Hot Tent

What makes a hot tent different

Here's the thing. A hot tent is not a special kind of fabric or a special shape. It's a tent with a hole in it on purpose, and a collar around that hole that won't burn.

That collar is the stove jack. Kodiak Canvas says jacks are typically made of silicone-coated fiberglass. Steel jacks exist too, and Kodiak notes they can pass more heat to the canvas around them if the pipe runs hot. The good ones have a flap that closes the opening when the stove is packed away.

Everything else follows from that collar. You need floor room around the stove, a pipe tall enough to throw sparks clear of the roof, fabric that tolerates the setup, and a routine that keeps the fire and the air in check. The tent basics (floor, walls, poles, rainfly) are the same as any shelter, and they're on the camping tent page.

The table on this page lists tents whose maker or listing states a built-in stove jack. It shows how many the maker or the listing says it sleeps, floor size, center height, fabric, seasons and the stove jack itself; values read from the Amazon listing are marked. Seasons appear only when the maker states them. If neither states a value, the cell stays empty with a dash. Read the table as a shortlist of tents built for a stove, then check each one against your stove.

Hot tent safety comes before anything else

A wood stove in a tent is a fire and a carbon monoxide source inside a fabric room. The CDC says fuel-burning equipment (camp stoves, heaters, lanterns, charcoal grills) should never be used inside a tent, and that opening flaps, doors or windows does not prevent carbon monoxide from building up. A hot tent vents its stove through a pipe, but that doesn't make the risk go away.

The makers who sell hot-tent systems put the rules in writing. Springbar's stove field guide lists them plainly:

• Read and follow the stove maker's warnings and instructions
• Never leave a stove burning unattended
• Burn only dry, well-seasoned firewood and ventilate the tent
• Use a portable carbon monoxide detector in the tent
• Keep a fire extinguisher in camp and follow local fire bans
• Keep children and pets away from the stove, with a barrier if they're inside
• Never use an accelerant such as lighter fluid in the stove or near the tent

Jess's take, written on the inside of the stove bag: "Warm is a feeling. Carbon monoxide is a number. Hang the alarm."

What to look at when you pick a hot tent

Buy the stove jack built in, sized for your pipe

A tent gets onto this page only when its maker states a built-in stove jack. That rule is there for a reason. Kodiak Canvas's FAQ says most manufacturers recommend a tent that comes stove-ready from the factory over modifying one later. Its stove jack guide adds that retrofitting one of its tents voids the canvas warranty in most cases.

Size matters next. Kodiak says most compact wood stoves made for canvas tents use a 3-inch or 4-inch stovepipe, and factory jacks are usually fixed to one size. Aftermarket adjustable jacks take a range, roughly 3 to 5 inches. Measure the pipe before you fall in love with a tent. Measure twice, cut once, and in this case don't cut at all.

My one opinion on this page: buy the tent and the stove as a matched system, not as two separate deals. The makers wrote the reason down for us. Springbar's zip-in jack is designed for one tent model and a short list of stoves, plus a fireproof mat, a double-wall pipe section and a flashing kit, and the maker says use with other components is not recommended. When the people who sewed the jack tell you which stove it fits, listen.

Put the jack high and the pipe higher

Where the pipe leaves the tent changes how the stove draws. Kodiak's stove jack guide says a ridgeline exit, with the pipe running straight up through the peak, gives noticeably better draft than a sidewall exit. Sidewall exits work on steep wall tents but take elbows in the pipe.

Pipe height is where makers give different numbers. Kodiak's four-season buying guide says at least 6 inches above the tent's highest point. Its stove jack guide puts the minimum at 12 inches and calls 18 more common. Springbar asks for at least 18 inches from the roof panel to the spark arrestor on its system. Rule of thumb: the stove maker's number wins, and higher is the safer side of the argument.

Leave floor room for clearance

Here's what the Sleeps number on a hot tent doesn't tell you. The stove takes floor space, and so does the empty ring around it. Kodiak's four-season guide calls for at least 3 feet of clearance between the firebox and any canvas wall. Springbar says always use a fireproof mat under the stove.

So a tent rated for four people loses a chunk of its floor the minute you set a stove in the middle. Use the Floor length and Floor width columns, sketch the stove and its clearance on paper, then see where the cots go. A cot that ends up 2 feet from a hot stove is a cot in the wrong place. For cot sizes, see the camping cot page.

Read the fabric column twice

The Fabric column in the table tells you what the walls are made of. Most hot tents are canvas, and canvas brings its own rules, covered on the canvas tent page.

One fact worth knowing before you buy: canvas burns. Springbar's guide says its canvas will burn if exposed to an open flame, and the company does not apply a fire-retardant treatment. It also notes that some states (California, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey and New York) restrict sales of tents without fire-retardant treatment, mostly for group and commercial use. Check your state's rules if that applies to your camp.

Stand up to tend the stove

You'll be bending over a stove a lot, loading wood and working dampers with gloves on. Springbar's guide says to wear gloves and proper safety gear every time you handle a hot stove. That's easier standing than kneeling. The Center height column gives the tallest point inside; on a wall or cabin tent, the walls stay steep enough that more of the floor is usable at full height.

Seasons and snow are about the roof, not the stove

A stove keeps you warm. It doesn't hold up snow. Springbar says its tents are not intended to carry heavy snow loads and that snow must be brushed off the roof as it builds. Kodiak's FAQ also says to clear snow off periodically. The Seasons column only says 4-season when the maker states it, so a blank there doesn't mean the tent fails in winter. It means the maker didn't claim it.

Springbar adds a hard line: if the weather gets bad enough that you think the tent or the stove could be unstable, don't use the stove.

Hot tent types and when each one fits

Canvas wall tents

The classic elk-camp shelter: straight walls, a ridge, a frame and a jack near the peak. Heavy, roomy and built to stay pitched for a week or more. Kodiak's setup guide says a first pitch can take roughly four to six hours and goes easier with two people. That's a base camp, not a one-night stop. More on the wall tent page.

Canvas cabin and lodge tents

Shorter walls, a framed roof and a factory stove jack on the stove-ready versions. They pitch faster than a full wall tent and suit a truck-access deer camp. The cabin tent page covers the shape.

Hunting and winter shelters with a jack

Some tents sold for hunting or winter camping add a jack to a different shape, such as a bell or a pyramid. The Style column in the table names the shape. If a pack-in hunt is the plan, the hunting tent page and the winter camping tent page are the next stops.

Pitch it for the stove

Kodiak's setup guide says to point the stovepipe exit to the downwind side of the prevailing wind, so smoke and sparks blow away from the roof. Choose ground as flat as you can find, lay a ground tarp, and set the guy lines firm but not rigid.

Springbar's FAQ suggests practicing the tent setup at home before the trip. Its stove guide goes further: practice burning the stove in the open first, so you learn the dampers and the draw before there's fabric around it. That's a Saturday-afternoon job in the backyard, and it's the cheapest lesson in this whole page.

Run the stove like you mean it

Springbar's stove guide lays out the routine:

1. Open all dampers fully before lighting.
2. Build a bed of coals fast with plenty of small and medium tinder.
3. Open the stove door slowly when adding wood, so smoke doesn't spill into the tent.
4. Watch the chimney. Little to no visible smoke means a good burn; thick smoke means it's burning too cool.
5. Don't overload the stove. Too much heat can warp it.
6. Check and clean the pipe daily. Creosote buildup hurts the draw and raises the chance of a chimney fire.

Tape a card inside the stove bag with those six lines on it. A shop teacher learns that the steps nobody writes down are the ones that get skipped, and in a tent they're all worth doing.

Who should skip a hot tent

Skip it if you camp from May to September. A stove jack you never use is a flap to keep zipped and a collar to inspect for nothing.

Skip it if nobody in your group will tend a fire. The rules above aren't optional, and a stove in a tent is a job, not a feature.

Skip it if you hike in. Kodiak's four-season guide says canvas tents weigh two to three times more than comparable nylon shelters. A canvas hot tent rides in a truck bed, not on your back. (A man my age learns this once. My knees took notes.)

Care between seasons

Kodiak's stove jack guide says to inspect the jack collar each season for cracking, stiffening or separation from the canvas seam, and to look for heat discoloration around it. Kodiak's FAQ is blunt about storage: storing a wet or damp tent, even for a short time, will ruin it and void the warranty. Its care guide says to dry a wet tent within 72 hours.

Brush the soot off the pipe sections, pack them separately from the canvas, and close the jack flap before the tent goes in the bag. The tent and the stove will last a long time if they're put away dry and clean. So will you, if you follow the stove maker's manual every single night.