Winter Must Haves

[dirtbag]

[dirtbag]

The candle just works! Bring it on all my winter trips when its snowing hard, sleeting, blusty winds or everything is burried under snow and ice. My candle is comforting inside my tent,  or under my tarp, glowing ambiance and slight warmth.  I will always bring it with me, it is one of my favorite pieces of winter gear.

[dirtbag]

[Jerry Adams]

nylon is very flammable.  If it started burning briskly in the doorway, it would be difficult to get out

when nylon burns, it forms these little flaming blobs of melted plastic that rain down on you.  Makes a cool high pitched noise.  But when it hits your skin it is very painful.

its amazing that young adult males survive to old age : )

[Thom]

My must have waterproof socks , dirty girl gaiters. Had lots of lake effect snow lately.
Thom

[dirtbag]

Yeah I’m still here.  Some how and I break a lot of rules too.   Don’t do as i do.  But it is still a “must have” for me in winter!

[Bill Budney]

Does silicone treated nylon burn as well as untreated? I’m thinking that the tent might survive, but watch out for your sleeping bag.

[David D]

Carry the exact one in my winter emergency kit.

[jscott]

in summer, it’s amazing how much light a single candle hung in a little box with clear sides will put out. But not too much! It’s a lot easier to star gaze with a single candle than with a fire. but it’s comforting if you’re alone. Not as entertaining as slowly tending a small fire however. No smoke though.

I don’t bring a live flame inside my tent.

[Terran Terran]

its amazing that young adult males survive to old age : )

Pure luck on my part.

[dirtbag]

@ Terran Terran .. Lmao

[dirtbag]

[AK Granola]

My winter must have is a polypro balaclava. It weighs nothing, and seems too thin to be useful, but in fact put underneath a beanie and buff or fleece neck gaiter, it is incredibly helpful. it also dries fast if it gets sweaty. Just tuck it in a jacket pocket and forget it til you need it. I even carry it in summer in Alaska, or in rainy areas.

Actually I have a lot of winter must haves, like right now when it’s minus 20F. Lots of spares – spare gloves, spare socks, spare fleece neck gaiter, spare beanie, spare baselayer. Normally I don’t love doubling up on gear but in these winter temps, having something dry and warm is critical.

One more must have – ski goggles. Protecting your eyes and vision when the wind is gusting to minus 50 is essential. I’ve never found a better way to do it, not even a tunnel hood (although those are great too).

Oh wait one more… then I’d better stop. A snickers bar. I don’t eat this kind of crap normally, but when they freeze, they break into nice bite size chunks, and you can suck on them to thaw them out. Quick high energy emergency snack. And I have to hide it in the emergency container that I have in the car, or it won’t be there when needed.

[Justin W]

I’m going to be experimenting with bringing a small hurricane lantern on some of my winter, coldest temp trips.

In the past, I’ve experimented with combining candles and an inner IR reflective fabric in my shaped tarps, and overall liked it.  However, the candles can go out too easy, and while they boost the temps a bit, a hurricane lantern would add significantly more. What got me thinking about this, was that I bought a Dietz number 8 pilot lantern recently for other things, and I was surprised by its weight for the size.  I thought it was going to weigh a few pounds or more, but it is just under 2 lbs.

I’ve also experimented with using a small smokeless wood fire cooker, putting it outside of my shaped tarp and reflecting heat in with an IR reflector, but due to the small size of it, the nature of the fuel involved (twigs/small branches), and the more efficient burn, it goes through the fuel quite fast. Even with pellets it is still pretty fast. With a hurricane lantern, you can easily get around 20 hours even with the smaller ones.

And unlike the smokeless wood burner, you can put the hurricane lantern directly in the tent/shaped tarp as long as you have some ventilation going.

Another nice thing about the hurricane lantern besides the long burn time, is how cheap fuel is. You can use modern road diesel cut with 5% naphtha. Modern diesel fuel is pretty clean, some say even cleaner than kerosene, and the 5% naphtha thins out the viscosity and lowers the ignition temp a bit to the more ideal. The combo allegedly makes a very clean burning fuel as long as you keep the wick at the proper height and condition.

I’m probably going to go with the Feuerhand Baby Special 276 for backpacking since it is well made, only 10 inches tall,  only weighs about 1 lb, and holds enough fuel to burn for 20 hours. (I will still use an IR reflector inside).

I have a titanium wood stove set up as well, but that is best for either car camping or longer trips with a set camp spot. I have used it on shorter backpacking trips, but it’s too much work for an overnighter to a few nights (especially if you have to take it down and set it up more than once).  With the lantern, it is super easy to set up and use, even with my UL shaped tarp.

[tkkn c]

Candles, Lanterns,  Extra lights all provide extend light for the extra long nights, I consider the extra light essential in what ever form you bring.

[AK Granola]

I brought along this light for my GC trip this fall, and it was super nice to have something in addition to a headlamp, for lighting up the tent and reading. It was totally bright enough to read by, and easy to hang on anything. However, I haven’t tried it in sub-freezing temps. When you’re talking “winter must haves” I would want to test anything in freezing before counting on it. I know that’s obvious to those of you experienced in winter camping. I learned a lot of it the hard way – like the first time years ago I filled my water bladder and tried to take it skiing. Frozen tube and the water a brick. Now, a thermos filled with boiling water, and put it in a thick wool sock, upside down!

[Author]

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