UNHCR Winterized Family Relief Tent
The UNHCR Family Relief Tent specified for winter humanitarian response: double-layer fire-retardant canvas augmented with a thermal liner, an integrated stove flue port, a snow-load-rated frame, and a heavy-duty cold-flex ground cloth. Built for Türkiye and Syria post-earthquake winters, Afghan high-altitude IDP camps, Ukraine, and the cross-border winter caseloads of the Sudan response.
Sub-zero sustained · stove-jack ready · snow-load frame · ISO 9001 manufacture
Cold-climate add-ons over the baseline FRT.
Winterization is layered on top of the standard 16 m² or 23 m² FRT shell. The decisions a procurement team makes here — stove-jack diameter, liner weight, ground-cloth flex temperature — drive whether the tent is usable in a Türkiye coastal winter (-5 °C nights), an Afghan plateau (-20 °C), or a Ukrainian eastern winter (-25 °C and snow load). BNC quotes the appropriate winterization package per destination, with stove jacks pre-fitted at the factory.
- Base footprint
- 16 m² (4 m × 4 m) standard, 23 m² on request
- Outer canvas
- 280 gsm fly + 410 gsm body, FR-treated
- Thermal liner
- Inner thermal/insulating layer, removable for transit
- Stove jack
- Integrated heat-resistant flue port, ~10 cm diameter, configurable to spec
- Frame
- Reinforced galvanised steel + cross-brace, snow-load-rated
- Ground cloth
- Heavy-duty PVC, cold-flex-rated, full-welded seams
- Door + windows
- Storm-flap door, draught-sealed mesh windows with canvas covers
- Anchoring
- Heavy-duty ground anchor kit included; snow-stake kit on request
- Lead time
- 21–42 days FOB Karachi (stove jacks fitted at factory)
Why winterization is more than a thicker tent.
Cold-climate failure modes are not the same as warm-climate ones. A standard FRT failing in a hot, dry summer drops 3–5 °C of in-tent comfort. The same tent failing in a -20 °C Afghan winter drops body temperature and risks hypothermia within hours. The winterized FRT addresses each cold-climate failure path explicitly: the thermal liner cuts conductive heat loss through the canvas, the stove jack lets families cook and heat without venting risk, and the snow-load frame keeps the ridge from buckling under accumulated snow.
The stove-jack design is the most-asked spec question on this SKU. BNC's standard jack is heat-resistant, ringed in non-combustible mineral fibre, and sized for the small wood/coal stoves commonly distributed alongside winter NFI kits. Larger or smaller diameters are configurable at the factory. The flue port is rear-of-tent or side-of-tent depending on agency preference; both placements ship with a storm-cover for non-stove use.
Cold-flex PVC matters more than the canvas weight in extreme cold. Standard PVC turns brittle below -15 °C; the BNC winterized ground cloth uses a cold-flex-rated formulation that keeps elasticity to roughly -30 °C, which has historically been the absolute floor for Türkiye, Syria, Afghanistan, and Ukrainian winter caseloads.
Where winterized FRTs have gone into the field.
Türkiye-Syria earthquake winter response · 2023
Winterized canvas tents airlifted via Saudia Cargo and Turkish Cargo into Adana for onward distribution by Kızılay and IFRC across Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, and Gaziantep provinces during the first post-earthquake winter.
Afghan high-altitude IDP camps · recurring
Winterized FRT consignments into central and northern Afghanistan IDP camps via overland Torkham crossing, particularly during the 2021–22 and 2023–24 winters at altitudes where -15 to -20 °C night-time temperatures are standard.
Quote on winterized FRT — same Karachi business day.
Tell us destination, expected minimum temperature, stove-jack diameter, and whether you need 16 m² or 23 m² base. We come back with price, lead time, and the relevant certifications.