High Low Thermometers

[CAMERONM]

I was under the impression that the AcuRite was both lighter and smaller the the Inkbird, but I guess that is incorrect. The one I have is .9 oz, which in the UL world is already a wild and reckless extravagance. I might have to return to my 40-year old REI bulb thermometer.

[treks]

Reviving this old thread but I just got this lightweight one.

https://www.thermoworks.com/thermodrop

I don't really like having too much electronic stuff but this seems okay. Its supposed to have a really long battery life.

[Cycleboy]

I’ve got the Thermodrop on my pack hanging from a zipper. I like checking after a day out on the trail what the high and low was. I got them last fall for my whole family when thermoworks had a sale.

[kpeter]

I wound up getting the Inkbird and have used it on two trips. It is very light and does what I need it to do. I really enjoy knowing the high, the low, and also the humidity. It helps me decide whether to put up the rain fly if I am worried about hitting a dew point.

[randydarden]

I've had good luck with the Thermodrop, but I also got a pair of Govee bluetooth thermometers as a gift for winter camping (measuring temperatures inside the shelter and outside). I can recommend both.

[rlown]

Nose hairs are free. They tell me everything I need to know.

[John Harper]

I just bought a cheap digital refrigerator thermometer. It records high and lows for a 24 hour period. Compact and inexpensive. Temperature range more than adequate for most people's needs.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/385299305314?var=653187964694

John

[Gogd]

It'd be interesting to bring a couple (edit thermometers), one in the tent, one just outside it, one outside up or down 20 feet of gain to see how much heat is retained in tent and how much is gained by camping above meadows/lakeshores etc. Not sure I'd bother, but it'd be interesting.

We did the upslope/downslope temperature comparison a few times. The biggest temperature variation occurred proximal to the local low elevation, to about 20-100' above that elevation, The temperature variance would range 10-15 degrees, sometimes more. Local terrain features also can influence the effect on temperature gradient. Once you get more than 100' (más o menos) above the local low elevation, the temperature gradient can be accounted for by the adiabatic affect air pressure has on gas density due to changes in elevation.

We also tested for temperature difference inside/outside of various tent designs, ranging from pyramid tarps to 3 season double wall tents, and 4 season single wall and double wall tents. All tents were 2P capacity. Several factors influenced the observations. Wind was a prime factor. Even a gentle breeze was enough to minimize the night time difference between temperatures inside vs outside a tent. This is likely due to convection of heat from the tent fabric surfaces, as well as a draft cycling air through the tent, effectively evacuating any built up interior heat. We observed double wall tents were insignificantly warmer than traditional, single wall tent designs. We assume this is due to the miniscule R-factor a double wall possesses, given one wall is a thin, fabric membrane, and the other typically a bug mesh. Tent walls made from such materials fail to create any insulating, dead air space between them. Instead, double double wall tents (and in fact any tent design) can only derive additional measurable warmth if they are battened down, sealing all openings to the outside world, minimizing heat loss due to draft. You can also achieve similar draft reduction with tarp tents featuring entry doors, albeit with considerable effort spent on sealing up the perimeter where the tent walls and doors meet the ground. But sealing up any tent completely is done at the expense of significant condensation issues. IMO opinion these observations allude the assertion double wall tents are warmer is a myth in most instances, with artic shelter tents, hot tents designs, and tents with exotic wall materials (e.g. reflective foils) perhaps being the exceptions. Typical double wall tents may "feel" warmer when they are sealed up; however, that is due to lower interior drafts (reduced wind chill factor), not a difference in actual temperatures.

Some additional trivia:

• A candle, 100W light, and adult human body all generate about the same amount of heat.
• Most seasoned cold weather campers prefer a well vented tent and warmer sleeping bag, compared to a lighter bag used with a sealed tent and inevitable condensation issue.
• A major source of body warmth at rest is derived from food digestion processes. Therefore just before bedtime eat something that makes the body work to digest it, such as a fatty snack or jerky.

Ed

[erutan]

Thanks, @Gogd the research we needed, but we're all too lazy to do!

In my experience 15-20' feet above the low point can make a meaningful difference, or even 5' if you pair it with some other factors like tree cover (camped on duff in a little grove that was in the middle of a meadow, meadow was covered in frost the next morning and our grove wasn't) as you point out with terrain factors.

Regarding mesh, we share a Big Agnes Tigerwall 2 - it's the last major "light" vs "ultralight" piece of gear left for me (though I carry some light "luxury items" and don't claim to be UL). We find that even with the fly off it's noticeably warmer even with most of the top being no-see-um mesh due to 3 sides having the lightweight walls that come up a bit. We made a no-see-um mesh screen to go over the side sliding door of the van, and I was (unpleasantly) surprised at how it actually helps keep in warmth when we're trying to cool it off but there's bugs outside. Agreed that draft reduction is a huge part of it, sometimes we'll put up the tent for that reason but don't think it's windy enough to justify the rain fly to sleep a little better.

Condensation near the footboxes especially can be an occasional issue even in a non buttoned down tent for us, though less than when cowboy camping. The govee units now show dew point, which is helpful - I'm really bad at predicting when that'll occur and it can lead to a bit of wasted morning drying bags out if we cowboy camp.

One nice thing about the govee is you can see an actual graph of temperature and humidity over time - we had a recent night where water was freezing quickly in the evening, then a front moved in and it was in the mid-high 30s from 10pm on. A 24h high/low could be a bit misleading when trying to figure out your comfort range for a specific set of gear.

[Gogd]

Thanks, @Gogd the research we needed, but we're all too lazy to do!

Condensation near the footboxes especially can be an occasional issue even in a non buttoned down tent for us, though less than when cowboy camping. The govee units now show dew point, which is helpful - I'm really bad at predicting when that'll occur and it can lead to a bit of wasted morning drying bags out if we cowboy camp.

LOL, @erutan lazy is about the last adjective I'd use to describe you, base on your TRs and general camp talk.

Love cowboy camping! I have an old bug net I made that covers the bag and two small diameter carbon fiber poles that hold the net up over my head area, like a tiny dome tent. I cowboy camp regardless of how cold it gets, using a shelter only when stuff comes out of the sky.

In freezing temperatures we found layering a thin, breathable, fabric cover over our bags moved the frost from collecting on the bag's surface to the outer surface of the fabric cover. I use the lightest ripstop nylon I can find for this purpose. I don't mind taking my time in the summer mornings so I just sun dry my bag. I haven't tried the fabric cover in warmer weather, but imagine it would handle liquid condensation in a similar manner.

Ed