UKH

Tents and fire don't mix... or can they? With a switch from fast and light to slow and luxurious, it's possible to enjoy secluded spots in warmth and comfort. As the long nights of winter approach, John Burns (let's hope it's not a case of nominative determinism) explains why he's found the Hot Tent a revelation.

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Looks like a glamping pod.

The comfort must surely be tempered by the discomfort of having to actually carry the thing 'to remote places'?

I don’t think anyone carries them to remote places. I guess traditionally they would be hauled or pulled by dogs, but these days they are mostly shifted by pick-ups. They may have Northern European origins, but modern hot-tents are very much the domain of Americans with a collection of knives and axes.

As the article says, the author uses his as a basecamp to which he initially drives, and from which he can then do day trips.

But as the first sentence of the article says:

With a switch from fast and light to slow and luxurious, it's possible to enjoy remote places in warmth and comfort.

Don't shoot me - I'm only replying to the words that have been written!

It seems a good, if riotously expensive, solution to winter campsite comfort. Quite a bit more than a family tent and an electric heater + campsite hook-up I would have thought though. For 'wild' camping in Scotland you're not going to get it at all far from the parked vehicle, which renders this quote from the article a bit puzzling: "To me, my canvas tent with its chimney is far less obtrusive on the landscape than the alien shape of a large vehicle parked overnight."

I've seen several on UK campsites, usually festooned with solar-powered fairy lights and occupied by families.  They seem to fill a niche between "proper" camping and full-blown Sunday-supplement style glamping.

In reply to Fergal:

It's not my cup of tea, but I'm not sure I can see much distinction in principle between staying in a van in some remote layby and putting up some kind of elaborate basecamp tent like this. More faff maybe, but probably also more comfy and a nicer place to stay once you've set it up. John has presented it as an alternative to a van, not a backpacking tent. It's just an opinion piece.

I'm seeing a lot of these 'hot tent winter camp -XX C', in my youtube feed.

It seems there are lot of small foldable stoves that fit in a rucksack and will fit a 2 man tent (with a hole for the flue). Seems very toasty for our American cousins. Not sure about carbon monoxide, but if safe, a genuine revelation.

If interested, "hot tent winter camping" is a good search string.

My brother's friend has a large hot-tent that they use to get a bunch of people together and recreate the bothy experience in locations where no bothy exists. 

Sounds quite nice to me if you're going for two or three nights, despite the hassle of carrying it in.

I'm sure, not a particularly new thing to the UK either, I have seen the kit in UK shops for at least 15 years. It is a market that is dominated by the US though. For obviously reasons, they have the population and in the northern and central states at least the climate. Of course there is a fair bit of northern European cultural influence within some of those colder parts of the US.

I know the article is written from a solo perspective, but for a group - surely you could spread the weight across many (except the main canvas part) and make it reasonably portable?

The only thing not mentioned from a practical purpose is the wood - is that carried in too or scavenged?

Bit pedantic maybe but I've switched 'remote' (my intro wording) to secluded. I can't picture many folk lugging it all far from a road (though that still leaves you with plenty of middle-of-nowhere in the highlands)

You are right it is an opinion piece, the outdoor community is very diverse and perhaps i should embrace this a little and be less blinkered.

"My set-up cost me around £3,000, so a Hot Tent is far from cheap. That might sound a lot of money but when you consider that a Hot Tent offers much the same facilities as a camper van, it begins to look inexpensive."

I don't think the two are comparable in any way. The tent looks snug though.

OK. I'll bite. I've got a tentipi 7 and an eldfell stove. In the UK, they're popular with the open canoe community, which enables transport to remotish areas with a fair degree of comfort when you get there.

There's an element of bushcraft nonsense around them, but that's not really a bad thing. Most of my camping is from the back of a car anyway, so weight isn't an issue. 2 big pluses are being able to stand up and getting stuff DRY!! I can't express the delight of not having to crawl into the same soggy gear you had on the day before. 

The downs are the lack of integral groundsheet, which can let the wildlife in (horse flies/ midges, but also hedgehogs are cute, although I did have to rescue her from my bin bag), and the endless stream of gongoozlers wanting a closer look.

The stove runs VERY hot, my wife still has a scar from just a glancing contact with the chimney, and unless it's really cold, it turns your tent into a sauna.

I've never tried having an open fire inside, but it's theoretically possible.

PS yes, there are a lot of achingly hip eco families, but most of them prefer bell tents . Don't know why, they are 3 times the weight, but most of us are normal, scrotty campers but with drier trousers.

There's quite an active Facebook user group if you want more info, run by the proadventure shop in wales

Decathlon inflatable and a diesel blown air heater for me, why be uncomfortable?

It must be a drag to dry out before storage.

Absolutely. It's lighter than old fashioned canvas, but not by much

You don't get the condensation/ clamminess of a nylon tent. Don't get me wrong, I have a tunnel tent but I only use it when weight is an absolute premium.

I don't like diesel heaters on principle- they stink and they're noisy, but my experience is of them on boats, not tents

It's true of all single skin tents, but it's also much quieter in wind. I  Use got an awning, but I take that off in high winds, cos the tent is very stable, but the awning is only attached with a big strip of vecro and will take flight in a blow.

The quality of light is also lovely inside and on very hot days they are much cooler, plus you can open up the top vents for a through breeze.

I'm becoming an evangelist, aren't I? I'd better stop now

I fitted a diesel heater in my van. I can neither smell nor hear it.

Still standard in the Finnish military, probably Swedish and Norwegian too. As a result, also used by Scouts in Finland. When my kids were in the Scouts in Finland I remember going on winter camps with them and all the volunteer parents would have to do two hour shifts "watching the fire" - occasionally chucking another log on but I think far more importantly checking it didn't burn the tent down or give us all carbon monoxide poisoning!

You don't get condensation if the heating stays on and the roof vent is about 4 square feet. I can't smell my heater and or notice any noise. One can make them quieter.

If your going to pitch near a lay-by frequented by vans check the ground thoroughly.

CO is a real killer, it's in the paper every couple of years when someone leaves the bbque embers smouldering in the tent. Might be different with a tent stove but it seems to not need much.

I completely get this set up for a paddling trip on multi days. Not sure I'd be looking to do this as a base camp for hiking holidays though.

US, Scandiwegian, N European, etc. I remember watching a YouTube video by some Russian or Finnish bloke making an externally-burning tent stove, which used the flue to bring heat into the tent. Something about 'wood candle'? Oh, a 'log torch':

youtube.com/watch?v=QeHGDr81XwM&

My tent is equipped with a series of vents around the base and of course one at the apex. Easy to maintain a throughput of air.

Got hit by CO once when idiots left the stove open in the Glenbrittle Hut - saved by the alarm.

When hiking in the US saw a group of hikers heading to the back country, all had some prechopped wood logs strapped to their backpacks.  I guess if properly dried they would not weight too much.

Deisel blown? Because it's one more thing killing the planet unnecessarily. 

I wouldn't say that, we had a hot tent in Atomfjella and yeah sure we motored in but it made the trip infinitely more enjoyable...

You didn’t carry it in though, which was the point I was making.

£3k will get a lot of nights in a hostel, showers, drying room, kitchen, lounge....

Or go to Norway and carry your dnt hut key. 

With availability issues.  So often full, closed seasonally or gone for good.

I agree, but that's because of uk hostelling misconceptions, the respective associations have done little to dispel the myths or move with the times. Many hostels in Europe have evolved, twin and family rooms, optional breakfast, duvets and sheet hire, fixed price set menus for lunch or evening meals. 

Scottish oil, it must be o.k.

That is of course true (and everybody is aware of it), but whether it helps in practice depends on whether or not hostels are available in the places in which you want to base yourself.

I am content to let the individuals involved do the calculations for themselves, and make their own judgements about it.

(Specifically, I am sure that the author of this piece is entirely aware of all possible accommodation alternatives.)

Does not matter how fancy they are now if over half have them have gone and they are too  expensive for many to use.  The whole point was that OK they are basic but accessible financially. I still however think the main driver of the demise of the network is that the post war world was full of big houses nobody wanted and when they became desirable again and valuable the associations cashed in.  

I recently met the author of the piece when he was working on a club hut, he does not exclusively use a tent.

Unless it comes with hot running water and a bath to put it in, you're still not going to get my wife camping in the autumn, let alone the winter

There are many "hot tents" that are not nearly as heavy as the one featured in this article.

In the US, these tents are very popular with hunters and bushcrafters and there are a number of lightweight options available, with the tents themselves made from lightweight dyneema fabrics, and the stoves made from titanium.  

Not as light as modern mountain tents, but not much heavier than the typical backpacking tent of 2 decades ago.  

The American versions are also not nearly as expensive as that used by the author of this article.

https://seekoutside.com/hot-tent-combos/

I was looking at Luxe pyramid tents as a lightweight backpacking tent. That can be made into a hot tent with some options. 

Looks a really good tent but needs a min 6 pegs and up to 16 (including 5 guylines). That's going to be a struggle to find a spot allowing so much pegging on the hill. Best as a basecamp or open ground tent?

For that kind of money I'd rather go on holiday somewhere hot 

Actually they are still relatively often used here in the north. They can often split up for 4 or so Persons to carry. So while not family camping, they are used by hunting or fishing groups. Either carried in backpacks to set up a basecamp. Or during winter, pulled by skiers in a pulla/sled.

and indeed, they are nice for that. Especially If firewood is available at the basecamp location, which Atleast the fishing or hunting parties have (so permission from landownerss to fish/hunt there, and often to also chop down trees for firewood).

we also used such tents during the winter exercises during my conscript service. But we also had different sleeping arrangements… still I’n fairly certain that kind of tents are still an option for military units here.

Here’s the revised model available also civilians. https://www.savotta.fi/products/hawu-8
 

different to the tenttipi of the OP, but similar in some aspects. And a lot of the Nordic tent manufacturers offer these kinds of tents. Some even rather light.

That's a beard and a half (second pic)

It's supplied with the tent.

Yep, at the risk of being a killjoy, it does encourage people to take cars/pickups off-road to camp, perhaps in bigger groups. Some people will do this responsibly.

A few years back I picked up an ex army 10 man arctic tent for £250 with a hole for a stove to be used. Great for car camping i.e heavy but quick to set up even with all the pegs required. 

Used it once trying to convince ms artif that camping isn't that bad (in the summer in Cornwall), it didn't work, she'll never do it again.

I hate selling things, so its sitting in the loft waiting for another opportunity to use it, but a ten man tent seems excessive for a solo outing when I could just use a tarp. Looking on the bright side it, might be useful in the recession if I lose the house 

Have a look at Savotta yuotube. They do some really nice product testing on their gear and film it… I always trebusche my rucksack, so really handy piece of info.

It's Finland. There about a 78% chance he is also in a metal band. 😉🇫🇮

I mean I have a 5kg tipi tent that only ever goes where the car goes (i.e. to actual campsites), because while it's possible to live in a one-man tent for two months straight, it's not as fun as it could be. But I think the skill of making oneself comfortable with whatever to hand and without trying to export the house experience to the hillside is an important one; one doesn't need a big tent and a stove(!?) to be comfortable outside.

But I've always enjoyed the challenge of living within the extents of whatever is available - whether it be in a tiny room in the back of a converted artic trailer (circus tour), or a tent in a field for two months, or whatever. So I probably would say all of that.

What did you do in the circus?

Sat around and enjoyed a life of luxury for an entire summer in the north of Scotland - but this was some time ago.

(Officially, I sold tickets during shows and looked after the wagons that were moved a day in advance of the rest of the tour moving - which basically meant I worked two  hours a day and got paid to sit in a field on my own twice a week. Win!)

I put the time to fruitful use by perfecting my juggling skills, at least.

Ah right. Nice adventure.

A favourite book of mine is 'Memoirs of a Sword Swallower', by Daniel P. Mannix. You might be interested!

Is that lost in translation, or do you really launch your rucksack into the wilderness using a giant catapult...? That would certainly alleviate the carrying issue, but getting the trebuchet to the launch site might be somewhat taxing...

That's what the Range Rover is for.

Travois?

youtube.com/watch?v=fimKYTpkyuc&