Alternative method for heating a sleeping bag/tent

[379 Peterbilt]

I cant remember where I heard of this, but I was once informed of a cheap and effective method to take the chill out of cold weather camping.

Heating rocks up at the campfire (yet still handle safe) and stuffing them down your sleeping bag. Supposedly this works for hours  ()

It got me wondering. If done properly, one big stone (basketball size) heated up good and hot, then set on a bed of insulating gravel, may help with condensation issues in the tent. Hmmm...

Someone tell me I am not the only person to hear of this....

[Bob Hurley]

I cant remember where I heard of this, but I was once informed of a cheap and effective method to take the chill out of cold weather camping.

Heating rocks up at the campfire (yet still handle safe) and stuffing them down your sleeping bag. Supposedly this works for hours  ()

It got me wondering. If done properly, one big stone (basketball size) heated up good and hot, then set on a bed of insulating gravel, may help with condensation issues in the tent. Hmmm...

Someone tell me I am not the only person to hear of this....

Nope, sure not, I've heard of it from many sources. I just shortcut the process and roll up in a wool blanket beside the fire. Build a long, narrow fire, and lay parallel to it - don't try it with modern synthetic bedding or you'll wake up with your tail on fire and your hair a-catching.  :lol:

[briarpatch]

I can tell you for a fact the rocks work in the bag and a big one beside you in a single man tent will heat it nice and warm. This got me and some friends through a near zero night in the north carolina mountains this past winter.

[379 Peterbilt]

Thanks. I intend to employ said method in this years Ak hunt. Nothing like free heat in the sack....grin

[Billybob]

Was it in the movie Mountain Men or Jeremiah Johnson where they filled a trench with coals from the fire and then covered them with a layer of dirt. Their bedroll then went on top of that to keep them warm. As in the movie though make sure to use enough dirt or you may end up burning something in the middle of the nite.

[ShadowMover]

There is a very informative web site all about this very subject:
http://www.wwmag.net/firebed.htm
It takes the chill off, just reading about it.
I got the link from:
http://www.backwoodshome.com/columns/wolfe050301.html
Which you also find interesting.

[tbull55]

:shock: Briarpatch speaks the truth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Some of the group like to have froze that first night!!  You should have seen the rocks in the fire the second night, hardly any room for wood!!  I took a longer skinny rock and wrapped it in some sweat pants and placed it on one side of my 2 man tent and I placed one the size of a dinner plate and about 3 inches thick into a cotton t-shirt and put it under my pillow.  I was able to sleep all night with my sleeping bag open, it was great!!!  Nobody will ever wonder why a man would lump a big old rock into the middle of a fire again!!!!

[hellbilly075]

When winter camping (backpacking) about a half hour before bedtime I put two of those disposeable handwarmers you can buy at walmart for about a buck and throw them in my sleeping bag, one at the feet and one in the middle so you can grab it and put it where you need to keep warm. A good pad/mat is also good to keep you off the ground. Mine is a self inflating one that rolls up nicely and weighs about a pound and a half. I also have a nice ground cloth that is fleece on one side and rubberized on the bottom. I have camped hundreds of times with this outfit in 0 degree weather and never got cold. Always sleep in your underwear as you will sweat and make yourself colder. You can also eat something high in carbs before bed and it will help keep you warm as your body digests it.
                                                                  -Hellbilly

[Billybob]

Like Hellbilly I normally just throw a couple of those handwarmers in the bottom of my bag and my bag stays warm and toasty even on sub zero nites.
When tent camping in extreme cold we sometimes sit a small can of sterno inside a cooking pot and lite it inside the tent. It will warm the tent in minutes enough that we can sit and play cards in our t shirts while it's below zero outside. I'm sure a small cook stove would do the same.
Naturally it's not practical for heating the tent for a long period of time but its fun to play a few hands of cards before turning in sometimes and it's nice nice to be able to warm up in the tent if necessary.

[willysjeep134]

Yup, I have heard about the rocks too. In fact, a buddy of mine took an "outdoor living skills" course at my college. They went camping a few weekends. On one cold campout the instructor brought up the rock trick. Somebody heated up a rock really hot and tried to carry it back to the tent in their sleeping bag. The rock melted a nice 8 inch hole through her bag!

My scout troop will do something similar with those Nalgene plastic water bottles. We boil a big coffee pot of water for cocoa before bed. Any water left over gets poured into Nalgene bottles for bed warmers. We've never had a Nalgene leak, but I would be leery with a lesser quality bottle. Nobody wants to have a soggy sleeping bag.

[azshooter]

Electric generator with 8 hours of gas, 200-300 ft of extension cord so you don't have to listen to it and an electric space heater = a good sleep.

[Steelbanger]

I'm thinking two, maybe 3, 20 year old coeds could warm . . Oh here comes the wife! Bye.

[june6th1944]

While not as good as Steelbanger's method, these tent warmers do the trick.  Put on a wool skull cap too, a wool blanket, and you'll sleep like a baby.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0021233511927a&type=product&cmCat=search&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&QueryText=sleeping+bag+warmer&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=sleeping+bag+warmer&noImage=0

[wolfsong]

I use my canvas sleeping bag on top of the self inflating/deflating sleeping pads as a mattress for my cot. I then layer three oversized wool blankets folded in half to cover myself with. Cushioned on the bottom, smothered on the top, and I can always peel off a blanket or two if it's not too cold. I also wear a baclava (sp?) to keep my face and head warm. In the summer I'll use cotton blankets, with maybe a wool one handy just in case. I never use synthetic blankets as they don't breath and instaed keep your sweat in, making you either cold or hot, depending on the weather. I do have a military issue Artic mummy bag that I use for spike camps, but I much prefer wool over anything else. The cheapie Wal-Mart hand and foot warmers do work well, as others have stated. The only problem with making and keeping your tent warm is that it's hard to crawl out of it at 0dark30 to start your hunt. Peace and God bless, Wolfsong.