These tips have been gleaned from our message board, and are tips from current Kifaru Tipi (or former Mountainsmith) owners. 
Have questions? Click here for Frequently Asked Questions regarding Tipis

STOVES
1. A quick tip for starting a fire in your stove. I gather up pitch balls. These can be found on most evergreens and are very common in Ponderossa pine forests and are dried hard, not sticky. A pitch ball the size of an acorn is plenty to start the fire. I like to lay the pitch ball on a piece of bark to keep it off the stove bottem. Then stack twigs teepe style around the pitch, gradually increasing the size. A match or touch of a lighter will ignight the pitch and you will soon have a roaring fire. Don't over do the pitch as you will have a mess as it melts and also it will soot up your spark arrester. The pitch works better than any fire starters I have tried and is very waterproof. I carry a small plastic bottle with some pitch balls right in my stove bag. from Ed

2. Another fire starter idea that is not as organtic I buy a wax/wood fire log for 2 to 3 dollars and cut it up into an ample supply of fire starters.
They don't burn as hot as the pitch balls will but they do catch fire quite easily.
Steven

from the editor: we too have used commercial firelogs in our stoves, though the makers specify on the packaging that they are not to be used in a contained stove - we imagine due to the excessive heat factor when too many chunks are thrown in at once. They have proven effective when used in small amounts, however.

I have been happily using my MountainSmith 4 man Teepe for almost 10 years. As both an outdoor writer and a self acknowledged gearhead, I have a number of top of the line mountain tents. My alltime favorite is my MountainSmith. When I purchased my Teepe the wood stoves were not available so I modified a woodstove design I had been building since the mid 70's. There is nothing like warming the teepe to 85-90 degrees when the outside temperature is below zero with a blizzard raging. Since I first got my Teepe, I have wondered why everyone wasn't using one, especially for cold weather. Having an external heat source is the key and on longer trip the fuel savings for cooking really adds up. I live in Montana (Helena) and would be happy to show my Teepe to anyone interested in buying a Kifaru. There are a few differences but it would give a good idea of what they are like. Ed

FLOORLESS TIPI TIPS
Well, I am back from another hunt and see a whole bunch of correspondence concerning tipis. Thought I'd weigh in here with the things I know about them that somebody hasn't already addressed. 1) use 40 penny nails in frozen ground. 2) I have NEVER, EVER used a ground cloth and am still alive. Never had any water run into the tipi, even in sustained gales in Alaska. I kneel and put stuff on the bags the tipi and stove are packed in and/or on stuff that came in with me in the pack. Also, the stove will dry the floor out anyway (tho I will kick off the snow if it's a few inches thick, either before I pitch the tipi or after.) I sleep on my foam pad right on the "ground"--be it snow, wet grass or whatever. No problem at all-- modern pads are built to deal with getting a little "wet". 3) I often break firewood over a rock, up to 3" stuff--no problem. When I want to be very quiet I tote a 3 oz. Gerber saw. 4) Check out the patches Thermarest supplies for dings in the tent. I once put a tipi back together after a bear rip-up with duct tape.--------- I think that's what I can contibute to the current discussion. Frankly, I'm impressed with the level of expertise shown here by the current tipi users. You guys are really using them well. If I could just convince you that you don't have to carry ground cloths you'd have an easier and lighter time of it!! AND you wouldn't worry about tromping in snow and goop when you return to the tipi. The earth itself is the way to go, guys. I've never steered you wrong yet and I'm not making this up either! Sit and lounge on your sleeping pad. Don't worry so much about the earthen world beneath you. It'll treat you right, with a lot less hassle.----------Patrick

I will answer Timberline's questions as far as my experiencies go. In real wet weather I use a plastic "blue" tarp, cut to the Teepe shape. Have it large enough to fold up the edges in side the Teepe. Of course camp location is important so as to not be pitched in a depression. I am packing in my Teepe for a elk dry camp this weekend. Since the precip from now on at high elevations will be in the form of snow, I am only taking a couple short scraps of tarp to kneel on.

As far as sleeping pads, the best I have ever used are the Metolius Down to Earth pads. They are now being made and sold by Mountain Hardware. The pads are closed cell foam on the bottom for insulation with open cell foam on top for comfort. They are in enclosed waterproof nylon and have a tapered shape. They come in a variety of thicknesses, widths, and lengths. They are a little bulkier and heavier than some pads but will give you a real good warm nights sleep.

As to the wood cutting, many times no saw will even be necessary, just use limb wood that you can break with your hands. It doesn't take long to lay in a several day supply of wood. I don't try to keep a fire going when I am away from the Teepe or even at night. Being of small size the wood stoves have limited burn time. It only takes fifteen minutes or so to warm up the Teepe from a cold start. Having the heat when in camp and especially, to go to bed while warm is what makes Teepe living so appealing. Ed.

Pitching on Rocky Ground
Don't give up on those rocky areas with thin soil! Use our 6 inch pegs and put in two at ANGLES such that you don't
"bottom out" before the pegs sink in completely. Use the 8 and 10 inchers
too. You'll find this works wonders. And do the same with the upper cords.
The tipi WILL stand. 

Setting up in the Wind (for a solo user)
When you've established the set-backs, and staked the four pegs for that, do this before raising the canopy: pull out all the other peg loops, all the way around the canopy, but only "slightly taut", and peg them in, driving the pegs only far enough in to hold temporarily. Then go inside and insert the center pole and start to raise the canopy. You'll find the raising process a LOT more "doable" because you've already established an oval presentation to the wind instead of only a 4-point presentation. Not a "finished" presentation, but an "intermediate" one that helps immensely in getting the canopy up to full height whether you're alone in pitching, or even if you have helpers. You'll find that you can raise the center pole higher, and much more easily, if you take this intermediate step in wind conditions. When you've raised the center pole as high as you can, exit the canopy, zipping the door behind you, and then pull the "temporary" pegs out further, as you would "normally", and drive them home. You're now set for anything the wind can deliver.

For years and years we've received accounts of these tipis of ours standing up to winds that flattened every mountaineering tent in the vicinity; folks crowding into our tipis from jumping-off-to-the-summit benches in the Andes/Himalayas/etc., etc., when the famous brand mountaineering tents in the area collapsed. This, without benefit of the tip I've just laid out to you readers. One has to think the purveyors of these testimonials pitched their tipis whilst the wind was blowing.

The key is anchoring ALL the pegs out far enough to make raising the center pole more effective, but not too far so as to restrict doing that; then pulling 'em out full-taut and driving 'em home.
Author: Patrick Smith.