keeping warm in tents during winter / rainy weather

[Big Stu 12]

I use the little hand warmers. They throw out a decent heat. Place em in between thighs on femoral artery and you'll stay nice n warm.
Another one slung at bottom of sleeping bag keeps toes toasty warm too

I have to say... most of the Suffolk Group use Charcoal hand warmers or the Lighter fuel hand warmers.. supplied by me as I get them cheap lol : so we have two or three each

And it does work, we do have a regular that has a furry bunny water bottle as well .

Make a flask of hot drink before you go to bed, if you need it its there ... in the morning you got a nice warm drink with out getting out the pit..

 

[Man of Tanith]

I use the gel ones but same theory

 

[Stringmaker]

And it does work, we do have a regular that has a furry bunny water bottle as well .

At the risk of this descending into a "cats versus rabbits" thread, I can vouch for Bagpuss...

 

[Squidders]

I have previously cut open a Ton ton with a Light Sabre and crawled inside the stomach for the night. It smells terrible but works.

 

[mrcharly]

Is there much risk from CO when using the charcoal handwarmers?

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

I burn my tent stove all night if its freezing. A Lavvu designed to take a stove with good ventilation gives me the confidence to keep warm through the night. This is fine for static camps or for winter use on a pulk or toboggan. If im going light then i just carry a down exped mat and down bag and use a nalgene hot water bottle. Candles provide a good amount of heat to take the edge off too if you have the right shelter. I never use a double skin shelter so the floor is always available to me for my candle lanterns.

 

[redandshane]

Hi All

So when the summer goes away, and short period of autumn, then soon it will be chilling winter. When you camp in this cold freezing time, how do you get heat in the tents to keep warm?

Are there any type of heaters for tent, would it be possible / advisable to burn wood stoves in tent? Or do you just have to use your own body temperature, blankets, lots of layers and sleeping bag to keep yourself warm?

Thanks in advance.

I go back to the OP as people seem to be getting a bit carried away
There is a difference between sweating your balls off while its freezing outside and simply being warm enough
In the UK you will not need a stove unless you are camping somewhere there will be no wood any way so unless you are a glamper in a great big tepee with a stove;chimney etc and fur rugs or static camping forget it
basically a small tent with a good mat and a decent sleeping bag; Keeping dry inside is the main thing
You can have a fire to the front of the tent and that will radiate heat into tent
The better option IMHO is a tarp as reflector with a long fire in front
The main enemy is moisture though so always be aware avoiding wet or getting dry if you do get wet

 

[mrmike]

I spent a winter night near the top of Anoch Mor 10 years ago. Thermometer said -20c inside the tent vestibule.

We had a good hot meal, went outside for ablutions and then settled down inside our down bags (rated -20 )
Mine was on a thin thermarest.
I thought I might be cold so I slept in a fleece top and trousers.
Needless to say I was sweating my bits off a couple of hours later so had to strip off and vent the bag.

The inner of the tent was surprisingly (or should I say comparatively) warm just from two peoples body heat.

Have used a gas tent heater before also, they eat gas like nobody's business and you have to be VERY careful about where you site them.

Oh and down jackets work well too...
Insulate yourself not your surroundings. ....

Sent from my boggy hole using tapatalk 2

 

[Big Stu 12]

Is there much risk from CO when using the charcoal handwarmers?

Depend on how you use them.. common sense dictates, just like any enclosed environment, if its sealed then the CO can not escape if you have something burning, just the same as having a candle or a fire flame lamp or cooker burning in the environment......

I am not saying that CO is no problem...

Just use your common sense......the choice and risk is yours....

 

[Teepee]

Plenty of good advice above.

An oft overlooked point about keeping warm is proper food and hydration. Thicker blood is harder to pump to the extremities, so drink plenty. Hot drinks are better, obviously. Protein, vegetables and fats also keep the furnace burning, I finds stodgy carbs leave me cold and so I limit them. Foods with Chilli, Ginger, Cayenne pepper, Black pepper, Onion and chocolate to name a few, are excellent. If you wake up cold,a chocolate bar and a drink work wonders.

Personally, I prefer to take enough clothes and sleeping insulation to keep warm rather than artificially heating a space but that's just me. If I'm still cold, I do some excercise-chop wood, shovel snow, run, do star jumps.

I also think the hot water bottle trick is vastly under-rated, not only helps keep you warm but dries your sleeping insulation out ( assuming it doesn't make you sweat)

 

[rg598]

Insulations good Ross, though it was from trying to go light on winter expeditions that I found a bottle/bladder hotwater bottle not only vital but a great moral booster. If you get in a bag cold you will stay cold longer as your body internalises the heat, and all the insulation does is trap heat - it doesn't produce it. But good food, few minutes exercise to build up some heat and get in your bag before you get cold and you should be fine. Great pics by the way would love to be out in snow right now.

Those are all very good suggestions. I also use a pee bottle during the night so I don't have to get out of the sleeping bag and let all the heat out.

 

[Gray]

Have a look here. This is a cold weather bivvy, no tents. I was snug as a bug with a swiss army sleep mat under a thermarest with a army issue arctic bag and a bivvy bag. Clothes wise i slept in woolen long johns, a hat and a wooly jumper. Warm as toast.

 

[spader]

Thank you all for great ideas and advice. Learning a lot by reading all the posts. cheers.

 

[spader]

You can have a fire to the front of the tent and that will radiate heat into tent
The better option IMHO is a tarp as reflector with a long fire in front

Seems good idea. Any photos or videos for this set up?

 

[Shewie]

After a few weeks of reading threads on Wintertrekking I came up with a plan ...

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99612&highlight=recycled

 

[spader]

Fantastic. What an engineering genius. That stove looks superb.
Would it be also OK to use non Canvas plastic material made tents with the stove?

After a few weeks of reading threads on Wintertrekking I came up with a plan ...

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99612&highlight=recycled

 

[Leiflet]

Given a choice of tents, use the smaller one. That said, in Devon - where it's mostly more dingy wet than really cold in winter - a one-person tent can just get swamped with condensation since you can't avoid brushing against the sides. Been there, not nice.

Cheers,
Leif

 

[spader]

I am now looking for a small tent made of Canvas (such as Patrol tent or Bell tent), and thinking of putting in a Frontier Stove in it. A utility tent to store stuff beside a Patrol tent is also an idea.

 

[Robbi]

stay nice and warm

in danger of turning a 5m bell tent into a hot air balloon !

 

[spader]

stay nice and warm

in danger of turning a 5m bell tent into a hot air balloon !

Thanks. That bell tent surely looks nice and warm. cheers.