Why You Should Own a Hot Tent!

Purchasing a hot tent can be a daunting task.  It is an expensive piece of equipment and there are many choices in various materials and price ranges.  We are going to go over some of the many reasons we think hot tents and particularly a Snowtrekker hot tent can be an integral part of your camping experience and open a whole new world of outdoor recreation.

For many people curious about the world of hot tent camping it can appear that it is primarily the world of folks who like to head out into the wilderness pulling a toboggan behind them traveling the frozen waterways of the summer canoe routes.  That is in fact how Snowtrekker Tents got its start, creating the best lightweight, portable, and easy to set up canvas hot tent for wilderness travel.  While that style of camping is still near and dear to our hearts and identity over the many years we have been camping in the winter, we have realized that a hot tent is useful for so many different types of camping, not only in the winter but in all seasons.

We would be the first people to tell you that if you are heading out to climb a mountain or hike the Appalachian Trail a hot tent is perhaps not the best choice of shelter for your trip.  However, we firmly believe that a hot tent makes camping season a year-round affair.

What benefits do you get from a hot tent, especially a Snowtrekker?

Switching to a lightweight, easy to set up Snowtrekker tent increases your comfort in the wilderness.  Once you have your camp set up, and the stove cranking, you quickly realize that cooking a hot meal in a warm tent while your gear dries is a far easier way to camp in the winter. Not only does the ability to dry your gear increase your level of comfort, but the ability to rely on something other than your internal furnace to keep warm is a far more efficient way to trip both mentally and physically.

Canvas breathes- this means that all your gear that you are drying, all the moisture created from cooking and breathing has somewhere to go other than inside your tent. The warm environment inside of the tent pushes moisture out of your tent keeping you warm and dry on the inside. This feature of canvas means the warmth of everything from your boots to your sleeping bag is increased. Dry gear is warm gear and having the ability to dry your gear while pushing moisture out of the tent makes for a safer and more comfortable trip.

Space- when daylight hours are short and you end up spending more time in your tent, you will appreciate the room. With ridge heights that allow you to stand up in the center of the tent and sidewalls that increase usable space in the base of the tent, the livable space is optimized for the footprint of the tent. The ability to choose the tent that works for how you camp increases your comfort and efficiency.

Ease of setup- most people with a little practice can have a Snowtrekker setup and warm in as little as 30 minutes.  This allows you to travel farther and longer knowing that when you stop for the day, setting camp will not take hours of precious daylight. Coupled with design choices specifically tailored to setting up in cold environments, wearing gloves, it takes what could be a cold and arduous task and makes it dare I say pleasant!

Packability and weight- while a Snowtrekker will never pack down as small as the latest synthetic tent, they are very compact for the size of the tent. The packability of our lightweight canvas and weight savings allows you the ability to take a canvas tent to places you would never think of taking a wall tent.

This is all well and good in the winter, but what about all the other seasons? 

The reality is that until the rise of synthetic materials all camping was done under canvas. We offer the option of adding a cover over your stove jack opening as well as a screen door and window.  With these options in place, you simply fold the snow flaps to the inside, lay down a full footprint ground sheet and you are set for the summer.  The Sunforger treatment on our canvas, as well as the proprietary canvas we use will keep you dry. With the addition of our rainfly you will never have to worry about a leaky tent even in the worst storms.  The white canvas is much cooler in hot temperatures than nylon, and canvas’ breathability means you will not be spending your time in an oven in the summer.

In the fall, while we may not need a stove all the time, we do enjoy the ability to take the chill out of the evening and early mornings with a quick fire.  Meals and conversation are just a little bit nicer in a warm tent, and the ability to dry any clothing that may become wet during the day’s adventures is a bonus.  As fall moves towards winter a hot tent means that canoe season doesn’t have to end, and all the crowded parks are now nearly abandoned and yours to explore.

Moving through winter, spring is much the same as fall, warm daytime temperatures do not require the use of a stove, but cooler nights and mornings are not an issue when you fire up your stove and have a nice toasty tent in just a few minutes.

Even if you never plan to load a toboggan and head out into the wilderness, all these features of a Snowtrekker tent will make your next camping experience much more pleasant. If you’re primarily a state or national park camper, in the winter it feels like you have the entire place to yourself.  With a hot tent you can set up a comfortable camp for yourself and see parks in all their winter splendor while having your own portable cabin to retreat to at the end of each day. During spring, summer, and fall you still can spend time outdoors in comfort opening the entirety of the year to outdoor recreation.

When you consider that your Snowtrekker tent can be used in all seasons, both in the back country and the front country, it can be outfitted in any way you like, from a simple expedition tent to full glamping with all the comforts of home. The incredible portability, ease of setup and takedown and compact storage that gives you the option of taking your tent in places you would never dream of taking a camper or travel trailer can be the most cost-effective and versatile option for year around outdoor recreation.  The same tent that you set up on a mountain in Colorado for your hunting or skiing trip, can be used in the fall in Minnesota for a family trip to see the colors, a comfortable retreat in the summer at a music festival, pulled into a wilderness area to places only accessible in the winter, or the tent you take on early spring canoe trips when a chill is still in the air.  The incredible versatility of a Snowtrekker tent allows one tent to provide a comfortable, lightweight, and breathable shelter for all your outdoor adventures!

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us.  We love talking about tents and how a Snowtrekker Tent will improve your camping!