The Tentipi Safir 5 CP is a compact 2 to 5 person tipi tent made of a polyester cotton mix. It has the possibility to put a stove in it and therefore it is suitable for four seasons. Enjoy the review!
- Price: Tent € 1750,- + Floor € 430,-.
- Weight: 11,33 kg
- Pack size: 29 cm x 65 cm
The Tentipi Safir 5 CP is the fourth tipi tent that I review from the Swedish brand Tentipi. I tested the 5 CP’s bigger brother the Safir 7 CP and the smaller Olivin 2 CP. I also tested the Tentipi Olivin 2 Combi. This is the lightest Tentipi and therefore it is not made of the famous polyester cotton mix but of a lightweight ripstop polyamide with a silicone coating. Now… let’s continue with the Safir 5 review.
Sizes and weights
The Tentipi Safir 5 CP is the smallest tipi tent in the Safir series and it sleeps up to – hence the name – 5 persons. More on this later because I think it is too optimistic.
I weigh the tent with all that you need to pitch it at 11,33 kg. The Tentipi Safir 5 CP package consists of a polyester cotton tent (6,98 kg), an aluminum pole (840 grams), a bag of pegs (1.53 kg) and a floor (1.31 kg). The floor is not supplied as standard with the tent and must be purchased separately. An inner tent is also optional. The pouch with a user manual and ‘pitch help tool’ weighs 140 grams.
The stuff bag (460 grams) is particularly spacious and has super compression straps. Packing the tent is therefore child’s work. According to Tentipi, the pack size is 25 cm x 56 cm, but that is without the groundsheet. I measure a more realistic complete packet size of 29 cm x 65 cm. Still very decent if you go on holiday with a compact car or canoe.
Materials
The outer tent is made of a Cotpolmex. This is a fabric mix of polyester and cotton and has a weight of 285 gr/m2. This explains the weight of the tent. Cotpolmex is made by the Dutch fabric manufacturer Ten Cate. The great thing about a polyester/cotton fabric is that it combines two advantages. Polyester is strong and light and cotton is relatively heavy but breathable.
This last property in particular is very important for the climate in a tent. Most tents today are made of nylon or polyester with a waterproof coating. This coating is also airtight, so ventilation of the tent is only possible through sufficient ventilation openings. It is therefore not so surprising that these tents often suffer from condensation. With cotton tents and polyester cotton tents, ventilation is of course also important, but because the fabric can breathe, such a tent gives less condensation and a very pleasant climate inside. I speak from experience that this does not only apply with less weather. Polyester/cotton tents are also very pleasant in warm weather.
Skirt
By the way, not the entire tent is made of Cotpolmex. The lower green skirt is made of polyester with a polyurethane coating on the inside. This prevents moisture from creeping up into the fabric from below. In addition, the skirt is also well suited for burying in snow, making the Tentipi Safir 5 CP – and all its brothers and sisters – excellent winter tents.
Of course, the fabric has a Durable Water Repellent coating on the outside, so that rain does not immediately settle into the fabric, but beads off it. The fabric is also treated against UV and possible rot. This is nice because you can travel with a wet tent for a few days.
One last remark about the fabric. From spring 2022 a new Tentipi will be available: the Tentipi Safir Eco. This tent is made from Environmex Pro fabric. This fabric is a mix of hemp, organic cotton and recycled polyester. The fabric is not colored or bleached giving the fabric an off white tint. The fabric should perform the same as regular Cotpolmex. Maybe this is the next tent for me to review in a year’s time….
User manual
I mentioned it before: the user manual. This consists of a tube containing a roll-out set-up instruction. The setup instruction is not only for the Tentipi Safir 5 CP but works for all Tentipi tents. The manual is straightforward and easy to understand and execute.
Pitching the Tentipi Safir 5 CP
To set up a teepee, Tentipi has come up with something clever. A fabric cloth is supplied with the tent, containing a kind of compass rose that indicates the direction of all pegs. There are several Safir sizes on the ‘pitching compass’ so you have to choose the 5 CP.
The ‘pitching compass’ comes with a ribbon with markings. Also here: different types on the ribbon. With the Safir 5 CP you choose the 5. By securing the ‘pitching compass’ in the soil with a peg and looping the ribbon around the peg, you can measure exactly where and at what distance the 8 pegs should be from the heart – the center pole – of the tent.
With the eight pegs in place, it is only a matter of rolling out the tent, placing the metal eyelets around the pegs, after which the center pole can go in. Stick it upright, place the groundsheet, tighten up the straps that connect the tent to the pegs and you are pretty much done. It couldn’t be much simpler. If it is very windy or you expect a storm you can place a maximum of 8 guylines to make the Safir 5 CP stormproof!
Pro floor
I am testing the Safir 5 CP with the Pro floor from Tentipi. It is relatively light and therefore easy to tie in the tent with the toggle and eyelet system. At the entrance, the floor has a long zipper that runs to the center pole. This allows you to place the floor without having to lift the pole. Als you can fold the floor into a V at the entrance and keep it clean in bad weather.
The floor has three other short zippers around the pole. By unzipping it, an opening is created in the groundsheet so that you can place a stove directly on the grass. This will prevent the risk of any burn holes. The system is quite ingenious and works well.
Entrance
The tent has a door with two zippers at the front. By opening a zipper and rolling away the flap, you are left with a large surface with mosquito netting. Handy during hot summers in places with a lot of mosquitoes. Both screens can be closed with a zipper and cloth. With the longest zipper you open the door yourself and getting in is easy if you are not too tall.
A small disadvantage of a teepee is that the entrance is not sheltered. When it rains and you open the door, rain will fall in the tent. On the grass or on the floor. This ‘problem’ is solvable since there is a piece of Velcro above the entrance that you can attach a Tentipi awning to.
Interior space
In Nordic countries like Sweden it is normal to use a tipi without an inner tent, even without a floor. Both I get to a certain degree but I like using a floor but I never use an inner tent. An inner tent is nice if you are afraid of bugs and to keep a bit more warmth in the tent. But to me it is just more work and the space inside the tent gets smaller. The bigger the tent, the lesser the problem of course but with the CP 5 and CP 7… I chose the bugs and the space.
I measure the inner diameter of the 5 CP at 3 meters and 35 centimeters. That is almost about 50 cm less than the 380 cm that Tentipi claims it should have. 50 cm… that is a lot! The inner height that I measure is at its highest point 206 cm but the useful height when standing is 167 cm.
At 169 cm I am the tallest in our family of four – my wife and 2 daughters (16 & 18) and not big physically in any sense – and I can dress standing sort of upright. In our family’s opinion the CP 5 is too small for us and we don’t advise using a stove.
Nevertheless we agree on the fact that the space inside is enough for two adults and two small children plus a bit of bags and camping crates. For me and my wife the 5 CP is big enough and we love using the stove when the weather is chilly.
Ventilation and condensation
The Tentipi has three large ventilation openings with mosquito webbing and of course a flap with zipper so you can close them. But it doesn’t stop here. At the top of the Safir 5 CP the Tentipi designers designed a very ingenious ventilation system.
With a number of strings that come down from the top, you can open the ‘ventilation hat’ in the top in all kinds of different ways. In fact, the ventilation hat has two layers that you can open or close independently. The system works great: depending on the string you pull, part of the hat opens. By pulling all the strings you open the hat completely and you get maximum ventilation. If you open the lower ventilation and the ventilation hat (partly) the whole teepee acts like one big chimney. Condensation hardly occurs.
Now that I have mentioned the word chimney… the ventilation hat has one other clever bit. Because the tent acts like a big chimney it is possible to have an open fire inside the tent. Be careful with the floor and maybe you should use a firebox, but Teepees are designed for open fires. If you don’t feel comfortable with this then just use a stove; in the hat a special opening – sort of sleeve with velcro – for the stove’s chimney is created. I have used Tentipi many times with a stove and it’s the best time one can have inside a tent.
Eldfell tent stove
Tentipi and the Eldfell stove; they belong to each other as left to right and black to white. The Eldfell stove is a beautifully designed stove. It’s big round belly gives it a friendly expression, but don’t be fooled: it is a very capable stove. I am not going to write a full review here on the stove; that I will do in a separate article and video, but a few words are in place..
The Eldfell is a stainless steel wood-burning stove that weighs on itself a whopping 14+ kg and comes in a very nice but also heavy wooden box. In total the stove and the box that it comes in weighs 22.21 kg and the pack size is 38 x 31 x 63 cm. The good thing is that the pipes, the spark arrestor and the extendable insulation pipe all fit inside the Eldfells belly. Placing the stove is a matter of folding it’s legs out and putting all the chimney parts in the right order and pushing the pipe through the chimney opening in the ventilations hat.
Cow hide
Although the Tentipi floor has many different ways to open so you can use it in combination with a stove, I always put the stove on a cowhide to protect the Tentipi floor against sparks when I open the stove door. If you don’t want to use a hide you can also use a special fire-resistant mat that you can place under the stove.
The Eldfell is – thanks to the return valve – a very efficient stove and regulating the heat is pretty easy. The top is flat and doubles as a cooker. But… the Eldfell is only available in one size and serves the complete Tentipi Safir range; from the 5 CP to the enormous – 15 person – 15 CP. You get the idea: the stove is rather large and very powerful for a small 5 CP. I think a smaller stove like a small Winnerwell is a better choice in this case. But when it is super cold outside… The Eldfell is a soulmate.
In practice
This Tentipi Safir 5 CP has been with me (and the family) for the last two years. We have taken it on many trips in The Netherlands. The pandemic was a sort of limiting factor this time. Pitching the Safir 5 CP is easy to set up and also quick to pack. Like I wrote above: for two adults and luggage and maybe a dog the 5 CP is spacious enough. With little children likewise but be careful with a stove.
During warm summer days the polyester cotton mix is different and better and more comfortable than 100% polyester or nylon fabrics. During winter or rainy days the stove keeps the temperature in the tent more than T-shirt comfortable. It also dries the tent very fast when it stops raining. The ventilation is excellent thanks to the low and high vents and the system to operate the cap is super user-friendly. Tipi tents in general are very windproof and the Safir 5 CP is no exception. We have had no problems with leakage. The floor…. That is not totally to my liking since it is a bit underperforming in comparison to the Cotpolmex fabric.
Verdict
The Tentipi Safir 5 CP is very nicely made with high quality materials. Pitching and breaking down is easy. The total weight of 11.3 kg and a sort of small pack size – taking the size of the tent into the equation – are fine. Because of the weight this will be a tent to take in the car, canoe or motorcycle. The tent is spacious enough for two adults and two small children and some luggage. I like the Cotpolmex material fabric that creates a wonderful climate in the tent in cold and warm weather. The Pro floor is fine, not outstanding.
Be careful with using a stove like the big Eldfell when you are a family of four. A smaller one would be better. The fact that the Tentipi Safir 5 CP is a real comfortable four seasons tent is its biggest advantage. The Tentipi Safir 5 CP retails for € 1750,- and the floor € 430,-. Add € 900,- for the Eldfell stove. When you are a family of four (or five) and in doubt if the CP 5 is big enough… go for the CP 7. It might be a bit more heavy and expensive but it feels almost double the size of the 5 CP. I rate the Tentipi Safir 5 CP at 8.8 out of 10 total.
Information
International: Tentipi
For the Dutch: Moosecampwebshop.nl