Although commonly associated with cold weather camping and winter expeditions, tent stoves have become increasingly popular for glamping, basecamps, tiny houses, #vanlife, off-grid living, hunting, and everyday recreational camping. The demand for a variety of use cases has resulted in a wide variety of stoves, with characteristics and features that favor some applications over others.
What is a Glamping Stove?
Glamping Tent Stoves are high end wood burning camping stoves with all the features of a full-size wood burning stove you would find in a home: heavy-duty heat retaining materials, fire brick lining, baffle plates for more complete combustion, sealed gaskets on doors, and air-intake controls to regulate burn rate. Generally larger and heavier than traditional tent stoves, glamping stoves are still portable and packable. Although the term ‘glamping’ may border on pretentious, it describes a luxury or comfort above and beyond what is typically expected when camping.
When should I use a Glamping Stove?
Glamping stoves may be preferable for luxury camping applications – but it’s a necessity for long term use and extreme environments, due to improved efficiency and ease of use. Burning less wood, longer, while producing more usable heat frees up time to dedicate to what brought you into the wild in the first place, be it hunting elk or spending time with loved ones.
What is a Portable Tent Stove?
The most popular, practical, and affordable wood burning tent stoves. Portable wood stoves occupy the sweet spot between size, weight, and performance. Tent stoves in this class are typically just large enough to burn standard 16” lengths of firewood which reduces the need for excess sawing, although having a splitter handy to reduce girth is recommended. Weight is reduced by omitting firebrick, sealed gaskets, and baffle plates while employing light(er) yet durable material like stainless steel in the firebox construction. Small diameter flue pipes on many portable tent stoves are designed to fit in the firebox when disassembled for transport, or nest snuggly in a purpose built carry bag. Portable tent stoves are more than capable of heating even a large canvas tent to comfortably cozy temperatures in freezing conditions. Most models include basic air intake adjustors that influence burn rate, fire grates, drying racks, and even small glass windows so you can monitor your fire without opening the fuel door.
What is the trade-off with a portable tent stove?
The compromises in efficiency for the sake of portability with these tent stoves means you will have to feed the stove more frequently -- although most good portable tent stoves are plenty to satisfy the needs of the majority of campers.
What is an Ultralight Wood Stove?
An ultralight wood stove is a minimalist, ultra-low-weight wood stove (often folding or can-shaped), designed for backpackers or those who don’t want to carry propane. Most outdoor gear these days have super lightweight versions designed to cater to backpackers – even wood burning stoves. Although gas stoves for cooking are generally lighter, smaller, cleaner, and much more efficient; they do require you to carry and ration the propane that fuels them. Ultralight wood stoves provide a theoretically limitless burn time provided there is wood to burn around camp.
What are the limitations to an Ultralight Wood stove?
Keep in mind that wood must be dry, plentiful, and small enough to fit in the combustion chamber. An armload of sticks may be sufficient to boil water, but sawing and splitting trees into kindling sized portions in sufficient quantity to heat even a small tent for an extended period of time may not be the best use of energy.
What are cheap tent stoves, and are they worth it?
Cheap tent stoves come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The unifying characteristic is that they are almost never worth it. In the age of Amazon a great design can be copied and sold at a lower price point by skimping on material, construction, research/development, and marketing. The warm fuzzy feeling you might feel saving some money on the purchase of a cheap tent stove will quickly fade when you’re out in the field. Corrosion preventing paints, oils, and coatings can be toxic when burnt. Improperly tempered metals can melt or even explode. Buying counterfeit, knock-off, or generic products can be worthwhile when the risk of failure is low consequence – which is not the case with tent stoves. If you have the time, tools, and knowledge – constructing your own DIY tent stove out of salvaged materials is a better option than buying a cheap tent stove from an obscure and unproven manufacturer.
Searching for ‘The Best Tent Stove’ is like searching for ‘The Best Shoes’ – ‘best’ is subjective. Narrow your search by exploring our short list of the best tent stoves for the most common applications:
The Winnerwell Woodlander is a mid-size stainless steel tent stove that does everything well. Every component is thoughtfully designed to deliver equally on performance and convenience. The Winnerwell competes with tent stoves twice the price.
The CanvasCamp Bison Stove is the ultimate glamping essential, delivering warmth, practicality, and ease of use. Designed for both beginners and seasoned campers, it features excellent insulation and precise air control for safe tent installation. Built for efficiency and comfort, the Bison Stove lets you enjoy the great outdoors without sacrificing coziness or convenience.
Ready to start hot tenting? Apply your tent stove expertise and shop for the best tent stove for you. Learn more about wood burning tent stoves by exploring our Tent Stove Buyers Guide – the complete guide to buying, owning, and operating a tent stove.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Which tent stove is the best?
The best overall tent stove is the Winnerwell Large Woodlander or Nomad model, a mid-size stainless steel tent stove that does everything well. Every component is thoughtfully designed to deliver equally on performance and convenience. The Winnerwell competes with tent stoves twice the price. For a permanent glamping setup, the Bison stove is a heavier model with a luxury aesthetic.
What is firebrick?
Fire brick is a ceramic material with low thermal conductivity used as an insulating liner in wood stoves to increase heat retention and improve efficiency.
What is a gasket?
A gasket is a heat-resistant rope or seal placed around the stove door or flue pipe connection to make it airtight. This prevents smoke leaks, improves draft control, and ensures the stove burns fuel more efficiently.
Do portable stoves need firebrick or gaskets?
Not necessarily. Many portable stoves skip heavy firebrick and sealed gaskets to save weight. Portable tent stoves prioritize portability, quick setup, and simple maintenance.
Can ultralight stoves heat a tent?
They can in limited settings (small tent, mild weather), but they need to be replenished with fuel quite often. We don’t recommend small or medium fireboxes in North America, as they are not sufficient for winter camping conditions. If you are looking for a portable stove, the Winnerwell models offerred by CanvasCamp are highly effecient, relatively lightweight and can be packed down for easy transport.
Should I consider building my own tent stove?
It is not recommended unless you have access to quality materials, tools, and know-how. A well-made DIY stove from safe materials can outperform many “cheap” commercial ones.
What are the risks of cheap stoves?
Cheap tent stoves come with several risks, including material failure such as melting, warping or even exploding. Cheap tent stoves may also use toxic coatings or paints which release harmful fumes when heated. There may be inadequate safety margins, and poor quality control that increases the chance of fire or injury.
What kind of wood should I use in a tent stove?
Burn well-seasoned hardwoods (like oak, hickory, or maple) as they produce more heat and burn longer than softwoods. Softwoods can create smoke and embers that can burn a hole in your tent. If you must use softwood, ensure it's been properly seasoned by stacking it and drying it out before use. Avoid using wet or green wood, as it creates more smoke and less heat. Using wood that is too “green” can put out your fire.
How do you safely install a stove pipe through a tent?
It's easy—you just install our exit and use that as a guide to cut a hole and vent your stove outside of the tent. Installing the stove jack yourself allows you to decide exactly where in the tent you want your stove to be. You can watch a video tutorial here. We also have models with pre-sewn in stove jacks to minimize your efforts.
Do tent stoves work in all tents?
No. Only tents designed for stove use (with a stove jack and fire-safe materials) should be paired with a tent stove. Canvas tents like ours are perfect for stove use as they are naturally fire-resistant and compatible with tent stoves. CanvasCamp tents are breathable, UV, water, mold and fire resistant, and are made to last season after season, making them the ultimate 4-season camping tent.
