Luxe Octopeak Tipi & 3W Tent Wood Stove Test

[CampFireJack]

The guys and I hauled a few fun items back into the woods of Maine this afternoon. There were around six inches of packed snow on the ground and it was pretty brisk outside. I'd say around 15°. Eric bought a new tent for hot tent camping. It's the Luxe Octopeak Tipi and Ian did the same, but bought a wood stove. It's called the Luxe 3W. Both very cool items. Ian and I had already seasoned the wood stove last week, but we didn't have a tent to put it in. Well, this afternoon the tent arrived. I was suspicious about whether or not the small stove would put out enough heat to keep the tent warm, but I'm happy to report that it did a really great job. That little stove cranked. We burned some very small pine that I split up as well as some cedar pieces that I cut from a dead tree that fell over many years back. The stove is very small, so what type of wood goes inside of it matters greatly. While the cedar and pine burned well, it did require a lot of tending to. In such a small space, every ember matters, so what I suggested was bringing along some kiln dried (or equivalent) hardwood, such as ash or maple, to burn overnight. If they tried to burn pine the entire time, the fire simply wouldn't last. It would burn out too quickly and that tent would get cold fast.

Overall though, if the right wood was involved, I think hot tent camping is a great idea. We camped in 4° temps two years back and man was that cold. It was an experience though. A wood stove would have been a very welcomed addition. In the future, if I ever want to go winter camping again, I'll pick myself up a canvas wall tent and a good sized stove to go inside of it and live the good life. No more freezing outside.

Check out some pics.



This is a quick video I made for some entertainment value. Enjoy!