Does anyone make one with a bipod or tripod pole? That would empty the center and make a whole lot more room at the sacrifice of very little weight.

Not to my knowledge. I imagine there has to be a reason why though I sure don't know what it is. Surely if it was feasable someone would have done it.

The length of any poles coming up the sides becomes very long. Then the pressure is across the pole, not straight down the pole. So a pole set has to be long and strong... which equals big and heavy.

Best option is to tie to a tree limb or limbs. When I set up an Appy Trails Mk V I sometimes run a line between two trees and just hoist the tent up to it's 6' height, then stake it out.

If I used two poles they would need to be about 96" each, and about 1.5 ", at least at the base.

Some older canvas pyramid style tents did/do use external poles, but I'm not sure how they fair in the wind compared to conical tents with an internal pole. For ME the modern silnylon tipi has three things going for it--------it's floorless, it's very wind resistant, AND it's wood stove compatible. If you intend to use a wood stove (highly recommended) then the stove and pipe are already in the middle of things and a center pole is no big deal, and is actually be handy to hang things on. Getting the right sized tipi is the better solution to floor space IMO. If torn between sizes, go bigger.

Thanks. I'm not worried about the length or strength of the poles since we use llamas, as long as they break down to no more than 30".

RC, I did make a two pole set-up for my Vertex 5. I used 1/2" conduit and bent a steel rod the size that would fit in the conduit snug into an inverted "V" with the angled determined by the tipi itself. It worked great but it would not have been fesable(sp) for me to pack in on my back which is what I got it for. But it did work. I think you could build the V part and find a way to use some alders for the poles. jmo though.

The length and strength of the pole is the limiting factor. The best solution, for a base camp, it to take and make an outside tripod for suspending the tipi to using the top loop (I'm not sure if all tipi's have a top loop). Then you can even guyout to the outside tripod for additional stability if you desire. Inside tripod would be ok, but I would use smooth materials.

I've done some testing with an inside tripod and a 8 man and snow and my guess is you will need 1.5 " OD diam aluminum for stability, with 1/4 " walls.

Kevin

This is pine tree country. It would be very difficult to find a suitable limb to hang a tent that was above a clear spot for the tent. There are few trees with big enough and high enough limbs that don't have bigger lower limbs in the way.

Then you need a clear spot between two trees. Throw a line over lower tree branches that are still higher than the height of your tent by a couple of feet. Then attach your tent in the middle of the rope, and pull the ends up 'till the height is right.

This is open country. Finding 2 suitable trees is usually just not possible. Poles of some kind are a necessity.

If you are using lamas, and want a tripod setup, just get some aluminum, or even steel poles the length of the outside, perhaps put a slight adjustment capability on it. They won't be that light, because the orientation is not for the poles strength, but a 1.5 OD diam should be sufficient. I know on ours, we thought of building a pole pocket that went in the cone for a tripod style setup. It's not that hard, however we were not going to supply the poles since that much CF would be cost prohibitive. You can probably even get the aluminum to do it at true value, they have some that can be used to telescope. It's even easier if you don't mind the sections being 4ft. If you want PM me and I can point you in the direction to get the stuff, and even tell you what you need for a pole pocket.

I don't have a tipi yet. Just contemplating the possibilities.

Better yet use the home depot painters pole, cut the tip off. If you aren't concerned about heavy snow loads it will do the trick , probably to an 8 person. I know some that carry that pole, for use of mids on Denali

I was interested in the very same question for awhile. Scott tents are similar to what you describe. They are usually sledded around on Nansen sleds with non-collabsible poles and they set up fast. A necessity in really cold weather. I made a mock up out of a painter's drop cloth and emt poles. It did not fit on my sled. I could never get my small brain around how to collapse those 8 ft poles down to a reasonable size to fit on a small sled and still keep it all together for a reasonable assembly time. I suspect it is possible though. A handful of companies still make them. Here's one:

http://www.snowsled.com/scott-pyramid-tents/

I bet you could have some made out of carbon fiber, and they wouldn't weigh much at all.

Here's a site that sells all sizes of poles, both aluminum and fiberglass. The sell all the parts to make your own at any length you like. DIY TENT POLES

Those are not strong enough for a tipi that is large

Sorry to side track off topic, but wow, that's pretty country!!

Tom

Carbon fiber would certainly cost a lot though.

Really, if pack size is not an issue a home depot painters pole times 3 will work. You can make collapsible poles in aluminum pretty easily with aluminum stock from true value

THe easton .742 aluminum is not strong enough for an 8 person tipi loaded like that, it's not strong enough for center pole either , trust me I've done it. You need a thicker wall.

I have a milsurp 12' diam. hexagonal tent with a full liner. Weighs about 40lb. The center pole is 1.5", heavy wall aluminum, strong enough for pole vaulting. You can shinny up the thing if you want to.