Gone are the days when we have to endure cold sleepless nights on every camping trip. Modern technology brought us portable and efficient tent stoves that we can bring inside our wall tents. Not only do the best wall tent stoves keep you warm on camping trips (especially on rainy and snowy nights), but they also allow you to cook meals and dry your wet gear in the comfort of your tent.
A Quick Comparison of the Best Wall Tent Stoves
Model
Camp Chef Alpine Heavy Duty Cylinder Stove
Winnerwell Woodlander Medium Tent Stove | Tiny Portable Wood Burning...
What Should I Look For In A Tent Stove? – Features to Consider
Wall tent stoves come in various sizes and material types. Some brands come with plenty of accessories while some only have a few. We’ve listed the most important features to consider when buying a wall tent below to help you decide.
Size and Weight
One major factor to consider is the size and weight of the stove. We don’t want a stove that takes up all the space in your pack and takes more than one person to carry. If you want to minimize packed space, you can get a collapsible one. We have a variety of options below so check them out.
Safety Features
Since you’ll be keeping the stove inside your tent, it’s critical that it comes with a safety feature. One good choice is the Camp Chef Alpine cylinder stove that’s equipped with a fire grate at the bottom to prevent the stove from overheating.
Materials
Like every other product, a tent stove’s quality is evident in its material construction. The best tent stoves (like our picks below) are made from high-quality alloy or carbon steel, iron, or even titanium.
Accessories
A tent stove that offers plenty of accessories may seem appealing. But don’t let this marketing technique fool you. Tick all the other features above then consider the included accessories. Most stoves come with chimney pipes, spark arrestors, and pipe dampers. Some come with water tanks and drying shelves. Consider your priorities, then decide.
Types of Canvas Tent Stoves
Heavy Steel Tent Stoves
Heavy steel tent stoves have the thickest inner walls among all the tent stove types. That’s why they provide heat for longer than stoves with thin walls and are less likely to bend under extreme heat. Most heavy steel tent stoves are made from rolled carbon steel and are shaped like a cylinder or a box. One downside of these steel stoves is that they’re very heavy and bulky. They’re really only practical if you’re using pack animals, and even then can be difficult to manage.
Lightweight Tent Stoves
Lightweight tent stoves are constructed from lighter materials such as titanium. But because of their thin material construction, these tents are more prone to warping when exposed to high temperatures.
Collapsible Tent Stoves
Among all the types of canvas tent stoves, collapsible ones are the most portable and easiest to store. They’re designed to easily fold or collapse (hence the name) for quick assembly and packing. Collapsible tent stoves are also constructed from steel but with thinner walls to conserve weight.
5 Best Wall Tent Stoves
Best Overall: Camp Chef Alpine Heavy Duty Cylinder Stove
Our best overall pick comes with an internal log grate, a spark arrestor, a five-piece nesting pipe, and accessory shelves so it’s a package that’s worth every penny.
The Camp Chef Alpine cylinder stove features a spacious cooktop and a door damper for effortless cooking. If you want to heat water for coffee in the morning, you can use a standard wood stove water heater with it.
Each part of this heavy-duty stove can be easily tucked inside and it comes with removable legs so you can easily transport and store it. It’s also equipped with ready-drilled holes so you can install the pipe damper conveniently.
This Camp Chef stove also comes with water tank brackets for easy tank installation. However, you have to purchase the tank separately. Aside from cooking, you can also conveniently dry your dishes and gear on the multi-purpose drying racks that come with the stove.
Pros
Comes with plenty of accessories
Wide form shelf/drying rack
Portable
Comes with a fire grate at the bottom
Cons
It’s very heavy
It’s a little expensive
What Customers Say
“Fantastic. Very heavy duty. You won’t be transporting this very far into the backcountry though, it weighs a ton. Be sure to cure the paint outside with a hot fire for a few hours before you use it in an enclosed area. You don’t want to breathe the fumes from the paint and the galvanized pipe. I like how the top surface is reinforced with a grid on the inside. The door has a dual-layer as well. The chimney pipe is solidly constructed, just one had a crimping defect, but doesn’t really affect it. I can’t believe I can get this shipped to my door for the price I paid. I love it.”
Jon
“I have now purchased three of these. One for each of our two cabins and one in our wash room/shed at our off-grid vacation property. The stoves heat up our cabins to toasty within minutes. We usually have to have a couple of windows cracked even when the outside temps are below freezing. We usually make our coffee and cook our breakfast on one as well as put our stews and soups on it to simmer throughout the day. We did not purchase the water heater but used a large stockpot with water on it and that works as a radiator to keep the cabin warm when the stove goes out at night. The last one I ordered came with the damper broken and the manufacturer shipped a new one without any questions asked. And the call to them only took about 4 minutes total.”
Virginia
Best Heavy Steel Tent Stove: WINNERWELL Woodlander Medium Tent Stove
Despite its heavy-duty construction, the Winnerwell Woodlander tent stove is perfect not only for canvas tents but also for teepees and yurts. It features spring-loaded legs that can be folded beneath the stove for easy transport and storage. The chimney pipe sections also fit inside the stove’s body.
We also love how the side shelves can function as carrying handles for when lugging the stove from your car to your camping site.
Unlike the Camp Chef cylinder stove, the Winnerwell Woodlander comes with fewer accessories – 5 sections of 2.5-inch diameter chimney pipe, a spark arrestor, and an ash scraper, which is acceptable as it’s cheaper.
Pros
Rustproof
Portable and lightweight
Affordable
Cons
The legs get warm fast
It’s too small for large pieces of wood
Few accessories included
What Customers Say
“Medium stove is small but very sturdy and well built. No regrets, but might have bought the large stove as portability isn’t that important for my uses.”
Erik Roll
“This stove is well made and everything fits perfectly. The 3 legs are very stable and it has a good flat surface for cooking. I didn’t have any smoke leaking from the pipes. The door is a bit small and I had to split any larger logs. Kindling size wood works well. I was able to get a fire going on the first try, it only took a few minutes. Very simple to use.”
Jim H.
Best Lightweight/Best Collapsible Tent Stove: WINNERWELL Fastfold Titanium Tent Stove
Our best lightweight and best collapsible pick weigh only 4 pounds, thanks to its ultralight titanium construction. Titanium also guarantees efficient heat transfer even in the coldest weather, so you can sleep warm and worry-free at night. The Winnerwell Fastfold titanium tent stove can hold coals for hours, plus its lid is removable so you can use it as a firepan. That means one less cooking gear to pack!
What’s great about this tent stove is that it doesn’t have any loose hardware parts for easy setup and packing. All you have to do is fold the stove walls and fasten them with the integrated clasps and it’s ready for transport. This tent stove also folds flat for convenient storage.
Accessories included are; a rolled titanium 9-foot chimney pipe with rings, a tent protector, a spark arrestor, and a carry bag.
Pros
Very lightweight and portable
Foldable and easy to assemble
Cons
It’s a little expensive
The chimney is made of low-quality material
Limited wood capacity
What Customers Say
“I love this it kept me warm at 17 below zero in my tent. just make sure you have a lot of hardwood in small pieces that eat fuel”
Thomas M.
“While there are lighter and cheaper stoves the Winnerwell Fastfold assembles quick and easy, with no small parts to lose in the snow, and is built solid. Provides plenty of warmth on winter backpacking trips. It does burn through wood somewhat fast though so even fully packed it’ll go for two hours at max.”
Amazon Customer
Best on a Budget: Guide Gear Outdoor Wood Burning Stove
This affordable stove from Guide Gear is perfect for stove-top cooking and as a heater. Like our other options above, its disassembled parts including its five interlocking stove pipes and detachable legs can fit inside the stove’s main compartment for convenient storage and transport.
It’s constructed from galvanized steel and is coated with a heat-resistant finish. Its cast-iron door has an easy-to-access and quick-cooling coiled handle and adjustable air vents for proper ventilation. One constant reminder from the manufacturer is to use this stove in a well-ventilated space to avoid accidents.
Pros
Very affordable
Comes with a high-quality stove pipe and a damper
Portable
Cons
Difficult to assemble
It’s small
What Customers Say
“Installed this in my camper. For the price, it’s worth it. The door has no seal on it so you will have to make one that cost about six dollars. The piping is single layer so I had to buy all the stuff to put it through the roof this ran me about $60. I had to get a thermometer and a shovel kit as well. Pretty much all said and done, I now have a very functionable wood-burning stove installed in the camper for $200.”
Pen Name
“My stove came with a very nice little seal in the door and a much better fitting flue damper than the one I purchased extra. I’m very happy with the little stove. I wish I had the option of buying two or three floor pipe extensions.”
Our final pick undergoes secondary combustion so it provides a cleaner burn than other stoves. It also produces little smoke when using dry wood. Just connect it to a vent pipe and you can easily convert it from a cooking stove into an emergency tent heater.
The SHTFandGo Rocket stove is designed to burn efficiently with just a few sticks or split wood so you won’t have to spend a lot of time collecting wood. And it features a wide cooking grate that’s ideal for large pots. It also comes with a burner damper and an ashtray.
However, like the Guide Gear stove above, this stove must be used in a well-ventilated space. It would have been better if it came with a flat top over the chimney to cover the cooking pots from excessive soot.
Pros
Bulletproof and made from heavy-duty materials
Good temperature control
Wide base
Affordable
Cons
Can’t accommodate large pieces of wood
The stove’s inside edges are rough
What Customers Say
“Excellent build quality. Packed with care. Very fast shipping. Received in factory-perfect condition. Very well-built and easy to assemble. I recommend a good pair of work gloves as the stove pipe is a tight fit. Burns hot and boils water in no time. You will want to experiment with the size of sticks/logs you use to find the right mix of burn time and heat output. Very satisfied with my purchase and would recommend 10/10.”
Peter L.
“This a great stove. Works as described. The only bad things I can say about this Rocket stove is that when they build it the inside edges are super rough which makes it harder for wood to feed into the burn pot area. Wood has to be manually pushed down into the burn pot cause of the rough inside edges. The stove gets hot very quickly. Another thing I don’t care about the stove is if the wood or burn material isn’t the right length and the lid can’t close there is an excess amount of smoke that can come from the loading area. This stove IS built like a tank and is darn near indestructible from what it seems. I had plans on using in my wall tent, but the smoke that comes from the loading area would greatly concern me. Maybe I need to try other burn material to help prevent this.”
Wildlifer
Tent Stove Accessories
Pipe Damper
A pipe damper is usually attached to the chimney riser pipe to regulate the amount of air leaving the stove. This ensures less heat dispersion from the stove and fire regulation so it can provide heat for hours.
Pellet or Propane Burner Kit
Pellets or propane serve as an alternative fuel for your stove. Especially if the area around your camping site has a limited wood source or if you don’t have the time (or energy) to gather firewood. When buying these alternatives, ensure their compatibility with your stove first.
Water Heater/Hot Water Tank
Water tanks are usually attached to the side of the stove and automatically heat up water whenever the stove is on. Not all tent stoves come with a water tank. But most stoves manufactured these days are compatible with water heaters or water tanks (like the Camp Chef Alpine cylinder stove above), so you can just purchase them separately.
Stove Mat/ Tent Shield
Some tent stoves have legs that easily get warm, endangering your tent floor from getting burned. To prevent this from happening, most campers buy a heat-resistant stove mat (if it doesn’t come with the purchased stove).
Chimney Oven
Chimney ovens are actually luxury camping accessories. They’re great for baking, which we rarely do while camping. But if you prefer fresh bread rolls for breakfast in the mountains, why not, right?! However, stoves with chimney ovens are bulkier than other brands.
FAQs
How warm is a wall tent with a stove?
According to the Alaska Native Knowledge Network, “a tent is warm as long as the stove is burning, even at –30°F. The stove needs to:
be near the door so the wood can be easily stacked,
be close to the ground so the lower areas of the tent are heated,
be big enough to hold fire for a while,
be set on rocks or legs to keep it from burning the floor, and
Tent stoves are designed to warm up the inside of a tent as well as to cook proper meals and provide hot water. Be careful when buying from cheap brands, though, as not all of them are safe to use.
How long does a tent stove last?
Tent stoves last an average of 3 to 5 hours (depending on the size of your tent) before you need to add more wood.
Our Key Takeaways
Not getting enough warmth at night and eating lukewarm food (or getting your tent burned accidentally) will spoil all the fun from your camping trip. So pick only from our options above for a smooth-sailing outdoor adventure!
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