The 8 most common sauna tent mistakes

A sauna tent lasts for years, but we keep seeing the same handful of mistakes. Almost none of them are defects. They are habits.

1. Storing it wet

This is number one by a distance. Tent fabric that goes into the bag damp will grow mould within weeks and pick up a musty smell that never leaves. Folding rarely destroys a tent. Moisture does.

Leave the tent open after use until the inside is dry too. Was it raining when you packed up? Hang it out indoors within a day.

2. Burning wet or treated wood

Green wood burns at half strength, produces smoke instead of heat and coats your chimney in soot. Painted, glued or pressure-treated wood does not belong in there at all: it releases harmful substances.

Use dry, untreated hardwood with a moisture content below 20 percent. Kiln-dried firewood works best.

3. Packing the stove before it is cold

A stove that is still glowing goes nowhere. Allow 30 to 45 minutes after the fire is out before you can touch it, and longer before it goes in the bag.

Ash is the same story: it can smoulder for days without showing it. Scoop it into a metal bucket and put that outside on a non-combustible surface. Never in a plastic bin or the garden waste.

4. Not enough ventilation

A wood stove needs air supply, and the smoke has to leave through the chimney. Zipping a tent fully shut without fresh air is dangerous.

Keep the vent open, even when it is cold. If you notice smoke inside, stop burning immediately and find out why: usually the chimney is not seated properly or has too much soot in it.

5. The wrong ground

The stove sits on a fire-resistant mat, but that mat is not meant to catch everything. On a wooden deck, artificial grass or bark chippings you need a non-combustible plate underneath as well.

Tiles, paving or firm short grass are the safe choices. And set it up level, so the stove cannot tip.

6. Something above the chimney

Overhanging branches, a roof overhang, an awning or a party tent above the tent: none of it is a good idea. The chimney gets hot and needs a clear path upward.

Look up before you set up, not just at the ground.

7. Not drinking enough

You can easily lose half a litre to a full litre of fluid per session. Dehydration is the most common reason people feel rough after a sauna.

Drink water or herbal tea between rounds, not only afterwards. Alcohol has no place in it: it raises your heart rate and disrupts exactly the temperature regulation you need.

8. Skipping the pegs

It usually goes fine, until it is windy. A tent that is not secured can shift, and a shifted tent with a burning stove inside is exactly what you do not want.

Always peg it down, and check the pegs after a storm. In strong wind, set up out of the wind, for instance behind a fence or a hedge.

Finally

Avoid these eight and there is very little left that can go wrong. If you are unsure about something, just ask us. We would rather have a message beforehand than a problem afterwards.