DIY Kifaru Tut Tipi!

[Ctalboom]

So I have wanted a Kifaru Tipi for 6 years now and finally decided to make my own with some tips from this forum and a few others. I designed pretty much a replica of the Kifaru Tut in Sketchup. (Sketchup is crazy easy and you should use it. Took Ten minutes to scale the tipi to the exact size I wanted and find all my cuts).

All material is from Ripstop by the Roll. I went with their 1.1 oz silnylon which is actually a 1.24oz after it is coated. The cone and reinforcement points are the HyperD 300 Ripstop. The tie outs are grosgrain.

The tipi, 12 msr groundhog stakes, and the center pole all together weigh 3lbs 5oz. I had a different pole but was barely too short that brought the full weight to 2lbs 12oz.

I've never sewed anything in my life and it honestly was not that difficult, took me 4 evenings of 4-5 hours an evening. This thing is seriously amazing- no idea why I waited so long! I also bought an 18" cylinder stove from Lite Outdoors and it is badass!









Also made the stuff sack and two of the sleeping mats for inside. The mats are made of the HyperD 300 Ripstop.

 

[zeroforhire]

Very nice.


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[cvandervort]

Looks great! Love to see some pics of the inside. What dimensions did you go with?

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[Ctalboom]

Turned out small and sideways, hold on. View attachment 43893

 

[Ctalboom]

Apparently I'm an idiot and can't figure out the pics. But anyways I posted a few more in the original post. The dimensions are 6'9" tall in the center, the sides are square and 8' by 8'. I pretty much replicated the tut but used Sketchup to find the lengths of the triangles etc.

 

[Ctalboom]

View attachment 43901

View attachment 43902

The sleeping mats have grosgrain tie outs on the corners so they can be staked in to the ground to avoid sliding around.



The model I made in Sketchup.



Weight with the smaller pole.



Cutting the triangles and lining them up with binder clips, binder clips are your friend! Use as many as possible! Next big project will be a 12-16 man tipi I'm thinking.

 

[zeroforhire]

Can you post the sketch up file?


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[Felix40]

Looks awesome. A 12-16 man will be a big undertaking. Definitely worth it in the money saved though!

 

[reaper]

Awesome job man,wow really like it.

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[Hall256]

So I have wanted a Kifaru Tipi for 6 years now and finally decided to make my own with some tips from this forum and a few others. I designed pretty much a replica of the Kifaru Tut in Sketchup. (Sketchup is crazy easy and you should use it. Took Ten minutes to scale the tipi to the exact size I wanted and find all my cuts).

All material is from Ripstop by the Roll. I went with their 1.1 oz silnylon which is actually a 1.24oz after it is coated. The cone and reinforcement points are the HyperD 300 Ripstop. The tie outs are grosgrain.

The tipi, 12 msr groundhog stakes, and the center pole all together weigh 3lbs 5oz. I had a different pole but was barely too short that brought the full weight to 2lbs 12oz.

I've never sewed anything in my life and it honestly was not that difficult, took me 4 evenings of 4-5 hours an evening. This thing is seriously amazing- no idea why I waited so long! I also bought an 18" cylinder stove from Lite Outdoors and it is badass! View attachment 43892

View attachment 43895

View attachment 43896

View attachment 43898

View attachment 43899

Also made the stuff sack and two of the sleeping mats for inside. The mats are made of the HyperD 300 Ripstop.

That looks pretty good, I am not sure if I would have the skill to pull it off. A question though, how much did all the materials cost you? I am assuming the savings were quite substantial if you are thinking of doing a larger tipi.

 

[406]

Nice

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[450]

Sketchup file would be nice, if you still have it.

 

[mtnrunner260]

Looks awesome.
Nice work.

 

[Ctalboom]

I honestly haven't looked at how to share the file but I'll draw something up with the dimensions written on it. Super simple design. Hall 256- I am into it about $150, from Kifaru it is $650. So definitely a substantial savings.

The large tipi is going to be brutal but I gained a ton of confidence after doing the Tut. Honestly was not that bad. There are some other guys on here with more skills than myself that have said the same thing. Just some patience and a mind that functions in 3D is all you really need.

I used my wifes Bernina 131 sewing machine, apparently it is pretty high end but I know nothing about that aspect. It was flawless and made me feel like I knew what I was doing even though I probably still don't haha.

 

[reaper]

Some pictures doesnt work?

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[Ctalboom]

Some pictures doesnt work?

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Which pictures are you not able to view? It is probably my fault haha.

 

[reaper]

Where you are talking about sleeping mats

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[Ctalboom]

Where you are talking about sleeping mats

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Strange, I'll try posting again. View attachment 43908

View attachment 43910

 

[Willow]

Nice job Ctalboom!

What seam did you use on the sides? Did you seal them?

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[Ctalboom]

Nice job Ctalboom!

What seam did you use on the sides? Did you seal them?

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Thank you! The seams on the sides of the tipi are all flat felled seams. The bottom edges that touch the ground are a a triple rolled hem. The tie outs on the bottom third of the tipi are also flat felled into the middle of the seam that make up the sides of the tipi. I haven't seamed sealed it yet since I just finished it last night. I'll do it tomorrow with a thinned silicone sealant brushed on.