I have a 12×9 tent and was looking at the Coleman ProCat Catalytic Heater but wanted to be sure it was worth the $100. Anyone have experience with these? I easily get cold at night in the Autumn/Winter but want to extend my camping season. If no experience with this particular heater, can you suggest something you feel is tried and true?

Answers:

Coleman ProCat Catalytic Heater

We’ve got one, we use it only to warm up the tent for about half an hour before we go to bed, then turn it off.  I personally am a HUGE fan of hot water bottles.  Cost less that $10 and warm up your bag in a most fabulous way.  Please search for tent heaters.  This has been discussed at great, great length.

I have one of those ProCats

Catalytic Camping Tent Heaters - Sometimes you need it
Catalytic Camping Tent Heaters - Sometimes you need it

It throws off lots of heat. It is fairly stable because the base has extensions to make it wide. We used it in my son’s mobile home last year when he moved in before the power was turned on. It warmed up the living room and kitchen, an area about 24X18 from parkas to sweatshirts in about an hour.

Coleman ProCat – It does not warm the whole tent per se’ but it does take the edge off the cold

I have a Coleman ProCat. I like it. It does not warm the whole tent per se’ but it does take the edge off the cold. My tent is similar in size 10×12 for the main tent and has a 9′ apex at the ridge, 5′ side walls. That’s a lot of cubic feet to heat! :)

I use it to warm a corner of the tent when I am playing with my Ham radio. It helps. Where I went camping late last June was at 8k’ and it gets kinda chilly rather fast after sundown. Low to mid 80’s for the high temp during the day falling to the low temp in the lower 40’s just before sunrise. Most of that temp drop occurs in the first three hours after sunset. So by midnight, the temp was under 50 degrees. If it got too cold and I needed to get serious about heating the tent, I would have to use the wood burning stove, but for just taking the edge of the chill, the Procat works fine for me.

I did have a little problem with mine though, the built in fan stopped working (no the batteries weren’t dead). I need to take it apart and fix that. I did use a small fan to blow air across face of the Procat that worked fine and in fact, maybe even better than the built in fan :)

Anyway, bottom line is don’t really expect to warm a large tent because it won’t. What it will do is take the edge off the chill and spot warm the corner where you happen to be. Better to have one than have none at all.

Stay away from catalytic heaters

My two cents: dress warm and stay away from catalytic heaters. They are dangerous no matter what the literature and advertisements tell you. I’ve camped in the worst of conditions (winter on Mt. Washington etc) and always managed to stay warm enough with proper clothing and equipment.

Great little camping item!

I have the Coleman Black Cat and it works great in my 10×12 Eureke tent. It gets mighty cold camping at The Grand Canyon in Winter… I’ve been there when it’s about 12 outside and it’ll be about 40 degrees on the inside of the tent with that heater. Great little camping item!