The Best Teepee Tent: Shopping Guide and Recommendations (03/23)

Welcome to our big teepee tent test 2023. Here we present all the tipi tents that we have tested in detail. We have compiled detailed background information and added a summary of customer reviews on the web.

We would like to make your purchase decision easier and help you find the best tipi tent for you.

You will also find answers to frequently asked questions in our guide. If available, we also offer interesting test videos. Furthermore, you will also find some important information on this page that you should definitely pay attention to if you want to buy a tipi tent.

Summary

• Teepee tents allow you to accommodate a large group of people and their luggage in one tent. Tipi tents are very spacious and therefore offer a variety of uses.
• The opening in the top of a tipi tent always provides enough ventilation. It is even enough to use an open fire or stove inside the tent. This is not possible with all tipi tents.
• Because of their simple construction, tipi tents are very easy to set up. There are variants with one pole in the middle, where the tent wall is tightened with cords from the outside, or variants with at least three or more poles where the tent wall is attached to the poles all around.

The Best Teepee Tent: Our Picks

Guide: Questions you should ask yourself before buying a teepee tent

Decision: What types of teepee tents are there and which is the right one for you?

If you want to buy a teepee tent, there are three alternatives to choose from:

• Tipi tent with floor
• Tipi tent with floor mat
• Tipi tent without floor

A teepee tent with a floor is a tent that has a firmly sewn floor in the living area. This floor protects the inhabitants of the tent from moisture from below, rainwater running in, insects and sand, earth or leaves.

Teepee tents with a floor mat do not have a sewn-in floor, but are supplied with a floor mat. This floor mat can be inserted into the tent or left out, as required. Then there are teepee tents that are delivered without a floor. Here, a ground mat can be purchased and inserted as an option, if required.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a tepee tent with a floor?

As already mentioned, the great advantage of a tepee tent with a floor is that moisture and dirt cannot penetrate into the living area, as the floor is firmly sewn to the walls of the tent.

Insects and other small animals will not find their way into your tipi tent and you can sleep undisturbed.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a teepee tent with a ground mat?

The justified plus of a teepee tent with a ground mat is that you can decide individually whether you want to insert the ground mat or not. This allows you to vary the weight and pack size of your tipi tent.

An inserted floor therefore only keeps moisture, insects and dirt out of your tent to a limited extent, unless the floor is attached to the upper part of the tent with a zip.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a teepee tent without a floor?

A tepee tent without a floor is ideal as a kitchen, storage or recreation tent in a holiday or tent camp. Because of the way a kitchen tent is used, there is a lot of passage, so no dirt can be spread on the floor of the tent, because it is not there.

Because of the lack of a floor, you save a lot of weight when transporting the tent. However, you can also buy an optional ground mat and line your tipi tent with it.

Buying criteria: You can use these factors to compare and evaluate teepee tents

In the following, we would like to show you which factors you can use to compare and evaluate tipi tents. This will make it easier for you to decide whether a particular tipi tent is suitable for you or not. The criteria you can use to compare the tents with each other include:

• Inner tent
• Awning
• Fireplace/stove
• Window
• Accessories

In the following paragraphs, we will explain what is important in each of the criteria.

Inner tent

An inner tent is a separate cabin that is simply hewn into the inside of the teepee tent. There are cabins that cover the entire inner area of the tipi tent, but also cabins that separate part of the living area from the rest for a sleeping area with an extra opaque wall and zip.

Awning

There are two types of awnings. One is the closed version and the other is the open version.

Closed awning

A closed awning is a cabin that serves as the anteroom of your tipi tent. Wet shoes or clothes can be taken off and stored here. It helps you to keep the living area of your teepee tent clean as it is practically used as a sluice.

Open awning

An open awning is not a room with walls, but consists only of a sail that can be placed over the entrance of your teepee tent. It keeps the entrance area of your tent dry from rain and moisture.

Fireplace/stove

There are teepee tent variants that allow you to operate a fireplace or stove inside the tent.

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It is essential to ensure that there is enough ventilation inside the tent when operating a fireplace or stove, otherwise there is a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, which could be fatal.

Windows

Windows in your teepee tent allow some light into your tent. Many windows are partially equipped with flyscreens so that some air can circulate through your tipi tent. The windows are often equipped with a slightly larger roll. This way you can also make the window opaque and stop the ventilation.

Accessories

Of course, there are lots of accessories for your teepee tent, such as extra lines for outdoors, clotheslines for indoors, ground pegs and mending kit, lamp hooks, indoor cabins and awnings, as well as stoves and fire bowls.

You can buy these accessories in any specialist online shop to suit your type of manufacturer or in camping shops.

Facts worth knowing about tipi tents

How do I build a tipi tent myself?

To build a tepee tent yourself, you need at least three or more metal poles, slats, bamboo slats, a waterproof fabric or cover and some rope to tie the top ends together.

1. Set up the poles in a triangle and ram them approx. 10 cm into the ground in a wrap so that the top ends of the poles meet in the middle of the triangle. You can adjust the size of your poles and the footprint of your future tipi tent to suit your needs.
2. Now tie the first poles tightly together at the top end so that they can no longer come apart.
3. Your basic structure should now resemble a pointed pyramid. Now you can add more poles if necessary to make your tepee square, square or round. Don’t forget to connect these ends firmly to the rest at the top.
4. Think about the conditions under which your tipi tent will stand. If it is only going to stand for a day or a short time, you can use a cover that is not as weatherproof. If your tipi tent is going to stand for a longer period of time, you should use a weatherproof cover and hammer in your frame.
5. Now wrap the first layer of cover around the pole frame, starting from the bottom. Make sure that you leave a little overhang at the bottom so that any rain can run off and not get into the tipi. The next layer of cover is attached about halfway down the already attached cover. This way the second cover overlaps the first and no rain can get in. The covers are attached to the poles if they allow it. Preferably wooden slats, into which you can easily staple, glue or nail the cover.
6. Make sure that you have planned an area as an entrance. This is usually the area where the cover strips end. You can staple these together or, better still, they have eyelets into which you can spring a rope to close the tipi tent.

How do you store a teepee tent?

You can store your tipi tent packed together in any dry place. Important as mentioned above, make sure you dry it completely after use before packing it up again.

This will prevent the impregnation from becoming permeable after a short time and also prevent your tipi tent from developing mould stains and mildew.

How do I impregnate a tipi tent correctly?

In order to keep your tipi tent somewhat weatherproof, you must impregnate it after frequent use. To do this, it is best to first completely erect the tipi tent. Then you need a ladder, waterproofing spray, a garden hose with water and a soft brush. Spray the tipi tent thoroughly from top to bottom with the waterproofing spray.

To access the upper part of the tent, stand on the ladder. Work the waterproofing spray into the tent fabric with a soft brush, as this is the only way to ensure that the spray has a water-repellent effect.

Allow your tent to dry completely before taking it down, packing it away and stowing it away.

After you have sprayed the entire tipi tent, rinse it gently with a little water. The easiest way to do this is to have a garden hose handy.

Can I use a stove in a teepee tent?

If you plan to use a fireplace or stove in your tipi tent, you should make sure that the smoke can escape from your tipi tent. You must therefore provide sufficient ventilation. Most tipi tents have an opening in the upper part of the tent so that some air can always circulate.

Nevertheless, you should always check beforehand whether the manufacturer of your tipi tent indicates how the use of fire and stoves is regulated. In the worst case, you risk your tent catching fire or the people inside being exposed to carbon monoxide poisoning with fatal consequences.

If it works out that you can operate a fireplace or stove in your tipi tent, there are various suppliers of tipi tents who will sell you a tent with a stove directly or you can get your stove or fireplace separately.

Image source: flickr.com / Michael Studt