Guides

Field Notes

Plain-English guides to hot tents, tent stoves and winter camping. Written for your first cold night out and the ones after.
Wood stove burning inside a tent
Do Wood Stove Fans Work? Heat-Powered Fans Explained
How a heat-powered stove fan spins without batteries, what it does in a tent, and how to use one safely. Read more...
Hot tent gear laid out on snow
Winter Camping in a Hot Tent: The Complete Checklist
Everything to pack for a winter night in a hot tent: shelter, stove, fire safety, sleep system, tools and the small things people forget. Read more...
Hot tent at night in a snowy forest
Hot Tent vs Tent Heater: Wood Stove, Propane or Electric?
Three ways to heat a tent in winter, what each one is good at, and the safety rules that apply to all of them. Read more...
Winter camping kit with tent bag, stove and pipe laid out on snow
Stove Pipe and Stove Jack Sizing: How to Match Your Pipe, Jack and Tent
The stove collar, the pipe and the stove jack have to fit each other. A plain-English guide to diameters, pipe length, spark arrestors and adding a jack to a tent. Read more...
Folding wood stove burning inside a tent
Titanium vs Stainless Steel Tent Stoves: Which One Should You Carry?
Titanium saves weight, stainless steel saves money. How to choose a tent stove based on how you travel, how long you stay and what you cook. Read more...
Pyramid hot tent glowing at night with smoke rising from the stove pipe
What Is a Hot Tent? How Camping With a Wood Stove Works
A hot tent is a shelter built to run a wood stove inside. Here is how the stove, the pipe and the stove jack work together, and what you need... Read more...