I bought a canvas tent and Muskrat Metalworks stove, used, las fall. Finally getting out in it this weekend!

Never hot tented before. I'm sure after this trip there will all kinds of things that I will do differently for the next time around.

Two things I was thinking about my stove:

Pipe separation scares me. How do you make a solid bipod to support the stove? Just lash two long sticks together and wedge them underneath? I suppose finding an area protected from the wind is key. I was thinking about also using sheet metal screws or something that I can secure the chimney. Anyone do this before?

The other thing is the legs for the stove. I was thinking about using tent stakes to try to anchor them to the ground. Or logs or rocks, etc... Anyone have any suggestions for that?

I will just have a bit of tarp in my sleeping area, with pads and bag. Will let the stove burn out at night and rely on my gear. Just never camped in close quarters with a stove and I'm a little apprehensive.

I have a light weight Ti stove and I haven't had any issues with it moving around so as long as you have a nice level spot for it you shouldn't have too much trouble. You could also bring some sand to layer in the bottom of the stove to help slow the stove from burning out the bottom and it would help with keeping it sturdy as well.

Yes getting out of the wind will help a ton with the bipod. My old stove pipe went out of the tent at an angle and I would bring some hanging wire to lash the bipod and I never had any issues. Another solution is to find a good Y stick to place directly underneath it and support it that way. The stove pipe fit pretty snug with the stove jack and that seemed to help support it as well.

We use a tarp too for our sleeping area to try to keep things as dry as possible. Letting the stove burn out is the only way to go, as long as your keep your self off the ground and have a quality bag you should have no issues sleeping. My bag is rated to 10 degrees and I have camped at -30 and had no issues, just make sure you are going to sleep in dry clothes. I use a downmat exped 7 and it keeps me well off the ground and warm.

You will definitely learn a lot from your first time and probably change a lot for the next time. We have been out roughly 15 times and we are still trying to improve and become more efficient. You will probably bring a lot of things you won't use and wish you had brought things you didn't. We try to take notes on every trip because sometimes you don't realize how valuable/unvaluable an item is until you deep in the woods.

Be Safe and good luck

I know some have two bolts at the ends of the sections of flue pipe and use wire to wire them together so they don't get separation of the pipe. As for the support most use a couple of poles lashed together and the flue pipe in the X of them.

If you are looking for some other opinions come on over to this site: Wintertrekking forum

Thanks. I appreciate the link to that other site. I've been clicking back through this topic finding lots of good info as well. I see what your saying about wiring the pipes shut. That seems easier than messing with the screws every time. Do most people secure their pipes, or is not usually a problem? I only had my stove going once so far and it seemed like an inferno in the chimney. I started having bad thoughts about worst case scenarios.......

Searching through these threads a bit I have seen some people do use logs for anchoring the stove. I also bought a 4x6 welding blanket to put down under the stove. I also read in a thread about people using the car windshield reflectors under the stove as well. Funny, I just bought two of those to put under my sleeping pad. May try that as well.

Gadfly,

Thanks for the reply. I have an exped 7 too. I love it. I was just going to bring my thermarests because they are hardier material. I wasn't sure how the inflatable exped would be in the winter. Not a problem?

EDIT: Whoops, I take that back, I don't have that particular model. I have the synmat 7. Not sure mine is rated year round....

quote CosmicCharlie: "Gadfly,


Thanks for the reply. I have an exped 7 too. I love it. I was just going to bring my thermarests because they are hardier material. I wasn't sure how the inflatable exped would be in the winter. Not a problem?

EDIT: Whoops, I take that back, I don't have that particular model. Not sure mine is rated year round...."

I have a tarp and a foam pad underneath it and I have never had any issues. I thought with the cold air it would deflate a bit but that hasn't happened so far.
I am not sure if there is a big difference between the two or if its just the down inside but I think just getting any air between you and the ground makes a huge difference, the guy I typically go with just has a simple air pad and he has never had any issues.
I have thought about using a welding blanket under the stove but have never done it. Let me know if you think it makes a big difference.

In regards to the issue of securing the pipes. Most people don't. Support the chimney on the outside with a couple of branches laid out in an X shape.

Attach the poles together using picture hanging wire about 6 ft. long. I put wood handles on each end of my picture hanging wire, just to make it easy to handle. Wrap the picture wire tightly at the joint of the X and then loosely around the stove pipe. That should be all you need.

I have started to move away from a bipod stove pipe brace. The last few times I have set up my tent I have used a steel cable which is about 2' long and wrap that around the pipe then I tie it off to a stake for the center guyline and the d-ring in the top of the SnowTrekker tent. (the guy who made your stove showed me that on a trip last winter)

I am going to modify it a little to make it a 3-point tie system because it tends to pull my pipe to the side.

Very quick and easy, saves me the time to look for proper poles which I would rather burn.

AWBrown's setup is great too and he did a good job of explaining it.

After years of being told to keep open flames away from all tents, it certainly can feel odd to build a raging fire inside a tent. I was uncomfortable with that at first too. Read and watch videos about how people manage the safety aspect, and have a back up plan, and you will be fine.

I don't wire or fix my pipes. I don't know the Muskrat version - I have a Kni-co. I just make sure to give my pipes a good tap from the top while sitting on a firm surface to help ensure they are fixed. Then make sure they are really set cleanly and firmly into the stove. A pair of heavy duty work gloves will be very helpful if you need to adjust you pipes when they are hot or for feeding the fire.

You can use your Exped Synmat 7, but I am not sure what the R rating is for that model. I have a Downmat 7 and combine it with a closed cell Ridgerest pad. The R values are additive, and the closed cell provides backup in the unlikely case the Downmat pops a leak. Its all about having enough R value under you.

I have not heard of anyone using tent stakes to anchor the stove. I think the bigger issue is to try to prevent melt down under and around your stove. The welders blanket and heat shield should help. I had a lot of trouble with side melt on my last trip and ended up putting regular aluminum foil down along the sides of the stove - not a great solution but it did work. I'm working on improving this currently. I also had to add wood chips under the legs of my stove as they heated up and were melting into the ice even with the float logs I had in place.

Just to comment on the meltdown issue, which we have experienced for some time as well. I have a snow trekker tent and Knico stove. This time cut out a piece of reflectix (traditional used for home vent wrapping I believe) and put that in the corner where the stove goes. I cut it big enough to come to just the start of the opening of the door to the back wall of the tent and then about 18 inches past the stove to the back of the tent. It is pretty slippery so put an ice screw in two opposite corners which worked great. Put the black pad that comes from Snowtrekker on top of that and then the stove with the reflecting screen. Worked out great no meltdown.

Had a great trip. Thanks for the replies. I took some pics with the intention of doing a trip report....

As far as the stove went, I was interested in the method you explained Soledad, but I went with the bipod this time as it seemed easier. It worked well.

As far as anchoring the stove I laid down a tarp for the floor of the tent, then I laid down the welders blanket. On tarp of the welders blanket I put a section of windshield reflector directly under the stove. I used heavy rocks on the legs of the stove and solid logs on each side. 4 nights on the ice and I had little to no melt at all. I'll post the picture. Not sure if this system can take the credit, it was brutally cold the whole time I was out.

All in all it was a great trip, though the fishing was limited mostly to tip-ups because of the cold, and the fishing was slow, at that.

http://bwca.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=trip.report_view&sel_trp_id=4533