What’s in a name? The Sibley Bell Tent controversy
The most durable tent design on the planet
The controversy over what to call these popular glamping tents these days is mostly a branding problem. Marketing a product is pretty hard if people don’t know what to call it. It’s every marketing team's deep-seated fantasy to have their brand name become as recognizable as the thing they are selling: Band-Aid, Velcro, ChapStick...adhesive bandage, hook and loop roll, lip balm. You know which you’re more likely to Google.
Sibley Tent and Bell Tent haven’t been common terms for over 100 years. The UK is the only place where the term ‘bell tent’ is widely used and understood. Most people in other countries don’t know what to call them. In the US, the sibley or bell tent is commonly called a teepee, yurt, glamping tent, or simply canvas tent. None of these names are accurate but that’s ok, the terminology has yet to catch up with the popularity of the product.
If you call it a ‘Bell Tent’, you’re likely going to be up in arms over the ‘misclassification’ of Sibley Tents as Bell Tents. You will also likely favor the origin story that the tents evolved from Europe rather than the US.
Ever the heretics, CanvasCamp’s official position is to fuel this industry drama. This is a Bell Tent, which is a Sibley with side walls, which evolved from a Tipi.
What is a Sibley tent?
A Sibley tent is made from canvas and has a conical shape. It has no side walls and resembles a tipi, which makes sense as Henry Hopkins Sibley got the idea from the Native American teepees of the Great Plains. A Sibley tent has no guy lines, a low entry, no defined porch, a stove hole and a fire pit.
What is a Bell Tent?
Bell tents were originally used by the British cavalry, but unlike the Sibley, the Bell tent has sidewalls and guy lines, with these adaptations, the Bell tent has additional headroom and breathability. The Bell tent doesn’t have a fire pit inside the tent.
What is the difference between a Tipi Tent and a Sibley Tent?
A traditional Tipi, like those of the Great Plains Native Americans, has 12 poles and they used animal skins stitched together and were adjustable around the frame. A Sibley Tent is made from canvas and has one center pole.
What is the difference between a Sibley Tent and a Bell Tent?
Bell tents have sidewalls and guy lines, Sibley tents don’t.
The origin of the Sibley Tent, Bell Tent, and Tipi Tent.
Conical, or “cone-shaped” tents are not unique to the Native Americans. Conical tents have been in use by Native peoples around the Northern Hemisphere in varying designs for thousands of years. Whether you call it a Tipi (Teepee), Chum, Goahti, Lavvu, Kohte, Nentsi, or another name, the conical tent is one of the most successful tent designs in history. A cone shaped tent is the most aerodynamic in terms of shedding rain, snow, and wind. These shapes are also the most heat, space, and weight efficient designs, offering the highest margin of tensile strength with the smallest amount of structural support. Read more about the History of the Tipi Tent on our blog.
Who invented the Sibley Tent? Who invented the Bell Tent?
The Original Sibley tent was patented in 1856 by Federal Army Colonel Henry Hopkins Sibley. While stationed on the Texas frontier (1850–1854), Sibley admired the Comanche tipi. Recognizing the value of efficient tents in military campaigns, he designed a simplified version with no side walls, a single center pole, and a vented cap—similar to the Scandinavian Lavvu. His version maintained the tipi’s weather resistance while reducing weight and setup time for military use.
Possibly unknown to Sibley, a similar conical tent called the “Bell tent” was used by British Cavalry in 1855 during the Crimean War, and may date back to 9th-century Europe. While Sibley is credited with the single-pole tipi design bearing his name, the addition of short side walls—creating the Bell tent—is less clearly attributed and may have evolved separately or from his design. Historians still debate the origins.
Under a War Department agreement, Sibley was to receive $5 for each tent produced. However, after joining the Confederate Army during the Civil War, he was denied royalties. Nearly 44,000 Sibley tents were used by the Federal Army, and his family later failed in efforts to claim the owed compensation.
Sibley and Bell tents evolved over time. Changes in proportions, pole structures, entrances, and ventilation improved function. With synthetic materials, modern canvas tents gained features like floors and windows to meet contemporary camping needs.
The Role of CanvasCamp
Since 2005, CanvasCamp has pioneered the evolution of this unique design with elegant design features, advanced canvas treatments, and innovative accessories to make the finest modern canvas tent currently conceived. Appropriately named the Sibley Bell Tent.
Modern Sibley Bell Tent
We call it a Sibley Bell Tent because we incorporate aspects of all designs to make a high-caliber canvas tent that’s easy to set up, durable and looks simple, yet luxurious.
Why buy a Sibley Bell Tent?
Easy to Pitch: The Sibley Bell tent can be easily pitched by one person. Check out our how to pitch a CanvasCamp tent video!
Easy to transport: When folded up inside the CanvasCamp tent bag, the Sibley Bell tent is portable and ready to go where you go.
Space: From our most compact tent, the 300 Ultimate with 7m2 (75ft²) of floor space and 190cm (6’3”) of height, to the palatial Sibley 600 Twin Pro with 20.5m2 (220 ft²) and 300cm (9’10”) of height, there’s plenty of room inside our Sibley Bell tents to move around.
Breathable: Since our tents are made of breathable canvas, you’ll never feel like you’re suffocating like in a synthetic tent. Not to mention, on warm days you can roll up the sides to let the breeze pass through.
Durable: When properly maintained and stored, our CanvasCamp tents last longer than most celebrity marriages!
Weatherproof: Our canvas is treated for water resistance and our groundsheet is water and vapor impermeable. Additionally, the weave of the cotton fibers create a natural waterproofing by swelling and employing the surface tension of water to bead and encourage run off.
Stove Compatibility: Our CanvasCamp Sibley Bell tents can be outfitted with a stove for the colder months as long as you use the appropriate stove jack depending on the size of the stove pipe. Check out the tent stoves we offer and stay warm when it gets chilly out.
The Best Glamping Tent: Sibley Bell Tent
Sibley Bell Tents are popular as glamping tents because they look good with their classic design, are spacious enough to fit all you lavish gear and are a happy medium for those who want to get outside but don’t want to rough it. Most of all, because they’re adaptable. That’s why Sibley Bell Tents are the tents of choice for festivals, weddings, pop up glamping rentals and high fashion events.
From the Native American teepee to the Sibley tent and the Bell tent - the Sibley Bell tent has evolved into a high quality, durable, luxurious tent known by many names and for many uses.
Check out our product line of Sibley Bell tents and get outdoors!
