Mr Buddy or Coleman heaters?

[DaveM]

I use the blackcat heater in my RTT. I hang it from the ceiling. I use bulk propane with a hose going into the tent and to the heater, since there is nothing worse than waking up at 4am freezing because the 1 pound cylinder is empty. The heater works phenomenally in my tent. I think the thicker canvas material of the RTT helps hold in the heat. I usually open a side window to have about a foot of vent space and that does the trick. The only thing is you have to watch out for the heater when sitting up, since the grill gets quite hot. I can deal with that if I am nice and toasty. I have used it when it was well below freezing outside (in the teens) and I can sleep in a t-shirt.

I have spent about 30 nights in the tent with this heater.

~ James

James, does the area behind the grill on the Blackcat light up like a mantle on a propane lantern? Or is it just very hot?

The Mr. Buddy heaters have a ceramic tile that is awash in a propane flame that generates heat but could cause an immediate fire if anything combustible got in there.

 

[yyc_ranger_4x4]

I also have a blackcat heater, bought it this past spring when I did a high angle course just in case it was going to be cold (West of Calgary Ab near banff in early April). I used it almost every night before crawling into the tent and before crawling out of the sleeping bag. It works great, I'll use it often. I think I may have used 1 1/2 1lb bottles over the course of 7 nights. This was in a cheap 2 person dome tent that was completely vented at the top. The temps dropped to -10*C the one night, and we had 9" of snow.

It doesn't really glow red at all, but if you've got the lights out then you can see little hints of burning in the catalyst while it's on. The front grill does get a warm, but I wasn't running it continously.

 

[seanz0rz]

that was my personal experience with the blackcat heater. i think for the money (80 bucks or so), its just not worth the little warmth that it provides. i rather spend that money on a better sleeping bag, thermals, etc. i dont get cold easy (im that guy wearing shorts during winter storms), but if im using a heater, i have a reasonable expectation that i should be warm, and the blackcat failed to meet this expectation. would another heater work for me? im not sure. the vast majority of my camping is during warmer months or in warmer places, so my needs may be different than others. maybe my tent just does not hold in the heat (well ventilated coleman) well enough.

thats just my opinion and your results may vary.

 

[jimi breeze]

I just bought a Mr. Heater Little Buddy to use in my camper shell. Like mentioned previous, I plan to only use it to pre-warm the space.