Hi all,

I'm asking again... has anyone out there had experience with the Kifaru
tipis and folding woodstoves? They look like an excellent long trip
shelter and the stove allows heating and cooking.

Do any of you camp with floorless shelters?

Thanks!

"PaddlingPair" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I'm asking again... has anyone out there had experience with the Kifaru
tipis and folding woodstoves? They look like an excellent long trip
shelter and the stove allows heating and cooking.

The tipi shape should be fine in summer. I wouldn't want it in winter
though partly because I can imagine snow building up & flattening the sides
at the base. Friends use canvas or nylon/canvas prospector tents with
lightweight woodstoves for winter camping. The nylon/canvas ones are light,
transportable & quite roomy. The all canvas ones are heavier but travel
well on a sled pulled by a snowshoer. Most of the woodstoves were homemade.

Do any of you camp with floorless shelters?

I've often used a tarp as my only shelter on canoe trips & winter trips &
just ordered the MEC Mantis tarp for 3 season use. See
http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...=1080357707519
I now use an igloo for winter basecamping, built with the Icebox igloo
maker. See http://www.grandshelters.com/

Lloyd Bowles
www.madcanoeist.4ever.cc

In article ,
"Lloyd Bowles" wrote:

"PaddlingPair" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I'm asking again... has anyone out there had experience with the Kifaru
tipis and folding woodstoves? They look like an excellent long trip
shelter and the stove allows heating and cooking.

The tipi shape should be fine in summer. I wouldn't want it in winter
though partly because I can imagine snow building up & flattening the sides
at the base. Friends use canvas or nylon/canvas prospector tents with
lightweight woodstoves for winter camping. The nylon/canvas ones are light,
transportable & quite roomy. The all canvas ones are heavier but travel
well on a sled pulled by a snowshoer. Most of the woodstoves were homemade.

Do any of you camp with floorless shelters?

I've often used a tarp as my only shelter on canoe trips & winter trips &
just ordered the MEC Mantis tarp for 3 season use. See
http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...d=679295&PR O
DUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=739165&bmUID=1080357707519
I now use an igloo for winter basecamping, built with the Icebox igloo
maker. See http://www.grandshelters.com/

Lloyd Bowles
www.madcanoeist.4ever.cc



Thanks. I looked at the sites. The MEC Mantis is intriguing. I think we
are going to consider that as an "add-on" shelter for when other are
with us. The igloo maker is fascinating! It reminds me of all my failed
attempts at building igloos as a boy.

"PaddlingPair" wrote...

The igloo maker is fascinating! It reminds me of all my failed
attempts at building igloos as a boy.

Ya, I had nothing but failures when I was a kid. Didn't have snow that made
good blocks. Quinzees work - just create an igloo sized heap of snow, pack
it a bit, then tunnel it out. You have to move a lot of snow, then remove a
lot of it. Slow, tiring & wet.

At the Canadian Canoe Routes forum winter gathering, a friend packed an area
of deep snow with snowshoes, let it set overnight, then used a handsaw to
cut blocks. That worked, but not for a same-day shelter.

The igloo maker works well & isn't at all tiring, because you move slowly,
spending time gently packing. I would have sworn though that some snow
won't pack. We had about the worst kind of snow at the gathering, tiny ice
chuncks instead of flkes, but it worked. Just pack it slowly, gently &
carefully. The resulting igloo wasn't as cozy as a heated tent during the
day, but was never as cold as a tent after the stove burns out in the night.

The igloo maker is rather useless on canoe trips though. :-)

Lloyd Bowles
www.madcanoeist.4ever.cc

On Sat, 27 Mar 2004 09:12:53 -0500, "Lloyd Bowles"
wrote:

The igloo maker works well & isn't at all tiring, because you move slowly,
spending time gently packing. I would have sworn though that some snow
won't pack. We had about the worst kind of snow at the gathering, tiny ice
chuncks instead of flkes, but it worked. Just pack it slowly, gently &
carefully. The resulting igloo wasn't as cozy as a heated tent during the
day, but was never as cold as a tent after the stove burns out in the night.

It does extend the variety of snow types suitable for igloo building.

The igloo maker is rather useless on canoe trips though. :-)

Ever hear of canogganing?

Happy trails,
Gary (net.yogi.bear)
------------------------------------------------
at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence

Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA
Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom

Lloyd Bowles wrote:



The tipi shape should be fine in summer. I wouldn't want it in winter
though partly because I can imagine snow building up & flattening the sides
at the base. Friends use canvas or nylon/canvas prospector tents with
lightweight woodstoves for winter camping. The nylon/canvas ones are light,
transportable & quite roomy. The all canvas ones are heavier but travel
well on a sled pulled by a snowshoer. Most of the woodstoves were homemade.

Linda ,

Oh contraire - from what I've read about the Kifaru tipi I think winter camping it their strong point and summer camping
their weak point . Thus quite the opposite of what you have suggested . ( I've been toying with getting one of them for a
couple of years and since I have not much desire to be sleeping outside in freezing temps , stove or not , I'm still setting
on the fence about the decision )

While they may also work fine for summer camping , I remain concerned about condensation during the summer months living
where the humidity tends to be rather high in the summer . Maybe ok if the doors are open but with inward leaning doors - if
its raining the doors will most likely be closed . With the result that the ventilation is low to non existent. I'm not quite
sure about the bug issue with a floorless tent .

See :

http://community.webshots.com/album/22633638trtUyoKldg

At the above site there are several other links , on the left side of the page , to additional pictures of the Kifaru tipi
in use in the snow .

http://groups.msn.com/kifaru/shoebox.msnw

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/new...s/1023626.html


http://www.wintercampers.com/gearreviews.html

Hey , its actually snowing in the bottom picture at the above site , well sort of .

http://www.outdoorsdirectory.com/akf...e.php?id=15438


OTOH -I have no personal first hand experience with these tipis , nor with winter camping which you apparently do with the
systems you have recommended . The mantis is an interesting looking tarp / tent . I had not seen it before so thanks for the
link . As I have been considering also various tarps . Such as the Ray Jardien tarp kit or its likeness - the ready made
golite cave2 .


David

"David Walker" wrote in message
...

Lloyd Bowles wrote:

The tipi shape should be fine in summer. I wouldn't want it in winter
though partly because I can imagine snow building up & flattening the
sides
at the base.

Oh contraire - from what I've read about the Kifaru tipi I think winter
camping it their strong point and summer camping
their weak point .

I have too much experience with slope walled tents & tarps to trust it in
winter. A heavy snowfall would be a problem, especially if it was wet snow.
We'd anchor a tarp well & pull it tight between trees. In the morning, we'd
find that the bottom foot or so was flattened on the ground under a
snowload. The fabric & rope were stressed. Native tipis were ok because
they had several poles supporting the walls rather than a single center
pole.

Take a look at the first photo on page 2 of
http://community.webshots.com/album/22633638trtUyoKldg . A prime candidate
for snow buildup. It wuld do better if it was taut, but that may only delay
the inevitable.

While they may also work fine for summer camping , I remain concerned
about condensation during the summer months living
where the humidity tends to be rather high in the summer . Maybe ok if the
doors are open but with inward leaning doors - if
its raining the doors will most likely be closed .

It's roomy enough that you simply stay clear of the open doors. TThere's no
floor to get wet. If there's a wind, close the upwind door. If you are in
a really humid area, get the optional liner. Oh, and if it's going to rain,
don't camp where water will flow under the tent. My youngest son & I found
made that mistake with the nylon lean-to, but we convinced the water to run
under our groundsheet instead over it.

I'm not quite
sure about the bug issue with a floorless tent .

It'll be ok as long as it has a sod cloth, or any fabric that drapes loosely
onto the ground. I added a narrow sodcloth & bugscreen to a Eureka lean-to
& had no bug problems in bug season.

Lloyd Bowles
www.madcanoeist.4ever.cc

From what I understand about tipis, the outer bottom edge should be off
of the ground to allow air circulation through the structure aided by
the heat source in the center. A liner around the inside perimeter is an
integral part of the design and directs air up to the opening in the
center and reflects heat inward. The units pictured in the photos do not
use this feature and would not function correctly in my opinion.

PaddlingPair wrote:
Hi all,

I'm asking again... has anyone out there had experience with the Kifaru
tipis and folding woodstoves? They look like an excellent long trip
shelter and the stove allows heating and cooking.

Do any of you camp with floorless shelters?

Thanks!