Heat source options for tent camping.

[howl]

Hole in roof vs buddy heater? Do you need heat all night badly enough to put a hole in the roof? Are you going out of your way to avoid an enclosed or travel trailer?

I have both style tent setups and use both depending. My stove is nuway propane and I do make coffee and oatmeal on it.

Agree your baseline is being ok without a heater, for safety sake.

 

[Jnasa]

I use a wood stove for our wall tent. It doesn’t stay warm all night. I stock it and damper it down. It helps keep warm most of the night. Where heat is really nice is to warm up after a long day or help fry things out. When I’m sleeping I rely on a quality sleeping bag. If it’s really cold I’ll wake up and add more wood to the stove.

I have a propane heater. I use for shorter trips or when wood may be scarce. It is faster but I never run it when we sleep.

One reality is you are tent camping. Perfect heat control is unlikely.

 

[rustednuts]

Part I - valuable input.
Growing up I hunted the North Maine woods in November.
We had wood burning stoves for heat and propane set ups to cut the edge off when we woke up to get dressed.
The priority was nice sleeping bags to stay warm, not redoing the fire every two hours.

I prefer to have cooler temps to sleep in while being warm in bed/sleeping bags.

All that to say - wood stove and a little buddy heater when you wake up to take the edge off is fine.



Part II - informational input.

I run a Kodiak canvas flexbow and little buddy heater as my set up now.
I spent two January hunts in -30 to 15 degrees and that was my heat source.
I vent the tent, I run a carbon monoxide detector, and I mitigated risk as much as I could.
It's an option that a lot of people do successfully year round.

This isnt to sway you because no one will take care of you and your family like yourself and no one else gets to accept risk on your behalf, but I just wanted to say it's not a death wish running that set up.

This is what we do wood as primary and propane when you first get back and in the morning. It seems to be the best combo.

 

[Straight Arrow]

One reality is you are tent camping. Perfect heat control is unlikely.

Even if you have a warm wife tent mate with campfire rocks wrapped in her tee shirt at bottom of sleeping bag during cold night up Pass Creek in the Thorofare.

 

[mtmuley]

Anyone using the diesel heaters in a tent as big as 12 x 20? mtmuley

 

[cgasner1]

Could always get one of those sleeping bags with the zipper on the other side and sleep real close to your hunting buddy. For warmth

 

[FireStation46]

I use Mr. Heater propane in my tent. It shuts off if the Co2 is measured. I just use a Coleman 6 person tent with instant pop up. Actually, with a cot, cooler, fan, light, my duds and hunting rifle it’s not really 6 man imho as they advertise it. I camp close to where I park in the woods so it is not too heavy. I also lay down a very large tarp and then set the tent on top of it. Has enough width so I can step out at night if I need to without stepping on fire ants or mud

 

[Polaris_Doc]

VELIT Portable Air Heater 14000BTU

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Buddy mine just got one of these for ice fishing and hunting, says it works pretty slick!

 

[Addicting]

You all need to just hunt with an easterner who will bring OAK logs with them. If you so choose to cut, split it, then burn it as fire wood, it will last the night. The pine that most westerners burn in camp only last hours.

 

[Johnny Bravo]

If you just want to stay warm, electric blankets and one of those big power banks? No one wants to camp next to someone with a generator going all night.

 

[teamwhitebelly]

Does Colorado allow wood burning stoves during a fire ban?

 

[The_Jim]

Does Colorado allow wood burning stoves during a fire ban?

There are different stages of a fire ban.

 

[LuketheDog]

I plan on doing a family camping/scouting trip in June in Colorado. Also if I draw a tag I plan to hunt first rifle elk in Colorado mid-october.
I think I want to have a 2 tent set up. One canvas wall tent style for a separate kitchen area and then a sleeping tent, probably a bell style. Obviously by my recent post I'm new to mountain camping so I'm in the process of gathering equipment and trying to learn what I will need.

I have pretty much ruled out a propane type heater for all night heat while sleeping. I cannot get peace of mind with the thought of carbon monoxide poisoning. Not to mention the condensation that propane heat puts off.

1. Buy a good sleeping bag, a 0-degree at minimum, then you might not even need the heater.
2. A buddy heater will easily heat your canvas sleeping tent, turn it on medium/high an hour before you go to bed and an hour before you get out of your bag in the morning. They have CO detectors and you can bring a battery unit for backup if you're concerned. We've done this method several times in a Kodiak canvas tent and it works great. If you do feel the need to run it during the night just put it on the low setting and unzip the bottom of the door, heat rises and you won't lose much.
3. A wood stove is great for your wall tent, it will heat the tent in no time and dry out wet clothes.
4. Don't be the generator guy, there's nothing worse than hearing a generator chugging away at some other camp down the mountain.

 

[LuketheDog]

You all need to just hunt with an easterner who will bring OAK logs with them. If you so choose to cut, split it, then burn it as fire wood, it will last the night. The pine that most westerners burn in camp only last hours.

No kidding, pine sucks for fires. Last time I drove out to the west coast I raided my buddy's woodpile and brought back a bunch of oak to burn in the wood stove here at our house, it's SO much better for the all-night burn.