Seek Outside 8 person Tipi with carbon pole w/Two (half liners) Installed

The Eight Person Tipi is roomy, storm worthy and offers stand up & walk around space. A truly sustainable backcountry home, great for family camping, late season hunting, winter adventures or a base camp. It is capable of sleeping up to eight with minimal gear, or four people with a stove.

The Seek Outside 8-Man tipi makes a great gathering place for group hunts. I used this shelter on my 2019 Alaska moose hunt in the Yukon river delta. Mother nature dished out some ferocious gale force winds and several inches of rain during the hunt.  I had my doubts about the tent surviving a particularly nasty “hurricane” we endured one night.  However, the huge, 9′ tall tipi out-performed two much smaller and seemingly more aerodynamic dome tents – one of which was a 4-season model. (We don’t rent either of the two dome tents my buddies used, so the brand of those is not important). 

The dome tents both experienced inverted poles and were thrashing the guys sleeping inside anytime the winds would hammer. It was loud and a little unnerving inside the tipi, but she handled the storm like a champ! I did venture outside the tipi at one point to re-stake a few that pulled out of the soft tundra. I also added more guy lines while I was out there using the available extra guy-out loops to ensure our Alaskan lodge stayed attached to planet earth. All three of us estimated gusts were in the neighborhood of 50-60 mph, with sustained winds of 35-40 mph. Nearby camps I spoke with after the hunt estimated the same magnitude of winds. Guy-out lines should be attached to the tipi you rent, but it’s always a smart idea to pack some extra 550 cord as it’s always a useful for something.

On this hunt I slept alone in the tipi and we used it for the cooking/eating/gathering tent, and gear storage for all three of us and my dog Jäger, who manages our Tracking Department. We all hung out comfortably in the tent during some torrential rain-days to wait out the weather. I think 3 or 4 guys and gear on a backpack or pack-in style hunt would be ideal.

One of my biggest initial concerns with using a floorless shelter was keeping the weather and unwanted guests (bugs and rodents) outside. Turns out this was a non-issue over 11 days in Alaska. We had one mouse venture into the tent, but Jäger made short work of that issue. Drafts were minimal even in driving winds. I loved not having to remove boots or worry about damaging the floor or tracking in dirt and mud. If these concerns have kept you from going floorless, I would bet you’ll end up being a fan too after you try it.

I did not have the inner half liner prior to this hunt, and that was a mistake. I highly recommend using the liner with the tent in cold, moist conditions. It wouldn’t be necessary in warmer, dryer conditions, but you never know when even a September hunt will turn rainy. We used dry bags to store gear, wiped down the walls with a towel, and used a lightweight tarp inside the tipi to mitigate condensation issues. The condensation would not have been as big an issue if the winds had not been constantly whipping the tent fabric causing the condensation to shake off the walls and become airborne in the form of a light mist. Heavy rain on damp walls had the same effect where heavy droplets on the outside would launch the small droplets inside airborne.

Using the half liner very effectively mitigates these issues. Two liners can be used, for a fully lined tipi. It will also stay warmer inside and hold heat better when using the stove.  A wood burning stove is also a big help in managing condensation.  We utilized a propane heater because we weren’t sure about wood availability and we also cooked inside with propane.  When you burn propane, a byproduct is water which will condense on cold walls. 

C3H8 + 5O2 → 3CO2 + 4H2O

A wood burning stove vents the combustion gases that include water out the chimney while delivering “dry” heat to evaporate moisture in the tent and dry any of your gear.

AK 8-Man Tipi Interior Video Clip

The large stove provides plenty of heat to keep the shelter cozy and warm enough for lightweight jackets or less depending on the outside temps and how well you tend the stove.  It’s a game changer on late season hunts. Having a warm – stand up shelter to prepare food and sleep makes it a lot easier to stay motivated in tough conditions.  It’s our favorite shelter for winter wolf hunting. We just used a buddy heater in Alaska and that was plenty to stay comfortable down to the mid 20’s especially when cooking.

The tipi sets up quickly if you have a level spot. On the Alaska hunt we had a slope to deal with and it made it difficult to get as tight of a pitch as we would have liked. This probably contributed to the fabric whipping more in the wind and added to the airborne condensation issues we dealt with on the hunt. Finding a flat area large enough to pitch the big tipis can be more of a challenge than actually pitching the shelter.

We are probably going to get more of these 8-Man shelters, because I’ll have it checked out a bunch next season too!

Please leave a review and let us know how the 8-Man tipi works for your crew.

Coop

SPECIFICATIONS:

Weight:

Canopy – 68 oz / 4 lb 4 oz

Complete weight – canopy, stakes, carbon pole, dual screens – 113 oz / 7 lb 1 oz

Half Liner: 16 oz each

Dimensions: 8′ 6″ H x 16′ Diameter, 195 sq ft

Sitting Room (Area taller than 36″) – 84 sqft

Standing Room (Area taller than 6 ft) – 27 sqft 

SIZE GUIDE:

Sleeps 8 without stove

Sleeps 4 with stove

Sleeps 3 on short cots with stove

Sleeps 2 on standard cots with a stove

COMES WITH:

 2 Half Liner Installed (FULLY LINED)

Shelter canopy & Stuff Sack(s)

Stove jack with rain flap

Carbon Pole

22 Tent stake out loops, 22 9.75 ” twisted tundra stakes. Plus one spare for a total of 23 twisted stakes.

8 guy outs lines Installed.

8 7″. Aluminum “Y” Stakes for guy outs.  Plus 2 Spares for a total of 10 7″ Stakes 

Mesh door screens both doors