Diamonds and cold weather

[tenngun]

I got to say, I check the weather before a trek. Cold I can take, and have had more then one wet night, now I'll sleep under the stars. I just make sure the stars will be out when I go. Saves a few pounds to carry.

 

[Black Hand]

I carry the same items regardless of weather. The only things that vary are the clothes and the number of blankets (1 vs. 2).

 

[Billnpatti]

My last winter campout was back in January, 2011 in Bryant, Arkansas. All day the temperature had kept dropping. The skys were dark and heavy with snow. That afternoon, it started snowing. The wind was blowing pretty hard and the snow came down harder and harder. Wind drifts were building up everywhere and the secondary roads were becoming blocked and impassable. I knew that I really had to have as warm of a camp as possible if I was going to survive the night. Suddenly the answer came to me and I immediately turned into the next Holiday Inn that I saw. I slept very warm that night and the next 3 nights as well until the main highway was re-opened and I could get home. Just one man's solution to keeping warm on some very cold nights. 'Tain't for everyone but for those of us tough enough to handle it, it was a great solution to a freezing problem. :haha:

 

[tenngun]

I try to keep an historic camp, and found I can keep pretty comfortable. However an event or a trek should be a vacation, not a torture session. I sit and sleep on the ground, but never got rattled over less then hc wooden chairs in some ones camp. Even hc chairs wouldn't be carried by none but the wealthy. Iron pots are hc and you can turn out lots of super good meals with them. But simple tin pots and boiled soups and some spitted meat would have been more common on the trail.
We shouldn't turn an event in to steam punk, but we shouldn't be miserable either.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Tried it once. Froze my bippie. Fire was probably not close enough to shelter to help much. But closer would have been a hazard, IMHO.

 

[Black Hand]

Tried it once. Froze my bippie. Fire was probably not close enough to shelter to help much. But closer would have been a hazard, IMHO.

Two words:
BISON ROBE...

 

[smoothshooter]

Do you know of anyone setting up two diamond shelters or lean-to's facing each other and spaced 3 feet or so apart?
It looks like you would get a " double reflector " effect, adequate smoke ventilation, and if the wind changes when raining, or causes a smoke problem, you can move from one half to the other.

Have not gotten to try this myself yet, but plan to do so before the year is out.

 

[jethro224]

One of my buddies and I set up our two diamonds facing each other with a lean-to in between on a cold (low to mid 20's at night) and very windy weekend. We had a good sized fire right at the center front of the lean-to. Stayed comfortably warm and it made an excellent wind-break.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Wind and moisture are the two greatest threats. A roof, even of canvas helps trap heat from dissipating upward. You can stay warm just staying near a fire, but having a shelter to prevent the draft from behind helps warmth significantly. As a kid we camped in permanent three sided shelters in the frosty late fall and again in late winter. Our fires were built against a rock wall that reflected heat back toward the shelter. I have spent colder nights in an insulated cabin when the heater failed. When it was really frosty, we would heat rocks and place them under the cots before we turned in. Let the ground cloths hang over the sides of the cot to keep the heat under the cot. I can't say it ever got down below 20 degrees during these outings, but we were able to stay reasonably comfortable, despite snowfall and water buckets freezing solid.

I once camped in my van for a hunting trip. I had a nice upolstered couch built in. I would leave the couch back upright to lay against the back and then pull a moving quilt over the back and let it drape over my other blankets. Even without a heat source and being in that cold metal shell, I stayed fine with just body temperature.

 

[kingsax26]

I am finishing up my Daimond shelter. Made from two twin size 600 thread count sheets. My only concern would be the flamability of cotton soaked in oil....I would imagine it would ignite fairly easily. Common sense aside, what other measures can you take when having a fire so close to the shelter?

 

[coloradoclyde]

Linseed oil is a drying oil. Once dry it looses it's volatile flammability....But!, yes it will still burn...just not as easily.
Linoleum flooring was invented by drying linseed oil in the sun....

 

[Black Hand]

I am finishing up my Daimond shelter. Made from two twin size 600 thread count sheets. My only concern would be the flamability of cotton soaked in oil....I would imagine it would ignite fairly easily. Common sense aside, what other measures can you take when having a fire so close to the shelter?

Make certain they are very dry/fully-cured before storage. I'd suggest not rolling them tightly until they are dry, as combustion has been known to happen with oil/finish-soaked rags.

The reality is that a shelter is unnecessary unless the weather is bad. I rarely erect a shelter unless it is raining or snowing...

 

[Sean Gadhar]

The reality is that a shelter is unnecessary unless the weather is bad. I rarely erect a shelter unless it is raining or snowing...

The reality is, if I don't set up a shelter it is Going to end up raining or snowing. :rotf:

 

[satx78247]

I "resemble" that remark. = Are you having a bad drought in your area??
(All you have to do to get heavy rain for 2-3 days is invite me & remind me to not bother to pack a tent. = CHUCKLE.)

yours, satx

 

[tenngun]

I am convinced a few rendezvous could cure the California drought.

 

[jethro224]

Common sense aside, what other measures can you take when having a fire so close to the shelter?

So far common sense has worked out well for me. I've had fires actually under the end of the canvas. Just keep the fire low, don't use cedar or other wood that pops and sparks a lot, and keep a water bucket or fire extinguisher handy (required at many events).

 

[tenngun]

Old saying ' white man build big fire stay back stay cold. Indian build little fire get close stay warm.' I've built small fires in a wedge, at the door with the flaps tied open. It kept lots of heat in. Charcoal is hc ( not bricketts) you can't carry it on a trek but is good at a camp.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Any kind of a wind break a reasonably close distance behind you will keep the cold drafts off your back as you face the fire. I found that a simple canvas roof, even without sides helps keep the dew and moisture from settling on me and my blankets. A diamond shelter helps fulfill both the back and top. The canvas also traps warmer air in a pocket.

I camped a frosty weekend with some folks and they built the fire so they were between a rock out cropping and the fire. After a few hours the rock ledge actually felt luke warm instead of cold. We were fairly comfortable even with out any other shelter.