Mobile baths are a useful device known since ancient times. There is nothing better after a tiring day full of impressions than the opportunity to steam in a forest clearing or a picturesque lakeside. This is good for health, relaxing, and well recuperates. A sauna tent with a stove for tourism is a simple way to relax after a hard day. It is not surprising that many people take with them not only essentials, but also equipment that provides comfort. Portable saunas are good for hiking, for a summer cottage, and for traveling on wheels: steam, fold, put away.
How a sauna tent works, what to look for when buying and how to make a mobile sauna yourself, you will learn from the article.
What is a mobile sauna
Essentially, it’s just a set of a special tent and stove. When traveling, it replaces a stationary sauna. Sauna tents are used during hikes, fishing or hunting, in camping camps, at dachas and in sanatoriums.
Portable bathhouses have their advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages:
- Relatively compact - the kits fit into a backpack.
- Quick assembly, if we talk about professional options.
- Possibility to use them as regular travel equipment. Food is cooked on the stove, and the tent is suitable for spending the night.
Flaws:
- The need to observe certain safety measures when using.
- The covering material can take a long time to dry, which is not always convenient when hiking.
- The price of professional products is quite high - approximately 20 thousand rubles for a tent alone, plus the cost of a stove.
The process of making a camp bath
After all the materials have been collected , you can begin making the so-called steam room.
- A hearth/fireplace/bonfire can be built using stones. The simplest option would be to sequentially stack firewood and stones in layers. After that, once everything is arranged, you just need to light a fire and wait. You will have to wait for the moment when the stones become hot enough. A characteristic color will indicate the onset of such a moment. The stones should turn either red or white. It depends on the type of stones. And those who steam themselves must choose the degree of heating.
- When the original stove has already been assembled, you can begin assembling the frame of the field bath. If you have a frame from an old tent, you can use that too. True, not everyone may have an old frame, so it is better to consider the situation when there is simply no ready-made frame. In such cases, you will have to make the frame yourself using poles. You will have to drive in four corner posts, and then tie poles on top that will unite the entire structure.
- To prevent the roof from sagging, you can tie a couple more sticks there. You can fasten the poles for a camp bath with anything - tape, wire, rope. There are no specific requirements here. You just need to take into account that the structure must be strong and stable, which is quite logical.
- After the frame has been installed, you can flood the fireplace, which was folded in advance. During this time, you can start installing the floor. For flooring, it is recommended to use coniferous spruce branches, on which oak, birch, and linden foliage can be laid on top. In principle, no difficulties should arise with this, since there is enough of this goodness in the forest.
- While the stones are heating up, you can put water on to warm up. While the water is heating up, you can begin to stretch and secure the awning. It is forbidden to hermetically seal the tent until all the firewood has burned out. This is fraught with consequences. You can choke on smoke, or, even worse, carbon monoxide. Be sure to leave one side open. Or the roof. This depends on the design of the sauna tent.
- After all the firewood has burned out, you will need to rake out the coals and ash and take it out of the tent. In this case, hot stones remain. It is after this that you can seal the sauna tent hermetically. All you need to do is add some steam by splashing water on the hot stones. It's that simple.
A Velcro towel is ideal for a bath You can buy it in a store, but you can also sew it yourself. To do this, you may need a regular towel, to which you just need to sew a Velcro contact strip. This towel is easy to sew, so it doesn't require a lot of work.
What types of camping baths are there?
There are options on wheels, professional tent baths, as well as a variety of homemade products.
Autobahns are not very popular among hikers. Such designs are convenient, but they cannot be ordered in all regions.
Another thing is portable bathhouses, tents with stoves. The frames for them are made from special lightweight alloys; high quality awning ensures minimal heat loss. Assembly and packaging options are constantly being improved.
The most famous manufacturers in the segment are Nova Tour, Teplodar and Mobiba.
- Nova Tour produces wear-resistant tents made of polyester with the addition of nylon; The designs provide small windows for lighting and ventilation. Previously, the company sold only models without a frame - tourists had to either buy it separately or assemble it themselves from scrap materials. A frame version is currently on sale. The price for a tent is about 7,000 rubles.
- Teplodar sells Altai stoves packaged in special travel bags. The chimney in them is disassembled and placed in the firebox; The legs fold down and lock securely to prevent them from tipping over. The average price of a stove is 13-15 thousand rubles.
- Mobiba is a well-known brand that offers tourists bath tents of completely different design, price and volume. The company's catalog includes both budget and expensive camping tents; for hiking, backpack-type tourist saunas costing from 17 thousand rubles are suitable; they weigh about 7-10 kg. Large options for a summer residence, equipped with a multi-segment frame, are not cheap, from 50 to 100 thousand rubles.
Bathhouse on a camping trip - how to organize it
Regardless of what type of bathhouse we are talking about - mobile or stationary - it must contain the steam room itself , which holds the steam and hot air, as well as the stove that produces this heat and steam. But shelves - if possible.
Accordingly, if there is no ready-made steam room on site, you need to bring it there , and the stove for the steam room can either be assembled from scrap material or use a purchased one . An intermediate option is to take with you some blanks to create a stove on site. But first things first.
Another factor will be the nature of the hike.
The hardest thing is for those who want to take a steam bath while hiking .
They will have to carry extra pounds on themselves. It’s easiest for those who drive to the place by car - they don’t have too strict restrictions on weight, so they can take a heavier stove, for example. The remaining cases (water tourism, horse tourism) are somewhere between the first and second. The easiest way, of course, is to take polyethylene with you , cut racks on the spot, and use stones found on the spot , heated by a fire, as a stove. In this case, the load will increase only by the weight of dense polyethylene.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Below we will describe various homemade and purchased options, but for now we will talk about their pros and cons.
What to look for when buying
To ensure that a bathhouse does not “let you down” on a camping trip, you should choose it carefully. Proceed according to the recommendations below.
Bake
Do not confuse it with a regular tourist one, you need to take a special one. A steam room stove produces maximum heat in a short period of time, while conventional appliances, on the contrary, must maintain a comfortable temperature for as long as possible.
There are two types of sauna stoves:
- With built-in steam generator. This one works like a samovar - water constantly boils in the container, saturating the space with steam. The humidity rises very high.
- Kamenka. Stone masonry is laid in it; it becomes heated from the heat, water or a flavored infusion is poured on top. The good thing about this method is that you can regulate the humidity level yourself; but in the end the steam will be much less than from a steam generator.
Which option to choose is a matter of taste; both have their supporters.
What else should you pay attention to? On the quality of the material. Almost all mobile ovens are made of stainless steel. But steel comes in different grades: AISI 430, 321, 304.
All brands are considered heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant, but they differ in composition.
AISI 430 alloy contains very little nickel; When heated strongly, such a metal loses the properties of stainless steel and begins to behave like ordinary black steel. Unfortunately, most budget models use it because of the low price; this greatly shortens the service life.
Also, when purchasing, do not forget to find out:
- Chimney diameter. Check that it fits your awning.
- Weight. For a hiking trip, you will need a model no heavier than 10-15 kg.
- Availability of a spark arrester. This is a mandatory element to ensure your safety.
- Ease of assembly. Do I need to screw the legs, doors, how long will it take?
One of the best stoves for mobile baths is the Altai model. It provides the desired temperature, is made of high-quality steel, fits in a bag and is convenient for transportation - you can take it on a road trip or on a hike. Also, “Bereg”, “Merida”, “Poshekhonka” stoves are suitable for traveling on foot.
Tent canopy material
The main difference between a bathhouse and a regular tourist one (except for the hole for the chimney) is the mandatory fire-resistant fabric. In addition, in order for the temperature inside to rise to the desired level, the awning must have waterproof and windproof properties. Oxford is considered the best material. Some combine it with nylon or polyester.
Nylon Oxford is stronger and resistant to chemicals.
Polyester has higher heat resistance.
Overall, both options are good.
Frame
There are two main options:
- Collapsible aluminum tubes are lightweight and fireproof. An oxide film forms on the surface of aluminum, which prevents corrosion; You should not choose painted, shiny, attractive-looking tubes - these break quickly. A good tent skeleton is made from unpainted, stain-resistant aluminum; To assemble the frame, you will need gloves. The exception is anodized tubes. They look beautiful, do not get dirty, but are expensive, and have no advantages over unpainted aluminum.
- Frameless designs. To install the canopy, the tourist will need to collect suitable poles in a wooded area. Do not use too dry ones: they are fragile and flammable.
Frameless sauna tent
Frames vary in volume. The diameter determines how difficult it will be for you to set up a tent: straightening a wide awning and pulling it over a skeleton alone is quite difficult.
The weight of the structure depends on the diameter of the aluminum tubes:
- 10 mm - the lightest, used in backpack-type baths. Optimal for hiking. The weight of such a tent does not exceed 8 kg.
- 13 mm - lightweight design. The weight of a tent for 3-4 people will be around 10-15 kg. Can be used on hikes.
- 16 mm - reinforced design with increased strength. Such a frame will not lose its shape even if it is knocked over by the wind. But it is heavy: a tent for 3-4 people weighs 30 kg or more. Suitable for a summer residence, for a beach holiday, for winter tourism on wheels.
It’s good if the frame design includes several arcs and the model has detachable internal partitions. The presence of a vestibule eliminates the need for tourists to change clothes in the car.
Another important parameter for convenience is transport dimensions. Pay attention to the dimensions of the equipment when folded. Many manufacturers sell portable tents already packaged in special backpacks/bags for comfortable transportation.
Preparation of materials and choice of location
It happens that you decide to go on a hike, but are not ready to give up traditional friendly gatherings in the sauna. This is where an unusual invention comes in handy: a mobile (mobile) camp sauna. It allows you to combine your love of tourism with the desire not just to wash, but also to take a steam bath. Of course, you need to think about arranging a steam room in advance, before getting ready for a hike, because some elements of the future bath should be prepared at home. To have an idea of what the finished steam room should look like, look at the drawings.
Advice. A camping device is an excellent temporary option for summer residents who have not had time to completely build a good-quality stationary bathhouse or are just planning to build one.
In any case, to install a simple but durable and functional structure you will need:
- Basis for the frame. These can be racks made of aluminum or carbon fiber taken from home, or parts of a camping tent. Stakes made, for example, from the trunks of young trees are also suitable. If it is not possible to treat them with a fire-fighting compound, during operation of the bath it is necessary to ensure that the wooden elements do not catch fire.
Polyethylene can be used as an awning for a camp bath - Tent. Its function can be served well by tent covering material or an old banner. Another option is dense polyethylene. From it you need to prepare a square pattern, the optimal size of which is 6x6 m. In such a bathhouse, a maximum of 6 people can take a steam bath at the same time.
- Material for fastening: electrical tape, tape or rope.
- Axe.
- Shovel.
Attention!
For a mobile bathhouse, you can only use material from old Soviet-made tents, since modern tents emit harmful substances when heated. When choosing a place, take into account the conditions around you so that you don’t have to spend a long time looking for the main natural components of a bath:
- Firewood. Their diameter for use in a camping steam room should be no more than 0.15 m. In order not to look for firewood in the midst of bathing procedures, prepare more of them.
- Stones. For one time you will need at least a bucket of round boulders. Do not take layered, heterogeneous, chipped, or flat specimens. They may crack when heated. In this case, flying pieces cause injury. Granite is also not the best option, since at excessively high temperatures it turns into sand.
- Water. Without it, the whole idea loses its meaning, so it is best to arrange a camp sauna on the shore of a lake or river. And taking a dip in a cool pond is what you need after a steam room.
Homemade sauna tent
Professional options are very convenient, but the price is not suitable for everyone. You can make a sauna tent with your own hands, spending no more than a couple of hundred rubles. It is enough to have a piece of tarpaulin and tape with you - everything else will be found on the ground.
Covering material
Polyethylene film will do. Don’t take a construction one, a covering one for greenhouses is suitable - it does not release toxins when heated. The film is fixed to the skeleton of the tent, gluing the seams with tape. It is advisable to make a two-layer tent to reduce heat loss.
It’s even better to use a tarpaulin instead of film - it’s fireproof. You will need a single piece measuring 6 by 6 meters - enough for a bathhouse for four people.
Frame
In addition to poles (8 pieces with a diameter of 300-400 mm and a length of 1 meter), the skeleton can be made from aluminum posts (from under an old tourist or retail awning) or from polypropylene pipes. We connect it in the form of a cube and fasten it with tape. The ends of the poles will need to be wrapped with the same tape so that they do not damage the coating.
After the frame is assembled, we stretch the tarpaulin on top. We leave the edges to lie freely on the ground, press them down with turf or stones - this is necessary to reduce heat loss. We position the entrance towards the water so that you can immediately take a dip.
Floor
We line the bottom of the tent with spruce branches: spruce branches not only insulate the feet from the cold, but also scent the air in the steam room. You can sit directly on it, or you can use folding chairs.
Heating part
There are different “recipes” for making them - from gas cylinders, from copper wire, from barbecues. But the simplest option is a heater made of cobblestones lined with firewood.
The stones need to be flat, ten centimeters in diameter - large ones will not warm up quickly, small ones will cool down immediately. Layered rocks cannot be used - they explode when heated.
Before installing the sauna, firewood is collected. Dead wood with a diameter of 10-15 cm is suitable; it burns well. The stones are stacked on top of each other in a “well”, covered with dead wood on top and a fire is lit.
There are two ways to heat a camp sauna: “black” and “white”.
- Firebox “on white”. The awning and fire are laid out separately from each other at a safe (but not too large) distance. A recess is dug under the awning. When the boulders warm up, they need to be carefully but quickly moved under the tent. To do this, you can use, for example, a sapper shovel or a spear - dig a groove to a recess under the awning and roll hot stones over it.
- Firebox "black". The coals are removed from the burnt-out fire, and the tent-covered frame is installed directly above the hot stones. This sauna is hotter, but at the same time smoky. Pay close attention to the process of extinguishing the fire. Hot coals and fragments left behind can burn your feet, so you should not go under the awning barefoot.
Procurement of necessary materials
There are several options for constructing camp baths:
- Ready-made sauna tent. Similar to a regular camping tent (only the material is slightly different). Equipped with a special oven. It can be purchased at a specialty store. All that remains is to install the “bathhouse” in the right place in the lap of nature.
- Special awning for camp baths. All that remains is to build the frame and buy or build a stove.
- Homemade camping sauna. A structure made entirely by hand from a frame, covering (polyethylene or a Soviet-style tent will do) and a homemade stove made of natural stones.
Advice. If you plan to use a tourist scarf as a bath structure, then in no case should it be of a modern type. The fact is that such tents are not designed for high temperatures; moreover, when heated, they can release toxic substances. But the tent “originally from the USSR” will cope perfectly with such conditions.
In order to build a reliable and convenient structure, we will need the following elements:
A simple frame for a camp sauna
- Frame. As supports for a future structure, they can be used as wooden poles, collected directly in a place of rest (we are talking about rest in the forest, forest plantations, in general, places where there is a lot of wood). Racks made of carbon fiber/aluminum will also do a good job. Some believe that they are not suitable for bath temperatures, but in practice the opposite has been proven.
- Bake. You can use a ready-made stove for a self-built field bathhouse, or you can also make it yourself, especially since it will not be difficult. It is enough to have stones and wood on hand.
- Covering material. Typically, polyethylene, commercial tarpaulin, or an old tent are used.
Advice. Prepare round, slightly elongated stones for the sauna stove, without any delamination (other stones may simply burst under the influence of high temperature). River/lake boulders with a diameter of about 20 centimeters are ideal (those that are too small in size will “give off” very little heat, those that are too large will simply not have time to heat up).
How to choose a place for a mobile sauna
The frame is placed on the shore of a suitable body of water - a lake or river. An area with dense, non-flowing soil is suitable; The tent must be secured, otherwise burns and bruises are possible.
See if the parking lot has everything you need: suitable stones, poles for the frame, dead wood for kindling. Sometimes it is not possible to find a site that suits all parameters - you need to act according to the situation. In any case, the tent is set up close to the water, and you can bring stones and firewood.
