Heaters for small tents

[Chris Shelton]

O I forgot to mention that with our windows proped that with teh head sized hole in the wall dad was getting snowed on, lol.  So there is definatly enough wind comin through, his hole is at his head and mine was by my feet.  We also put a pot of water on top of the heater so our throats dont dry out to bad.

[Weekend Warrior]

Check out   Mr heater  Base Camp Heater
Light and small but heats small areas great.

[Covey]

Originally posted by straitera:
All my tents are backpack. Never used a tent heater, never will. I'm skeered of waking up dead. Try a good reflecting solar blanket.

The solar blanket work's like a charm! just don't get a crappy one. I found one that is a heavy cloth out side, reflective inside, you slide your sleeping bag in it. Jason

[kill shot]

Lots of good advice.I think killdeer is right.Camping in the cold is going to have it's hardships.I would be happy to cut the hardships down to a minimum.It was tough to get in my tent at dark(which comes early) and not get out until morning.Maybe a good camp fire to pass the evening hours away would help.

[pow-bow]

Another vote for the Mr. Buddy.  That and and the Alaska Guide model tent will get you through just about any weather.

Wojo I do like the exhaust idea and will pick some of that up.

[lpcjon2]

I use my wife ...LOL But I am weary of the carbon monoxide that they(heaters) may put off.

[kill shot]

How does the mr buddy heater work? does it put out a lot of carbon monoxide? will the heater outrun the tent being vented?I am fond of the useing the wife idea.Not yours,I have one of my own.

[Dave Bulla]

Tent heaters just scare me.  My one experience was hunting elk in Colorado about 8 years ago.  Five of us in a canvas wall tent of about 15x19ft.  No floor and about a 7" triangle opening at the peaks for the ridgepole so we figured ventilation was not an issue.  One of the guys brought a catalytic type heater along that screws onto a propane bottle and has a wire thing like a bucket handle that folds down to make a leg so the heater sits on about a 45 degree angle.  Nights were getting down into the mid 20's so he decided to leave it on all night while we slept.  Middle of the night we woke up and everyone had a head ache.  We turned the heater off and didn't use it any more while we slept.  Worked fine in the mornings and such but honestly, a lantern did just as good and since we were getting up before daylight it served two purposes.

I never have figured out if the catalytic heater gave us all headaches because it depleted the oxygen or because of some kind of fumes.  This tent was big, canvas and well ventilated.  Big enough in fact that we did most of our cooking inside and didn't have any problems while doing that but then most of the time when we were cooking someone would be going in or out of the tent, opening the door flaps etc.

I figure you only get one chance to screw up with something like that.  People joke about "waking up dead" and stuff but the truth is you really might not wake up at all.  I've got a wife and three kids to think about and honestly, fighting the freezing chill in the mornings is part of the adventure of winter camping.  It's what we tell stories about years afterwards.  Besides, I'd rather get cold and have a story for the kids than camp in the summer and fight the bugs...yuk!

[JockC]

You guys need to check out the folding and roll-up woodstoves and stovepipes from Titanium Goat, Kifaru, etc.  Pricey, but there are lots and lots of homemade versions, and Ti Goat sells tent flaps for retrofitting your own tent.  Killdeer has good points, but when you are at high altitude on a backcountry hunt and your stuff is all damp, a stove is the cat's meow.  Search on the backpack hunting forum on 24hourcampfire.com for some homemade stove designs.

[iacornfed]

How about heating water and put it in your water bottle and then put it in your sleeping bag with you. It will keep you warm. I to am not ready to wake up dead yet! But we all will some day, I just prefer it is not of my own doing! I have a hard time sleeping in a tent with a camp fire still burning outside.

[Jerry Wald]

My back pack tents I use a GOOD SLEEPING BAG only. Spruce bows under the tarp and the tent on the tarp.

Good firepit outside the tent...

For my horse or vehicle tent I use a tipi tent and an open fire mostly.

 www.tipitent.com

awesome tents.

Jer Bear

[kill shot]

I have a good sleeping bag and a mat.But no one wants to be confined to a sleeping bag for 12 hours.Like I said before,camping in the winter is going to have it's hardships.I just don't want to be a prisoner to the sleeping bag to be one of them.

[Jerry Wald]

Well then you need a bigger tent or shelter.

My tipi tent will house 6 with full geat or twelve sleeping on thermareasts.

I am not a big fan of winter camping in a small tent EVER...i don't try to climb everest etc either.

I live in  a cold climate already and I know how to be comfortable...without too much gear. Sometimes you just need a great tent and great sleeping bag...BUT I WANTED FIRE...so I got something I could have an open fire in.

I can use a wood stove and I take it when i have a way to get it there easily....but I leave it when I can't.

Jer Bear

[Mudd]

These are my favorite winter sleeping places if I'm out away from the house. It's more fun than a Marriott...lol

God bless,Mudd


 https://www.strinztipi.com/estore/index.php/categories/pyramids

[Jerry Wald]

In the old days in the fall (no snow) we would build a lean too...dig a pit....get a good fire going...then we would take the coals and put them in the pit cover it over with sand and sleep over that...never tried it winter camping though (hard to dig and hard to get sand).

we would leave the fire going outside the leanto. the heat woudl kep us going all night.

Guess I am just not a big fan of tents in the winter that I can't build a real fire in. You can run out of fuel...batteries etc...then what do you do especially if it turns nasty.

the first thing we do is pick a spot that has a good wood source and is sheltered. Then we set camp - then start LOGGING - CHAINSAW preferably or sweedsaw...when we have firewood and a fire going then boil some tea and start enjoying your stay.

Life is way more comfortable when you are warm.

Jer Bear

[kill shot]

Don't laugh,But in the movie "pirates of the carribean" the maid put hot coals in Elizibeth Swans bed.I wonder if that would heat up a tent.You could confine them in a coffee can or something and it wouldn't use up much oxygen.I said don't laugh.

[L. E. Carroll]

Here's one I'll confess to...stupidiest thing I have ever done !!!            

Last year at the Rock shoot put on by Trad. Bowhunter's of WA [TBW] I had Brock Wardell [ owner of Bull Mountain Archery] sleeping in the front of my Motorhome and I was on a bunk in the back... About 3 AM I woke up missing my pillow...Immediately I realized what had happened... it had rolled off the bed and continued to roll until it came to rest against the front of my Mr. Heater.  :eek:

Flames about a foot tall.. No more Mr Heater while sleeping at night...

We were "OH SO LUCKY"...hard to guess what 10 more minutes would have been like. I'm sure it would have ended very badly.... I'm also sure we were being watched over  

Gene

[Tom Leemans]

If it uses fuel, it's dangerous. That's my rule. Get off the ground for one thing. Dress for the weather. Wool wool wool! Use a good bag!!! Also, I've purchased several nice thick sheep skins from Sam's Club of all places. (I think $30 each) It will take two of them to be long enough for your whole body. These things are not only warm, but very comfortable to lay on! Another thing you can do is to take a piece of plywood or something and before you go to bed, heat up some rocks in your iron skillet and set the skillet full of rocks on the plywood. It will keep most of the chill off during the night. I've heard where people have wrapped up a hot stone in a wool blanket to keep up against them too.

[Jerry Wald]

if it's real cold - wear wool socks, long underwear and a touque in bed too.

Touque will really help.

Speaking of rocks we used to put them on the wood stoves and then put them in our skates to warm them up before we played hockey on the outdoor rinks..  

jer Bear

[Ground Hunter]

Good bag beats bad heater.  Spend the money, come home alive.  H