Heaters...Thoughts.....Advice?

summer lightweight sleeping bag, winter low temp sleeping bag - what could be simpler?

a quick tip I learnt from my grandfather - roll your sleeping bag out in the sun during the day or hang it on the clothes line (whatever gets more sun) during the "heat" of the day, once warm, roll it up tight and leave it in the tent off the ground, when you go to bed unroll and the warmth from the sun will still be retained within for long enough for you to climb in and not feel the chill. even on a cold winter's days you should get a bit of sun...

Hey Stevo

you have the same tent as us and with our -5 sleeping bags we have never been cold in it..as others have said chuck a beanie on as well




Mrs ho har:angel:

Baked beans help warm up the sleeping bag too:wasntme:

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Originally Posted by Sleepy

Baked beans help warm up the sleeping bag too:wasntme:

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Pea & ham soup works best, I've found (and SWMBO refuses to let me pack Braised Steak & Onions when we're off on a camping trip).

Haven't tried this in a tent Stevo, but on a couple of cold nights last trip in Tassie, we just kept the Cobb cooker going for a little while inside the camper trailer. Worked a treat. A couple more heat beads added just before going to bed and let it die a natural death.

I presume you have a good quality sleeping bag? Add this too a swag or a matress off the ground with a good quality blanket over the top and your little fella should be toasty.

Heaters in a tent is a bit.... :angel:

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Originally Posted by vnx205

Baz
I'm still trying to figure out whether your photo illustrates the fact that you take the dog with you to keep you warm when you go camping or that you borrow the dog's heater when you go camping. :)

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We take the dog so we can borrow the heater;)

Again...thanks for all the tips/ advice. Still toying with the idea of a catalytic heater....though I'm looking at around $80-90...which then comes off my savings for my bull bar. Again SWMBO told me to "man" up :whistling:. I like the idea of the sleeping bag out in the sun.....Cobb would be nice...if I had one....thats also on the list of "to buys".....I have a beanie....makes my face look even fatter :mad:, so might just take my doona as well and see how I fare. If I don't fare well, then may get a heater for the next winter trip. Though I could wuss out before this one as I do like a nice warm place to settle into...:),

Regards

Stevo

I'm with those who are concerned about the use of heaters inside a tent. Here's what I would do: 1. Put a hot water bottle in the sleeping bag of anyone who is really worried about the cold (you can always take it out if you get too warm). 2. Have a nice hot cup of cocoa just before turning in to bed (you won't believe how warm that makes you feel!) 3. On cold nights, wear a fleece or wool or other such warm cap since the vast majority of body heat loss is through the head.

#2 and #3 is what we do with our Scouts on cold-night campouts. We would absolutely not allow the heaters in their tents. But by having that cup of cocoa and wearing thermal underwear and a stocking cap, the only complaints we usually get are that they're too warm!

...Well, at least until morning! ;)

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Originally Posted by Ricey

Apparently it's best to sleep with as little clothing on as possible in the bag as you want the thermal benefits of it's design rather than insulate yourself from them.

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I used to subscribe to this belief as well until I recently started researching it more thoroughly and found it to be most likely incorrect.

The theory I had been operating under was that with extra clothing in the sleeping bag, you would get *too* warm and sweat, which would chill you. But if you're sweating that way, it only means you have too heavy clothes on or an overly thick sleeping bag.

What I've since found is that if you have a sleeping bag rated for, say, 0 degrees C, and you are sleeping on a -10 night, then you should wear thermal underwear or such to gain the extra 10 degrees of warmth.

To shed clothing when getting into the sleeping bag ends up making about as much sense as taking off your clothes before putting on a warm coat.

Beer, Scotch, Bourbon or Port works a treat for the grown ups, a good sleeping bag and blanket for the kiddies is generally all my 2 have ever needed.


BUT


On the one occasion that I did end up with a cold and wanted to warm the tent before bed, the camp oven full of sand heated in the fire and then put on a wooden chopping board heated it up surprisingly well and stayed warm for most of the night and still felt warmer than the outside temp in the morning.

Love it! Oh and by the way Stevo ... HTFU! :D

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Originally Posted by vnx205

Last time I heated a tent i used a long piece of large diameter metal pipe that passed through the coals of the campfire. it sloped uphill from the other side of the fire so that fresh air was drawn in and carried up the pipe by convection into the tent.

It worked very well, but I don't suppose that is quite what you had in mind. :)

You did ask for "any suggestions". :p

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