Tipi

[tx river rat]

I have always wanted to build one of these ,and after planning a winter time kayak camping trip I decided to build one and try it. It should cut the wind much better than a tent.
I picked up a tarp and went to the woods to cut some poles and here she is.

Just a small fire warms it up nearly instantly

Plenty of room for my cot

I really enjoyed this project and now my lady daoesnt want me to dimantle it .
I am going to try a few more configurations before the trip.
Ron

 

[oldsparkey]

Ron......

How are you going to transport the poles when going on a camping trip , especially by boat. ?

It appears that the shape of the Tipi should have less wind resistance to it then a normal tent , the Tipi has less flat surface to act as resistance to the wind.

 

[tx river rat]

We had pretty hi winds last night and it didnt seem to phase it.
For trips on the river I will use sections of 1/2 steel condont cut in 5 ft lengths.
Ron

 

[lil'moe]

Are you really sure you want to be sleeping under those lightning rods? Seems to me that there can be storms along that river, from what I've read. Haste to have fried rat on the sand bar!!

 

[Kayak Jack]

Ron, now that you have a pattern, you may want to make it from a different material? Polytarps are the noisiest thing to have in a camp; they keep you awake with all the crackling.

 

[Wannabe]

Ron, now that you have a pattern, you may want to make it from a different material? Polytarps are the noisiest thing to have in a camp; they keep you awake with all the crackling.

Some folks have polytarp to keep them awake and some have a Lynx. :lol:
Bob

 

[Kayak Jack]

My Canadian lynx serves a good and valuable purpose. All the years she's been stalking me - and throwing her voice in a staticy like growl to simulate snoring - never once have any Apaches, or saber toothed tigers ever slipped up on my in my sleep. She even mad Ron get back into his tent on night.

 

[tx river rat]

Using the poly because of the wind stopping ability, one thing good about the river is the high banks and tree on both sides . So you are the lowest thing around.
Ron

 

[Kayak Jack]

I had a tipi (tepee?) made of 12 panels of a parachute. It could be set over poles, or suspended from a tree branch by a single rope at the apex. Yours probably could too, if you can find a tree branch over a flat place.

I have plans for a Sioux tepee, and can send a copy if you're interested. It is larger than yours, but can be scaled down. It uses a (I don't remember the name of it) interior wall to divert air up along the walls to scoot smoke out the hole and keep drafts off of people. BTW, how flammable is a polytarp?

 

[jdupre']

Another good design perfected over thousands of years. I saw a 110 lb. Indian woman put up a 12' diameter tipi by herself. Very efficient to erect and pretty cool in the La. heat.

Nice job, Ron.

Joey

 

[Kayak Jack]

A gentleman, Joey, would have helped that poor lady. Golly, now I've lost all faith in you. sigh :wink:

 

[jdupre']

A gentleman, Joey, would have helped that poor lady. Golly, now I've lost all faith in you. sigh :wink:

I guess I could have helped, but it would have ruined her presentation. :mrgreen:

 

[oldsparkey]

Here's some info on a tipi including a printable pattern about how to cut everything to make one.

http://www.shelterpub.com/_shelter/www_teepee.html

It uses a (I don't remember the name of it) interior wall to divert air up along the walls to scoot smoke out the hole and keep drafts off of people.

It's an inner lining , normally about 4 feet up the interior of the inside of the tipi. Commonly used in cold weather.

 

[Kayak Jack]

I've read that the edges of a tepee were not on the ground. Rather, they were up a bit to allow air inside. The wall (name of which still eludes me) would direct air away from people, and up the inside of the wall. It washed smoke up out of the hole.

I never had a wall inside my tepee, and it seemed OK. I could prop up edges on the windward side and it vented the tent fine. I would light a camp stove inside it, but did not build a fire becasue the tepee was made of nylon.

In the movies, tepees are always made of canvas. Originals were animal hides; I guess Sears and Soebuck hadn't penetrated that far inland yet.

 

[oldsparkey]

I've read that the edges of a tepee were not on the ground. Rather, they were up a bit to allow air inside. The wall (name of which still eludes me) would direct air away from people, and up the inside of the wall. It washed smoke up out of the hole.

As I mentioned in my above post. :roll:
Nothing exotic about the inside piece that is used to direct the air up and away from the inside occupants while they sleep. It is called a Tipi Liner or lining. Normally it has a lip on it which rests on the ground to stop any air flow from the underside. It also stops any bodily contact with the outer skin of the Tipi in wet weather.

 

[tx river rat]

My first contact with a full blown tipi was hunting in Colo , a guy there was into the historic
and blackpowder thing and had a 16 fter set up , there was snow 12 inches deep that year and his tipi was warm and roomy , he had the liner set inside the poles and the thing sure did vent.
a tiny fire had it warm as toast. If I had a place I camped a lot ,I would build a big canvass one and set it up permanent. It is a neat deal ,
I built this for hopefully a reasonable fast set up , wind resistance and the ability to build a fire inside. I have a couple more designs I am going to try before I really try to refine the shelter.
Nylon just isnt the right thing for wind and cold in a Texas winter time camping trip.
The indians used Buffalo hides and after they were sent to the reservations and the buff were killed out the Goverment supplied canvas foe there tipis.
Ron

 

[Kayak Jack]

I've often wondered what a tepee made of buffalo hides smelled like after a few days of rain? I'm betting that Martha Stewart would not have been happy in one.

Plus the hides probably soaked up a good bit of water and gained weight, making moving a lot more difficult for the poor doggy pulling the travois.

Nylon is not a good material for a tepee at all - but, it had the advantage of being available. A cotton or linen canvas would seem good.

 

[oldsparkey]

They have the reenactments over here , especially during the Pioneer Days (Rendezvous ) and one guy has a full size Tipi. It is something when you step in there , the whole floor , except a small center area , is covered in animal skis as the floor. Bear , Beaver , Wolf , Badger and just about what ever else that walks in the woods. All of them have the hair or fur on them.

The ones with the fur are the beds and the rest is for comfort so you don's sit on the dirt. The open area in the middle is for the fire.
The tipi is canvas since the Buffalo skins are something our fore fathers made very endangered. He has done the canvas so it looks like skins. The lodge pole pines are the real McCoy.

When he is not doing that for a rendezvous or for some show and tell for the school kids he works as an air conditioner mechanic. "O" You should see his home , a 2 story log home which he built and it is something.

Chuck.

 

[tx river rat]

I doubt the hides had much smell at all , they were continually being smoked, these hides were tanned hair gone and the indians oiled them just like you do a pair of boats , bet they were pretty water tight.
Ron

 

[gbinga]

Wouldn't you think that a teepee made out of buffalo hide would weigh.... a LOT?!? I know they made them that way, it isn't like they had canvas or polytarp available. But good lord, what a heavy mess to have to lug around from place to place.