[Did the title get your attention? It should. It’s cold out. Also, this post is dedicated to Hank Hill.]
I’ve been hunting. This year’s weather has been sub-optimal. By sub-optimal I mean ball freezingly cold. Also, hunting is a special case. I have limited options to warm up. If I go thrashing through the forest gathering firewood I’ll never fill the freezer. That motivated me to talk about portable heaters. Portable heaters have been saving my ass!
So let’s start; you can sort portable heaters, lamps, and camp-stoves by fuel. Wait! Time for a diversion…
I mentioned lamps but that’s old-school thinking. Electric has taken over the camping lantern market and there’s no point in fighting it. Here’s a picture of technology that’s (for many uses) obsolete:
Fondly remembered but old and busted.
I have a beloved liquid fueled Coleman lantern. It’s something like this but mine pre-dates the technology of dual-fuel (and the internet for that matter). It’s old and loved (like me) but useless (I’ll leave that comparison to me unsaid). That’s it for my “white fuel” lantern? Yes! Goodbye old friend, we had some good times together but LEDs have just gotten too good. Here’s a picture of the new hotness that broke up what I expected to be a lifelong commitment to white gas lamps:
New gadget that looks like cheap Chinese crap but just plain works. (At about 1/3 the cost, 1/5 the weight, and 1/100 the hassles.)
I now carry a Nebo 6587 Z-Bug lantern that’s waaaay better than it ought to be. It looks like a cheap plastic gadget but it’s the real deal. I love mine. It’s dirt cheap, does about the same function as a gas lantern (though a little less powerful), and has an integrated bug zapper. (I gave mine a real world test in July. I can’t believe the bug zapper works but it did.)]
Where was I? Oh yes, fuel for mobile heat. There are many options for a portable heater but I’ve been using propane. When you want is to crank BTUs and not deal with bullshit, propane is the best game in town. It’s cheap and dirt simple.
I can see this is going to go long so I’m going to break here. Stay tuned for part 2.
Coleman lanterns… Light AND heat… End of story. I find these things at yard sales CHEAP. I must have ten of the things; single and double mantle, dual and single fuel, and a tiny backpack unit. I just picked up a military model from 1958… still in the box… never used… for $10.00… It’s GOTTA be worth more than that…
Well for hunting in the boondocks, i agree that LED and battery is the way to go for illumination.
My beloved coleman lanterns are very well suited to llighting my house and providing another heat source when the bubble gum and baling twine electric company fails to provide electricity.
They are a dandy option if the SHTF.
Back when I was a wee kid, oh, lets say 60 years ago, the Colemans provided both light and heat, They also acted as bug zappers, crisping moths and other flying insects. Never heard of a “dual fuel” version back then, mine is dated 1967 and runs on kerosene but you also need some methyl alcohol to get the head warmed up to turn the parrafin (that is what we called it back then) into a gas. Been a long time since last used but I wont part with it. Need to find some mantles and a jet cleaning wire.
That said. we too have a couple of LED units and one of the predecessor fluorescents on hand. All work and are indispensable on the occasional power loss in these here parts, House has all the secondary systems, wood burner, gas heaters and a mobile 7KW genset that I have wired for critical circuits – freezer, fridge, one bathroom, and the TV/Computer/modem outlets. Michigan can be a lot of fun when things get serious and above is the minimum to keep SWMBO happy.
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