Short on time? Our pick for the best tent stove is the Winnerwell Nomad Medium Stove and Camp Chef Alpine Heavy Duty Cylinder Stove.
We’ve found the best tent stoves to keep your tent toasty even in freezing temperatures.
Camping in cold temperatures is serious business. If you’re planning to camp during the winter months, the best way to stay warm is with a tent stove.
Stoves for tents perform multiple functions. Not only does a wood-burning tent stove act as a heating system for your tent, but it also provides a cooktop.
That way, you can stay in the warmth of your shelter while you prepare a meal or boil water for morning coffee.
And a correctly installed portable wood-burning stove should keep your tent warm and cozy without filling it with smoke.
Ready to take your camping game to the next level? Picking out the best tent wood stove is tricky.
Not only do you need to consider the cost, the quality, and the size, but you also need to take safety into account.
But don’t be overwhelmed – we’re here to help. We’ve rounded up the best tent stoves to fit your budget and your needs.
Note: this post contains affiliate links, which help run this site at no extra cost to you so I can keep providing free travel advice and tips.
Short on Time? Here’s a Quick Look at Our Recommendations
- Best Titanium Tent Stove – DANCHEL OUTDOOR Portable Titanium Tent Camping Wood Stove
- Best for Family Camping – Fltom Camp Tent Stove
- Best Backpacking Tent Stove – WINNERWELL Fastfold Titanium Tent Stove
- Best Wall Tent Stove – POMOLY Oroqen Large Hot Tent Stove
- Best Military Tent Stove – TMS Portable Military Camping Wood Stove
- Best for Winter Camping – Camp Chef Alpine Heavy-Duty Cylinder Stove
- Best for a Bell Tent – WINNERWELL Nomad Medium Tent Stove
- Best Budget Tent Stove – US Stove Caribou Portable Camp Stove
- Best for First Time Campers – WINNERWELL Woodlander Medium Tent Stove
- Best Luxury Tent Stove – Russian-Bear Camping Stove
- Most Durable Tent Stove – Kcelarec Camping Tent Stove
#1 DANCHEL OUTDOOR Portable Titanium Tent Camping Wood Stove
Best Titanium Stove
Size: 14.7″ x 8.3″ x 10.8″
Weight: 5 lbs
Our Rating: 4.2/5
Best for: People who don’t like carrying heavy things
Titanium is a common material for many camping stoves. As opposed to the cast-iron wood-burning stoves that you see in cabins, titanium weighs less and is therefore more portable.
A stove that’s too heavy to move won’t do much good if you’re camping. That’s why titanium is such a good option.
It’s remarkably lightweight, so it’s a popular material for portable wood-burning stoves.
The Danchel Outdoor Portable Titanium Stove is a lightweight camping stove with a titanium body. This handy little stove is only five pounds and folds up flat into its carry bag.
The high-temperature glass in the firebox door allows you to monitor your fire without opening up the box, thus keeping smoke from leaking into your tent.
The Danchel wood stove is available with either two legs or four legs, and it comes with a seven-foot chimney stove pipe.
Titanium has good conductivity and a high melting point, so it will quickly heat both your pot and your tent, and it won’t bend and warp under high temperatures.
Overall, this camp stove is small and portable while remaining sturdy, making it our pick for the best titanium tent stove.
PROS
- Lightweight
- Folds up flat
- Fire-resistant glass door
CONS
- Small
- Expensive
#2 Fltom Camp Tent Stove
Best for Family Camping
Size: 11.4” x 7.95” x 8.66”
Weight: 23.4 lbs
Our Rating: 4/5
Best for: Camping with large groups in cold weather
Titanium is not the only type of metal used to make tent stoves. Another material that you commonly see for stoves is carbon steel.
The Fltom Camp Stove is a small yet heavy-duty carbon steel stove with a sleek, naturally black finish, and better suited for a stationary camping trip than backpacking.
At almost 38 pounds, it’s still quite portable. Still, you probably wouldn’t want to carry it up a mountainside or to multiple locations in one trip.
The Fltom stove comes equipped with a double-walled firebox wall for secondary ventilation and a heat-resistant glass door. Together, these work to prevent smoke leakage and will keep your family safe while staying warm.
This wood-burning tent stove also comes with a four-foot stove pipe and offers an extra-large cooking space to make it easier to prepare a family-sized meal. And it has a high heat output and collapsible legs.
It also has the option to change out the cooktop for a grate if you want to use it as an outdoor barbeque, making it a versatile cold-weather stove for your needs.
PROS
- Glass viewing window
- Large cooktop
- Side shelves provide lots of space
- Inexpensive
CONS
- Heavy
- Short chimney pipe
#3 WINNERWELL Fastfold Titanium Tent Stove
Best Backpacking Stove
Size: 15” x 9” x 2” (Packed); 15” x 9” x 7” (Assembled)
Weight: 4 lbs
Stars: 4.6/5
Best for: Backpacking, hiking, and trekking
It takes a dedicated adventurer to go backpacking in the wilderness during the colder months, but the rewards of seeing nature in such a pristine setting are plentiful.
When you’re carrying gear over long distances, the weight of that gear is going to be your utmost concern.
The best backpacking tent stove needs to be super lightweight. And, at just four pounds, the Winnerwell Fastfold Titanium Stove is by far the lightest weight backpacking stove on the market.
It’s truly the most compact and portable wood-burning stove out there.
Winnerwell is a leading and trusted brand that makes a variety of well-crafted wood-burning tent stoves.
They tend to be on the higher end price-wise, but with Winnerwell, you’re paying for quality that you can put your faith in.
This tiny, wood-burning stove is conveniently the perfect size to fit store-bought firewood. Its diminutive size and high performance make it the best portable wood stove for backpacking.
PROS
- Extremely lightweight
- Easily portable
- Quality material
CONS
- Expensive
- Small
#4 POMOLY Oroqen Large Hot Tent Stove
Best Wall Tent Stove
Size: 15.8” x 9.5” x 10.2”
Weight: 29.1 lbs
Our Rating: 5/5
Best for: Glamping, homesteading
A wall tent is a cabin-shaped tent, usually made from canvas with four straight walls and a peaked roof.
Wall tents are an excellent choice for longer camping trips and glamping setups. And no wall tent is complete without a stove tent heater.
When you’re looking for the best wood stove for a wall tent, you want to look for something that can heat an ample amount of space.
Small, portable stoves aren’t necessary for a wall tent because you’re probably going to be staying put wherever you set up camp.
The Pomoly Oroqen Large Hot Stove has a high volume firebox, providing ample space for firewood and thus reaches a very high temperature.
This stove fits most tents, but it works especially great inside a wall camping tent with its straight sides.
The extendable side plates are flush with the cooktop, creating a large flat surface that makes it easy to stay organized while cooking.
This stove also features durable stainless steel construction and heat-resistant glass for the door. Glass doors are not only helpful safety features, but they help create a cozy atmosphere by letting off a warm glow.
The Pomoly stove weighs under 30 pounds. It comes with a carry bag made from thick wear-resistant nylon, which can also double as a firewood bag once you’ve installed the stove.
All of these perks make the Pomoly our pick for the best wall tent stove.
PROS
- Extensive cooking and prep area
- Durable materials
- It comes with a carry bag
- Made from stainless steel
CONS
- Over 20 pounds
- Pricey
#5 TMS Portable Military Camping Wood Stove
Best Military Stove
Size: 18” x 10.25” x 11”
Weight: 24.55 lbs
Our Rating: 4/5
Best for: Hunting, wilderness camping
The TMS Portable Military Camping Wood Stove has a heavy and stable alloy steel body. At less than 25 pounds, it’s still not too big to carry around but ample enough to heat a large tent.
This military camping wood stove has a few unique features that set it apart from your average stove.
Although its cylindrical body prevents it from having a flat cooktop, it has cooking tubes running along either side.
You can fill these with potatoes for baking or meat and vegetables wrapped in foil. Then, sit back and let the stove do the work for you.
As a bonus, fold-out racks on either side above the cooking tubes provide a convenient place to dry your socks or other damp clothing.
And on the belly of the firebox is a door that makes it easy to clean out the ashes.
This portable military camping wood stove also features a spark arrestor and airflow regulators on both the front and the back.
There is just one crucial safety hazard to take note of with this stove. The paint is not heat-resistant and intended only to protect the alloy steel from rust before purchase.
To make the stove safe for use inside an enclosed hot tent, you’ll need to first fire it up in the open air and burn off the paint.
PROS
- Drying racks
- Cooking tubes
- Trap door for cleaning ashes
- Inexpensive
CONS
- Must burn off paint
- No flat cooktop
#6 Camp Chef Alpine Heavy-Duty Cylinder Stove
Best for Winter Camping
Size: 24 x 20 x 22.5 inches
Weight: 74 lbs
Our rating: 4.8/5
Best for: Cold weather, glamping, homesteading
Just because there’s snow on the ground doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a camping trip.
There are several reasons to consider winter camping, apart from the beauty of a forest blanketed in snow. For example, a winter camping trip is sometimes necessary if you’re homesteading.
Whatever your reasons for heading out into the snow, a wood stove is essential.
The Camp Chef Alpine Heavy-Duty Cylinder Stove could be an excellent option to help you avoid hypothermia, cook your meals, and stay cozy on your winter camping trip.
This large stove features a big, barrel-shaped steel firebox where you can build a roaring fire inside the stove to heat your tent.
It’s a complete set and comes with a whopping ten-foot chimney pipe, a stovepipe damper, an internal log grate, a spark arrestor, and accessory shelves. It even includes hooks to install a hot water tank.
Even though it’s pretty massive and dense, the legs are removable for easy transport.
Read our guide to the best winter tents.
PROS
- Well -made
- Quality materials
- Includes all necessary extra parts
- Extra-long chimney pipe
- Hooks for hot water tank
CONS
- Very heavy
- No viewing window
#7 WINNERWELL Nomad Medium Tent Stove
Best Stove for a Bell Tent
Size: 18.03” x 14.09” x 11.34”
Weight: 20 lbs
Our Rating: 4.7/5
Best for: Glamping and camping-in-style
Glamping is camping with upgrades. When you’re glamping, you’re not “roughing it,” but rather enjoying nature in style and comfort.
I’ve stayed at some pretty fantastic glamping campsites over the years, and the one thing they’ve all had in common was a bell tent.
Bell tents are spacious, circular, bell-shaped tents, usually made from canvas or oxford fabric supported by a center pole.
Bell tents are typically large enough to accommodate a queen-sized bed and sometimes even a couch or a table and chairs.
And the stylish Winnerwell Nomad Medium Stove will fit right into a glamorous bell tent.
This medium-size stainless steel stove is rust-resistant, and with its 800 cubic inch firebox, it keeps you nice and toasty inside a yurt, bell tent, shack, or tiny home.
This tent wood stove also comes with a 6.5-foot chimney pipe in five sections, a spark arrestor, and an ash scraper to help it burn smoke-free.
Two side grates create an added cooking area, and when it’s time to carry it somewhere else, the grates double as a handle. Its four legs can fold up flat.
This collapsible stove is petite enough to carry but still big enough to heat a bell tent effectively.
PROS
- Quality stainless steel
- Portable
- It comes with a chimney and necessary part
CONS
- A bit pricey
- Heavy for its size
#8 US Stove Caribou Portable Camp Stove
Best Budget Stove
Size: 15 x 8 x 23 inches
Weight: 17.76 lbs
Our Rating: 4/5
Best for: People who are on a budget but still want a quality product
Camping is usually an inexpensive activity, but camping gear can add up.
And sometimes, when you buy a cheap product, you get what you pay for. Unfortunately, when an affordable product breaks quickly, you spend more in the long run, which is no one’s idea of fun.
If you’re looking to save money and still get a quality stove, you should look at the US Stove Caribou Portable Camp Stove.
This stove features drying racks on either side and generous cooking space. It also includes a six-foot chimney, plus a flue brush and a pipe damper tool, so you won’t need to spend extra money to get it up and running.
I also just like the aesthetics of this stove. It has a classic, old-world look with a heavy-duty steel body and a black finish. Mounted on the door is a metal disc with a cut-out silhouette of a caribou.
Although it’s a small stove, it can put out high heat. And rest easy: the paint is fire-resistant, so there are no toxic fumes the first time you burn it.
On top of all that, this stove is significantly cheaper than most of the other available portable tent stoves.
PROS
- Inexpensive
- Fire-resistant paint
- Large cook space
CONS
- No viewing window
- Small, but relatively heavy for its size
#9 WINNERWELL Woodlander Medium Tent Stove
Best for First Time Campers
Size: 15” x 8” x 8” (Packed); 25” x 20” x 94.5” (Assembled with chimney)
Weight: 20 lbs
Our Rating: 4.7/5
Best for: Camp-stove beginners and experienced campers alike
If you’re new to camping, you may feel unsure about where to start.
If you aren’t an experienced camper, tent stoves might seem a little intimidating, but, trust me, they offer a more comfortable and relaxing cold camping experience.
The Winnerwell Woodlander Medium Tent Stove is an excellent place to begin. Winnerwell is a leading brand for wood-burning tents stoves, so you know you can trust the quality.
Like other Winnerwell stoves, this one comes with a chimney pipe, plus a spark arrestor and an ash scraper.
This stainless steel stove has a glass viewing door, so you can keep an eye on your fire while safely keeping the smoke sealed away.
It also features folding side shelves for indirect heat when you want to dry clothing or tripod legs. And, as a bonus, it’s foldable for easy transport.
Stoves from Winnerwell tend to get rave reviews, and this one is no different, making it the best wood-burning tent stove for people new to camping.
PROS
- Glass viewing window
- Folds up flat
- Quality construction
CONS
- Heavy for its small size
- Expensive
#10 Russian Bear Camping Stove
Best Luxury Stove
Size: 15.75″ x 25.98” x 23.62″
Weight: 30.42 lbs
Our rating: 5/5
Best for: Experienced campers, glamping
Maybe you’re an experienced camper, and you’re ready to upgrade your gear stash.
After all, sitting in a warm tent next to a fire is a luxurious experience. Why not spring for a camping stove that reflects that?
The Russian Bear Camping Stove is significantly pricier than its competitors. The reason is that both sidewalls and the door are made from special heat-resistant ceramic glass.
Compared with stainless steel, this ceramic glass offers a higher heat output. Additionally, you’ll have a 360-degree view of the fire inside the stove as it fills your tent with an orange glow.
This stove also comes with a carrying bag and spark arrestor with an advanced coil-type design for efficient and even heating. There are also four protective metal shields if you want to opt to cover the glass sidewalls.
This stove performs well as both a tent heater and a cooking surface.
PROS
- Ceramic glass sidewalls
- High-quality construction and materials
- Comes with accessories
CONS
- Heavy to carry around
- Triple the cost of competing stoves
#11 Kcelarec Camping Tent Stove
Most Durable Stove
Size: 15” x 14” x 11”
Weight: 7.8 lbs
Our Rating: 4.2/5
Best for: Wilderness camping, backpacking
The Kcelarec Camping Tent Stove is a small titanium stove with a glass window. It features a practical design coupled with quality craftsmanship.
Like other wood-burning tent stoves, this portable wood stove does the double duty of performing both cooking and heating.
Something unique about this stove is that it features a side warmer, a tall rectangular cage located towards the back of the cooking surface.
You can fill it with stones that will heat up and help to radiate the heat, not unlike a traditional sauna heater.
And, if you’re on the go, this wood stove folds up flat and fits conveniently into a carry bag.
It comes with all the necessary parts: a chimney, a damper, and the hardware to assemble them. In addition to that, Kcelarec also includes tent stakes and rope for securing the chimney.
PROS
- Side warmer for extra heat
- Glass viewing door
- It comes with rope and tent stakes
- Portable
CONS
- Small cooktop
- Only one side rack
Buying Guide: How to Choose the Best Stove
What to Look for in a Tent Stove
When you’re trying to decide on the best tent wood stoves, there are a few things to look out for.
Materials
First of all, you want quality materials for your stove. Not only do you want this purchase to stand the test of time, but shoddy materials can cause a safety issue when there’s fire involved.
You also don’t want a stove that will warp with heat.
Safety is critical when dealing with fire. Pay attention to what type of paint is on the stove.
A stove that’s painted with non-heat-resistant paint may be wonderful under its finish, but you’ll need to burn the paint off before lighting it in an enclosed space.
Some stoves have sobering reviews that say the paint on the stove burned off and created toxic smoke in the night.
Parts and Accessories
It’s excellent when tent stoves come with extra parts for installing a chimney, saving you time and reducing the hassle.
Additional accessories, such as an ash scraper, also give you more bang for your buck and sweeten the deal.
Size and Weight
Another essential thing to pay attention to is size and weight.
Tent wood stoves can range drastically in weight. The lightest wood-burning stove on this list is four pounds, and the heaviest is 74 pounds.
Neither light stoves nor heavy stoves are unequivocally better; they each serve different purposes.
If you’re backpacking, a small titanium stove is what you need. If not, you may want a more sizable carbon steel stove with a higher heating capacity.
Types of Tent Stoves
Heavy Steel
This variety of wood-burning stoves uses heavy-duty construction materials such as carbon steel or alloy steel.
Stoves like this are still portable and often feature removable adjustable legs but are not lightweight enough for frequent moving or backpacking.
Heavy steel stoves are suitable for longer-term camping in larger tents such as wall tents.
Military
Military-style camp stoves tend to function primarily as a stove tent heater rather than a cooking stove.
Often barrel-shaped and lacking a flat cooktop, they usually feature side racks for drying things like wet socks.
Like all tent stoves, military-style stoves are portable and moderately lightweight.
Backpacking
Wood stoves for backpackers are the most lightweight variety. You can’t go backpacking in the wilderness with a 70-pound hunk of steel strapped to your back.
Titanium is generally the preferred material for backpacking tent wood stoves, as it’s the lightest type of steel used in stove manufacturing.
Camp stoves for backpackers should also be collapsible, with foldable legs and a carrying case to make it easy to pack the stove up with your camping gear.
Glamping
The perfect portable wood-burning stove for glamping has a few key features.
It doesn’t need to be very lightweight since glamping sites tend to be long-term setups. And unlike military camping stoves, a wood stove for glamping should have a cooking surface.
A glass viewing door is an excellent addition to a camping stove in a glamping site. Viewing doors create ambiance, making a camping experience more glamorous.
Tent Stove Safety
Safety measures are vital when dealing with fire and smoke. These are the things that are crucial for you to keep in mind.
Toxic paint
If your stove arrives coated with paint that isn’t heat-resistant, this doesn’t mean you can’t use the stove in your tent.
However, to make it safe to do so, you must light a fire in your stove in the open air and keep it burning until all the paint has burned off.
Chimney
Chimneys are essential for making camping stoves safe to use inside a tent.
All stoves come with some amount of chimney pipe. However, it should be long enough to reach the stove pipe hole in your tent and extend out a safe distance away from your roof.
Chimney damper
Some stoves come with a chimney damper, which is a device that controls the airflow through the chimney.
A damper prevents warm air from escaping the chimney when you’re not using the stove, but it also allows you to control how big your fire is burning.
If you have the damper closed to keep the air in, you have to open it before starting the fire, or the smoke may leak into your tent.
Spark guard
A spark guard, or a spark arrestor, is a little cap on the end of your chimney that prevents sparks from flying out of it.
Since the chimney pokes out of the top of your tent, you don’t want sparks dropping onto your roof and potentially lighting your tent on fire.
Not all stoves come with a spark arrester, so that’s important to look out for when you’re choosing your stove.
If your stove doesn’t come with one, you may want to consider purchasing it separately.
FAQs About Tent Stoves
Are stoves in tents actually safe?
Wood-burning stoves are safe inside tents if you’ve installed them properly and take all the necessary precautions.
The safety tips listed above should give you an idea of what to be on the lookout for. If your chimney is working well, there shouldn’t be any smoke or fumes releasing into your tent.
Do I need a tent stove?
You don’t need a tent wood stove if you are camping between late spring to early fall. With that said, it can still be an added plus to have a cooktop inside your tent where you can prepare your morning coffee.
If you’re a winter camper, a tent wood stove is crucial. In many parts of the country, nighttime temperatures during winter can be dangerous.
A wood-burning stove protects you from the bitter cold and gives you an enjoyably homey experience.
How do you keep a tent stove burning all night?
Before you go to bed:
- Use a poker to push all the coals to the front of the firebox.
- Add some larger logs to a stack in the back end of the firebox.
- Shut the door tightly, and the fire should burn throughout the night.
Do camping stoves give off carbon monoxide?
Burning any fuel gives off carbon monoxide. However, wood stoves are relatively safe if you’ve installed your chimney pipe correctly and provided proper ventilation in your tent.
Can camping stoves get wet?
A wood camping stove can get wet, but depending on what type of metal the stove is made out of, water may cause rust.
What tents can I put a stove in?
You can put a stove in a tent as long as it has a heat-resistant chimney pipe hole. Read our guide to the best tents with stove jacks.
Looking for more tent recommendations? Check out our guides on the best 4-person tents, 6-person tents, 8-person tents, 10-person tents, 12-person tents, large camping tents, 3-room tents, pop-up tents, instant tents, tunnel tents, inflatable tents, cabin tents, insulated tents, and waterproof tents.
Conclusion: Our Pick for the Best Tent Stove
Ultimately, the two best tent wood stoves are the Winnerwell Nomad Medium Stove and the Camp Chef Alpine Heavy Duty Cylinder Stove.
You can’t go wrong when you pick a stove made by Winnerwell.
Their tent stoves feature lightweight and sturdy stainless steel construction and heat-resistant glass viewing windows.
The Nomad Medium Stove comes with four legs, a spark arrestor, and an ash scraper, plus a 6.5-foot chimney.
It’s not too big, but it’s not too small either. And at 20 pounds, it’s a substantial stove that’s not too heavy to carry.
Winnerwell’s stoves are not the cheapest on the market, but they’re worth it for their quality craftsmanship.
On the other hand, Camp Chef Alpine’s stove is an excellent heavy-duty stove that won’t break the bank.
Although it doesn’t come with a viewing window, its amply-sized firebox and abundant cook space mean that your tent will be toasty-warm as you prepare meals or hot beverages.
The Camp Chef Alpine stove also comes with a whole host of extras: a spark arrester, a pipe damper, and even hooks to hang a hot water tank.
Investing in the best tent wood stove will keep you camping in balmy comfort throughout the winter months.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elina Ansary
Elina Ansary is a writer, visual artist, and avid traveler. She grew up in San Francisco, CA, and spent her childhood camping up and down Northern California. These days, she visits artist residencies around the world and has lived in Amsterdam, Australia, and now Brooklyn, NY.
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