First Hand Experience...Lots of It!

Thirty years ago owners Dan and Emma Kigar made their first tipi. During a four-year encampment at high elevation in the mountains of Colorado they studied where to reinforce vulnerable areas of the tipi with buffalo hide and extra stitching. They also developed a few details that make the tipi more enjoyable without changing the traditional tipi design.

• Buffalo hide reinforcing at stress points, hand rubbed with beeswax. The hide is sewn around the lifting tongue, the Cheyenne extensions, the gore, the door opening and the lacing pin connections under the door opening.
• 3,000 pound break strength hem adds to the strength and maintains the tipi's shape.
• Webbing stake loops butterfly-stiched into the hem make this stress point strong and pitching easy.
• A door flap that works - six ties (two on the inside) to keep the door securely closed. Two additional ties hold the door flap secure when rolled up. Dowels sewn into pockets on the door keep it rigid across the opening.
• Double zigzag stitched main seams and details distribute stress and build in fullness. The main seams are also overlapped for water run-off.
• Fitted Gores - long triangular gores inserted between the body of the tipi and the smoke flaps allow the tipi to fit snugly around the cluster of poles. This is an exclusive Earthworks Tipi feature.