# kifaru tent



## art in ny (Feb 6, 2010)

I would like one who,s got any input on them ?They are pricey but are they worth it? Im a canvas guy


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## vigilguy (Dec 12, 2008)

Are you open to other tent designs? I opted for a Hilleberg Altai myself. Has more usable space.

I am a retailer for them, but mention the shelter because they are tough and lightweight.


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## stinky (Jun 6, 2009)

I've seen em. A guy I work with...his dad is friends w/the guy. I was in their elk camp and he had one. They set it up in no time at all and stayed dry.

Other than that, I don't know anything.

Canvas is heavy to pack.


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## Bob Jones (Aug 21, 2009)

My son-in-law has one of the larger ones. 

The stove is nice to have, but it will not keep you warm all night. It's not really big enough to cook for as many people that can stay in the tent. It draws air to burn so there is a draft. The radiant heat will keep you warm though. It warms up quickly when you stoke it every hour.

When the fire is out, heat rises, so if you're sleeping on the floor you do not get to take advantage of trapped heat.

Having said that, on a recent geology trip, all the people with tiny bubble tents were jealous for the space.

If I had the money to spend, I would take a closer look at the tent mentioned above before buying. It looks cosier, with more space available near the sides. It appears that the heat would be kept closer and the stove in the tent always makes me nervous anyway. 

Right now I am on the cheap, so I am playing with hammocks and tarps. If I can get my so-in-law to come with me. I'm sure he'd bring it to the rendy.


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## art in ny (Feb 6, 2010)

Well i went and looked at the hilleberg tent but not the design i was hopeing for it looks like in a heavey downpour or snowstorm u could get into trouble plus it dosent seem freindly for one person to set up .


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## GoatTracksMagazine (Dec 20, 2008)

We love our 8-man Kifaru tipi that weâ€™ve had for 4 years. Weâ€™ve had most of the high-end 4-season tents and the Kifaru beats them for space and headroom. You can stand up in the tipi and walk around, hang clothes and sleeping bags to dry, and have space to keep gear out of the weather. Dry clothes and bags are a must for us, since we do a lot of fall/winter goatpacking. We have the medium stove, which we cook pancakes, ham and other griddle things on. It is very effective, you just have to monitor the heat it is putting out. The stove is not airtight, so it will use a lot of wood.

The set up is very fast â€¦ we can have the tipi and stove pitched in around 20 minutes. The tipi weighs 7 lbs, and the stoveâ€™s about 3 lbs, and they fit nicely in panniers. Steveâ€™s had the tipi out in some huge winds, and last year when we left the mountains we were in 18 inches of snow. When itâ€™s pitched properly, itâ€™s pretty much bomb-proof. As far as calling it an 8-man, you could probably fit 8 skinny people and a very limited amount of gear in. But we had 3 people and all our gear and food for a 12-day trip inside the tipi during the 6-day storm we were into last year, and could have slept one more person comfortably. 

The real bonus for us is the headroom and the ability to dry clothes from the clothesline at the top of the tipi â€¦ this can be a lifesaver when in seriously cold weather. We were continually drying our sock, boots, and damp bags while we played cards and cooking pancakes on the stove.

Two drawbacks to this set up are, one, you need a large footprint, and two, there is no floor (of course). The large footprint is the larger issue. We take the ground cloths from our tents and stake them out to put our thermarests on. 

Just some of our ideas â€¦ they have a great website and message board if you want to check them out further. As for us, weâ€™ll never go back to tents for extended stays, but we still use tents for single nights at the trailhead. 
Steve and Shannon


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## Herb (Dec 12, 2008)

If you like canvas, you would want the liners. They do not breathe, condensation can be pretty bad in some conditions. Very goat friendly for packing, we use the 16-man with the arctic stove. I've packed their 24-man monster tipi as well. Northwest PG&S made some panniers that fit the arctic stove better and allow it to ride horizontal to the goats body. The stoves are not designed for an all night burn keeping the tent warm. The burn is fast and hot, allows you to heat up, dry clothes, and cook, but once you quit adding fuel, it won't last long. Have a sleeping bag adequate for the temperatures and you should be warm all night, fire the stove back up in the morning to take the edge off.



















Car camping, I'm more inclined to a heavy standard tent and steel stove and still use them at trailheads. The tipi and stove are real castles in the backcountry, expecially when the weather sets in.

Kifaru has first rate customer service and a nice American family business.


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## idahonancy (Dec 13, 2008)

Just got back from a 2 week back country Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep Hunt in Idaho. My Obers boys are only 2 years old and not ready for this kind of trip. We used horses and mules to get in 9 miles with a 5,000ft elevation gain. The Kifaru 12 man tipi and artic stove were fabulous. The stove made for good meals and a constant supply of hot water. If you find the right griddle to fit the top of the stove a big trout fries up quickly. The mules made easy work of carring the light weight tipi and stove. Night time condensation dries up easily once the stove is warm. The tipi has no floor so food supplies were secured with 4 gallon square buckets and lids. These buckets doubled as camp stools and were easy to hang in trees away from bears. All of this gear was purchased so the goats will be able to take it on future hikes. Everyday we climbed brutal rocky steep terrain and I wished so bad that my boys were one year older. It was a blast.
IdahoNancy


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## Herb (Dec 12, 2008)

You'll want some different sized panniers to handle the stove, I've got the sizes on my other computer and can get that for you. I also had a pole bag made so the poles could ride horizontal too. I'm bugging Kifaru to make me a new pole set that will fit in the panniers, I'll have to follow up on that.


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