The Best Wall Tent Stove of 2021 Reviews & Guide
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Looking for a stove to keep your wall tent warm and cozy? Wall tents are large and airy, which makes them excellent for extended stays in the outdoors, but also makes them difficult to heat, requiring quite a bit of output to really make the interior of the tent warm. That’s where a tent wall stove comes in. A good wall tent stove, usually wood-burning, will let you keep the tent warm and cozy on frigid nights, while also providing a surface to cook some warm, tasty meals on. Here’s our take on the best 5 wall tent stoves.
Top 5 Rated Models Comparison Table
Image | Stove | Tent Size | Chimney Height | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Editors Choice | Large Tents | 8 Feet max | |
 | Large Tents | 10 Feet max | ||
 | Small Tents | 57” max | ||
 | Large Tents | 77.5” max | ||
 | Small Tents | 67” max |
Reviews of the Best Wall Tent Stoves
If “heavy-duty” – in more than one sense of the term – is what you’re looking for, check out this bad boy. The Timberline Stove Package, from Colorado Cylinder Stoves, weighs a total of 92 pounds for the entire kit. The stove itself is only 56, but throw in the chimney, legs, etc, and you’ve got one large kit. It’s advertised to heat a tent up to This stove will heat an area or tent size 15' x 15' up to 16' x 20' in size.
Built from 10-gauge and 12-gauge steel, the stove body is made with an airtight welded construction, and unlike some of the other stoves on our list, does not leak smoke out the door. The steel helps it radiate heat very evenly and for long periods, which makes cooking on the flat top stove easy. The interior of the door includes a baffle for containing sparks. And, Colorado Cylinder Stoves included a stainless steel hot water, welded to be watertight and with a brass water faucet, which ensures there is no lead in your water. And when you’re ready to move it, it all packs down (chimney, water tank, accessories) into the stove itself for easy transport.
Really, the only drawbacks to the Timberline Stove are that is A) wicked heavy, at 92 pounds for everything and b) expensive. It’s the most expensive stove on our list – but you do get quite a bit for that price.
Overall, the Timberline Stove Package is one seriously quality, tough stove. Colorado Cylinder Stoves handcrafted it themselves right in the USA and built it to last.
Verdict: Best Overall
Pros
- Heavy Duty. Quality Steel Build
- Airtight welded construction
- Does not leak smoke
- Flat top for cooking, making coffee
- Built-in water tank
Cons
- Heavy
- Expensive
The Camp Chef Alpine Cylinder Stove is an excellent, all-around wall tent stove with some valuable features. Made with both 10 and 12-gauge steel, it weighs a hefty 74 pounds – on the heavier side but built with serious durability. The legs are removable to make moving it easier and are adjustable to fit on uneven ground. A 10-foot chimney pipe, nesting in 5 pieces, with 6” diameter routes the smoke comfortably out of the tent. And a flat-top surface provides plenty of room to cook on.
The damper, internal log grate, spark arrestor, are all included, as are accessory shelves, which let you dry towels, clothes or just hang utensils and dishes. There are also water tank brackets for easily setting up a water bracket.
A few drawbacks; the Camp Chef Alpine lacks a real sealing door, which is very important to keep smoke from coming out the door and filling the tent. This means that in windy, drafty tents, it’s easy to fill up the whole tent with smoke. And it’s hard to control the air, meaning it can be hard to properly heat a large tent.
So, it’s a perfectly durable, quality stove, but for the price, there might be better options.
Pros
- Tough-as-nails steel build
- Adjustable, removable legs
- 10-foot, nesting chimney pipe
- Damper, log grate, spark arrestor included
- Accessory shelves
Cons
- Lacks sealing door
- Air cannot be controlled
- Heavy
If you’d like a compact, lightweight tent stove, look no further than the Winnerwell Woodlander. Made of lightweight-yet-sturdy stainless steel, it weighs only 21 pounds at roughly 15x 7.9x7.9 inches; so much smaller than most other stoves. This makes it good both for moving around and setting up in a smaller wall tent, but also for other uses that you may like to use it for. The stainless steel prevents it from corroding or rusting and keeps it easy to clean.
On the front is a glass door, which lets you keep an eye on the fire, and on top is a cooking plate that is removable if you’d rather cook over an open flame. And to match it’s over light, compact size, it’s designed to be fully portable: the chimney, water tank (we did mention the water tank, right?), spark arrestor, etc pack into the oven, and the grates fold up to create a convenient carry handle. Just be sure to let it cool off first!
In terms of quality and function, there’s nothing to complain about. Just keep in mind that it is a compact stove, and Winnerwell does not intend it to heat large wall tents; it just doesn’t have that capacity.
Other than that, this a compact, sturdy, lightweight tent stove with all the features you can find in bigger, more expensive models. Keep it in a smaller tent, and it will do its job just fine.
Pros
- Lightweight – 21 pounds
- Stainless Steel Body is easy to clean, corrosion-resistant
- Compact and portable; Grates make a great carry handle
Cons
- Confined to small tents for heat
The Guide Gear Outdoor Wood Stove is another heavy-duty steel stove, made from 2mm thick galvanized steel, with a high-temp, heat-resistant finish. The door is cast-iron for durability and even heat transfer, and the whole thing weighs a surprising 47 pounds; significantly lighter than the Camp Chef Alpine, and the Timberline below. The chimney is composed of five interlocking sections, for a total height of 6.5 feet.
The cast iron door is front-hinged and has an adjustable air vent to ensure an even, smooth burn. The top platform isn’t necessarily good for cooking but will keep your coffee and your soup hot for hours. And when it’s time to move it, the entire thing can be packed together and transported relatively easily, thanks to its compact size and lightweight.
Of course, it’s not perfect. Even with the high-quality steel and finish, it tends to rust after a while, requiring some sanding and cleanup to stay in tip-top shape. Disappointing, again. And the front door does not always seal perfectly, filling up the tent with smoke.
But, overall, it’s a super high-quality stove that is built to last, while still being light and very cheap.
Pros
- Hefty-duty galvanized steel build
- Heat-resistant finish
- Moderately light; 47 pounds
- Nests for easy transport
Cons
- Rusts easily
- The door does not seal well
If you’re just looking for the least-expensive tent stove you can find, the TMS Portable Camping Stove will do the trick. Available for far less than a hundred-note, it’s easily one of the cheapest you’ll find, but still packs a punch thanks to its durable build, versatility, and lightweight. It weighs only 24.7 pounds thanks to its small size, and is made from heavy-duty rolled steel, so it should hold up to whatever you throw at it.
There are grates on either side for hanging towels, gloves, utensils. Fold them up, and it creates a flat heating surface for sticking pots and pans, and they double as carry handles when cool. And on either side of the oven are two cooking tubes, which can actually be used to cook potatoes. There are also front and rear air flow regulators to ensure it can breathe and get an even burn all night. The stovepipe can be as short as 16 ¾”, or as tall as 67” if you stack all 4 sections on top of each other.
Cons? The TMS is not built to be the most durable, heavy-duty stove ever, or to heat very large tents. While the steel build is good enough, the finish is not super high-quality, and will flake with use. Also, it must be used several times to burn off the exterior coating, which smells terrible and is bad for your lungs.
But if you don’t have a lot of money to spend and need a stove to heat up your (smaller) tent and cook some food, it does the job just fine and should hold up.
Pros
- Lightweight. Compact. Folds Up for easy transport
- Very inexpensive
- Cooking tubes on sides, rear/air flow regulators
- Stovepipe sections are easy to adjust
Cons
- Poor finish. Must be burned off
- Can’t heat large tents
What to Look For in a Stove for Wall Tents
Weight and Tent Size
Weight is always important; how much weight are you willing to lug around? Will you have a vehicle to get your stove out to your tent, or do you need something you can carry yourself? Compact stoves might weight as little as 20 pounds, while large steel stoves (like the Timberline Stove from Colorado Cylinder Stoves) might weigh close to 100.
While considering weight, ask yourself how large of stove do you need? The larger the tent you have, the larger the stove needed to heat it. While a compact stove might be okay in a very small tent, you’ll need a much larger one if your tent is larger than say, 12’ by 12’.
Everybody’s needs and capacity differ, but generally a lightweight stove weighing 20-40 pounds will work fine for small tents (8 foot by 10 foot, for example). If you have a very large tent, on the other hand, you’ll need something bigger – one that weighs between 50-75 pounds, usually.
Does weight always correspond to size? No; these are just general guidelines. While most stoves are steel, some expensive models might be made of titanium, which has the virtue of being ultra-lightweight and weighing a mere fraction of what steel does.
Tent size will also determine how tall a chimney you need; it needs to reach out the top of the tent, so it the tent itself doesn’t become filled with smoke.
Features
Lastly, ask yourself what kind of features you might like to have on your stove; most stoves come with some basic ones, like a spark arrestor for safety and a flat top with a cooking plate for cooking on top of the stove. A good damper is also essential for controlling the airflow and keeping the fire running low. Many come with water tanks on top or to the side of the stove chamber for boiling water and always having hot, portable and safe water ready for any number of purposes, from cooking to washing.
Airtightness, Seals and Vents
For the stove to burn smoothly and properly, the door needs an airtight seal. If too much air gets through the cracks around the door and into the firebox, it will burn much hotter; controlling airflow is important for controlling combustion and the size of the fire. If your door is cheap and poorly sealed, it will be difficult to control the burn of the fire. If it’s airtight, however, the flame will be more controllable, and you’ll be able to control the burn.
How? Using vents and dampers; with the damper down, less air gets in and the fire burns low. Open that thing up and let some air in, and the fire starts burning bright and hot.
How hot the fire burns is also vital to safety; you don’t want a fire that burns too hot, sparks go flying and flames spill out of a stove door left open, you could be in for some trouble. So look for a stove with a tight seal and a good, useable damper.
Final Thoughts
Our best wall tent stove pick is the Timberline Stove from Colorado Cylinder Stoves, thanks to its heavy-duty, high-quality steel build. It’s welded for an airtight seal, the door does not leak smoke, and it comes with all the features you could ask for – built-in water tank, flat stove top for cooking, stove pipe, spark arrestor. It’s heavy and pricey but built like a tank right here in the USA, and it will reliably hold up to any job you could ask of it. We recommend it wholeheartedly, even if it does weigh 92 pounds all-in.
If you’re looking for something lighter and cheaper, we also really like the Winnerwell Woodlander. It’s not nearly as large and capable, but only weighs a fraction of the Timberline, instead, rocking a stainless-steel build at only 21 pounds. A great compact, portable stove.
Whichever suits your needs better, you’ll find it keeps your tent warm while letting you cook the cowboy way. Choose one for yourself and get out there.
