Hot Tent Buying Guide: How to Choose a Canvas Tent with a Wood Stove

A hot tent is a canvas tent with a stove jack, so you can run a wood stove inside and stay warm through hunting season, winter camping or an off-grid stay. The right one comes down to four choices: wall tent or bell tent, the size for your group plus the stove, the frame, and the extras that keep it dry. This hot tent buying guide walks through each choice using the Elk Mountain Tents line we carry, so you can price a complete setup in one pass.

What Makes a Tent a Hot Tent

A stove jack and a fabric that tolerates sparks. The stove jack is a heat-resistant opening with a storm flap that the stove pipe passes through, so smoke and fumes leave the tent. Every Elk Mountain wall tent and Yukon bell tent comes with one installed, and it can be cut to 4, 5 or 6 inches to fit your stove pipe. Canvas is the usual hot tent material because most other tent fabrics handle sparks poorly.

Elk Mountain uses PolyShield canvas, a polyester blend made as an alternative to cotton duck. It is lighter than cotton, does not shrink and resists mildew. An upgraded PolyShield+ canvas is available on most tents and packages.

Wall Tent or Bell Tent?

Wall tents give you square, usable floor and stand-up room wall to wall; bell tents pitch faster on a single center pole.

• Standard Canvas Wall Tent (from $795): sizes 9 x 13, 13 x 13, 13 x 16 and 13 x 20, with zippered and buckled doors front and back, four screened windows, eave vents and a sewn-in sod cloth. The best value in the line.
• Wall Tent with Front Screen Door (from $895): adds a zippered mesh front door for bug-free airflow.
• Wall Tent with Awning & Screen Door (from $1,095): adds a front awning for shade, weather cover and extra living space.
• Yukon Canvas Bell Tent (from $875): it pitches around a single center pole and is much easier to set up and move than a wall tent. Floor space is about 133 sq ft (13 ft), 201 sq ft (16 ft) or 304 sq ft (20 ft).
• Yukon Pro Series XL Bell Tent (from $995): the same Yukon design plus a zippered diesel-heater/AC port, extra heavy-duty zippers, a zip-in ground tarp and a single or double door.

Pick a wall tent for hunting camps, cots and gear. Pick a bell tent when quick setup and moving camp matter more than square footage, since the curved walls make cots harder to fit.

What Size Hot Tent Do You Need?

Budget 20–30 sq ft per sleeper and 35–40 sq ft for the stove. Nothing that can burn should sit within 2–3 ft of the stove, so the stove takes real floor space. A 13 x 13 is the smallest wall tent recommended for running a stove.

These are comfortable figures for adults on cots with gear. Kids or a tight family trip can fit more. If you are outfitting hunters who each need a cot and elbow room, size up.

Frames: Steel, Aluminum or Build Your Own

Elk Mountain wall tents ship without poles or angles, so plan the frame in your budget.

• 1″ Steel Frame (from $595): the stronger option, zinc or galvanized, poles clipped and bagged.
• 1″ Aluminum Frame (from $595): about half the weight of steel for pack-in camps, but not as strong.
• 1″ Angle Kit (from $200): required with either frame. It comes with the cable system and caps for the wall poles: 9 angles for a 13 x 13, 12 for a 13 x 16 or 13 x 20, and 15 with an awning.

You can also build a frame from 1-inch EMT conduit from a hardware store. By the time you buy, cut and bag the conduit, the savings are small. Either way, frames are not designed for snow loads, so clear the roof after a storm.

Floors, Rain Flys and Other Extras

• Tie-in Floor (from $195): heavy-duty poly that ties in after the frame is up. The wall tents have no sewn-in floor because pitching a frame from inside a floored tent is awkward.
• Wall Tent Rain Fly (from $200): overhangs the side walls by about 2 ft and has a stove jack cutout. It isn't required, but it is recommended for any long setup to protect the canvas from UV and weather.
• Yukon Bell Tent Fly (from $190): fitted to the bell tent, with ropes, stakes and a stove pipe hole.

Packages: the Simplest Way to Buy a Complete Hot Tent

A package bundles the tent, frame, angles and floor in one order, priced below buying the pieces separately.

• Sportsman's Package (from $1,993.50): tent with front screen door, 1″ angle kit, 1″ steel or aluminum frame and tie-in floor. Sizes 13 x 13, 13 x 16 and 13 x 20.
• Sportsman's Plus Package (from $2,407.50): the same plus a front awning, in 13 x 16 and 13 x 20.
• Base Camp Package (from $2,705): everything in the Sportsman's plus a rain fly, wood stove and stove mat. This is the complete hot tent in one box.
• Base Camp Plus Package (from $3,177): Base Camp with a front awning.

See all of them in Canvas Tent Packages. If you already own a stove, the Sportsman's packages plus a stove mat cover the rest.

Choosing the Stove

The stove is the other half of a hot tent. Our tent wood stove buying guide compares the two Elk Mountain stoves, explains matching the stove pipe to your stove jack, and covers safe use inside canvas. Browse them in Tent Stoves & Heating.

Hot Tent FAQ

What is a hot tent?

A hot tent is a tent built to run a wood stove inside it. The stove pipe exits through a stove jack, a heat-resistant opening in the roof or wall, so smoke leaves the tent while the stove heats the space.

What size hot tent do I need?

Plan on 20 to 30 sq ft per sleeper plus 35 to 40 sq ft for the stove. A 13 x 13 wall tent sleeps 3–4 with a stove, a 13 x 16 sleeps 5–6 and a 13 x 20 sleeps 7–8. A 13 x 13 is the smallest size recommended for running a stove.

Do Elk Mountain wall tents come with a frame?

No. Since 2026 the wall tents ship without poles or angles. Add a 1-inch steel or aluminum frame and the matching angle kit, buy a package that includes them, or build a frame from 1-inch EMT conduit.

Is a canvas hot tent waterproof?

The PolyShield canvas sheds water, but no fabric stays waterproof forever. A rain fly is not required, yet it is recommended for any long setup because it also protects the canvas from UV.

Can a wall tent frame hold snow?

No. The frames are not designed to carry snow loads, so clear snow off the roof. Steel frames are stronger than aluminum; aluminum is about half the weight.

Shipping and Warranty

Elk Mountain Tents gear on Urban Supply ships free to the lower 48 states. In-stock items typically ship within 1–3 business days (the hot water tank and factory-installed stove jacks take longer, as noted on their pages), then take 3–5 business days in transit, and carry a 1-year manufacturer warranty against defects in materials and workmanship. Prices in this guide were current in mid-November 2026; the product page always shows the live price.

About the author: Jacky Chan is the founder of Urban Supply Inc, an online retailer of home appliances, fireplaces, power equipment and outdoor living products.

Related reading: How to Choose a Tent Wood Stove · Shop Canvas Hot Tents