What are you doing Dave?

[Boris]

As HAL 9000 would say.

I mentioned to Mrs H that you had bought a Safir and she had clearly been doing a bit of research and lo and behold she announced that she would like one as she reckons it would allow us to get away for more of the year.

So spill the beans. What did you actually get? Safir 9 cp I know but what groundsheet did you get and why?

Any other extras?

I also notice most places have the same prices. Where did you buy and was there any discount?

Any more thoughts about heating the thing? Open fire or Woodburning Stove with chimney?

[DaveS]

As HAL 9000 would say.

I mentioned to Mrs H that you had bought a Safir and she had clearly been doing a bit of research and lo and behold she announced that she would like one as she reckons it would allow us to get away for more of the year.

So spill the beans. What did you actually get? Safir 9 cp I know but what groundsheet did you get and why?

Any other extras?

I also notice most places have the same prices. Where did you buy and was there any discount?

Any more thoughts about heating the thing? Open fire or Woodburning Stove with chimney?

Groundsheet was the comfort. The only difference in the Pro seemed to be the zips. Mind you the groundsheet is wafer thin! So I have cut out some tarpaulin to sit underneath to protect the very expensive Tentipi groundsheet! I didn't want that getting a rip or tear in it.
I will also find something to put on top of the groundsheet to protect the groundsheet from chair legs and children that don't care. I'm probably being over protective, but I'd rather be that way.

As to the stove, well we didn't purchase one at the time but to us it's an essential part of the package. The aim is to extend our camping season to all year.
I have narrowed the stoves down to the Tentipi Eldfell or one of the Windy Smithy stoves.
Windy Smithy
The Stunning Tents Company
The Eldfell's come in a nice wooden box which everything packs down in to. I was concerned about the rivetting on the Eldfell though and I wondered if this may over the years work apart. That and the very high price caused me to think carefully.
There is no difference in size of the Eldfell stoves they are all the same just the flue is longer or the higher tents.
Also with the Eldfell stove you can't scrape the ash out easily as there is a lip, so I'd imagine you'd have to shake it when cold to get it all out. A bit fiddly.
The Windy stoves I haven't seen but they are talked about on the Bushcraft and Song of the Paddle forums fondly. The design of them seems good where air tightness has been paid attention to, which obviously would allow for a more efficient burn and longer lasting, i.e. overnight, which is another requirement of ours.
I've emailed Windy Smithy so we'll see what they say.

Where did I buy? Well I bought from the Stunning Tent Company near to Basingstoke. They are the primary importers in to the UK and they had a small showroom where you can go and look. I found the service excellent and they were very happy to advise and understood that this was a big purchase, so there was no pressure.
They will price match to any on-line price. At the moment this is to Nordic Outdoor prices who had a sale on, although I think Taunton Leisure were close to those prices anyway.
I would highly recommend the Stunning Tent company though, great people to deal with.

[Boris]

We went down to Nordic Outdoors at lunchtime and had a look at the Safir range in detail. They had a Safir 5 pitched inside but as there wasn't enough room inside to pitch the 9 we we took a Safir 9 out to the roundabout down the road to pitch and have a look around it. As you say it's a pretty impressive piece of kit. Not massive by any means but well thought out.

It was pretty windy (gusting 20mph as I type) and despite that it was a straightforward job to pitch it single handed. Took about 10 minutes and I reckon I could do it faster the second time. With just the bottom pegged out it was pretty stable in the wind but by pegging out the guys it became solid. The groundsheet looks pretty much essential and based on the fact that the comfort one is the only one available for the foreseeable future it appears to be the one to get. As you say it is frighteningly thin (the pro is thinner I am told) though but seems to fit well with a good overlap. One downside is the mesh door while probably enough to stop a mosquito is too course to stop the great Scottish midge. The fire (when lit) should do the trick though.

Asking about stoves he as much as inferred they are all over priced and over the top for for all but base camp use. He uses a fold up barbecue which he burns wood or charcoal and provides him with heat and cooking with the benefit of being small and easy to pack. Something like this I gather. On the woodburner front the Louis from Windy Smithy does look good though. I have asked for a price including the necessary flue buts for use in the tipi. I can post when I hear.

So there you have it. I now have to mull over whether its the sort of purchase I wish to make. It's a huge amount of money and I would expect it to see me out (as far as my camping days are concerned) It's small enough packed that I could use it on the bike if I really wanted although that wouldn't be the primary use. I'm just concerned I'm getting seduced by the call of the wild and loosing sight of reality. It doesn't help that Mrs H is egging me on.

HELP

[DaveS]

Yes that pretty much mirrors my experience.

On the stoves yes I agree they are vastly overpriced, but there is little choice that is easy to get at. So you either pay the price or you don't.
I don't want to be importing from the USA or Norway. I know that there's a Eldfell Pro sat in the warehouse at Stunning Tents just waiting for me to click "Add to order".
The Eldfell's are designed for the Tentipi's obviously as well so you know everything will just work, flue wise.

An open fire in a firebox or BBQ would be fine, but we're after something that will run all night. So wanted an air tight efficient stove otherwise we'll be forever chucking logs on all night long.
The other advantage of one of these is that we could use it as a patio heater as well.
As I say we're down to the Windy Smithy one's or the Eldfell really.
If you find anything else that's similar let me know.

Next I'm looking for some suitable lighting we can use.

[cbrpaddy]

Howdy Dave, I just posted on the other thread some links to an ex-US army stove. With any stove it might be an idea to have a carbon monoxide detector with you just in case.

Another easy heating option might be the Heatpal. Tentipi sell them at huge money, but you can probably get them at a chandlers for less. They burn for around 5 hours and run on meths, basically they're a giant mutant Trangia They won't heat up a large tipi as well as a stove, but they'll still take the chill out of the air. Tentipi: Heat Pal 5100

[DaveS]

Howdy Dave, I just posted on the other thread some links to an ex-US army stove. With any stove it might be an idea to have a carbon monoxide detector with you just in case.

Another easy heating option might be the Heatpal. Tentipi sell them at huge money, but you can probably get them at a chandlers for less. They burn for around 5 hours and run on meths, basically they're a giant mutant Trangia They won't heat up a large tipi as well as a stove, but they'll still take the chill out of the air. Tentipi: Heat Pal 5100

Yeh saw them at Stunning Tents. They are quite big and I didn't really fancy them. Anyway bought an Eldfell now!