Cooking in the tent. We know we shouldn’t. We know it’s unwise and unsafe. An accident waiting to happen. But we’ve all done it. After all, when the weather is lousy we don’t have much choice. Anyway. What are the odds of it all going wrong? Pretty high as it turns out.
There is something fundamentally wrong with mixing naked flames and canvas. But many campsites will have strict rules in place on how close an open fire can be to a tent. Of course, when you’re on your own in the wild then you make your own rules. Though not having a fire anywhere near your tent should be rule number 1 in anyone’s book.
While it is highly unlikely many would be so naive enough to cook over an open fire under canvas, though some have been unwise enough to try, a cooking stove is another matter. Not many will see a problem with that. As we mentioned earlier many of us will have used a stove inside the tent when it’s coming down in stair rods outside. But don’t be tempted. It’s a fire hazard.
But the tent bursting into flames is the least of the potential problems. Actually let’s not be quite so dramatic. Your tent is more liable to melt than catch fire, unless you are exceptionally careless, but the bigger, and more potent danger, comes from something which can’t even be seen. Carbon monoxide.