Overnight tent heating

[Nd4SpdSe]

In cold weather you could pretty much sleep in your underwear....it's what we've been told in the army and it works. I went to Puvirnituq this past winter and the weather hovered around -30 to -50 Celsius (remember -40 is the same in F and C) One night we slept in a real igloo for the fun of it. We do have double sleeping bags for the extreme cold, and like all military kit, the quality is questionable sometimes, but it works. We use it every year for our winter warfare exercises, and to keep up to date on our winter survival training, which tends to run between -20 and -30*C. First, you never want to 1) sweat or 2) sleep with your head inside, or breath inside your sleeping bag. You should also sleep are bare as possible. Yes, even at -50, I'll have just underwear and maybe a t-shirt. We also have a type of balaclava (a hole for the full face, with a shoulder covering) to keep the heat inside the sleeping bag. It does surprisingly work well.

(Me on the right)

I looked at the 12v heated blanket quick and they don't seem to be too bad for current draw. The one at Canadian Tire I came across listed 4.8A. I calculated on my trailer 3.5amps (all my LED lights on) I would get roughly 14 hours out of my battery. The heated blanket would actually work, but after 2 nights if your not moving (and recharging unless you have a shore power connection), your left with a dead battery.

 

[pugslyyy]

In cold weather you could pretty much sleep in your underwear....it's what we've been told in the army and it works. I went to Puvirnituq this past winter and the weather hovered around -30 to -50 Celsius (remember -40 is the same in F and C) One night we slept in a real igloo for the fun of it. We do have double sleeping bags for the extreme cold, and like all military kit, the quality is questionable sometimes, but it works. We use it every year for our winter warfare exercises, and to keep up to date on our winter survival training, which tends to run between -20 and -30*C. First, you never want to 1) sweat or 2) sleep with your head inside, or breath inside your sleeping bag. You should also sleep are bare as possible. Yes, even at -50, I'll have just underwear and maybe a t-shirt. We also have a type of balaclava (a hole for the full face, with a shoulder covering) to keep the heat inside the sleeping bag. It does surprisingly work well.

I looked at the 12v heated blanket quick and they don't seem to be too bad for current draw. The one at Canadian Tire I came across listed 4.8A. I calculated on my trailer 3.5amps (all my LED lights on) I would get roughly 14 hours out of my battery. The heated blanket would actually work, but after 2 nights if your not moving (and recharging unless you have a shore power connection), your left with a dead battery.

I like electric blankets for pre-warming the bed/sleeping bag. If you only run it for an hour or so you don't kill the battery but have a nice toast warm sack to climb into.

 

[99Yota]

I went through a similar exercise while preparing for some cold weather camping in my RTT.

The Mr. Heater Buddy will cut out in an enclosed space due to monoxide safety cut off and disposable hand warmers will go out after a while so it isn't a viable option.

As others have mentioned, sweat / dampness is your enemy and layers are your friend. It may sound counterintuitive to promote ventilation, especially if it is cold but it will cut down on breathing vapor from freezing inside your tent on walls etc. Provided you have an adequate sleeping bag and properly matched pad, two items I feel are frequently overlooked are a long balaclava and gloves. Slide the balaclava so your nose and mouth are covered by fabric which will help you breath easy once temps drop closer to 0F and below. Thick wool socks also help- just make sure nothing is snug.

A half gallon water jug with hot water in your bag will help with keeping your sleeping bag warm but my experience is that it might be too much. A small zippo handwarmer will burn all night long inside your sleeping bag by your feet and provide adequate heat which is quite noticeable. The fumes will be minimal but it will smell a little like zippo inside your bag which to me isn't a big deal. The trick is getting warm before getting in your bag.

While I have given up on trying to keep the inside of my tent warm overnight, something I'm interested in trying out is a small hairdryer to see how well it works in taking the edge off before settling in for the night or crawling out of a toasty sleeping bag when it is way below zero.

 

[Scoutn79]

A few things I have noticed over the years.
Get the smallest 4 season tent you can live with...less room= less heat needed to keep it warm.
Spread out a thick blanket on the ground before you put your thick INSULATED sleeping pad down.
Nice warm sleeping bag
Wear long johns, wool/fleece socks and a ski cap.
Have a large dog in the tent with you..they have a higher body temp than you.

All of this keeps the inside of my tent around 15 deg F warmer than ambient when it gets below freezing. as well as keeping me warm.
You could also drape an extra tarp or plastic sheeting over your tent...it won't breath but will help keep air movement from drafts, and thus heat loss, down.

When we were kids in the winter we would have large rocks in the fire and get them roasting hot. Then when we went to bed with leather gloves we would put them in the vestibule, it would keep the tent much warmer for 4 or so hours...then the cold sunk in.....

If you just want it a little warmer when you get up you could get a 12V hairdryer or electric windshield defroster and just turn it on 1/2 hr before you get out of the sleeping bag.

Darrell

 

[damon1272]

Chili. A big bowl of chili.:wings:




sorry...