Robens Chinook Ursa

The Robens Chinook Ursa is a tent full of character, and one I was really impressed with when seeing it. On the one hand, the Chinook Ursa is very much like our beloved Robens Kiowa tipi tent, but on the other hand, the Chinook Ursa has some unique design features that take it to a whole new level.

Pitching the Tent

The Robens Chinook Ursa, like many tipi tents, is a simple tent to pitch, as it is held up by one central pole.

You peg out the base, assemble the pole, and push it up the inside of the tent.

Then you assemble the a-frame poles that make up the front porch.

Using a Stove in the Robens Chinook Ursa

At the top of the Chinook Ursa is a vent. You can open and close this with guy lines that run inside the tent.

The black vent flap also contains a sleeve that you can put a stove flue pipe through, like the one with the Robens Kobuk Stove. Make sure you put a fireproof mat under the stove and keep the tent well ventilated.

At the top of the Chinook Ursa is a vent, which also has a sleeve for a stove flue pipe.

Inside the Chinook Ursa, you can fit a stove.

Opening Up

The Robens Chinook Ursa is a great tipi tent, but I’ve saved its main party trick until last: opening up to the world!

Normally, at the front of the Chinook Ursa is a porch, which makes getting in and out in the wet a lot easier. However, the porch comes with extra material and can open up wide to convert the front of the tent into a huge open shelter. The porch poles disconnect and can be used as tarp poles.

In normal use, the Robens Chinook Ursa tent has a porch to help to get in and out of the tent in the rain.

The front porch fully opened up on the Chinook Ursa tent.

This provides a great option if your family likes coming and going in and out of the tent. Remember, with a stove inside, this tent can still be a warm shelter when open, even on a cool day.

When open, the tent looks like a bear on its hind legs with its paws out. This is why Robens called it Ursa, which is Latin for the word bear.

Inside the Tent

The tent is very traditional and doesn’t come with an inner tent. Just pick your spot on the floor and set-up your beds.

However, if you do want an inner tent, one can be purchased as an optional extra. This provides two three-person bedrooms, which are hung up inside the tent. But note, when you have the inner tent, you cannot fit a stove in the tent.

An optional extra is the Chinook Ursa inner tent. This has two three-person bedrooms.

Other extras include a carpet and a footprint. However, if you are planning on opening this tent up and for people to come and go, a carpet could get a little mucky, though you could glam it up like a Bedouin tent 😉

For more information, tap here to read the details on the Robens website.