Diamonds and cold weather

[Paul63]

I've read several accounts of diamonds being somewhat comfortable with fires built in the mouth of the shelter in cold weather. From those with experience, is this a fallacy or is the diamond a warm weather shelter only?

 

[Nativearizonan]

Used with a fire in the front it's a reflector and reflectors work great to heat you on both sides. The problem is keeping the fire going all night. Wind, is another issue, and changes the equation a lot, but without wind and with plenty of good wood for the fire, you can stay pretty warm through a cold, still night. A lot of people have spent comfortable nights with little or no bedding in just such a shelter. Without any wind, it is very similar to being in a tipi.

 

[Black Hand]

It can be done, but I find it restrictive.

I feel it is better to set the canvas as a lean-to and build a long fire the length of the shelter - more heat. One can then sleep with their entire body towards the heat, rather than the head or feet as would be the case with a diamond. There is also more space in which to move around with a lean-to. If you need to feel more enclosed, branches can be used to close in the sides of the lean-to and create a space under cover for a pile of firewood.

 

[jethro224]

With a straw tick under me, 2 blankets over me, a fire in front of me, and a large log on the other side of the fire from me I have slept comfortably warm in the lower 20's with my tarp set up as either a diamond or a lean-to.
Wear a wool night cap.

 

[tenngun]

This is a good idea. Think reflector oven in your set up. But the most important part is what is underneath you

 

[Black Hand]

But the most important part is what is underneath you

Very true! In the winter, it is a thick bed made of fir boughs carefully arranged to make a springy mattress (not a skill they teach any more).

The general rule of thumb for padding is 3 times below than you have above. In the winter, go as thick as you can. Having a deer hide below is also helpful, but so is having a toboggan so you can drag in the hide, 3-4 extra blankets, buffalo robe (if you have one), bottles of shrub & Rum, food, full size axes and enough canvas to make a wilderness version of a hotel ...

 

[tenngun]

And a Cree woman or two to pull the toboggan while you mind the trail. After a hard day of minding the trail you can sit back for a smoke, while they set up camp and fix you a bowl of soup.
Finding a Cree, Abanaki, or Athabaskan women to pull the toboggan ain't as easy as it was at one time. Finding two near impossible. You can forget Crow or Flathead, they all want you to get them a few horses.

 

[Nativearizonan]

And a Cree woman or two to pull the toboggan while you mind the trail. After a hard day of minding the trail you can sit back for a smoke, while they set up camp and fix you a bowl of soup.
Finding a Cree, Abanaki, or Athabaskan women to pull the toboggan ain't as easy as it was at one time. Finding two near impossible. You can forget Crow or Flathead, they all want you to get them a few horses.

More bodies under the same blanket simplifies the problem of keeping warm as well.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

With a straw tick under me, 2 blankets over me, a fire in front of me

:thumbsup: YESSIR!

You'd be surprised at how little room or weight a tick has when it's empty, and it can be stuffed with dry leaves instead of straw.

LD

 

[Black Hand]

No leaves with which to stuff a tick where I live. Pine straw is most abundant, but somewhat prickly, though can be used under a groundcloth with satisfactory results. Fir boughs are excellent while ferns also work very well, but can be a little damp and difficult to find in large enough amounts to make a mattress.

 

[tenngun]

Is there much juniper in your area? It was scrub in the south rockies, works well smells of cedar. We have it as full sized,20-30 foot trees around here. You have to be careful with it as even green it burns hot and fast.

 

[Black Hand]

Not much Juniper. Fir, Pine and occasionally Cedar.

 

[Nativearizonan]

What you call cedar in Montana is most likely juniper. There are several different Juniper species and they grow from the California deserts to the Rocky Mountains. They make cedar chests out of the wood from a couple of different species. One is commonly called Eastern Red Cedar, another is commonly called Western Red Cedar, but both are Juniper. In the four corners, it is mostly the Utah Juniper, which everyone used to, and many still do call cedar.

Bows off a fir ought to make a plenty good bed.

 

[tenngun]

Yeah, we call most of our junipers 'cedar' unless we are making gin. True cedars grow in the Levant and north Africa. The trees get a cone on them, junipers get a blue berry. Using them for a bed smells good but they can be prickily.
My use of the kings English is a might sloopy. In the woods its a juniper, cut down its cedar wood, or cedar poles, even cedar bark when I'm striking a light. :idunno:

 

[NC Highlander]

I've done a cold event (well, it's cold for February in NC) in a diamond. Couldn't do a fire because of where the thing had been set up at, so ended up bundling up with lots of layers. Insulation is your best friend.

You can also lower the entrance a bit to keep some of the heat in. I mean, it still escapes at a rate but it still helps.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

You can also carry a half-brick paver, and use it next to the fire, and place it in a dry, canvas bag while it's hot and place it at your feet, when it's time to turn-in.

We have a couple of places out near me that like living history folks, but don't like folks building fires except inside huge iron rings set in huge blocks of concrete, set nowhere near the woods, on the sites. So..., a half-dozen of us got permission to do a sort of mini-trek into the wooded areas, and to build a small fire as long as it was on top of these half-bricks... protects the ground, much more like "leave no trace" etc. etc. Six of us, so each carried a half-brick.

This gave us a decent surface to build our fire upon, using squaw wood, and gave each of us a hot, half-brick to wrap up in a small piece of canvas, and place it under our feet, it being the end of October when we tried it. Worked amazingly well.

LD

 

[Black Hand]

I understand the fire restriction issue. Something you may wish to try is a piece of the Forest Service Firefighter shelter. It is flexible, relatively light and can be used as a fire-proof pad to protect the underlying earth from your fire.

 

[RJL]

I've slept in my diamond's year round since 2005. sometime's with a fire some without. there's many a trick to it, bedding and insulation being the most important. a "good" fire in the front of the diamond by the front support works very well but,,,,wind play's a major role in how comfortable you are. if it change's direction it'll turn your warm cozy shelter into a smokehouse! don't ask me how I know that. if it does end up too smokey you can always prop up one of the ground edge's for a draft, but remember you'll lose the heat too. sleep with a dry pair of socks or warm moccasins plus a wool cap. I've also used dry rocks heated by the fire then wrapped in a wool/ canvas bag down by my feet.

 

[coloradoclyde]

wind play's a major role in how comfortable you are.

Very true....The only difference between a diamond and a wall tent.....is wind protection.

A single layer of canvas has almost no R-value.

Insulation is all about blocking air movement and trapping air.

 

[Black Hand]

I only set up canvas if it is raining or snowing (or the possibility thereof). At other times, the canvas is used as a groundcloth/cover. Stopping the wind will make a wool blanket considerably warmer.