Stove vs Heavier Sleeping bag

[Kevin Dill]

In a tent or shelter which doesn't have enough space to 'live' in and be comfortable, I would question the value of bringing a stove, period. Leaving out the stove (and flue pipe) gives you more interior space and that really matters in a small shelter. Stoves are ALWAYS a luxury, although some see them as critical. I look at them as optional and never a true requirement.

 

[mooster]

ditto Kevin. I saw the stove a necessary for bou hunt to warm & dry at night using limited dead brush we scavenged during the day. On moose hunts there's been plenty of wood for a real campfire for same, so haven't bothered using up my air taxi's weight allowance for a stove don't use.

 

[dsotm223]

In a tent or shelter which doesn't have enough space to 'live' in and be comfortable, I would question the value of bringing a stove, period. Leaving out the stove (and flue pipe) gives you more interior space and that really matters in a small shelter. Stoves are ALWAYS a luxury, although some see them as critical. I look at them as optional and never a true requirement.

That was part of my question that I didnt articulate well.
Is it worth the loss in space, thats a question I dont have any sort of answer to.

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[*zap*]

either there is enough space for the people and a stove or there is not....unless you want to leave gear outside that would go where the stove is.

Also look at a firebox for a small outside fire....if you want to avoid a stove. Really not similar but an option for a fire outside that does not need lots of wood/time to collect wood.

 

[Kevin Dill]

That was part of my question that I didnt articulate well.
Is it worth the loss in space, thats a question I dont have any sort of answer to.

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You lose the space 100% of the time that the stove is in place. You lose even more when it's burning due to needing to avoid damaging gear or getting burned by stove or flue pipe. In a shelter with essentially room for one hunter I would undoubtedly nix the stove unless I knew I could manage it and not be thinking it was in my way and space constantly.

 

[Moserkr]

What tent are you using that is capable to run a stove in? Id be surprised if they made one that couldnt hold you and your gear too.

My solo tipi is a SO BT2. Probably 7.5’ diameter, 4.5’ tall at the center. I can crawl in, sit up, and thats about it. Lots of room for gear and a stove though. Sleeps 2 with no stove and minimal gear. I’d call that livable cause Im only in there to sleep.

 

[dsotm223]

What tent are you using that is capable to run a stove in? Id be surprised if they made one that couldnt hold you and your gear too.

My solo tipi is a SO BT2. Probably 7.5’ diameter, 4.5’ tall at the center. I can crawl in, sit up, and thats about it. Lots of room for gear and a stove though. Sleeps 2 with no stove and minimal gear. I’d call that livable cause Im only in there to sleep.

Its a luxe 1.5 man. Its big enough for me and my gear or me and a stove. Not both, unless Im packing light. Then my gear could fit at my feet.

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[UA_Blake]

In a tent or shelter which doesn't have enough space to 'live' in and be comfortable, I would question the value of bringing a stove, period. Leaving out the stove (and flue pipe) gives you more interior space and that really matters in a small shelter. Stoves are ALWAYS a luxury, although some see them as critical. I look at them as optional and never a true requirement.

I agree, honestly my experience with a stove is you light it, the tent goes to 200 degrees then 30 min later it’s at whatever the ambient temp is at the time. I end up sweating which is worse than never running the stove at all. Never had much luck with drying out gear either. I was running a titanium goat cylinder stove and you really can’t do much regulating of temp.

 

[Moserkr]

I agree, honestly my experience with a stove is you light it, the tent goes to 200 degrees then 30 min later it’s at whatever the ambient temp is at the time. I end up sweating which is worse than never running the stove at all. Never had much luck with drying out gear either. I was running a titanium goat cylinder stove and you really can’t do much regulating of temp.

You can regulate it a bit if you rebuild their door and copy lite outdoors style - see pics. Sorry to hijack.

But back to your concerns op. If you cant fit gear and a stove then theres two options - store gear outside under a small tarp or with a rain cover on. In good weather just leave it outside the door. Start with a good sleeping bag, grab a stove later, then get a bigger shelter for yourself down the line if needed. Its an addiction hahaha. I should have gotten a better sleeping bag first but here I am with 2 stoves and the same old bag - lessons learned.

If you’re handy with tools, building a stove honestly isnt rocket science either. More than a few builds in the diy section.

 

[jAKe0711]

I would go with a sleeping bag appropriate for the weather you're in and wouldn't worry about the rabbit hole that a stove is especially if you're packing it In. Stoves rely on readily availible fuel to burn, and you could possibly be depleting more calories finding good stuff to burn than it's worth.

 

[RELIANT]

I realize it's subjective but I've thought about doing this as well . I have a decent 20 bag and a great 20 quilt. How low have you gone comfortably with the quilt/bag setup?

I've done a few nights in the single digits and near zero with this set up on a cot with sleeping pad in a wall tent. We had a stove, but only used it to cook in the evenings and stoked it right before bed, I'd guess most nights it wasnt giving much heat at all by midnight. On probably the coldest night I was wearing down pants and puffy coat and was too warm, the next few nights I just went with long john bottoms and a chama hoody and was nice and comfortable. I sleep pretty warm though as my buddy was still double bagging and bundled up.

I've also done 8 degrees with just the 20F bag on a pad while wearing down pants and puffy coat and was borderline too warm as well, although we were sleeping in the truck bed under a cap for that blizzard.

Edit: Never actually mentioned what I'm running: A Nemo Steelhead 20F Bag and Enlightened Equipment Revelation 20 F quilt with a Sea-To-Summit Comfort light insulated pad.

 

[Kevin Dill]

Right on. And then there's the issue of wood storage in wet weather. Keep it inside the tent?....more lost space. Outside is better but defeats the purpose of having good dry fuel at hand when weather is wet and cold which....of course...is exactly when you would burn a stove the most.

 

[Steve O]

Its a luxe 1.5 man. Its big enough for me and my gear or me and a stove. Not both, unless Im packing light. Then my gear could fit at my feet.

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I think you are trying to put a square peg in a round hole here. That sounds REALLY small for a stove. I think I’d take a tarp to be able to stand outside the tent and stay dry rather than try to take a stove. Agree with those that the stove is a luxury. I stopped taking my wood stove to Kodiak in November as I always seem to be I. An area without many trees or everything is waterlogged.

 

[mlgc20]

I think you are trying to put a square peg in a round hole here. That sounds REALLY small for a stove. I think I’d take a tarp to be able to stand outside the tent and stay dry rather than try to take a stove. Agree with those that the stove is a luxury. I stopped taking my wood stove to Kodiak in November as I always seem to be I. An area without many trees or everything is waterlogged.

Agree with this. With limited space in a tent, I'd rather have a tarp than a stove. The tarp weighs a lot less and is more flexible.

Also, don't forget the effort to gather and process wood. I pretty much hunt exclusively with my 15 and 12 year old daughters. If it wasn't for them doing all the wood collection, I would almost never take a stove. It the end of a long day hunting, I can think of a dozen things I'd rather do than collect fire wood.

 

[dsotm223]

Ill opt for no stove on solo hunts and invest in a quality bag.

Maybe save the stove for when I grab a bigger tent and have a couple buddies tagging along.

Thank you all for all the help!

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[Conrad101st]

Zero degree sleeping bag for me anytime I’m back country, regardless of camp setup.

I don’t know why people want to keep all their gear inside. We use a 6 man tipi with stove. 3 guys is no problem. We leave our rifles and rucks outside with the rucks packed with optics, kill kits and such.

There really isn’t much gear left inside besides mountain house meals, water blivets and minimal clothes. The only extra clothes we bring are usually a pair of socks, and some snivel gear.

 

[vtbow]

Warmer sleeping bag and high quality pad for sure. Only one of my stoves is big enough to put good sizednfuel in, and it definitely doesn't burn all night.

 

[Winterlover]

Lots of good advice here regarding the need for a warm bag. And, don't forget that you also need a warm pad under your bag. Think R5 insulation rating or better.

 

[vtbow]

Other thing is to think multi use if you're trying to go light at all. When pads weren't so compact as they are now(even the thicker ones) I would often sleep on my 3/4 length ultralight thermarest winter backpacking, putting my backpack under my legs and piling my extramlayers on top of it all. I was always fine, but I sleep in like a -40 bag

 

[cuerro viejo]

Small stove =short burn time

I kifaru 18” cylinder. It's a short burn time