tents vs fire?

[mustangwarrior]

ok, so i'm hopefully going on a one night camping trip with my bro on Good Friday, so i figure the weather probably will not cooperate with us the best, i'm expecting a low around 30 degrees F or so

we have an older cheap coleman 4 person tent (2 adults comfortably), i plan on using a blue tarp under the tent and another above for a rain fly, also we don't have any fancy mummy bags just some older coleman sleeping bags, so i plan on dressing warm to sleep

so my question is, how do you guys stay warm in colder weather? how close can you be to use the fire for heat? i had thought about possibly using the tarp as a shield against any stray embers, any thoughts?

 

[Capt Eddie]

You will almost never use a heater in a tent no matter how cold it gets. Use more sleeping pads and blankets. 30 is not cold if you sleep in thermals. and wear a hat. It would take a large fire to heat the tent and you have to tend it all night if you go that direction.

 

[Christophe Noel]

The additional tarp under the tent will help prevent moisture accumulation through condensation on the floor, but it won't add any thermal value. That comes from creating dead space between you and the cold ground. Foam pads will prevent the cold ground from chilling your bones. I also wouldn't suggest combining a fire with your keep-warm plan in a tent. Insulate yourself from the ground. Wrap yourself in as much insulation as possible through bags and blankets. Eat a good meal before hitting the sack. Wear a hat. Wear warm socks. Most importantly - go to bed BEFORE you get cold. If you're sitting around getting cold, crawling in a bag cold is a tough way to get warm. Go to bed warm. Jog around the tent a couple times if you need to.

 

[nwoods]

Don't use an air mattress. The cold air under your back is not good. Foam pads as stated earlier are much better. Use a silk sheet inside the sleeping bag, it reflects your body heat back to you. A cotton sheet will also work, but not as well. Stuff tomorrow's clothes into the footwell of your sleeping bag, it reduces the air volume your feet need to try to heat, and keeps your clothes warm for when you put them on in the morning. I personally advocate sleeping with as few clothing layers on as possible. Let your body heat warm up the bag (sheet liner), instead of isolating yourself from the bags ability to warm you. My wife doesn't agree, and probably suspects ulterior motives

 

[matt s]

Suprised it hasn't been mentioned but tent material and fire don't mix. At minimum you will will put holes in the tent, worse case you will burn it up hopefully without anyone inside. I would keep the tent a good 20 feet from the fire.

Here is one little trick that works well. Heat up water and put it in a Nalgene (or similar) water bottle and toss it in the bottom of your bag. It will put out heat for a very surprisingly long time. On really cold outings we even do this in camp and keep a hot water bottle under our jackets. They can be hard to find but the old water bladder hot pads like gramdma used to have are awesome for this and more comfortable than a hard bottle in the bag.

One of these.

 

[shantsn]

Here is one little trick that works well. Heat up water and put it in a Nalgene (or similar) water bottle and toss it in the bottom of your bag. It will put out heat for a very surprisingly long time. On really cold outings we even do this in camp and keep a hot water bottle under our jackets. They can be hard to find but the old water bladder hot pads like gramdma used to have are awesome for this and more comfortable than a hard bottle in the bag.

I do this when its cold and it works great, I boil water and pour it into my steel water bottle then stick the bottle in an old tube sock (so it doesn't burn me). You could also get a bag liner, that might help keep you warmer. Have fun!

 

[lostdreamer]

Back to base camping principles for you by the sounds of it then!

I assume from the simple fact that you are posting on here you are 'car camping' and that extra gear isn't a huge issue.

Things I have found help (in no particular order as they fall out of my head)

Having a decent camp bed setup. You don't want to be cold and uncomfortable!

Pack & use seperate bedclothes. These should be kept bone dry, worn for sleeping in only. Your day wear will get dirty, sweaty and generally manky. A change of clothes at night can be a godsend. These can include hat, gloves & socks.

Hot water bottles are big and clever*. They worked when you were a little kid, and they work just as well now. Any of a wide variety of handwarmers will work just as well. I tend to go with a handwarmer on a string around my neck inside my shirt and a hotwater bottle in the bottom of the bag.

Layers. Yes, it's basic stuff that you probably know allready. but a set of tights and a long sleeved t-shirt will probably help more than a michelin man coat.

Food. Eat well. If your body has energy, it can use it to keep warm.

Bedding under you > than bedding over you. Whilst heat will generally take the easyest route to escape (see: don't put a huge coat on before putting on your hat) the air inside your tent/bag etc will (slowly) warm up a bit. The ground won't, and it will take every bit of heat it can get. See earlier comments on foam mats.

Smaller tents are warmer than bigger tents. Less tent means less air to heat, and less airflow to steal heat from you.

Get a good sleeping bag. Two bits of camp gear you shall never regret spending money on (assuming you go camping!) are good boots and a good sleeping bag. A good sleeping bag will keep you warm even in the worst of weather.

Take a thermos. Fill it with scalding hot water every time you boil the kettle on. This means when you don't have the kettle on you have a thermos full of hot water to brew up with.

Have fun! This bit is important. It's why you went out, yes?


All advice/comments/ranting worth exactly what you paid for them, feel free to ignore. Hope it helps!

* = Also easily improvised, as earlier posters have mentioned.

 

[BigAl]

I like:

• a winter hat
• a metal water bottle filled with boiling water and placed in a wool sock to sleep with
• an extra sleeping bag spread on the floor ove the pad
  

 

[/dev/ram]

Some great advice above, particularly the basics of heat loss. Thought I was going to freeze to death on an air mattress once, till I threw a couple blankets on top - made all the difference in the world. Never had that issue with my thermarest pads. Hand warmers and water bottles are great, particularly for the back-packers or those looking to save weight/space.
.
If you've got room, look at the Mr. Buddy Portable heater that is rated for use in tents and other spaces that have a source of fresh air. YMMV in terms of trust of technology, but from their website "The Portable Buddy uses an Oxygen Depletion System (ODS) which is a safety device used to light the heater as well as shut it off if Oxygen levels drop to between 18% and 19%. " and "The Portable Buddy has a low-oxygen shutoff system and a tip over switch that makes it safe for indoor use." Personally, I use it to heat the tent prior to going to sleep and again in the morning. Trust, but verify...

 

[1911]

how do you guys stay warm in colder weather?

Layers of clothes and calories - eat a lot.

 

[Cody1771]

sometimes ill put a few rocks beside the fire within shovels reach, then throw them in a pillowcase or the like and chuck them in my sleeping bag. i usually do this to warm it up a bit before bed and get rid of that initial cold shock.

 

[mustangwarrior]

to those who asked, we will be "car camping" but not at a campground, the plan is to head out to my buddy's property near Franklin, PA, i will be taking the truck and on the way i'm going to stick to secondary roads as much as possible and hit some geocaches and do some hiking on the way, and yes we will bring some comforts with us but not all, the plan was already to bring two single air mattresses (i can inflate them with the truck) and sounds like i just need to put layers between my self and the mattress and eat a good meal over the fire before sleeping

the next option would be to sleep in the bed of the truck, but that would mean no mattress and i'd have to empty everything out the truck, i'm no wimp, i'll sleep on the ground anyday but if i don't have to why should i

i guess my fire question made me sound really inexperienced, lol, i should have known better, i guess i should have directed it more towards how to keep warm, i've camped many times but always in the summer

 

[dirty Bakers]

Just take lots of blankets. Dressing warm before has never helped me. In high school my buddies and I decided it was going to be a cold night so we made a long fire pit in the sand and built a fire and let it burn down. Then we completly covered the coal with sand and put our bedding on top. Warmest night ever. Before I was married the only time I used a tent was on snow outings. How I long for those days of no tents.

 

[hochung]

I just use rum or tequila.

 

[Xtreme XJ]

Let me ask a somewhat dumb Q. here...
While I agree with most of the above I also don't sleep well in clothing... which takes away from the experience...
I agree with the theory that the tent will heat up a bit with respiration and such... but I'm wondering if one was able to make a stable container that was the size of say a Coke can and put a small candle in it ?? Should it get knocked over it would be contained and probably just extinguish.
I understand the flame to nylon tent material arguement, I'm wondering about if having the flame contained makes it a possible idea...

Go easy on me...

Curt