Boot warmer/dryer to heat up a sleeping bag (anyone ever tried this?)

[Jeffrey Dill]

I've been brainstorming a lot lately about "outside the box" options for efficiently heating up a sleeping bag in colder temperatures.

Buddy Heaters are very popular, but I'm not a fan of having a smoldering hot metal device standing up in my tent. Also, in a tent you're just heating up a bunch of space that isn't actively being used (i.e. all the space outside of your sleeping bag) and since the tent isn't insulated, I would imagine that heat dissipates very quickly.

There's always the option to just throw a bunch of hand warmers in your bag, which I've done before, but that can be rather expensive if you're having to throw a bunch of them in there. Particularly if you're camping for multiple nights.

I've toyed with the idea of using a 12V travel electric blanket, powered off of my Jackery 240, but haven't had a chance yet to test it out. And the wattage is around 80, so I wouldn't be able to run it too long off of the Jackery.

Then I came across this:

DryGuy Travel Dry DX Boot Dryer | REI Co-op

The Travel Dry DX boot dryer combines traditional convection drying with forced air to create a hybrid system that dries footwear in less time than most other portable dryers.

www.rei.com

These boot warmers/dryers are also 12V and they operate on a measly 13W! So I could run them for 18+ hours off of the Jackery. They also circulate air so, in theory, they would distribute heat around the bag much better than a hand warmer.

Has anyone ever tried using boot warmers/dryers to heat up a sleeping bag?

 

[The other Sean]

It's not the worst idea.

Worst care, it doesn't work and you now have a boot dryer, which is always nice.

 

[Smileyshaun]

fill a Nalgie bottle 3/4 the way with boiling water , make sure the lid is on super tight , put a thick sock over it and toss it in the sleeping bag . Will stay warm most the night into morning . Works great snow camping.

 

[madcratebuilder]

I toss 2 or 3 hand warmers in my bag. I use HeatMax brand, last about 10 hrs, 2 at my feet and 1 on my butt.

 

[Alex Brame]

Better yet, invest in some heated clothing. Cabelas offers stuff, esp. for hunters, but I've seen heated socks, vests, etc. Batteries, perhaps built in.
Safe and made for such a purpose. You could wear heated clothing to bed.

 

[Alex Brame]

I should tell you what I do: double (occupant) sleeping bag. Girlfriend keeps me warm and vice versa :)

 

[Smileyshaun]

Maybe get a better bag . The temp rating on a bag is it’s survival rating not its comfort rating , so if you get a 20 deg bag and it gets down to 30 your still going to be chilly . It also depends a lot on your body , if I keep my feet and head warm the rest of my body will be fine . Even when backpacking I bring a pair of warm socks and a thin balaclava it really helps a lot .

 

[Buckaroo]

even though I'm now a gnarly old bastard ex royal marine, I do like my comforts these days.
Gone are the grin and bear it days, I wanna be warm when it's cold outside.
Those boot warmers look an option I would consider if my diesel air heater, 3 amp/h 240v electric blankets, van heater ever broke down ..all at the same time.

 

[Buckaroo]

I should tell you what I do: double (occupant) sleeping bag. Girlfriend keeps me warm and vice versa :)

Shared body heat has worked for thousands of years, many mammals huddle to share body warmth in cold climates.
It also saves lives.

 

[Boostpowered]

Most heating pads/blanket ive run across are 45 watt 3.75 amps per hour thats not that bad of a load to run 7ish hours on a battery.

 

[Jeffrey Dill]

fill a Nalgie bottle 3/4 the way with boiling water , make sure the lid is on super tight , put a thick sock over it and toss it in the sleeping bag . Will stay warm most the night into morning . Works great snow camping.

Yep, I've definitely done that before when backpacking and it works quite well.

 

[KonzaLander]

I am super curious to hear about the boot dryer idea. My concern is the heat output they provide. 13w isn't a lot of energy, so I wonder how warm they actually get.

I toss 2 or 3 hand warmers in my bag. I use HeatMax brand, last about 10 hrs, 2 at my feet and 1 on my butt.

I tried the hand warmer method this weekend in my RTT. Used two packs, or 4 warmers, in my old Coleman sleeping bag with my hammock top quilt shoved in the bag. Low temperature was 30° and I had to open up the sleeping bag in the middle of the night because I was so warm. The warmers were still toasty when I woke up so I shoved them into my coat pockets for some warmth before I got the fire rekindled. Thank you for the recommendation!

 

[oldmopars]

I like all the creative options, but the best option is just to get the right sleeping bag and pad. I am super cheap, I have cheaped out on a lot of stuff, but I found out the hard way you don't want to cheap out on the sleeping bag and pad.
I got the best Down bag I could find and a matching insulated sleeping pad. I have slept in some really cold ares and never regretted my purchase.
There are just some things that are worth spending the money on, and my sleep comfort is top on my list.
In the end, and bad nights sleep will ruin any fun you could have had the following day.

 

[Jeffrey Dill]

Better yet, invest in some heated clothing. Cabelas offers stuff, esp. for hunters, but I've seen heated socks, vests, etc. Batteries, perhaps built in.
Safe and made for such a purpose. You could wear heated clothing to bed.

Ahhh, that's a very interesting approach. I'll definitely think on that.

 

[Jeffrey Dill]

Maybe get a better bag . The temp rating on a bag is it’s survival rating not its comfort rating , so if you get a 20 deg bag and it gets down to 30 your still going to be chilly . It also depends a lot on your body , if I keep my feet and head warm the rest of my body will be fine . Even when backpacking I bring a pair of warm socks and a thin balaclava it really helps a lot .

Right. Our bag is actually fine – just trying to think of interesting ways to make it toasty regardless of conditions.

 

[Jeffrey Dill]

Most heating pads/blanket ive run across are 45 watt 3.75 amps per hour thats not that bad of a load to run 7ish hours on a battery.

That's the approach I'm most interested in at the moment. I've looked at a 12V travel blanket that I could run off of my Jackery for about 4 hours. And really, I would just want to turn it on for an hour or so before we get in the bed to have it pre-heated.

 

[Jeffrey Dill]

I am super curious to hear about the boot dryer idea. My concern is the heat output they provide. 13w isn't a lot of energy, so I wonder how warm they actually get.


I tried the hand warmer method this weekend in my RTT. Used two packs, or 4 warmers, in my old Coleman sleeping bag with my hammock top quilt shoved in the bag. Low temperature was 30° and I had to open up the sleeping bag in the middle of the night because I was so warm. The warmers were still toasty when I woke up so I shoved them into my coat pockets for some warmth before I got the fire rekindled. Thank you for the recommendation!

That was my concern as well. At that low of a power draw, it doesn't seem possible that they could generate all that much heat. It's probably more about the circulating air than it is about the heat.

 

[Downs]

Maybe one of these set on low and plugged into a standalone power supply like a small solar generator or the like. Slide it into your sleeping bag.

12v Seat Heater

 

[Jeffrey Dill]

Maybe one of these set on low and plugged into a standalone power supply like a small solar generator or the like. Slide it into your sleeping bag.

12v Seat Heater

Ooooo, that's very interesting too. And even on high it's only pulling 25W, which I could run for nearly 10 hours off the Jackery.

 

[Alex Brame]

I've been thinking about a space heater for the RRT, but perhaps there's a better option from a power consumption point of view. I wonder if anyone makes heated sleeping pads.