Stove vs Campfire

[EdP]

Why so much focus on stoves vs campfire? I read a lot about how the lightweight stoves are only good for dryout and comfort in the evening, heating water, and for a quick morning warmup. It seems to be primarily a western thing. With the exception of the morning warmup I do the same here in the southeast mountains with a campfire under the front of a DST tarp. Is it dryer conditions and fire danger? Hardwood vs softwood? Seems like unnecessary added weight to me.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

I think people just like getting warm and drying off inside of a shelter without having to deal with the wind and snow. I prefer campfires too, but it is nice to get that morning warmth while putting on my boots and drinking coffee, especially if the stove is pre-loaded from the night before and all i have to do is light a match.

 

[EdP]

I get that. For me, going solo, I'd get claustrophobic alone in a tent all evening. With one or more other hunters it would be entirely different, more of a social event and even heat for all in the tent. A campfire doesn't work as well with a group. There is always somebody that can't get enough heat and someone is always in the smoke. As a solo hunter I can cozy up to the fire while staying under my tarp and be comfortable.

Here in the east there is a lot of downed branches from hardwoods. It is easily gathered and broken by hand. In the west there are a lot of downed or dead standing pines that can be saw cut and split and burned in a stove without worrying about ember pops and sparks.

 

[hh76]

One of the best parts about the stove in the tent is being able to quickly light it while still in my sleeping bag. Let it warm up a bit before I have to get out and get dressed.

I would rather sit around an open campfire when the weather isn't terrible, but it's nice to be in a warm tent when it's windy or wet out.

 

[Pony Soldier]

I can't think of a single camp fire I have had in 59 years. In the summer I depended on the sun to dry out everything before I moved to the next camp.

In the winter, I always had a wall tent with a stove. It was usually army surplus, Korean war vintage. Even in southeast Alaska, we used the same stoves but powered by helicopter fuel.

Each wall tent had an internal rope on the ceiling for hanging up clothes to dry them out and a place to hang sleeping bags when we pulled out to go to work. That kept the mice and rats out of them.

A camp fire just provided a risk early in the year, and a smell on everything the rest of the time.

 

[AKHUNTER]

You can't put a price on sitting in warm comfort while eating, getting dressed, hanging out, waiting out the rain, or drying gear with a stove in the tent. It turns unpleasant conditions where you are just getting by into something pleasurable. Wood stove for the win!

 

[Honyock]

Because it rains. A lot easier to sleep when you are dry and warm instead of wet and cold. I've done the wet cold thing enough.