Kenetrek Boots

Titanium stove & Teepee tent questions

mxracer317

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Just got the argali titanium stove and love it!

Teepee tents and hot stoves are brand new to me and I’m looking for some pro tips.

Some initial questions that I have:

- Wood gathering. Do you take a small hatchet or something like a silky boy small saw?

- Two things with opening the front door. It has a wire loop, but feel that is hot and doesn’t stay on all the way when the door is 75% open… it just falls off the track. My thought is a small leatherman with pliers for opening and closing the door, or is the tool extra weight not really needed?

- Do you bring extra leather gloves?

- Stoke the fire throughout the night or let it burn out?

- Tips to not rolling into a hot stove in your sleep?!

- Does high winds that cause the tent to shake cause concern for the pipe coming off the stove?

Any other pro tips on using the tent and stove the best way would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

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Saw if you want big wood that burns longer. Otherwise your boot will break plenty.

I dont use leather gloves and never cut myself.

I dont have the argali stove but built my own custom door. My latch is a piece of Ti sheet metal cut, bent, and riveted on.

Stoke it if you're up and it has coals or want extra warmth. Usually I cook on it then it burns out in a few hours. Wake up and heat the tent for coffee and to take the edge off.

Dont roll around while you sleep. Im within arms reach and never had an issue. Rocks along the stove help hold more heat and act as a "burn barrier".

Unless the tent blows away, Ive had no issues in 30-40 mph winds. Id question my choice of campsites after that or carefully use the stove if necessary.

Only pro tip is a good bed of coals, topped with as much large wood as you can fit, will burn the longest. 2 hours from roaring to only a few coals left is a good burn.
 
Ditto on the saw. I cut small stuff to get things going and then transition to larger pieces to cook with and bank the fire for the night.

I put in several large pieces and that usually lasts me 2-3 hrs with the damper turned down most of the way.

I would agree with placing rocks underneath and around the legs, along with the heat retention, it helps prevent the stove from tipping if high winds should happen to hit and the tent isn't fully guyed out.

If you burn pine, clean the creosote out of your chimney regularly. It builds up fast.
 
I had issues with my stove pipe coming dislodged from the stove. The solution to that is to guy out the stove from the top. Two lines should do fine. The tent also should have loops on the sides to guy out for high winds as well. That tent will flap in the wind if not taught.

I had to stoke mine two times a night but that’s because of inexperience and an extremely large tent. You might be able to salvage one stoke a night with rocks, that was a great idea.

The tent is still relatively small so you should be able to stay warm with a slow burn. But I will say that doesn’t mean to cheap out on the sleeping bag or the pad. The fire help you fall asleep, the bag and pad keeps you asleep.

I carry a pack saw and break them to size my stomping on them. I might bring a hatchet this year.
 
- Wood gathering. Do you take a small hatchet or something like a silky boy small saw?

Mostly break sticks. I found a large knife works better and is lighter than a hatchet. We have multiple people and split weight between us. You only need one.

- Two things with opening the front door. It has a wire loop, but feel that is hot and doesn’t stay on all the way when the door is 75% open… it just falls off the track. My thought is a small leatherman with pliers for opening and closing the door, or is the tool extra weight not really needed?

I use my fork.

- Do you bring extra leather gloves?

No. Used freeze dried bags work ok if you have to touch something.

- Stoke the fire throughout the night or let it burn out?

Depends on how cold it will be. Generally, save your larger logs for the long burns at night.

- Tips to not rolling into a hot stove in your sleep?!

I use a big agnes bag that locks on to my pad. Keeps me in place. Also, stay flat or have your slope go head to foot instead of side to side.

- Does high winds that cause the tent to shake cause concern for the pipe coming off the stove?

Some people will guy out the stove above the tent with cable, like the ones that that make the loop on the door. I never had a need. Multiple Wyoming thunder/hail storms with no problem. Avoid camping in open areas as always.
 
Ditto on the saw. I cut small stuff to get things going and then transition to larger pieces to cook with and bank the fire for the night.

I put in several large pieces and that usually lasts me 2-3 hrs with the damper turned down most of the way.

I would agree with placing rocks underneath and around the legs, along with the heat retention, it helps prevent the stove from tipping if high winds should happen to hit and the tent isn't fully guyed out.

If you burn pine, clean the creosote out of your chimney regularly. It builds up fast.
Best way to clean it?
 
- Wood gathering. Do you take a small hatchet or something like a silky boy small saw?

Mostly break sticks. I found a large knife works better and is lighter than a hatchet. We have multiple people and split weight between us. You only need one.

- Two things with opening the front door. It has a wire loop, but feel that is hot and doesn’t stay on all the way when the door is 75% open… it just falls off the track. My thought is a small leatherman with pliers for opening and closing the door, or is the tool extra weight not really needed?

I use my fork.

- Do you bring extra leather gloves?

No. Used freeze dried bags work ok if you have to touch something.

- Stoke the fire throughout the night or let it burn out?

Depends on how cold it will be. Generally, save your larger logs for the long burns at night.

- Tips to not rolling into a hot stove in your sleep?!

I use a big agnes bag that locks on to my pad. Keeps me in place. Also, stay flat or have your slope go head to foot instead of side to side.

- Does high winds that cause the tent to shake cause concern for the pipe coming off the stove?

Some people will guy out the stove above the tent with cable, like the ones that that make the loop on the door. I never had a need. Multiple Wyoming thunder/hail storms with no problem. Avoid camping in open areas as always.
I would have thought that the stove pipe close to trees could cause fires from embers that make it through the spark arrestor.

But that now makes me think about an aluminum pipe sticking up in a lighting storm and how to handle that?
 
Best way to clean it?
You can remove it from the stove (after it is cold) and tap the pipe and loosen a lot of it while you are in the field and just dump it out on the ground. Then, after each trip and I am home, I have a large metal putty knife I use to scrap the rest of the big stuff off. Have to be careful as the Ti pipes are pretty thin. After that, I use an oven cleaner and then soapy water. This gets it back to a pretty clean state and ready for the next trip.
 
I use a Stihl 180 to cut coke can sized logs about 12” long. Several days worth of wood in 15 min…

I always have a pair of leather gloves…

Take a small ash shovel…

Take a propane torch for easy relighting…

Use a lightweight cot to avoid rolling …

Take some bailing wire and pliers in case the wind gets going…

Don’t forget to set your main pole and stove legs on a stone…

Seal the edges of the tipi so wind can’t get in….

That’s what I can think of off hand.
 
I would have thought that the stove pipe close to trees could cause fires from embers that make it through the spark arrestor.

But that now makes me think about an aluminum pipe sticking up in a lighting storm and how to handle that?
If the embers aren't burning holes in your tent they are not likely to cause a fire else where. Some stoves have an extra arrestor that goes on the top of the pipe.

About lighting, just make sure the top of the stove jack isn't the tallest thing around.
 
I use a Stihl 180 to cut coke can sized logs about 12” long. Several days worth of wood in 15 min…

I always have a pair of leather gloves…

Take a small ash shovel…

Take a propane torch for easy relighting…

Use a lightweight cot to avoid rolling …

Take some bailing wire and pliers in case the wind gets going…

Don’t forget to set your main pole and stove legs on a stone…

Seal the edges of the tipi so wind can’t get in….

That’s what I can think of off hand.
Awesome!!!
 
I also use parachute cord for guy wire and leave attached to the tipi after I take it down.

It’s handy to have extra stakes.

If you don’t have a liner, get one.

Dig a hole at your camp site in which to dump ashes. Those little stoves fill up quick.
 
I would spend an enormous amount of time to find the perfect flat rocks for a hearth which the stove sits on. Hear me now , believe me later!
 
Best way to clean it?
I usually burn a got hot hard wood fire back home as I'm cleaning the pack out and such. I'll flip the pipe and such.

I do carry a bit of folded up aluminum foil, think like 4ply 5" ish x 12" ish essentially. Well, basically for fireside trout. I use it also as a shield for my trekking pole when I run the stove. No other reason than my own idiom I suppose.
 
The Argali titanium stove is a solid pick! I go with a small saw for wood gathering and bring a leatherman for the door wire loop – it's worth the minimal weight. Extra leather gloves are a good call. I usually stoke the fire throughout the night in cold conditions. To avoid rolling into the stove, set up your sleeping area strategically and maybe use a heat shield. High winds can be a concern, so proper camping teepee tent anchoring and a windbreak are important.
 
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Something that nobody is commenting on is, Teepee placement. I run that exact set up. and one thing to realize is no matter how well you think you did getting the walls low to the ground, the wind will find its way in. Pick your spot well, which we thought we did, down in a low spot in the timber. Me and my buddy did a back country deer/elk hunt here in Montana 2023, and we had the wind rip the tent off us at 1130 at night. It pulled the stove pipe right out of the stove, Thankfully the fire had died out and the pipe was cool. It was a very rude awakening!! We spent two days up there, shot a nice bull, but the wind was just nuking which made us leave the area for a new one. There is always something to make your hunt interesting!!
 
Something that nobody is commenting on is, Teepee placement. I run that exact set up. and one thing to realize is no matter how well you think you did getting the walls low to the ground, the wind will find its way in. Pick your spot well, which we thought we did, down in a low spot in the timber. Me and my buddy did a back country deer/elk hunt here in Montana 2023, and we had the wind rip the tent off us at 1130 at night. It pulled the stove pipe right out of the stove, Thankfully the fire had died out and the pipe was cool. It was a very rude awakening!! We spent two days up there, shot a nice bull, but the wind was just nuking which made us leave the area for a new one. There is always something to make your hunt interesting!!
Hmmm. Haven't had that bad luck. Definitely sucks, especially in the middle of the night. I solo with a tepee as well here in CO. Mine has a snow skirt that I weight down with rocks if wind is in the forecast (and no snow on the ground). That and guy-lines from the mid-point on the walls to stakes that are way out from the tent. Have survived 25-30 mph sustained winds with 40+ mph gusts. You must have really had a storm blow through as it sounds like you did everything right.
 
I run a cimmaron and have used logs rocks etc to hold the bottom tight against the ground really helps with draft. I carry a benchmade saw pretty light and rips through smaller wood for stove. Get it going and use for cooking and heat while awake then pack it full and fall asleep. I make sure to have starter material within arms reach for morning so I can stay in bag and get tent warmed back up. Haven’t used in real cold yet down to freezing or just below. Running lite outdoors stove so don’t have same door.
 
I was just out this weekend. You’re going to love it.

- Wood gathering. Do you take a small hatchet or something like a silky boy small saw? I’ve started taking both. I have the Silky Gomboy 240, not sure I would take anything smaller. I love it, super sharp and works through logs fast. The hatchet is heavy but useful around camp and in other scenarios.

- Two things with opening the front door. It has a wire loop, but feel that is hot and doesn’t stay on all the way when the door is 75% open… it just falls off the track. My thought is a small leatherman with pliers for opening and closing the door, or is the tool extra weight not really needed? Look at “grill gloves” on amazon. Cheap, and I use them for processing wood, opening the door, putting logs in (it’ll get extremely hot, burn your fingers a couple times and you’ll want special gloves) as well as in an emergency, they allow you to grab and remove the stove pipe and get the stove out of your tent.

- Do you bring extra leather gloves? See above.

- Stoke the fire throughout the night or let it burn out? Stove or not, I’m up every couple hours anyway, so I stoke throughout the night. I’ve found that if you can cut some logs that are 2”-3” in diameter and the length of the stove, you have to stoke it with 3 or 4 of them every couple hours, so constant stoke is about 30-35 logs.

- Tips to not rolling into a hot stove in your sleep?! You’ll roll less than you think. Obviously don’t sleep uphill from the stove, put your sleep gear so you slide down not across the tent. If you can find some rocks, put them between you and the stove.

- Does high winds that cause the tent to shake cause concern for the pipe coming off the stove? I haven’t had an issue with high winds doing this, but haven’t had it in anything over 20mph.

You’ll enjoy the glow of the fire and the heat out there. I’ve tried to go ultralight as possible, and even so, with rifle and spotting scope and a gallon of water, my pack is about 65lbs. Find someone to go with you to split some weight. Have fun!
 
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