'm not aware of or not "up" on? What is the material???

Who let the new guy post???



Kevin, what does a CF and aluminum pole weigh for a 6 man, and what do they cost?

I guess what I'm asking is, how much weight is going in my pack if I take a 6 man?

Why yes, they are made from ultralight and very strong materials. The canopy of a 4 person weighs well under 3 lbs. As far as features, they come standard with a sod skirt, a very robust tie out system, dual doors, and storm flaps to cover the zipper. If you compare them to say a floorless wall tent they are much lighter and can still use a wood stove and withstand severe weather. If you compare them to other ultralight weight floorless tipi style tents that are made in the U.S.A I'm sure you will find they are priced very attractively.

For example:
A big agnes red dirt cabin is almost $1000 and has no floor. It is not made in the U.S.A and is not lightweight https://www.bigagnes.com/Products/Detail/Tent/reddirtcabin

The backcountry barn by MSR http://www.cascadedesigns.com/msr/tents/experience-series/backcountry-barn/product
The weight and price are very good by comparison.

They are almost the same tent as our standard tents (minus a couple features), which while very full featured and priced very competitive these are much more affordable.



These can be used with a liner or a nest. The nest provides full enclosure much like a floored tent. They are very versatile. Floors, have advantages and disadvantages. Floors can weigh a lot, they get dirty, they can trap water or spillage. In the late fall, or in winter, a floor is more of a problem than a benefit. A simple ground sheet will suffice for most floor usage, and in the case of extreme bugs a nest (or inner tent) will do the rest.

Dan, the standard SO 6 man with standard stakes and a CF pole is right about 5 lbs. This will be a couple ounces less. The aluminum pole, it really depends on what you purchase. If you buy a Kelty pole, it will add 10 ounces maybe a bit more. If you buy our carbon fiber pole and stake set you should be under 5 lbs. With a standard aluminum pole you should be under 6. If you cut a stick in the woods and take some wood shims for heigh adjustment you should be around 4 lbs.

Guys like you make it hard to decide how to spend my OT.

Some questions for you shelter makers and users.

What is a sod skirt?

With no floor, guys are left to making a small trench around the perimeter because inevitably the weather will turn and rain or snow will happen. I've never experienced this especially a downpour but I have heard of this phenomenon.

So do you recommend a foot print of some sort or what is the recommendations for keeping your gear and self off the dirt, mud, snow, ice....?

In going lite... A 4 man, pole, guys, stove to heat it and a foot print would weigh?

And cost for same, given the needs of mid Oct. to mid Nov. weather circumstances in MT at altitudes of 6000+ ft. ASL.

Hi Cocadori

A sod skirt is fabric that hangs down below the tie out. It reduces drafts, can be used to seal the tent against bugs or other debris.

Trenching, can be used, but isn't needed in most areas honestly. If you select a good site, you should be fine. I've had water in a floored tent, where site selection was poor. The ground absorbs water, so often it is better in a floor less tent.

You can use a footprint or ground sheets if you like. They can be material like a plastic painters, tarp, tyvek or a ripstop or a piece of tarp material. Personally, I think a ground sheet or bivy is the better solution. Walk in with your boots on, but keep you sleeping gear clean.

Tent and stove, about 5 lbs , 6 if you take a liner. Pole, footprint etc all depends. It could weigh barely over a pound more, or it could weigh more depending on what you take. Cost depends as well. It could be as low as 650 - 700 new, and could go higher. It would work at 6000 ASL in Montana.

I've been using floorless shelters for nearly 30 years and never have had to trench. As Kevin said it is all site selection. I also have found a ground cloth or bivy a better choice rather than trying to "floor" the entire area. Once you get used to floorless camping you will never want to go back.

Well.. I think you've all slowly convinced me.

Who's got a 4 man with a stove under 6 lbs? cheap... ?

I'm no stranger to floorless tents. I pretty much spent the better part of summer and fall in them. They've just looked like this.

How does a tent of this style cope with condensation?. In a tent with a fly and lots of ventilation, usually condensation can be controlled with a little effort - even if bugs and rain are bad.

In cold weather, these tents look like they would be quite wet.

Install a liner which turns it into a double wall tent or run a stove which dries out the tent.

You guys try to make it sound like these tipis are blower-door rated super-insulated houses. It is a damn tent. Put a hot stove in it and it'll suck air inside, guaranteed.

I'm not trying to make it sound like anything. Just want to know how they work. I'm interested in them because they are light. I'm not interested in adding a stove to them. That defeats the lightweight advantage and it is a space hassle, both on my back and when set up. Liner sounds reasonable but then we are back with the weight of a more conventional tent perhaps.

If these are really only functional with a stove, fine. I'll stick with a more conventional tent with a fly. But maybe there is more too them, and if so, I'd like to know. That okay with you TAK?

Hi Kevin-

You'll have to forgive my confusion. I'm sure you get frustrated answering the same questions all the time, but there is some conflicting info so far...

4 man website weight - Base: 4 lbs 6 ounces all inclusive
4 man website weight - Full: 5 lbs 8 ounces (includes screen doors)
KIS weight, from your earlier thread reply - "take the minimal weight and subtract about 3 ounces" (what is "minimal weight"?)
Your later reply about weight in this thread - "The canopy of a 4 person weighs well under 3 lbs."

Just trying to get an honest weight figured out here for the tipis. Thanks for all the informative responses you provide us on this forum.

I second that ;-)

Base weight and full weight are all inclusive weights which include our carbon pole and and a set of aluminum ground hog style stakes.
Canopy weight is the weight of the canopy only. The carry weight will depend on what pole and stakes you use. For instance, if you go wall tent style and cut a pole and fashion stakes from tree branches, you will have a carry weight of the canopy weight. If you took a steel pole, the weight would be much higher.

These weigh about 3 ounces less than the current base tents, when coupled with our pole and stakes. Using your own pole or stakes the number will vary depending on what you use. For instance the 4 man weighs about 44 - 45 ounces on the canopy.

Liners weigh 13 - 18 ounces depending on model per half, and create a double wall shelter.

Or just stay away from the edges, which is easy to do as they are so much larger than traditional backpacking tents.

With weather coming later this week for my quick elk hunt I called and placed an order this morning. We were going to just use a basic 6-man dome tent, but with the chance of being really wet and cold I want a stove.

Angie is overnighting it to me and I'm pretty stocked, it wasn't in my budget, but the fun stuff never really is. I guess I need to ditch my Big Agnes Seedhouse UL to offset the cost.

Yup, if you are camping anywhere that wood is reasonably available, a tipi/stove combo, is SO nice in that sleety, rainy, just above freezing weather that is so frequent in the mountains.

I am slowly, but, surely saving the coin for a camo version, want that heavier fabric and am not quite settled on an 8 or a 12 man size.

I have a Four Dog Ti large stove and figure that an 8 man might be a bit too small for that, but, in real cold, this should keep me toasty and even my wife will be happy on any trips we take.

I have experienced severe 2-3 day snow storms in June, July and August in the BC mountains and that can be REAL miserable. So, as soon as I have the $$$$ in hand, I am buying one.

IIRC, Bear in Fairbanks has a Ti 4dog and a 12man, PM him about it.

I've run a 6 man kifaru, with and without liner at times for a few hunts where its below freezing at night, sleet and snow and such. We have a stove just in case. But we've never felt the need to use at yet...

Just FYI.

I'm the opposite. I tend to use mine when it's not even necessary. Even if its not that cold, it's kind of nice to just knock the chill off for awhile.

A pretty good special on everything, including packs specials

Good until Wed.

Also a bit of commentary and some alternative places to go if you were planning on visiting a National Park

Enjoy

I spent decades using only the rain flys from two of my dome tents as a "tipi" or just a tarp in all types of weather - they were small and cramped but workable. I have rode out bad weather numerous times but it was always very uncomfortable and miserable. This summer I splurged and bought some new gear which included a Seek Outside 6 man tipi with their medium stove. That would turn out to be a smart decision!

Last month my son and I backpacked in 7 miles to our favorite elk place in the most miserable weather conditions I have ever experienced. The trip coinsided with the massive rain event and flooding we experienced here in Colorado. The weather had been bad for many days prior and was ominous and closing in again at the trailhead - but against my better judgement, we went in anyway. After seven long cold wet miserable miles, with lightning dancing above our heads, we arrived at our destination as a couple of soaked through dogs. I've never been in rain/hail that heavy. I've never been completely soaked that water was running under my clothes. And I've never been that cold either - I had hail 3 inches deep between my neck and my pack. My boots were like sponges soaked with water, and to make things more "interesting" the temps were now in the mid 30's. It was a serious situation - 7 miles in, I was totally spent, my son's knee was giving him problems and we were both hypothermic.

We set up the tipi in a hard downpour and my son searched for the driest wood he could find while I got the stove set up. With a little fire starting paste we had a warm fire going in a few minutes. We caught a fifteen minute break in the weather and gathered as much "dry" wood as we could find and stuffed the tipi full of it. The rain came back with a vengence while we sat comfortably dry and WARM inside! What a freakin' difference that tipi/stove made as we had to sit the weather out for several days.

This type of setup whether it's a tipi or another type of shelter that SO sells, coupled with a stove, is a game changer. This equipment turned an otherwise miserable, possibly life threatening event into comfort. The comfort of sitting in the tipi, with the stove going, in shorts and tee shirts warm and dry cannot be accurately conveyed.

This picture was taken after days of contiuous rain. The tipi fabric is soaked but inside it was dry and warm.

Seek Outside makes a great product, many thanks to Kevin and Angie!

Reminder , the shutdown special is still in effect. It ends when the shutdown is over which could be today, or drag on for eternity. Anyway, it's a good time to get a good deal

Seek Outside special

Thanksgiving Special

A couple of notes. We are having thanksgiving bundle specials this week where you get a half liner for free.

We also have brought back the popular true timber camo fabric as a purchase option and are adding one medium weight fabric as well.

Any questions, please let us know

Any plans to make a 12 man KIS??

Actually, we are in a way. We took the KISS tents, and the standard tents and sort of melded them together changing and improving the venting. The cut is the same as our standard and Kiss tents but the venting is improved (Basically, there is more venting options, and the vent can be totally closed if desired). We have basically moved all the tipi's to the KISS Purchase model where you choose the options you need or want when purchasing. This can save a significant amount of money.

A couple other notes, we have added a few more fabric choices as well. You can choose an Ultralight fabric, a lightweight fabric, or a medium weight depending on your usage. This provides good options, as customers that purchase a 12 man for instance primarily for horse packing, can choose a heavier fabric if they desire.

The dimensions on the xxlarge stainless stove are 11* 13* 16*.
13 wide 11 deep 16 long? or??

16 deep, 11 tall , 13 wide in the fire box

Thanks I'll run this by the mules.

They'll love you for it. The packers I know around here, that are serious hunters (and not so serious cowboys) who have gone towards tents like this and taken an UL approach, are taking 3 horses for 2 guys.

During our hike in for CO 1st rifle we ended up with much heavier snow than was forecast. About two miles from our destination in the dark, we were cold, wet and tired. Decided to stop and set up camp vice pushing on. Proved to be a great decision. There were three of us, and instead of setting up both tents I decided to set up the BCS and stove only. We dug some wood from the snow, cut some branches and within minutes of zipping it shut had warmth coming from our Ed T stove inside the BCS. Very cold, tired and wet and 5-6 miles from the truck turned into warm and cozy in no time. I will always have that stove with me from now on.

The next morning.

Kevin T, Can the BCS be converted into a BCS II? With two of us in the BCS, the two zipper set of of the BCS II would make getting in and out much more convenient.

Hi prm

I like the photo and am glad it worked well for you. We can't really do a BCS1 to BCS2 conversion. I suspect you could get someone to add an exit zipper on one side but results might vary. The dual exits are nice on the BCS2.