Hot Tent Suggestions?

Odd to start this as summer is approaching, but I've been thinking I need to jump into the hot tent camping cadre next year - not really necessary here in Maryland, but it would be nice to do more up north in the winter. Before I dive in, figured I'd check here to see whether anyone has hot tent experience? Not sure whether I'd combine paddling with a hot tent, but it's not impossible! I suspect the ideal for me would be 2-3 person that is moderately light as I doubt I'll toboggan with the tent. I think initially I'll try it with short hikes or paddling in the the ADKs this fall, and branch out from there. Would love to hear thoughts, experiences, and suggestions!

How cold are you going with it, and how much space do you want? Also, the stove is a huge piece of the system weight. My stove is a stainless bomb-proof unit, but weighs 20 lbs. My friend has a titanium affair that weighs much less, but gets kinda fiddly to set up. For lightweight systems, the western hunting crowd has a ton of info cached on forums such as rokslide.com




With no other info than what is provided so far, I would suggest a Seek Outside Cimarron bundle.



When you dont care as much about weight, options open up and prices drop. OneTigris, NatureHike, and Luxe are all options with which I have positive experience.

This guy has a bunch of no-bs reviews on gear that he buys. Quite a few Chinese hot tents on his channel.

The premium hot tent for people who canoe or man haul has always been the snowtrekker. I have this one - https://snowtrekkertents.com/collections/tents/products/9x11-5-basecamp

However, there are many other hot tents on the market now, many considerably cheaper than the snow trekker. If I were to buy the same model now, it would be around $3000.00 Canadian, without the stove or any extras. That's pretty hefty for a tent that gets used a few times a year.

There are many nylon knock off winter tents now that you could buy and try, and if you don't like it, no great loss.
https://www.amazon.ca/POMOLY-Chalet...204&sprefix=polmoly,aps,246&sr=8-6&th=1&psc=1

My main winter camping tent now is a pop up ice fishing tent. I have the Eskimo 650 XD. This is a quality, robust, decadent winter camping option. It is insulated, not bothered much by wind, and very easy to heat. Comes in around $1000.00 Canadian. However it is quite heavy and large to transport.

Needless to say, the Eskimo gets hauled in by skidoo or freighter canoe.
My snowtrekker only gets used now in shoulder season, primarily in October for moose hunting.

I think hot tents are great for canoe tripping and they aren't just for winter. I sometimes take mine anytime before June or after mid September, depending on the weather report. With a hot tent you can be a lot warmer and dryer and use a lot less wood. I have two different set ups. One is with a canvas Campfire tent and a Kni-co stove. This probably weighs close to 50 lbs. The other is a nylon tipi style with a small folding stove from a hunting supply company called Kifaru that Weis less then 15 lbs.



This setup saved the day after being out in cold rain and wind all day.



This is in more mild weather. The tent can be snugged up to keep more heat in or I can enclose the front with visqueen with a hole for the stove pipe.

NikonF5user said:

Odd to start this as summer is approaching, but I've been thinking I need to jump into the hot tent camping cadre next year

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Perfect time to start accumulating hot tent gear imo, far better now then later in paddling season when things start to cool down and used gear becomes scarce or new items get back ordered.
I use a downsized canvas wall tent with an interior frame and a small no brand wood stove that I cut down. I have over 100 nights in it. Mine is capable of fitting 2 people on cots, but I have always gone solo. You can actually build your own wood stove, lots of plans out there..Just big enough to take the chill off evenings and morning, I sleep with a cold stove, I think most people who backcountry camp via canoe or sled sleep with a cold stove, it requires a lot of wood preparation and waking up hourly to keep these stoves hot all night.

Al's set up is the modern approach.
Robin's midget wall tent is a thing of beauty.
I have done well in most circumstances with a lean to with the fire in front even in winter snow.
A stove in a tent is magic. Some stoves are so small it takes a lot of work to keep them stoked.

On river trips there have been plenty of spring trips at high flows where people get wet. There can be rain and even light snow.
Having a tent with a stove is really comfortable. We used to bring one even on summer trips in Colorado and Wyoming when packing horses and mules. Nothing like getting warm and dry quickly no matter what the weather does.

I grew up in Maryland and first paddled there on the C&O Canal and the Potomac River. A hot tent can extend your season by a lot. You can be comfortable even in the shoulder seasons when there are few people around.

The beauty of a hot tent is you don't have to use the stove if the weather turns mild but it's there if you need it when the weather changes. I currently have both a Snowtrekker and a Seek Outside Redcliff. Each has their advantages/disadvantages but for most purposes, I think the Seek Outside Redcliff meets my needs the most. I like the shelter's light weight (just over 5 lbs.) and the titanium stove that goes with it is also very lightweight (2+ lbs.). In the end, for about 8 lbs. I have a warm, dry place to sleep regardless of the weather. You really can't beat that.

I think the biggest issue with getting a hot tent set-up is the initial cost. Financially it can be tough to swallow but, if you really think you're going to use this outfit, it's well worth the money. The first night you spend in your shelter when it's 9 F and snowing outside, while it's 68 F inside, you'll know you made the right move.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

Kinda starting out myself. Stayed on the inexpensive/lightweight side to check it out.
FireHiking tent and titanium stove. Not the most efficient stove.
I’ve only used it a few times in shoulder season. A lot of cozy fun.

I've used (and made) canvas wall tents as well as teepees and hybrids and even conversions for over 60 years (I was 2 years old my first time) and have actually spent a few winters in one when I did logging reclamation, and found that there is no best tent, it all depends on your goals and comfort level- teepees are quick to set up and if you're in an area with plenty of tall saplings, can be very light- several times my teepee was actually just a surplus cargo chute with a stove jack added (the centre control vents doubled as ventilation). I've used several hybrids where one corner is fire retardant canvas and the rest is nylon- those are still fairly light but generally require a dedicated pole set, can develop substantial spark holes, and condensation is an issue, same as fully synthetic ones.
My particular favourite is a canvas wall tent with 4' walls, yeah it's heavy, but at 12x12 and 7 1/2' tall it's like camping in my living room- plenty of height, and also plenty of storage room down the sides, plus there are multiple options for the stove-my current one vents out the right front door panel, leaving the full 6' opening on the left for access and space for firewood between it and the sidewall as well as extra just outside the door, it also has an internal frame and exterior loops and tubes for either an external pole frame or rope suspension.
I've never bought a stove, I weld up my own from a simple box made by cutting flaps into the front of 2 Coleman cans and riveting them into a double stacked box (built before an unanticipated group camp the next day) that lasted about 15 trips, to my monster 12x12x24x10ga current one that will hold a whole bag of wood and last all night.
My camping style now is set camps with vehicle access so weight isn't an issue, so because of my back injury I designed this tent with no major bending required.
But- you do you, no two people camp the same. Start with what you can afford, and keep track of your likes and dislikes- you can even rent from some outfitters for the first few trips until you have enough experience to make an informed decision. There are also several shows and exhibitions every winter, both indoor and outdoor, where you can do walkthroughs and quiz the owners about their particular choice.

The most classic hot tent of all time has to be a traditional Plains tipi. Properly set with a liner and a fire in the middle a tipi is warm even in a winter snow storm.

I am on my second tipi which is Blackfeet 4 pole set 16 feet in diameter. The long poles are hard to move around unless you live on the PLains with horses. But there is something magic about tipis. They are tall and cathedral like. You can see the sky through the smoke hole. They are big and they draw well. I have had more than 25 people in mine at one time. No wall tent, Baker tent, or lean to has ever had the same affect on people.

The majority of the folks I camp with have either a light canvas or synthetic HTs. The canvas ones tend to be somewhat smaller to keep the weight down, the synthetic are mostly One Tigris, as that is a solid performing, cost efficient option.

There are lots of options for sizing, but since the entire group uses hammocks as well, models are chosen to fit the users hammock,

A small titanium stove (Pomoly has some good ones) is quite doable for paddling and portaging.

For the shoulder seasons and winter, the small stove and tent are quite workable.

BurkeJ said:

Kinda starting out myself. Stayed on the inexpensive/lightweight side to check it out.
FireHiking tent and titanium stove. Not the most efficient stove.
I’ve only used it a few times in shoulder season. A lot of cozy fun.

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I have the exact same set-up. I used it one time to date in the ADK's in April (had to clear the ground of some snow to pitch the tent) and really enjoyed it. It's a delight. That said, the stove is so small that it won't stay lit for very long without active stoking, so you need to presume that there is no residual heat over the course of an entire night's sleep.