Hot tents for sub zero

[AK Granola]

I’m not a biker or a bikepacker, but someone recently shared this article with me and I thought it might be of interest. I like the hot tent idea, but haven’t done it.

https://bikepacking.com/plog/fueled-by-fire/

[Elliott Wolin]

Years ago I read of a couple who would venture out for a month in the deep winter in Maine with an axe, wood stove, large tent, and relatively lightweight sleeping bags.   They used sleds to carry everything (which was much heavier back then).   They said they ate less food since the stove kept them warm.  Traveling on frozen rivers was fast and got them deep into the backcountry quickly.  They also wore Egyptian cotton windbreakers, which are extremely breathable, since they didn’t have to worry about rain.

[Kevin Babione]

Karen – Thanks for posting…The article was fun to read.  As I’ve read about these small Ti stoves in a tent my first reaction was:  “Who on earth wants to wake up every two hours all night to keep the fire going?”  Sadly, I realized that I tend to wake up every couple of hours to answer nature’s call anyway so throwing a couple of pre-cut logs into a box wouldn’t be a big deal!

When I was poking around I found Luxe Hiking Gear – Their products are heavy but the prices are reasonable, and are probably a good way to get started if you wanted to see if hot tenting is for you.

[Bruce Tolley]

Thanks for sharing the article. The photographs are awesome.

There have been hot tent threads in the BPL winter hiking forum.

It seems like the advantages and tradeoffs depend on how cold it is where you are going and what local regulations are.  Last time I checked, in California for example, during winter the National Parks like Lassen and Yosemite do not allow fires although I did see once an illegal hot tent near Dewey Point.

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