How To Heat A Tent

Camping is great, but just having a thin sheet or two of fabric between you and the elements can lead to you becoming very cold. There are a number of different ways to heat a tent which we will go through below. 

Appropriate Clothing 

One of the best ways to keep your tent warm while camping is to dress for the occasion. There is a limit to how much extra heat you can generate inside a tent, so it is a good idea to keep as much body heat in as possible. Check the weather forecast before you leave, ensuring you look at the lows and average nighttime temperatures. We recommend taking a full set of pajamas for the night, and a set of long thermal underwear if the temperatures are expected to drop.  The 2 regions of your body where the most heat is lost are your head and feet. For this reason, we strongly recommend wearing a woolly hat and fluffy bedsocks to sleep in. These will help lock in your natural body temperature and prevent you from losing any heat. If the temperatures are really low, you may consider wearing gloves too or adding some more layers.

Hot Water Bottles

The classic hot water bottle is a great way to heat your tent at night. This allows every camper to have a separate heat source and also means that you can target the heat to specific areas. We love placing a couple of hot water bottles in our sleeping bags for 30 minutes before we get in. This allows the sleeping bag to get lovely and toasty warm, making it super snuggly and comforting.  We recommend refilling the hot water bottles with fresh water just before you settle down to sleep. This will mean that the heat remains for longer and you stay warm throughout the night. It is smart to purchase a hot water bottle with a fleece outer lining as this will prevent you from scalding yourself if the bottle bursts. 

Location 

The location that you choose to pitch your tent in will have an impact on how warm you stay. We do not recommend pitching your tent on a hill, cliff, mountain, or in a field. These are very exposed areas that will have a lot of wind. Instead, look for an area where there is some shelter from the wind. Look for regions with trees nearby. Do not pitch your tent directly underneath a tree as this can prevent sunlight from reaching your tent and warming it up. 

Portable Heater 

There are a number of different types of portable heaters designed to take camping. We recommend looking for a heater with a rating of 4,000 BTU or higher. This will ensure it emits enough heat to keep you and your guests warm overnight.  You can get heaters that run on propane gas, however, these come with their own set of potential problems. You will need to bring a number of canisters to ensure you have enough fuel to keep the heater in operation. As well as this, there is a chance that your heater will emit carbon monoxide. This can be incredibly dangerous and fatal, so we do not advise using a portable heater while you sleep. 

Sleeping Bags

A high-quality sleeping bag can make a world of difference to your sleeping experience. There are a number of different ratings which correspond to the ideal temperature range the sleeping bag should be used in.  For camping in the winter months, you will need a much thicker and more insulated sleeping bag to keep you warm. In the summer months, this will likely be too hot and make for an unpleasant experience.  Many avid campers prefer to purchase down rather than synthetic sleeping bags. It is believed that natural fibers can help to trap the heat better. 

Warm Stones

This is a great and easy way to heat up your tent without the need for electricity. You will need a campfire, but really, who goes camping without one? If you are camping near a river or somewhere with large rocks, you will be able to source the required rocks on site.  If not, we recommend bringing some 1 or 2-pound river stones along with you. Place the rocks in the base of the campfire and allow them to heat up for as long as possible. The hotter the rocks get, the longer they will keep and emit the heat for.  There are 2 different ways to utilize the hot stones to heat your tent. Some people like to dig small holes in the ground next to their tent and place the stones there to emit heat throughout the night. Others prefer to bring a baking tray along to the campsite and place the hot stones in here. Put this tray in a corner of the tent as a small heat source. Just take care to not touch the hot stones with your bare hands as this can lead to very severe burns.

Insulation 

Insulation is one of the best ways to keep the heat inside your tent. We advise lining the floor with a carpet, such as an all-weather tent carpet like this one from Amazon. This will prevent heat from being lost to the cold ground and will stop the coolness of the earth from making you cold too. We recommend using a foam roll mat (sometimes referred to as a sleeping mat) on top of this too. This will provide another layer of insulation, helping to keep you warm. It will also cushion you, making the sleeping experience much more comfortable.  For a more unique spin on insulation, source a few all-weather emergency blankets. These are the silver ones you often see wrapped around people rescued on mountains. Secure a few of these to the exterior walls of your tent, making sure there is no space between them. This will help to keep the heat inside the tent and keep you warmer.