Hot tent camping has always intrigued me. The idea of having a miniature wood burning stove in the tent is appealing! The ability to be toasty warm and cook in your tent is exciting, but nothing beats that hot cup of coffee before you even step outside in the chilly morning air!
After seeing a lot of chatter online about hot tent camping, I finally pulled the trigger and purchased the Onetigres Northgaze Canvas Hot Tent and a Lama 304 stainless steel wood burning stove.
So far I have stayed in this set up in temps as low as 17° and I have to say, the little stove is a work horse! The tent warmed up fast and was decent at keeping the wind out. The inside temp ranged from 65° to a smoldering 80°!
Another feature I found to be impressive was the door flaps. They can be staked out for an awning leaving ample room to get in and out of the living space while providing a small patio like area where you can enjoy your view. They have some versatility to the awning configuration as well.
A few lessons learned:
About every 1 to 2 hours the stove needs to be fed to maintain warm temps. Getting a solid night sleep will depend on the temperature and your sleeping gear. My sleeping gear consisted of a 10° mummy bag and a 2” Therm-A-Rest. I was up about every 2 hours feeding the fire throughout the night.
The door flaps of the Onetigres Northgaze gaps at the bottom as they do not have the same snow skirts the rest of tend has. Resulting in a bit of a cold draft near the front of the tent. On longer camp outs in this set up, I’d have some extra blankets to roll up and block that gap.
I learned quickly that fireproof pipe wrap is essential. It’s nearly impossible to make sure your stove pipe doesn't come into contact with the tent through the pipe port. The port flap (for when you are not using a stove) rolls up, but not quite far enough out of the way. I will be replacing the flap as the Velcro melted before I realized the importance of wrapping the contacting section of pipe with pipe wrap.
Overall, I've enjoyed the Hot Tent experience. My hot cups of coffee in the tent did not disappoint! Keeping your slippers and gloves warm by the stove is an added bonus!
- Andre Branning
Owner & Operator
Nature Connect LLC