Knowing winter is just a stones throw away and realising that means the camping season is over for most people, we decided to check into bringing in a tipi from Norway to see if this might be an idea for a different type of winter camping….

Saturday morning we hastily jumped out of bed, our sample Tipi from Norway had arrived and we were off to Halifax to fetch it! We couldn’t wait to get back home and see the quality and workmanship of this tipi.

We opened the boxes carefully and found our tipi and all the parts very nicely and carefully packed in the boxes. we decided, since daylight was now short after our trip up the valley, to just set up the tipi at home. This being new to us was easier to set up than we had initially thought. We pegged the bottom lightly and then inserted the pole into the cap and viola the tent was up. Loved the idea of a single pole tipi! Now all that we had left to do was securing the guide lines. It was super easy and fairly quick to set up.

We brought in the Veranger 4-6 from Helsport with the liner, the floor tarp and the stove so we could see all the variants of this tipi.

The size of Varanger outer compared to our Gregory daypack

Centre Pole, comes standard with Tipi as well as regular tent pegs.

The Snow and Sand Pegs come in two sizes as additional extras if required.

The Varanger 4-6 set up with just the outer shell.

Inside View

Here is the Varanger all set up with the liner and the ground sheet attached.. super neat!

Next we removed the liner since it was hot inside and put in the stove to have it ready to test in the evening. Above photo shows the Helsport stove in the tipi.

The frontier stove, however, would work well too

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Waiting till it was dark we lit up the fire and before long we were roasting in fact it got so hot in the tent we actually had to get out… it is summer after all, not the most ideal time to try out a piping hot stove 🙂

The Helsport stove may be expensive but we have to give credit where credit is due, this stove really rocks, it heats up super fast and gives out tremendous heat just with a few sticks. We are impressed with the whole set up. a super nice tipi and something we are defiantly going to try out for winter camping this year. I generally really feel the cold but I think with the liner and a stove, either the Helsport stove or frontier stove, I wont have a problem staying warm in this tipi!

So for winters cold months this would work brilliantly to keep you warm and toasty, For summer just the outer shell would be adequate. There are two ventilation vents on each side and mosquito netting on both the vents, the door and the hole above where the chimney and pole are. there are easy draw cords to close and open the top vents, everything about this tipi is designed with a lot of thought and with excellent workmanship.

Above photo show the drying rack which comes standard with each Varanger a nice extra . You can also purchase kettle holders which attach to centre pole and these can be used to hold additional pots or any other items.

So drag it behind a toboggan or drive out to a frozen lake this winter… pop it in a canoe and explore all the rivers and lakes, just explore the outdoors in whatever means you can, either way this tipi will keep you warm in winter without a doubt and easy for a summer canoe or kayak trip.

In conclusion I have to say although pricy these tipis are super quality and cannot be compared to any other tipis we have found in North America to date. They will last and serve you well in harsh conditions as well as general outings on summer trips.