Wood-burning tent stoves are the current thing in camping – these babies are selling like hotcakes! If you enjoy a warm environment when camping and also like having the means to cook, a tent stove is definitely worth considering.
Tent stoves will help you stay warm, they provide the ability to cook meals, and can even dry your wet clothes…
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Are stoves in tents safe?
Using a stove inside a tent comes with obvious risks, but as long as you follow the recommended safety precautions you can enjoy all the benefits of a tent stove.
- Lets be clear, you should NEVER use a tent stove in a tent that is made of nylon or polyester – these are the common variety backpacking/camping tents that are light and portable. Having a fire anywhere near one of these will reduce it to ash in seconds – dont do it, it’s extremely dangerous!
- Proper ventilation is crucial for a stove tent. There must be somewhere for the smoke and fumes to escape to keep harmful carbon monoxide levels from building up inside your tent.
- To stop any hot sparks from your flue pipe landing on the tent, you need a spark arrestor. Ensure that your tent stove has one, if it doesn’t, get one!
Tent stoves are designed to be used in canvas or polycotton ‘hot tents’ that are made using flame-retardent material and have openings for a hot flue pipe to vent out the nasties. A couple worth checking out are these 2, but there are many others available for all kinds of prices and sizes depending on your needs.
Can you cook inside your tent?
Having a tent stove is great for heating obviously, and you can happily heat up some tea, coffee or soup on the hot plate whenever you like. But the real bonus of having a tent stove is the ability to cook meals inside your tent.
Safety should be your first priority at all times and I’d advise only cooking inside a tent that is large enough to provide ample space and ventilation around your cooking area.
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What do you put under a tent stove?
Most recommend that the ground sheet is pulled back so the stove sits on the bare ground. Alternatively, a flame retardant mat is ideal to catch any hot embers that may escape. Tent stoves get very hot, so it’s basic common sense to keep anything that may ignite away from it!
5 of the best rated portable wood-burning tent stoves
1. Fltom Camp Tent Stove
Dimensions: L11.4 x W7.95 x H8.66 inches
This beginner level stove is one of the best sellers for those just starting out with hot tenting. Its small size makes it easy to carry and store, and has all the basic functionalty needed to provide a warm environment and the means to cook when camping.
The high heat output of the Fltom stove means it can quickly reach temperature to provide warmth to a space in outdoor camping trips. 6 sectional stove pipes provide a maximum height of 4.69 feet with a diameter of 2.36 inches. The height can be easily adjusted to suit different spaces.
The multi-function aspect of this great little unit provides a flat cooking surface and the wood burning stove can be used to cook just about anything you can cook on the range in your kitchen.
Using natural fuel sources like firewood, twigs, wood chips etc. the Fltom is economically friendly, and is easy and safe to use. Vertical venting of the flue pipe out of the top of a tent keeps away smoke and fumes.
The stove has a detachable design so you can easily remove the collapsible four legs and chimney pipes making it easy to carry and store away when not in use. A great little stove for those just starting out.
Check out full details and current price of the Fltom Camp Tent Stove on Amazon
Video Review:
2. SoloWilder Camping Tent Stove
Dimensions: L11.2 x W7.7 x H12.5 inches
This unit is another small entry-level tent stove that is affordable and features a window to view whats going on inside.
In addition to the basic cooking function, the stove is designed to be used inside a tent or enclosure which is made safe by the closed stove body design. This ensures no carbon monoxide can escape while you sleep – a very important feature that provides complete safety while camping.
The front fireproof glass window allows campers to observe the burning of firewood inside the stove, making it easy to add firewood in time to prevent the fire from dying out too soon.
The partition layer inside the stove raises the fuel source off the bottom to allow increased air flow so the wood at the bottom can burn more fully to release more heat.
An ash-collecting tray at the bottom of the stove is a great feature that allows you to get rid of excess ash easily. This provides an increased efficiency when burning wood – the buildup of ash will reduce the heat omission.
Being a portable unit, you can obviously use this on camping trips or overnight excursions but you can also use it for indoor home heating providing you have proper ventilation. Its a no-frills unit that does the job well.
Check out full details and current price of the SoloWilder Camping Tent Stove on Amazon
3. OneTigris Tiger Roar Tent Stove
Dimensions: L17.3 x W8.5 x H10.6 inches
With a stove body forged from 304 stainless steel, this is an ideal piece of kit for the outdoors during winter camping trips and outdoor cooking excursions.
The stove system comes with stove pipe, elbow pipe, a pair of quality leather gloves and a piece of replacement glass – All parts can be stored inside the stove body.
By use of an air intake valve, the air intake is regulated by the user making combustion more tailored. The speed of the air flow can be controlled at any time, and the design also prevents carbon or spark from the air inlet escaping ensuring safety at all times.
7 stove pipes, 2 x 45 degree elbows and a 90 degree elbow pipe makes it easy to achieve the optimum placement for your ventilation, and the large capacity firebox (878in cubed) provides ample means for a sustainable fire that endures throughout the night.
This unit is a kind of mid-tier model for those that want a bit above basic, and it gets favourable reviews from the majority of users.
Check out full details and current price of the OneTigris Tiger Roar Tent Stove
Video Review:
4. WINNERWELL Nomad Medium Tent Stove
Dimensions: L15 x W20 x H90 inches
The Winnerwell Nomad utilises a 304 stainless steel precision construction that will never rust or corrode – ideal in harsh outdoor environments. A sturdy stove body, 5 sections of 2.5-inch diameter chimney pipe, 1 spark arrestor and an ash scraper are included in this high-end tent stove unit.
The highly portable design features 4 legs that fold flat under the stove, chimney pipe sections that stow inside stove body, and side shelves that function as a carry handle.
Perfect for heating and cooking in small spaces such as canvas tents, teepees, yurts shacks and cabins. Features also include a glass viewing window in the door for ambiance and fire management, side shelves for cooking utility, dual dampers for controlling airflow and burn rate, and decorative twisted metal handles.
The Winnerwell Nomad is a robust unit that performs extremely well in any situation or setting and is one of the best rated tent stoves on the market today.
Check out full details and current price of the WINNERWELL Nomad Medium Tent Stove
Video Review:
5. WINNERWELL Woodlander Large Tent Stove
Dimensions: L25 x W25.5 x H50 inches
The Winnerwell Woodlander LARGE Tent Stove is the big brother to the previous one. If the medium Winnerwell is not quite enough for your needs, this is the answer! The unit includes a large stove body, 5 sections of 3.5 inch diameter chimney pipe 17 inches long, 1 spark arrestor and 1 ash scraper.
The highly portable design features spring loaded tri-pod legs that fold flat under the stove body while all pipe sections stow inside the stove body. At 30 pounds, the Woodlander Large is an exceptionally portable tent stove but you don’t want to go hiking with it.
At 18 inches deep with nearly 1500 cubic inches of space in the firebox, the Woodlander Large will nicely accommodate dry split firewood.
The glass viewing window in the door is great for ambiance and fire management, the folding side shelves help with cooking, dual dampers are there for controlling burn rate, and a removable cook top plate and decorative steel handles all add to the charm. All in all a fantastic, solid tent stove that will endure for years!
Check out full details and current price of the WINNERWELL Woodlander Large Tent Stove
Video Review:
Conclusion
There are obvious risks in having any stove inside a tent. Hopefully this article has provided enough information to highlight the main precautions you should take when using a tent stove.
You simply must have the correct type of tent before you even consider putting a stove inside. These 5 wood-burning tent stoves are by no means your only option but all are quality products that are suitable for hot-tenting!
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