Tipi Tent Camping: Tipis, Lavvus and How to Pitch Them

What is a tipi tent? Tipi, lavvu and their relatives

A tipi tent is a cone or pyramid of fabric around a central apex. In modern outdoor tents that apex sits on one centre pole, and the fabric is stretched out to a circle (or a many-sided polygon) of pegs. Because the walls pull evenly in all directions, the tent stands firm without the bent poles of a dome or the hoops of a tunnel. The height is in the middle: you can kneel, sit or often stand there, while the low edges are used for sleeping and storage.

Several quite different traditions share this basic shape. Telling them apart helps you choose — and avoids confusing a light synthetic tipi with a canvas tent that was built around a fire.

Where tipis, lavvus and Kohten come from

The tipi is the dwelling of the Plains peoples of North America, built to be moved. Its framework of many poles carries a cover that was originally made from hides and later from canvas. Two smoke flaps at the top are set with separate poles so the opening can be turned away from the wind, which keeps the central fire drawing. An inner lining along the lower wall creates a draught behind it and keeps cold air and drips away from the people inside. The tipi is part of living cultures, not a camping brand; outdoor shops borrow the name for a shape, and it is worth knowing the difference.

The lavvu comes from the Sami of northern Scandinavia and the Kola peninsula. It is usually lower and broader than a tipi, which makes it steady in the strong winds of open fells. Traditionally a few interlocking poles form the frame and more poles lean against them; a fire burns in the middle under the smoke opening. Many modern "lavvu tents" keep the low shape but use a single centre pole.

The Kohte is a German tent from the youth movement of the late 1920s. It is generally credited to Eberhard Koebel ("tusk") and was inspired by northern tents; its name is taken from kota, a Finnish word for a hut or tent. A Kohte is made of black cotton canvas panels that are buttoned together, so each member of a group can carry one panel. The Jurte was developed later within the same movement from the same idea: panels for a cone roof plus panels for vertical walls. It borrows its name from the Central Asian yurt but is a different tent. Both are still widely used by scout and youth groups, which have a lot of practical experience with them — including the small fire inside, discussed below.

Tipi vs tunnel tent: pros and cons

A tipi is neither better nor worse than a dome or tunnel tent; it solves different problems. Its strengths are headroom, simplicity and steady behaviour in wind from changing directions. Its weaknesses are wasted floor space at the low edges, the need for a large flat pitch and a lot of pegs, and — for canvas versions — weight.

Weight is the big divider. A synthetic one-pole tipi for two or three people can be about as light as a tunnel tent of similar floor area. A canvas lavvu or Kohte for a group weighs several kilograms and more — shared between many people that is fine, carried alone it is not. Check the numbers for your trip with the Kit Builder, and compare with the wider options in tent vs tarp vs hammock.

Canvas or synthetic? Tipi tent materials

The fabric decides almost everything else: weight, how the tent handles condensation, how it ages and whether any kind of heat inside is even worth considering. The general trade-offs are the same as in our tent fabric guide; here is what they mean for cone tents.

New cotton canvas often weeps a little in its first heavy rain until the fibres swell and the needle holes close; many makers recommend a first pitch in rain or a thorough wetting and drying before the first trip. Follow your tent's instructions. Synthetic tipis need no weathering but suffer more from UV in long pitches.

What size tipi do you need?

Capacity labels on cone tents are optimistic, because the sloping walls take headroom at the edge. Plan by the circle, not by the number on the bag.

• Sleeping like spokes: in larger tipis people lie radially, heads to the wall and feet towards the centre, or the other way round. Each sleeping mat then needs most of the radius, plus room around the pole.
• Sleeping side by side: in small tipis two people lie parallel on one side of the pole. Check the diameter against your mat length and how much the wall slopes over your head.
• Gear and wet kit: boots and packs go in the low ring near the wall or under a porch; the centre stays free for moving and, in heated designs, for the stove or fire area.
• Heat: a tent with a stove or a fire needs much more space than one without, because sleeping places must stay well away from the heat source.

As a rule of thumb, choose one size bigger than the label for comfort and for wet days. For winter use, add your sleep system to the plan with the sleeping bag and R-value calculator.

Pitching a tipi tent step by step

The most common mistake is to put the pole up first and then try to peg out a sagging cone. It works the other way round: circle first, pole second, tension third. Practise once in a garden or park before a trip; that is also the moment to check that all pegs and the pole sections are in the bag.

For large canvas tipis without a floor, groups often mark the circle first: a stake in the centre and a cord the length of the radius serve as a compass, and the pegs go on the line. It is the same principle as above, just more precise.

Raising the pole and tensioning

Crawl in through the door with the pole, set its tip into the apex cup or grommet and push the pole upright. On soft ground, put a foot plate, a flat stone or a piece of board under it so it does not sink, which would slacken the whole tent overnight. Adjustable poles are set to the length the maker gives; with a fixed pole, the base circle decides the tension, so re-set pegs rather than forcing the pole.

Pegs matter more in a tipi than in a dome, because they carry the whole structure. Carry a few spares and match them to the ground; a wooden mallet helps in firm soil without bending them, and the anchoring tricks in camping in wind help in sand and loose ground.

Kohte and Jurte: the German canvas panel tents

A Kohte is pitched differently from a one-pole tipi. Its black canvas panels — usually four for a standard Kohte — are buttoned together into a cone with an open top. A small wooden cross (the Kohte cross) spreads the smoke hole, and the whole tent is hung from a tripod of long poles set up outside, from a line between two trees, or from a single pole inside. Groups often cut the poles on site where the landowner allows it, or carry them on a cart; check this before the trip.

A Jurte combines roof panels with wall panels, giving vertical sides and far more usable floor space. It is pitched with a ring of guylines on the eaves and a roof held by a tripod, centre pole or cross, depending on size and group custom. Several sets of panels can be combined into large structures for camp kitchens and meetings. Because the system is modular, it suits base camps and longer group camps rather than fast trips.

The black colour is traditional and shows soot less. It also warms up quickly in the sun, which is pleasant in spring and autumn but hot in summer — open the door and lift the lower edge for a through-draught.

How tipis handle wind and rain

A well-pitched cone has no broadside: wind from any direction meets the same sloping wall and slides over it. That is why lavvus survive open, windy terrain. The weak points are slack walls, a sinking pole and a door that catches the wind.

• Door to the lee: orient the door away from the expected wind before you peg, because you cannot turn a pitched tipi. The full logic for orienting shelters is in camping in wind.
• All guylines out: they take load off the base pegs and stop the walls flapping. In rising wind, add a second peg behind any that starts to move.
• Vent on the lee side: turn adjustable vents or smoke flaps away from the wind so it does not blow in.
• Know your limits: check the forecast and the gusts with the wind and Beaufort camp calculator. In storms no fabric beats a sheltered site, and a tipi under tall trees is exposed to falling branches.

Rain

Steep cone walls shed rain fast. Water can, however, run down the centre pole from the apex, and an open smoke hole lets rain fall into the middle. Many tipis have a rain cap or a closable top vent for wet weather; in heated designs the stove pipe keeps the top open, so the drip zone around the pole needs a plan. Keep the base edge snug to the ground or with a small overlap so rain does not blow under it, and pitch on free-draining ground. More wet-weather routines are in camping in the rain, and good rain gear lets you peg out without getting soaked.

Condensation in a tipi tent

Most one-pole tipis are single wall: the fabric you see from inside is the same fabric the rain hits. On clear, cold, still nights the warm, moist air from people and wet gear meets that cold wall and condenses. Canvas absorbs and breathes much of it; synthetic walls drip. The cone shape helps, because warm air rises to the apex — if it can get out there.

An inner tent or a liner along the lower wall is the most effective upgrade for synthetic tipis. For a deeper look at why condensation happens and how vents work, see tent ventilation and condensation in the rain.

Fire in a tipi or Kohte: when it is acceptable and when it never is

Tipis, lavvus and Kohten are famous for the fire in the middle, and that reputation leads to dangerous copying. Be clear about which of three situations you are in.

• Synthetic tipi without a stove jack: never any fire, stove, grill, embers or hot stones inside. The fabric melts in seconds, and anything that burns produces carbon monoxide, which you cannot smell. This is the rule in campfire safety, and it applies without exception.
• Tipi or lavvu with a stove jack: a wood stove may be used only as the tent maker intends, with the pipe through the jack, a spark arrestor, high and low vents open, a tested CO alarm and the clearances in the manuals. Everything in hot tents and tent stoves applies here.
• Canvas Kohte, Jurte or traditional lavvu built for an open fire: a small open fire under the smoke hole is a long tradition in youth groups and in the north. It is acceptable only in canvas tents made for it, where fires are allowed, with experienced people, and with the precautions below.

Children and dogs need extra rules near a fire in a tent: one adult is in charge of the fire, nobody else feeds it, and children sleep furthest from it — see bushcraft with kids. Have a first aid kit with burn dressings, and cool burns with cool water for about 20 minutes as in our first aid guide.

Site choice, group camps and base camps

A tipi needs more ground than its floor suggests: the base circle plus a ring of guylines. Look for a level, round patch that takes pegs, with no roots or stones where people will sleep. The general rules from choosing a camp site apply in full: look up for dead branches (see widowmakers), avoid hollows where cold air and water collect, and keep camp at least 60 m from lakes and streams.

Group camps

Cone tents shine in groups. A large tipi or Jurte makes a central meeting and cooking space, smaller tents or Kohten form the sleeping area around it. Plan the layout as in base camp zones: sleeping tents on the windward side of any outdoor fire, at least 5 m from it, kitchen and woodpile separate, toilet area well away from tents and water. Clear paths between tents keep guylines from becoming trip wires at night; mark them or keep them short.

Base camps and long stays

For a stay of several days a tipi becomes a little house: a groundsheet or floor for the sleeping half, a drying line high up (never over a stove or fire), boxes for food and a fixed place for boots. Re-tension after the first night and after every rain; canvas and nylon both change length with moisture. More on camp routines is in camp setup.

Where can you pitch one?

A tipi is a tent like any other in the eyes of the law. Rules on where you may camp differ by country, region and landowner, and large group tents usually need the landowner's permission or a campsite. Read wild camping rules for the background; this is not legal advice. Fires — inside or outside the tent — need separate permission, see fire and wild camping.

Caring for a tipi: drying, storing and repairing canvas

Canvas lasts for many years if it is dried properly; it can be ruined in a few weeks if it is packed away damp. Synthetic tipis are more forgiving but share the same basic routine as any tent in tent care.

Repairs and re-proofing

Small burn holes, torn peg loops and missing buttons are easy to fix if you deal with them before the next trip: patch canvas with canvas, re-sew loops with strong thread, and replace buttons on a Kohte panel before they are lost. Re-proof canvas with a product made for cotton tents when water no longer beads. A sail needle, waxed thread and a few patches belong in the group's repair kit. Check the pole for cracks and the foot plate for wear, and count the pegs when you strike camp.