Hot Tenting Market Update?

And a 6-person shelter with an internal stove system relates to backpacking LIGHT how?

You are probably asking the wrong people; we are gram-weenies here. If we could shelter under a cuben fiber postage stamp to save weight, we would.

That said, your post would probably have Bob Gross tearing out his hair. That might be fun for some of our little group to watch.

Nothing that's going to answer your questions, but there are a few threads, and even an Editor's Roundtable story, on wood stoves and their use. Might be some good background. The story is from last year, the threads are a few years old.

Here: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/wood-stoves-for-backpacking-chenault.html#.VbA5w3hd6jg

here: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=55280

here: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=71360

I'm curious, too! I've been contemplating a big 'mid for family winter camping for some time now, but the idea of a woodstove inside a tent with kids sort of terrifies me.

Doesn't Bear Paw Designs offer a stove jack option in some of their 'mids?

Check out Cooke Custom Sewing. I don’t know much about winter shelters, but I have a couple of their sil nylon tarps. The workmanship is top notch, and they are a Minnesota cottage company and very well respected among the paddling community.

Cooke Custom Sewing winter shelters

No free lunch with a 6 person sil pyramid. The Vertex 6.5 is lighter than the Seek Outside sixer, for example, but it's lighter because it is over a foot shorter and has a smaller circumference.

The cylinder/oval stoves are lighter because the main body is lighter ti foil/sheet metal. The downside here is durability over the long term. Ti foil holds up just fine, but will get crinkly and beat up with frequent use and packing. If you're thinking long term and frequent use the box stoves will last longer, I would guess.

"I’m eyeing the SeekOutside box stove in particular however, because it is the lightest box stoves, comparable in weight to the WiFi stoves (TiGoat box stoves) and to the Kifaru’s oval stoves. This one seems like a clear winner to me (easier to assemble, sturdier than any type of stoves and in the top lightest stoves all category)."

Looking at their website specifications, Ti-Goat wi-fi box stove small is 26oz including 6.5ft pipe. SO medium box stove (comparable dimensions to Wi-fi) is 26.8oz *without* the pipe. Add 6.5ft pipe to it and the weight goes over 38oz!

So unless I hadn't read it correctly, it appears Wi-fi stove is the winner for weight. Incidentally we own one and love it, very good quality and construction.

"And a 6-person shelter with an internal stove system relates to backpacking LIGHT how?"

If its enough persons that will be using it, why not? Backpacking light does not translate into backpacking SOLO and light :) And with internal stoves being what they are now, it's hard not to admit that they are impressively light.

“I’m not a fabric or shelter expert so besides the specs, what else is there to consider when hot tenting?”

I’m also interested regarding fabric. So far we’ve used our stove when travelling to dog shows, with a strong canvas gazebo-type tent. The hiking tipis are silnylon though, and I wonder if they hold up well to flying embers? Ti-goat says that the damper should prevent embers from getting out, though they also sell a spark arrestor (better be safe than sorry I suppose…?)

Some reports on hot tenting are here and here (scroll down a bit). These guys used the stove without the damper or arrestor, and so got ember showers.

One thing that I found indispensable is a good quality portable saw. Once the stove gets going you’d want to feed it thick branches as they last longer and give really nice heat, but these need to be cut short due to the stove’s size. At the moment I use Silky Gomboy 210 medium, its a very good saw but a bit heavy at 8.5oz.

Maybe I'm old-fashioned but I would be nervous to heat a tent made of anything but canvas or animal skin.