Hello!

I went camping for the second time with the girlfriend this weekend. It was nice and warm during the day but at night, it went down to 6 C (40 F). The gf was slightly cold so I took the candle out of my PSK and made a simple holder using two plastic beer cups. It did seem to warm up the tent a little, probably because of the tent design : even though there are two large mesh windows on the tent, the rain fly that covers it goes down beyond the windows to make them less prone to letting warm air escape. Here is the tent i'm talking about, it's a Columbia Mt. Bachelor.

Tent without rain fly

Tent with rain fly

You can see what it looks like when it has the rain fly on it.

Does anyone have any recommendations to warm this specific tent up? We both already have good sleeping bags, but the gf would appreciate if I could warm up the air a little when we get ready for sleep. We will *not* go to sleep with the heat source on. My current options are :

-UCO candle lantern
-Home-made candle lantern (that would be fun to make)
-Coleman Sportcat catalytic heater
-Century infrared heater

Any tips or suggestions? I'm interested in hearing from people that have experience with some of these... (Please, no comments saying "use fleece blankets, better sleeping pads/bags"... I am looking for some help finding an external heat source to warm up the tent)

Thanks!


Bee <img src="/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />

With the disclaimer that we should avoid flames in tents like the plague:

An Ucco lantern is pretty safe, but not much heat - mostly mental.

A Coleman Xcursion lantern gives a lot more heat and light than an Ucco and is not much larger

Beyond that... I've been forced to use stoves in tents this size and have used 2 burner lanterns in slightly larger tents. But I REALLY do not feel that stoves in tents are a good idea in general. If you absolutely must add heat in a tent, IMHO compressed gas devices (stoves, lanterns, cat heaters) are a little less dangerous than anything using liquid fuel. At temperatures much below what you describe, only propane will get the job done, but be careful to keep your gear away from the SportCat.

You could also extend your rainfly to near-ground - it's not hard with a sewing machine. Although the tent will still be at ambient when you enter, it stays warmer. Which is a drawback in warmer weather... I've done the extend-the-fly routine and it helps - even more if you build snow walls up 1/2 - 2/3 tent high and close - keeps the wind from whipping thru.

You could also hang some fabric inside to lower the ceiling and retard airflow thru the mesh ceiling panels. Light weight cotton or ripstop nylon (uncoated) would work if you could get it fastened close to the edges.

HTH. Watch those heat sources in your tent!

Tom

Hmmmm...

You, your girlfriend, 2 sleeping bags, & a tent...

Seems to me you warm her up by zipping the 2 bags together. If done properly, neither you nor she will notice the ambient temperature in the tent (which will increase a small bit, no doubt). <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Cheers!

David <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

You don't mention specifically, but assume you're taking advantage of this feature of your tent, cited in Columbia's product description:

Cyclone Venting System Keep warmer or cooler- it's up to you, not the temperature outside. The venting system creates a vortex that flushes hot air up though the roof, providing fresh air all night long. For maximum climate control, open or close the lower vents to feel the cool night breeze or keep warm air in.

Or, have you thought about approaching the problem by warming your bags, rather than the whole tent, using something like this or similar products like this?

Then, there's always electric socks, but my wife says she'd freeze to death before she'd wear those <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Thought this was interesting... Polar Challenge FAQs

From the FAQ:

What about in the tents?

At the end of a day when you are tucked up in your tent and swapping
stories about the different types of ice you have seen, you will have
your stove on; this can keep the tent quite balmy, however the
temperature drops very quickly once the stoves are off. The nippiest
time is when you awake and the opening to your sleeping bag (which is
great while you are in it) is covered in ice from where your breath
has frozen. If you sleep in the buff, when it's your turn to get the
stoves going it can be a bit bracing, particularly if the stove is so
cold it needs putting in your sleeping bag to warm up to an
operational temperature.


They also address the dangers of having a stove in a tent, then:

But every aspect of the arctic is potentially dangerous. It all comes
down to good personal admin or "knowing where you put things and not
knocking things over". If you don't heat your tent up you core body
temperature will drop and as you sleep you will become colder and
colder, hypothermia can soon set in.

Thing I learned while climbing.... One liter N. bottle filled with boiling water thrown inside the sleeping bag. Stays warm for 6-7 hours and next day you have water that is ready to drink.

I saw this being used:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/det...mp;amp;n=507846

Called my friend to ask him how it was and he said that it worked just fine.

Of the choices you've got listed, the UCO lantern would be your best/safest bet, the flame is totally enclosed, ya don't want to burn the tent down around you (just my oppinion). UCO also makes a three candle version called the Candelier that is GREAT, more heat, more light, and the flat top makes a really good stove/warmer too (yes, I've got one that I'm very happy with), the only down side is that it's not collapsible like the single candle model, but I still like mine A LOT. The only way you're gonna find a better/safer solution is to spend a LOT more money, i.e. marine alcohol stove/heater combination.

Troy

Expanding on that idea a little...

How 'bout using a Solar Shower to heat the tent? It'd take a little planning ahead, but 4 gallons of water at over 100F would have to do something useful in a small, enclosed volume (tent), wouldn't it?

Just fill it up, leave it out in the sun, then bring it in at night.

Edit: Or not. That's only 32 lbs of water. It'd be like having a small child with you. Unless it gets hotter than 100F. (The ad says 108F... wonder how hot would make it worth it?)

Bee: When a girlfriend is in the tent, use your imagination and there should never be a problem heating up the air before you go to sleep. (Nudge, nudge; wink, wink)

Now, were you to use the term "wife", then I would suggest you obtain a good infrared heater. And electric socks. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

.....CLIFF

An engineering student sees his fellow student ride up on a new bicycle. The first student asks his friend where he got the new bike. "It was the funniest thing", he said, "There is this girl, a Fine Arts major, who rides her bike past me on my way to class. Every day she winks or waves at me. Well today, when no one else was on the path, she jumps off the bike, takes off all her clothes, throws them on the ground next to the bike and says "I'll give you anything you want!"
The first engineering student ponders this for a moment, and then says to his friend, "The bike was a good choice; the clothes would never have fit."

I have a couple friends who are going to be engineering student . I think they would make the same choice <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />.

Uh-ehm!

Not all engineers would make that choice. Either in thier adult or larval(student) form.

hey groo he said girlfriend... I don't think he is aiming at having a child quite yet <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Still depends on the bike... What if it was one of the cheap one from toys'r'us?

Thought I would throw a rock into this quiet little pond of thought by sending you a link to Kifaru. These very lightweight tents are made to use stoves inside of them.
Oh and the idea about using a Nalgene bottle (Lexan) filled with boiling water really works. I slip it into an old boot sock so no one gets burned and find it is still above body temperature the next morning unless you are in pretty cold temperatures.

If you want a cheap solution and are willing to risk open flame, then get yourself a can of Sterno. It's clean burning (alcohol-based), and the larger (8 oz.?) size will give you 3 hours runtime which will probably last you the entire trip.

Regards, Vince

NO FLAMES OF ANY KIND in a nylon/polyester tent, please. Have you ever seen nylon burn? Have you ever touched the melted nylon while melting the ends of nylon rope. It is excrutiatingly painfull. If the material ignites, you simply will not have sufficient time to escape before your body is coated with burning melted plastic. Not pretty.

Cooking should be done in the open or under a tarp of sufficient height to prevent disaster. You'll know what I mean if you've ever seen a Coleman gas stove flare up underneath a low-lying dining fly - exciting!

If it is that cold outside I do not want to close off the vents in my tent because that will result in a tremendous amount of condensation on the interior surfaces of the tent and fly. If anything I tend to open the vents up even more. Having the moisture (being wet) is much worse than being cold.

The desire to have a tent's fly large enough to come close to the ground is to prevent water from entering the tent during driving rains, NOT to reduce ventilation in order to make the tent warmer.

The tent is there to protect you from precipitation, wind, blowing snow/rain, and small critters, it is not intended to keep you warm - that is the task of clothing and your sleeping bag & pad.

In cold weather tents are not for lounging, they are for sleeping. Get a warm sleeping bag and use it. If you wish to be more intimate, then get a double-bag or zip bags together. Do socializing while wearing sufficient clothing to stay warm.

Yes, while transitioning from sleeping bag to a clothed state you will get chilled, but that's just part of the "fun" of cold weather camping. Some people wear non-cotton long underwear while sleeping just to ease the trasition. Unfortunately mummy-shaped bags usually don't provide sufficient room for in-bag clothing changes, but you could try that too.

Please excuse my ignoarance, but I am a Florida boy. To me, anything below 50F is cold. And even in temperatures that northerners would find warm , I find that I wake up with a nasty cough and congested lungs. My body is warm, but my lungs suck in cold air all night.

Is there a solution for this, or is this something that you just get used to if you live up north?

You get used to it every year. Right now, I'd get a nasty cough and congested lungs if it hits 50F. But in February, that's toasty warm, I can go out in shorts and bare feet.

LOL polak, i'm not ready for children, although the 39-year old girlfriend has been for a long time. I'm 29 and we've been dating for 11 months now. On to our regular program, though.

Today, I purchased a Coleman Black Cat catalytic 3000 BTU heater. It is nice and sturdy, and yields quite a bit of heat. I'm sure 15 minutes of this will warm my tent very nicely! As I previously said, I will not be sleeping with this turned on, and I am the "safe" type so everything should turn out okay. Also, the cyclone venting feature of my tent will contribute to useful air circulation.

I will keep you posted since we're going camping this weekend. Temperature should probably go down to around 38F at night.

Ciao!


Bee

(Oh, btw... Sleeping in the same bag is an option, we might get to that when one of us gets a bag that zips on the right side instead of the left, hehe!)

In northern Minnesota we use the 18 hour heat packs, body warmers, to both warm a sleeping bag and to up the ambient tent temp. The tent temp is more mental than actual but it does work. They can be gotten at most "Marts" and/ or sporting goods stores.

YOu can get what call "facebands", they are like a headband, but they go around the lower half of your head. It is basically a scarf that can't unravel.

Look in the cold weather section of something like Cabela's. I fyou are handy with a needle, or know someone who is, a tube of light polypro that has some stretch to it, stiched into a tube big enough around to go around your head, and wide enough to go from your nose to about an inche below your chin.

That will prewarm your air, keep the crud out of your lungs.

This may have been posted already.. but I live in NC.. we have some cold weather in winter.. I take a foam mat or a air matress to get my body off of the ground.. This makes a tremendous differnece in body heat..The ground seems to absorb your heat... i guess cause its so cold!!

Winter camping in Alaska, the arrangement is a canvas wall tent and a coleman stove. When its lights out, you make sure you have a good sleeping bag. Someone gets to light the thing in the morning and start some water heating. Usually we sleep in Carharts so getting up aint that bad. Wear something onyour head, sleeping and make a sort of tunnel for your breath. Nylon tent is pretty useless in subzero weather.

Never did put the tent up as it was designed to be,, actually a tarp is as good. Draped over some electrical conduit bent and tied to form a domw, edges held down with snow, , and the floor dug down a couple of feet maybe into the snow, I've been out in 60mph winds that didnt bother the tent at all.
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