Our Tipis
OUR TIPIS come complete with the following:
1 Tipi Cover (12 oz Cotton duck canvas, Fire, Water & Rot Treated)
1 Tipi Liner (12/15 oz Cotton duck canvas, Fire, Water & Rot Treated)
1 Tipi Door
1 Rain hat
2 Door poles
1 Charlie Stick
Set of Tipi Poles in Douglas Fir (number according to tipi size)
Set of Willow lacing Pins
Set of Wooden (ash) Pegs
20mm Jute lashing Rope
8mm Jute liner Rope
Canvas Storage/carry Sack
We also include a great little instruction booklet byPatrick Whitefield called Tipi Living
Along with a smudging gift to honour your tipi, and ribbons to adorn your tipi poles.
Based on a tradtional Sioux tipi pattern, we have made a few modifications based on our own experience
We have changed the door so it goes to the floor, extended the smoke flaps and we put our smoke flap poles through the ends of the smoke flaps. i’ll be posting pictures soon.
We can make your tipi to absolutely authentic pattern should you wish or you may have the modifications. The choice is yours. I’ll be posting more info about tipi patterns and our own tipis shortly.
Our tipis are made from the finest 12oz cotton duck canvas as standard grade, and are sewn to ensure no leaks or tears
We re-enforce the lifting pole tabs and use the traditional method of coin grommets for tying off our peg loops for longer canvas life.
We make our tipis using environment friendly materials, from sustainable, and where possible local sources.
Canvas Weights:
We sew our tipis with a 12oz grade canvas as standard, but can sew with lighter or heavier grades if required for summer or winter lodges.
Our canvas is treated with a waterproof, fireproof, and rot-proofing treatment.
Canvas Colours:
White is a standard colour for tipis, but we do have colours available and can sew to your own choice of colour combinations.
Please contact us to see what colours are available at this time, and how they can be used on your tipi.
TIPI FLOORING
Please note: Tipi Flooring does not come included with our tips, we do sell flooring and it may be ordered additonally.
COCONUT FLOORING
Coir matting flooring, our coir flooring is sewn and edged in canvas, it comes as two semi circles and is very easy to fit and transport. Coir is a heavy duty flooring made from coconut, it is extremely robust and long life.
Matting can be ordered with or without a firehole.
GROUNDSHEETS
We sell tailor made and fitted heavy-duty welded groundsheets sized to fit your tipi perfectly.
(approx weight for 18ft tipi 5kgs)
Please see our tipi prices for costs and availability.
SETS OF TIPI POLES
Our canvases are pitched on the toughest, individually selected douglus fir poles, each hand-cut and finished. Our pole thicknesses are chosen for portability and ease of use, heavier weighted poles are available for more permanent structures.
A set of poles should last you 15 years if cared for correctly.
Poles can be tapered or cut short if rain hat is to be used.
How are the poles harvested?
Our poles are sourced from sustainable forestry management schemes, our poles are not tested on animals, and no animals are hurt in the process of tree harvesting…
How many poles in a tipi?
12ft tipi = 12 poles @ 14ft long
14ft tipi = 12 poles @ 16ft long
16ft tipi = 14 poles @ 20ft long
18ft tipi = 16 poles @ 24ft long
21ft tipi = 19 poles @ 26ft long
24ft tipi = 19 poles @ 30ft long
Two poles are used outside for the smokeflaps.
Buying Tipi poles only: please note we do not usually keep sets of poles for purchase, we can make sets to order but orders must be in between November and February each year for collection from March.
Please contact us if you are interested in prices on pole sets.
How can i transport my tipi poles to glastonbury or anywhere on my mini?
If you have a car roof rack, have a look at this link Pole transport (coming soon! sorry) for a nifty way to make your tipi as portable as your car, actually you can carry a tipi out of the mud at glastonbury but not your car… as we well know…
Liners, rain hats and drip catchers
Liners
Our tipis come with a liner. They are available in two height sizes depending on the use of the tipi and your requirements, usually 4.5ft or 6ft in height. We will discuss and determine which liner size is best suited to you when you place an order. We also sew our liners with a 20cm PVC edge on the bottom of the liner, we have fofund this helps enormously with bottom edges going rotten or mouldy over time when in contact with wet grass. We also like to tuck our PVC liner bottoms under our fitted groundsheets when pitching, it helps seal off all draughts and wetness around the tipi bottom.
Liners are used on the inside of the tipi, they are hung using rope and ties. Liners help add a little extra insulation at groundlevel and can eliminate draughts. They also act as a very important part of the air circulation when using a fire in a tipi, acting like a flue, drawing air up between the liner and tipi canvas, helping with the removal of fire smoke. Many people choose not to have a liner up in the summer, we’ll hang yours when we pitch the tipi if you wish or we’ll show you how for future use.
I’ll be posting more info & pictures for liners and how to hang them soon.
Drip Catchers
Staying dry in a tipi is not usually hard, but our english summers have been quite wet over the last few years to say the least, and even when a tip is correctly pitched you can’t stop all rain from getting in the tipi. This shouldn’t be a surprise when you look up and see that fundamentaly a tipi has a big hole in the roof! Of course when you are not having a fire you can close up the smoke flaps and stop the vast majority of rain coming in. However rain coming in is not the main cause of dripping in a tipi, that is caused by the poles; actually it is caused by the rain hitting the poles in the crown and running down them into the tipi.
The water finds a path down the poles and then a place to detach itself from them and drip on your head, or bed, or wherever, as it is pretty random. Drip catchers are designed to be installed up in the inside of the tipi crown, they hang below the smoke exit hole and have rags tied from each pole and hanging down into the rain catcher. Pretty simple idea and it works well. The water that collects in the catcher is then drained off down a canvas shute which comes down from the catcher, down the side of the tipi, behind the liner and pegged out to the ground outside. The water is basically guided out of the tipi instead of falling on your head.
The drip catchers can be a little bit of a fiddle to set up at first, but once you get it right they work a treat.
We can make our rain catchers to any colour you like, the image above shows one with a star and in the same colours as the tipi.
Please see our tipi prices page for costs and ordering.
Rain Hats
These are another method for keeping the rain out of the tipi, except that hats, as the name implies, go on the outside of the tipi. The hat basically covers the tips of the poles in the crown and is tied off to the ground with rope.
I’ll post more info about hats soon…..
* tipi care and correct use will ensure a long lasting lodge, we cannot guarantee against neglet or improper use, please have a look at our how to care for your tipi page for full information,
Honor the sacred.
Honor the Earth, our Mother.
Honor the Elders.
Honor all with whom we share the Earth:- Four-leggeds, two-leggeds,
winged ones, Swimmers, crawlers, plant and rock people.
Walk in balance and beauty.
Native American Elder