Heaters for Tents?

[CJH]

Its a popular view, because I am sure every outdoorsman has experienced a cold night in a tent at one time or another!!!!

[Powerstroke]

Cold nights are easy to deal with. If you got cold on a cold night then you were unprepared. I certainly am not immune to this assumption. I brought along a new ultralight sleeping bag with me to the BWCA once and it was only rated to 60*. I thought I would be fine with my thermarest and proper clothing, but it got down to 42* one night (on my GPS) and I froze my butt off. It was my own fault and I wore everything I had. A hat would've helped, but it was not worth the weight savings.

Buy the best gear you can afford (names mean nothing, quality is everything) and always bring the gear rated the worst conditions you might encounter.

I think its great we have such an active thread in the camping section this late in the season. If one person reads this and camps again this fall when they normally would've hung up the gear I would be happy. Not that I want the competition for good sites, but there is still alot of camping weather left for the average camper if you're willing to dress warmer and cozy up to a fire.

[chasineyes]

I don't want to sound like a [e-mail:[email protected]] but as someone with 2 young daughters and a wife, I'm leaning towards buying a camper next year with a HEATER. We have camped a couple times and it's been colder so not very enjoyable. Is it worth to spend all the money on expensive bags, cots, clothing, etc. than to just buy a used pop-up? We really want to go camping during the October MEA break but don't want to commit because all we have is a tent. How does everyone do it that has a wife and little ones?

[Powerstroke]

So I will mention again, what will you do if the furnace in your pop-up fails to light, runs out of propane, thermocouple fails, etc etc etc...? Now you're left with a very expensive tent on wheels that you will have to tear down if you want to head home. A camper still requires proper clothes and bedding.

I've got a new camper and the saving grace of that is the ability to use 12 volt power. You can have a ceramic heater (no CO or fumes), electric blanket, or like ours, heated mattresses which are more effective than the furnace anyway. But once again, if I run the battery down and can't light the furnace or whatever, you have to be able to handle the elements.

Even with those items available, we all still use our sleeping bags rated 10-20*F.

You don't need cots and I prefer not to use them. A quality sleeping pad can range in price from $15-150 depending on thickness and features and a good 3-season sleeping bag with a rating from 10*-30*F will start about $80 and go up from there. You can get a comfortable, 3-season sleep system for under $200 a person and have a very nice setup for about $300.

My wife camps as well as my daughters ages 6 and 9. Our kids have been camping with us since they were both under one year old. Its what we do. My girls also hunt and hike with me and we all ice fish together. We live in MN so we already have plenty of cool and cold weather clothes. Our earliest camping trip was the first week of may with over night temps in the low 40s and howling winds. We plan on camping on MEA too. It can be done without little fanfare.

Other things you can do to boost the rating of a sleeping bag is to get a fleece bag liner. They usually add 10*. Bring a wool blanket or a quilt, that's what we did before we bought the girls nice down bags. Once again though, a major way to keep warm is having a good sleeping pad. Even the cheap blue foam works great, its just not comfortable, but you can buy 3 of them for under $50 at walmart and stack them up.

[Jim Almquist]

I find myself reading all the good info to see if there are any good ideas that I can use when I am sleeping in my 8x8 portable fish house. Even though it is heated when the temps hit 20 below you still need warm stuff. What I have found that works for me when I sleep on cot is to put our heavy down comforter down first and sleep on top in a warm bag and always have my Underarmour on. I keep a 3lb peanut can with a lid to use during the middle of the night when nature calls.

[Redlantern]

Don't forget to take the lid off when you need to use it.

[Jim Almquist]

Don't forget to take the lid off when you need to use it.

I haven't forgotten yet but thank for the reminder

[Duffman]

Everybody does things differently, that's why I like reading threads like this. Gives ya some ideas a person might not of thought about before. I've got a boat camping trip, and a canoe camping trip coming up. The choice of gear differs with each trip, but there will be luxuries brought along during each. I said it in another thread, but being comfortable in the woods is very key to making or breaking a trip.

If someone wants to bring a heater or a wood stove, have at it. Whatever makes a persons trip more enjoyable. Things that make MY trips more enjoyable are quality sleeping pads, a good tarp, great raingear, headlamp, and a chair. A three candle candlier is a luxury that is a must on my winter trips. But by bringing that, I can leave the weight of propane heaters behind. The older I get, the more weight conscious I get.

I just picked up a 9 lb. compact camp chair for solo canoe camping (so much for being weight concious ), I'm gonna suffer a bit on the portages, but I'm already looking forward to lounging around camp in it.

I've been all over the board when it comes to sleeping pads, but I've always been a fan of bringing two. Why two? In case one fails, plus I like my sleep. It used to be two Thermarest Camprests, but they were space hogs. Now I use a Thermarest Prolite4 and a BA polarfill insulated pad that I need to blow up. These two take up the same space as one of my old Thermarests, and at a fraction of the old weight. Cut weight here, gain weight there, it will be my neverending battle when it comes to camping, and that battle is usually fought until the second I leave.

Duffman in March of 1988 "I'm never going camping again without a chair"

And I haven't

Sorry folks, just a bunch of me rambling on and on.

[Powerstroke]

I love your philosophy duffman. I am tremendously weight conscious. I have yet to make my first warm weather solo trip but I can't wait. It may still happen this fall.

Like I said in my first post, I don't totally understand the heaters thing, but everyone is entitled to their own so I won't knock you for doing it.

I also use the Thermarest Prolite 4. I have one for me, a Prolite 4 womens for my wife and two Prolite 3 womens for my two daughters. When winter camping I will bring at least 2 of them.

[Duffman]

I'll have to post my equipment list before my fall trip in the solo. Then you can see where I'm weight concious and where I'm not. I bring one of the smallest stoves made, but I also bring a cast aluminum square frypan and a stainless steel bottle of peanut oil for fish. Knowing that I'm bringing the pan, others in the group will bring bacon for it to share. I'm self contained for a trip in my solo canoe, but I'm going with a group, so I'm bringing things others might use like my bigger tarp.

I'll start a camping list thread a couple of weeks from now.

Just a few years ago on this annual fall BW trip, we were bringing 30 lbs of icecubes just for cocktails, so who am I to comment on what people bring.

Just to get back on topic, I'm tellin ya folks, those chemical handwarmers are great insurance for a toasty nights sleep. Not to mention you can toss them in your boots before you get up to pre-heat them. Putting on frozen boots ain't all that fun.

[Neighbor_guy]

When in doubt... You could alway snuggle with the dog.

The times I end up sleeping in the bed of the truck, or on an air matress she always ends up crawling up there and warming up anyways. Just make sure your mut dont smell like a skunk or swamp.

As an aside or addition to my previous post, I should add that when I used the Buddy in the tent it was a big tent. Two guys, cots, gear, everything. It would snow overnight and we would wake up to 20's in the morning. It was just nice to be able to get dressed and ready for a hunt someplace slightly warmer than outside. When your only lodging for a week is a tent, a small heater can be a godsend, especialy when you have no-other fire type options.

When I am solo tenting it, the pup tent is small enough to cover me, the dog, and just about nothing else. So no heater there. Just a good pad, and a good bag. (10* on its own, -10* with the liner)

[biff]

I'll throw out another reason for a heated tent. I have asthma and it always acts up if I sleep in cold air. I usually use the stocking cap and warm bag to keep warm but I still end up with a little flare up of the asthma if the air is cold. I'm thinking of the catalytic type heater. I think it says something about being safe for tents on the box...

[dirtking]

I'm in the heat in the morning, heat in the evening, no heat at night camp.

[robert1965]

the buddy units are safe. keep it away from tent walls and ventilate, no problem done it many times.

[bikeoutback]

I agree with everything said as far as preparation. I have sleeping pads and zero degree sleeping pads but have still used the Buddy Heater in the tent in mid October in northern WI when I went down into the 20s. I also have a large 4 season tent with hi-low venting and used the venting while the heater was runing. I had it connected to a propane tank but am thinking I either need to do one of two things:

1. Find a secondary O2 sensor. I trust the Buddy sensor but wouldn't hurt to have a backup.

2. Use 1lb cylinders, they only last so long so heater would shut off acting as a backup if O2 sensor failed maybe?

I was with other people who were in other tents and in a hunting shack so did have the backup also that if we weren't seen in the morning someone would come looking but again I had no worries about the Buddy working properly. I also use it ice fishing all winter.

[AaronM]

Duffman, I'll be looking forward to your camping list thread you'll be posting. I've been poking around here for a little bit and it's a ton of great information here. I never winter camp, rarely summer camp but I plan on getting out more. Even though this thread is geared towards winter, plenty of good information that applies to summer camping as well. Keep up the good work!