Do you cook inside your tent?

[seattleboatguy]

I can imagine a backpacker setting up his tent after a wet day on the trail, climbing inside out of the rain, putting on warm dry clothing, then cooking dinner as the rain pitter-pats on the tent fly. But, I read that meals should be cooked/eaten away from the tent so the food smells will not attract wildlife. Do you cook inside your tent?

[RockDoc]

Not inside the tent, that's what vestibules are for. Doing it since 1968, (sometimes in Grizzly habitat!), have not had a problem yet...

So where did you read your fine beginner information?

[Starchild]

Vestibule or right outside the tent, yes. Inside, no.

[Sarcasm the elf]

I have no real fear of wildlife, however I absolutely do not cook in my tent or under my vestibule because it is made of sil-nylon. More traditional nylon tents that are waterproofed with polyurethane are also treated with a flame retardant, but my understanding that silnylon can not be treated with flame retardants and is very flamable. For this reason, I keep all flame away from mine.

Just as one example:

https://youtu.be/w492-EVCHQo


https://youtu.be/w492-EVCHQo

[ScareBear]

Cook? Ummm....I don't "cook" on the AT. I boil water and rehydrate whatever is for dinner. I boil water for coffee or cocoa. Before I go to sleep I rinse out the mug and Ti spoon far away from the tent and hang the hydration bag garbage and any other food wrapping refuse(energy bar wrapper/cookie wrapper/honeybun wrapper) in my bear bag.

I don't boil water inside the tent. No open flames inside the tent. I have boiled water inside the vestibule(no floor) but only when it is pouring rain.

I would not "cook" inside the vestibule. What makes up an "odor" are actually volatilized chemical compounds and these compounds adhere to fabric of any kind. Some compounds take longer to fully dissipate, some(sulphur, garlic, etc..) seem to take forever!

[garlic08]

Some mountaineering tents are designed for cooking. But not backpacking, no way.

[MuddyWaters]

Once im in shelter, im gona lay down. And rest . Ill jus eat cold stuff and cook lunch the next day instead. I only boil water, but when that get to be a hassle, skip it.

[Slo-go'en]

I'm more concerned with possible fire or spillage problems then food odors. The chances of something going wrong while cooking in the tent or in the vestibule can be pretty high.

Once you learn the timing, you almost never have to cook in the rain.

[AllDownhillFromHere]

I can imagine a backpacker setting up his tent after a wet day on the trail, climbing inside out of the rain, putting on warm dry clothing, then cooking dinner as the rain pitter-pats on the tent fly. But, I read that meals should be cooked/eaten away from the tent so the food smells will not attract wildlife. Do you cook inside your tent?
Why would you EVER do this?

[Feral Bill]

I have, in the Whites in winter, many years ago. No bad consequences, but still not smart. Not at all smart.

[cmoulder]

Actual cooking inside a tent? Nope, and never have.

In a vestibule or under a tarp, heat water and dump in bag to rehydrate, put bag inside a cozy. I love a hot dinner and conditions have to be pretty darn $hitty for me to skip it. But that has happened a couple of times... tarping with serious wind/rain.

[garlic08]

A corollary to this discussion is carrying enough food that can be eaten with cooking, just in case you can't (or seriously shouldn't, as in a tent). Instant mashed potatoes, couscous, rolled oats, even ramen noodles come to mind.

[Traveler]

FWIW - I am far more concerned with fire than wildlife in a tent so I avoid cooking in the tent or vestibule, preferring to set up a small fly or cook at a shelter in bad weather.

There are many ways a fire can start with camp stoves, even the most careful use is subject to a slight movement that pulls the floor fabric or sleeve that snags. If a fire starts, it's likely to start at the tent opening potentially leaving no way out except by extinguishing the flames (difficult if fuel is burning) or crawling through burning/melting nylon. Neither option is attractive, never mind the lost of any gear in the tent, or at minimum burning a hole in the tent that renders it ineffective in weather.

Something to consider.

[Spirit Walker]

I have sat outside in a light rain and cooked. I was already wet, so why not? I have also eaten Oreos or cereal for dinner. I have never cooked inside or right next to my tent. Too much danger of fire or melting nylon.

[SouthMark]

Not exactly the same thing but I cook under my hammock rain fly while sitting in my hammock.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Leo L.]

When the weather is chilly and dubious enough that I setup the tent, I most likely will boil the water needed for rehydrating dinner and a tea afterwards in the tent vestibule.
Saves a lot of fuel due to perfect wind protection.
I'm using Esbit, which seems to be perfect for this usage (clearly visible yellow flame, no spill).
The MSR Hubba Hubba NX supposedly has a flame protective impregnation.

[Hatchet_1697]

Never, and here's why.

1) My tent / hammock tarp are thin cuben fiber that can catch fire / burn holes in rather easy. Expensive downside if I screw up after a long tiring day

2) Most of my hiking is in black bear country and I follow the rule of not cooking where you sleep for their protection and mine -- don't need a bear coming around sniffing while I'm sleeping

3) I use a QiWiz Gear DualFuel burner (awesome little alcohol stove) with a Trail Designs Caldera Cone and the combo protects well enough to cook in the rain given a little extra cover. No need to cook in my tent.

If it's really bad (solid rain + windy) I eat a no cook meal for dinner and opt for a hot lunch the next day. Only had to do that once.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[Slo-go'en]

++++++++++++++++++
The MSR Hubba Hubba NX supposedly has a flame protective impregnation.
Which probably isn't very effective. It might slow down the rate of burn, but not eliminate it.

[Suzzz]

A corollary to this discussion is carrying enough food that can be eaten with cooking, just in case you can't (or seriously shouldn't, as in a tent). Instant mashed potatoes, couscous, rolled oats, even ramen noodles come to mind.

You just rehydrate them and eat cold?

I NEVER cook in or near my tent. My brother once had an incident with fire and it wasn't even his fault. A dead tree fell on his tent while he was cooking in the vestibule during a rain storm. He had to cut his way out with his knife and the tent was gone in a matter of seconds. He was lucky to get out alive with minor injuries and lost most of his gear. Luckily, he was with a group of friends who were able to help him out and lend him a few things for the rest of the trip.

I always carry enough no-cook items so there's always plenty to eat if I can't cook one evening. Were else can you eat cookies for supper and not feel guilty about it? ;-)

[Leo L.]

Which probably isn't very effective. It might slow down the rate of burn, but not eliminate it.
Guess its just up to a level, that the tent doesn't flash up in a huge flame when getting in contact with fire, but rather melt away lazily.
In the old days I sometimes had a candle in the tent and once burnt a hole in the inner tent - this was my old Salewa tent, Nylon inner, no fire impregnation, and it didn't flash up either, but rather melted away (but pretty fast at that).

We have no animal big or agressive enough to cause you any problem, in our country. Would heed all your best advice regarding cooking away from camp if in your place.

[garlic08]

You just rehydrate them and eat cold?...

Instant mashed potatoes and couscous will hydrate in cold water with a little extra time. Rolled oats you can eat dry or soaked--they're already cooked in processing (parboiled). Ramen is fried before packaging and can be eaten as a large, 300-calorie cracker.

Nothing wrong with cookies for supper, though.

My wife and I are stoveless hikers. We got that way after realizing the food that needed cooking was always the last to be eaten, and was the least appetizing stuff we carried. And clean-up was never worth it. Nor was searching fuel during resupply stops, but that's way off topic.

[evyck da fleet]

I've never thought of cooking in my tent. It seems rather foolish. I have heated water for oatmeal in my vestibule in the morning once or twice, but since that's not idiot proof I've decided to eat my morning snacks and hike until I reach a shelter or the rain stops before cooking breakfast. If it's raining at dinner time, I'm probably already wet and will cook outside if not near a shelter.

[DownEaster]

Rolled oats you can eat dry or soaked--they're already cooked in processing (parboiled).
That's only true for the quick/instant oats. I only eat the "old fashioned" (uncooked) variety.

[grubbster]

Quick oats and old fashioned oats are both parboiled. The difference is that the quick oats are smaller pieces to make them cook faster.

[Zea]

I always thought this scenario was my favorite time to have an ample sized vestibule

[garlic08]

Quick oats and old fashioned oats are both parboiled. The difference is that the quick oats are smaller pieces to make them cook faster.

Yes. Steel cut oats, however, need to be cooked. So do corn grits.

Another possibility for cold water rehydration is instant refried beans, though they're harder to find.

[earlyriser26]

My favorite memories are cooking in the vestibule of my tent in a rain storm. My last long hike was in the wilderness in maine in october. The one day we got into camp before dark I made potato soup in the vestibule. Like a hug from mom.

[Slow Trek]

Since a bear can smell a donut from a quarter mile away,i never cook within a hundred feet of my tent. You,however,are welcome to do so.

[DownEaster]

Quick oats and old fashioned oats are both parboiled.
That's not what my sources say. Old fashioned (rolled) oats are steamed to make them more pliable for rolling. Parboiling (short for partial boiling) requires immersion in boiling water, a different process.

[Odd Man Out]

I only cook at supper time. If weather looks bad I will cook at a shelter and the move on to tent somewhere else. If no shelter then I just eat a no-cook breakfast or lunch. If I were ever in the rain long enough, I might consider cooking in the vestibule (or a hotel room), but I've not gotten to that point yet.

[Turtle-2013]

I find this as interesting question, filled with lots of strong opinions of what is right and wrong, what is smart and not so smart, what is common place, and unthinkable. I think that the thinking has migrated a great deal over the years ... especially among the backpacking community (as compared to the mountaineering community.)

When I started serious back-country backpacking, as opposed to hiking short distances to a campsite and setting up a canvas pup-tent ... it was common to cook in the tent. In fact most of the better tents of the time had a drawstring vent hole above a zippered stove hole in the floor. While I opted for a tent without these features, I did get one that would vent along the ridge-line and carried a small pad for the stove to insulate from the floor. In those days the biggest fear was the spillage of liquid fuel in the tent ... no cartridge stoves were available yet. For those of you who remember the SVEA 123 (still available new), you started it with an eyedropper full of fuel in a "cup" around the "generator". Since the most common time to cook IN the tent was while winter camping, I carried a tube of alcohol gel to use instead ... since it was a safer option. Since someone mentioned it already, I'll add that my night lighting in the tent was from a candle lantern. Like most things both the stove and the lantern required a certain amount of care to maintain a margin of safety. But, it used with care, it was common procedure, and appropriately safe.

Fast forward 40 or 50 years ... I haven't seen a tent with a stove hole or draw-string vent in longer than I can remember ... and the general wisdom seems to say to cook a good distance away from where you are going to sleep. You can still get candle lanterns, but with all of the battery led options that will last longer for the weight... why use them. And I haven't seen a white gas stove on the trail in decades. SO, right or wrong the common wisdom has changed .... mostly with the availability of equipment that wasn't even on the horizon when I started backpacking.

All that said ... I don't use a tent, I use a tarp-tent (of my own design) that is more like a large vestibule than it is anything else. If it is raining, and I'm not at a shel1ter, I don't hesitate to cook under the tarp with the stove (jetboil) on the non-floored part, while setting on the floored section of my tarp-tent. My first choice is always to cook at the table out front of a shelter, or one of the cooking shelves on a shelter (always less than 100' from where people will be sleeping). My second choice is always to find a big rock to setup on a cook dinner while watching the sunset (Blood Mtn was GREAT). But, I would never hesitate to cook "in" the tarp-tent. Anything I did would be much safer that the "old days" ... and I didn't and don't think that was unsafe ... it just required more vigilance and care.

I think the general sense of safety consciousness has changed over the years throughout society, and this has affected the backpacking community as it has every other aspect of society. So ... in my humble opinion ... cook in your tent or not ... but either way be smart about it and you will be fine. Do unwise, or stupid things ... and you are likely to eventually suffer the consequences. Ultimately, YOU need to be the judge of what is smart, what is safe ... and what will get you into trouble.

Happy hiking ... and Happy trail cooking : )

[Dogwood]

Rarely inside an opened tent or under a vestibule. It has always been when it's raining hard. Common for myself tp boil water using a canister stove under a tarp pitched in A frame config. I'm much more leery about using an alchy stove which always seems to be more of a hazard of spilling something or burning down the house or gear.

I too will bring along at least one night's dinner and bfast in every 6 days food supply that is no cook. During the warm months I'm mostly consuming a no cook "bfast."

[OkeefenokeeJoe]

I can imagine a backpacker setting up his tent after a wet day on the trail, climbing inside out of the rain, putting on warm dry clothing, then cooking dinner as the rain pitter-pats on the tent fly. But, I read that meals should be cooked/eaten away from the tent so the food smells will not attract wildlife. Do you cook inside your tent?
Darwinism on parade right there, boys.

NEVER cook inside your tent.

For such times that you need to prepare food inside your tent look no further than Vienna Sausage, crackers, and Little Debbie cakes. Cold weenies work too.

[KDogg]

I cooked in my vestibule pretty much any time there was bad weather on the trail and sometimes just because. Never stored food and cooking gear in my tent except in the 100 mile where those freaky aggressive red squirrels got into anything you left outside your tent, including properly hung bear bags. Many of the shelters had attached cooking areas that we used as well and they didn't have any problems with bears either. I've always kind of taken issue with the whole food scent thing. I assume everything I had was coated with food odors, how could it not be? Even the outside of my food bag and my pack. I also assume that bears must be able to smell the difference between a food bag full of food and me and all my gear covered with food scent. And I also assume that they can smell that there is a stinky human in the tent that they'd rather not bother with either.

[egilbe]

Darwinism on parade right there, boys.

NEVER cook inside your tent.

For such times that you need to prepare food inside your tent look no further than Vienna Sausage, crackers, and Little Debbie cakes. Cold weenies work too.

Its amazing that not everyone who cooked in their tent throught history died, isnt it?

I've cooked in a tent before, but I was aware of the risks and took steps to minimize them. Its not optimal, but you won't automatically remove yourself from the gene pool if you do. Sometimes, you have to cook in a shelter, because cooking outside the shelter is a greater risk.

[Sarcasm the elf]

I cooked in my vestibule pretty much any time there was bad weather on the trail and sometimes just because. Never stored food and cooking gear in my tent except in the 100 mile where those freaky aggressive red squirrels got into anything you left outside your tent, including properly hung bear bags. Many of the shelters had attached cooking areas that we used as well and they didn't have any problems with bears either. I've always kind of taken issue with the whole food scent thing. I assume everything I had was coated with food odors, how could it not be? Even the outside of my food bag and my pack. I also assume that bears must be able to smell the difference between a food bag full of food and me and all my gear covered with food scent. And I also assume that they can smell that there is a stinky human in the tent that they'd rather not bother with either.

If you have facebook, you may enjoy this article written by a triple crowner:

https://m.facebook.com/notes/shane-odonnell/i-sleep-with-my-food/10153076469754659/

[Turtle-2013]

THANKS ... that is great ... I use bear boxes where they are provided, I use cables and poles where they are provided, otherwise I sleep with my food as well for many of the reasons he gives in his post. HOWEVER, I MIGHT do different in grizzly country ... but not around black bears.



If you have facebook, you may enjoy this article written by a triple crowner:

https://m.facebook.com/notes/shane-odonnell/i-sleep-with-my-food/10153076469754659/


ALSO I take issue with cooking in your tent being "Darwinism" ... people have been cooking in their tent for far more years than this sense of hyper-caution has taken hold.....

[Highmiler]

I always cook (heat water) in my vestibule. every morning I make 2 cups of coffee worth of hot water without getting out of my sleeping bag. Sleep with all my food in the tent too. use a 1 gallon zip lock for all food trash till I can find a trash can. Been doing this for many years with no problems this is an individual choice, but the ease of bringing everything in the tent with me at night is just what I do. Hiked from Fontana to Lincoln NH march to mid May this year on a big push.

[theinfamousj]

I don't cook in my tent or my vestibule, but then again I don't like to cook at all even at home, so I will take any excuse not to cook.

Sent from my SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[Bansko]

I never cook inside a tent. In a larger car-camping tents I have used propane heaters inside, with adequate ventilation, of course. I have cooked in backpacking tent vestibules though. When I do, I always have an exit plan and a knife handy.

[Berserker]

Do you cook inside your tent?
No. I did boil water once in my vestibule when it was raining just to see how the logistics worked out, and I was not comfortable with a flame that close to my tent at all so have never done it again.

In light rain I just cook outside. In heavy rain I either cook at a shelter (if camping near one), or under a small cuben tarp pitched up high as a "hang out" area for when it rains.

[rafe]

No. That's asking for trouble in all sorts of ways.

[seattleboatguy]

In heavy rain I either cook at a shelter (if camping near one), or under a small cuben tarp pitched up high as a "hang out" area for when it rains.

Hey Berserker, how big does a "hang out" tarp need to be in order to be of practical value on a rainy evening?

[Berserker]

Hey Berserker, how big does a "hang out" tarp need to be in order to be of practical value on a rainy evening?
I normally hike with a buddy, and he usually carries his tarp. It's a Zpacks rectangular cuben tarp, and I think it's a 6'x9' weighing in around 6 oz. We have gotten many comments as to how good of an idea it is from folks hiking in the rain that have passed us in camp over the years.

[futureatwalker]

Two words: carbon monoxide

If you cook inside your tent, you risk carbon monoxide poisoning. It's odorless, and lethal. Indeed, a few mountaineers died this year on Everest, presumably because of this.

(I may be getting this wrong, but carbon monoxide is produced by incomplete combustion (and is normally produced to an extent by non-alcohol stoves). Carbon monoxide has a high affinity for the hemaglobin in you blood cells, so it binds to it instead of oxygen. No oxygen = no brain activity, so you rpaidly lose consiousness and die.)

Please don't cook in your tent. If you absolutely have to, make sure it is extremely well ventilated.


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15138958

[nsherry61]

1) In longer daylight months, I generally cook dinner an hour or two or three before stopping for the night allowing me to quickly stop, drop, and roll over to sleep wherever I please, without having to deal with water for cooking, cleanup or the like. . . choose the best view instead of the best nearby water source, for instance. As a bonus, it also reduces both food odors that may attract unwanted wildlife and reduces the likelihood that I will camp in an established location where it is more likely that I will encounter unwanted domestic or wild life.

2) If it is raining or snowy and cold, and I am in camp, I will generally cook under my tarp since that is what I generally use for shelter instead of a tent. And cooking under a tarp is pretty easy and safe with whatever stove you are using . . . with most tarp pitches anyway, not all.

3) If I am using a tent, and the weather is bad, of course, I will cook in my vestibule, assuming I am using a stove that has well controlled flame like a typical canister stove. I have never cooked with alcohol or esbit inside my tent because they are more dangerous and both produce noxious fumes that need to be well vented. I would probably cook with Esbit in an open vestibule if that was my fuel on a trip with inclement weather and a tent. I have cooked with white gas in vestibules when mountaineering in decades gone by, but these days I use canisters for ease, weight, and frankly safety inside my shelter.

[Leo L.]

Right back from a few days out in bad weather: I had my usual setup with an Esbit stove and a small aluminium bottle to heat water.
I did all the water boiling for dinner&tea in the tent vestibule, and looked thoughtfully on this setup the whole time, seeking for problem spots.
Honestly, I did not find any.
The flame stayed well away from the rainfly.
The excess heat of the flame made the tent cosy.
I would not be afraid of Carbonmonoxyd (CO), as this only appears when the flame is burning half-choked (too little Oxygen), which is not the case when having a free, open burning flame.
The smell of the burnt Esbit may be a bigger hassle than CO. The smell proofed to be to much to bear when the flame is blown out - so this is the point where I fully open the vestibule for a minute.
I will keep my way of boiling in the tent vestibule (NOT inside the zipped-up tent).

BTW, me and my GF spent weeks, if not months, cooking (really cooking) in cold weather in the tent in Greece and in a closed van in US+Mex, using a gas (regular Benzin) stove. Even used the stove on lowest possible yellow flame as camp light.
Yes, it was smelly. No, we didn't die.

[nsherry61]

. . . No, we didn't die.
Yeah, but you will some day. ;-)

[Leo L.]

That for sure.
But not sure when, and of what.

I think a good part of why Americans/WB-members mostly vote against cooking in the tent is, that so many of you are using Alcohol, which seems to be really dangerous if spilled, soaked up by (tent) cloth and lighted up, which might end up in a catastrophy.
Remember that I had such an accident myself when, as a kid, filling up dad's Zippo with white gas, spilling a good portion of it over my trousers, and, being an innocent kid then, test-lighting the lighter. Barely escaped.