Are Teepee Tents Good For Camping
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Teepee’s are iconic and have been around for hundreds of years, they are more commonly known to be made into play pens and glamping pods than used as serious camping shelters.
Teepee tents are perfect for camping in your backyard or on a specific site, if you are looking to go camping teepee tents are not practical. They unfortunately are harder to erect, come with compromised living conditions and can often be heavier than a regular tent.
In this article we are going to talk about whether we think teepee tents are good for camping, what they are good for and what you should know before camping out in a teepee tent.
What Is A Teepee Tent?
Also known as Tipi tents, Teepee tents are some of the most recognizable traditional tent types, thanks to their distinguishable cone shape.
These tents were used by Native American tribes on the plains, mainly because they didn’t need too many resources to construct – resources that could become rather sparse in wide-open grasslands inhabited by the tribes.
If you have ever watched any Western movie or Peter Pan, then I’m confident you’ve seen how homes of some of the North American tribes looked like back between the 16th and 17th century.
These luminous and tall white cones were made from tanned animal hides, usually from antelope, elk, bison, or buffalo, and wooden poles, usually pine, as these were the most abundant in the valleys and hills of the Rocky Mountains also inhabited by the tribes.
What’s more? According to Native Indian tribes, the ceiling of the Teepee tents represented the father sky, the floor mother Earth, and every post of the Teepee represented the path between the Great Spirit and man. The tribesmen used to converge outside these tents and around a bonfire to carry out the different spiritual and cultural customs of their clan or tribe.
Another thing worth noting is that Teepee tents must always be raised pointing toward the East – as this is the horizon’s point where dawn breaks.
What Are Teepee Tents Used For?
Campground Camping
Teepee camping is something I have enjoyed for many years. I’ve always appreciated the simplicity of teepee structures. Better yet, these tools are uncomplicated, and when set up the right way, they are incredibly spacious inside and robust.
Backpack Hunting
One of the most exciting benefits of backcountry-hunting out of your backpack is the ability to bring everything you may need to spend the nights in the woods.
For some kinds of hunting trips (sheep, bear, deer, elk, etc.), this implies walking out of the road’s reaches and setting up your base camp – and this is where the best Teepee tent comes into play.
These tents will allow you to improvise your campground location, how long you want to stay out, and how far you feel like exploring. A teepee tent will also act as a quick refuge you can put up to get out of the dynamic weather conditions or Sun.
Bike Camping
A teepee tent is perhaps one of the most crucial pieces of equipment that an independent bicycle tourist will bring along. It will be your home away from home and a key to traveling on a budget. What’s more?
As with all other camping situations, pick well and your teepee tent will your best friend. Choose poorly and it might end up being the cause of more than a hundred unprintable words.
Backyard Camping
Teepee tents are perfect for family backyard camping, thanks to the ample space they deliver and their heights that allow adults to stand inside them without a hassle.
You’ll also find Teepees for children, and these are known to maintain their structure and shape. So, if you’re the kind of parent who never allows their children to play outside for too long during the summer seasons because of hotness, then a teepee can solve the issue for you.
Your children can go outside with one of these tents, play, and then take a rest inside the tent to protect themselves from the sun.
Ultra Backpacking
Who wants to burden themselves with the heaviest tent? I guess no one does.
To lessen the load, you’ll usually find that heavy tents are distributed amongst the different hikers who’re going to sleep in them – the rain-fly with one person, footprints and poles with another, the stakes and main body with a different person.
If all this sounds like too much hassle and you’d like to take the pain out of hiking, then slash your pack weight by investing in one of the best lightweight Teepee tents.
Having said that, if you choose to go down this road, then you’ll need to be aware of the tradeoffs, including less durability, compromised ventilation, decreased liability, or complicated setup. The goal is to go as light as possible without sacrificing your good night’s rest.
We’ll discuss some of these disadvantages in further detail in the next section.
Can You Use A Teepee Tent For Camping?
Of course, you can, but you need to note that compared to modern tents, teepee tents are quite inefficient structures due to the following reasons.
- Bugs and mosquitoes and holes or openings
Teepee’s edges and opens have holes where critters and small animals such as mosquitoes, bugs, or lizards can use to crawl inside your teepee (particularly when the temperature is warmer.) Some people opt to bring their mosquito nets even though that beats the entire purpose of having the convenience.
- Rain
You’ll need to carefully inspect your teepee’s rain canvases after investing in one. If the bottom and top rain canvas do not retail with a big overlap, then rest assured that rainwater may get into the living area. In addition to that, ensure you set up the rain canvases the right way. There may be instructions inside the package showing you how to use them.
- Assembly
One thing that puts lots of campers off while camping is the hassle associated with setting up the tent. Unfortunately, Teepees are quite harder to set up compared to modern tents, and their assembly instructions can be daunting to total beginners.
- Wind
Since teepee tents are designed to be moved and packed up easily, they do not retail with the structural stability of regular tents designed to stay in one place for a long time. While most (if not all) teepees can withstand medium-strong winds, they’ve been known to end up with rips and damaged poles when tested against storms.