little buddy heater vs buddy heater help

[rdhammah]

I have a 1 man flip over and a 2 man hub shelter. have not used either yet due to lack of much of a season. would like to get a heater for those extreme cold days. looking for comparisons of the 2 heaters. Pros and cons.  the buddy heater is the one that has 2 heat settings - 3800 - 9000 btu.
help me make a decision. thanks - Rich

[coverup]

Get the regular 2 heat setting the other smaller one won't  keep you warm on real cold days

[hardwater diehard]

My Portable Buddy Heater has served me well in my two man uninsulated Frabill ...I don't use it that often but I think if I were to use the Lil Buddy in its place I would be extremely disappointed .

[AriettaBob]

Not sure I can help you but I own the big buddy(3settings) and it's way too much for my 1man flip over. My plan is to buy the little buddy, hoping it at least takes the chill off, and install reflextix to the entire top if needed.

[mjk67]

The little buddy's BTU is roughly similar to the low setting on the Buddy, isn't it ?  I've never run my buddy on more than low, it would really depend on how you define 'cold weather'....

It definitely would save you some space in the 1 man...

[Deal Ninja]

Get the Portable Buddy. The advantages of two heat settings and the option to use a bulk tank and hose are well worth the extra dollars spent.  Both of my shacks are insulated and I very rarely have to use the higher heat setting (9000btu), but it's nice to know it's there.

[jiml]

I had the little buddy in my 3 man hub yesterday. 6 degrees outside......Got it to barely above freezing inside. Enough to take the edge off but definitely not warm in there.

[rdhammah]

I had the little buddy in my 3 man hub yesterday. 6 degrees outside......Got it to barely above freezing inside. Enough to take the edge off but definitely not warm in there.

how is it stability wise? tippy?

[jiml]

You have to be careful around it. But it does have an auto shut off if it tips too far.

[AriettaBob]

how is it stability wise? tippy?

A piece of 4"sch40 pvc mounted permanently will make a perfect holder. The 1lb. propane tank fits right in it.

[Arctic Addict]

The Big Buddy is definitely the way to go. For a few bucks more, you get more heat set options, more overall BTU's and the ability to use two 1 pounders.  It is not that much bigger but I'm my opinion it is way better than the smaller version.

[BobOlink]

I like my little buddy in my scout. Because the head sets high on the tank and it takes up less floor space and I stand it up behind my vex.

[fullThrottle]

I use the buddy heater. Works great. Won't need anything bigger than that. I fish in a t shirt most of the time ha ha

[hardwater diehard]

I have a 1 man flip over and a 2 man hub shelter. have not used either yet due to lack of much of a season. would like to get a heater for those extreme cold days. looking for comparisons of the 2 heaters. Pros and cons.  the buddy heater is the one that has 2 heat settings - 3800 - 9000 btu.
help me make a decision. thanks - Rich

On my friends  1 man Frabill I added a piece of 1 inch square tubing across the back of the seat support horizontal/level...then added two self tapping screws...and hung the Portable Buddy off the screws by the factory slots ...stays put and can be started/adjusted easily ...on my two man I added a support across the front edge of the tub and added two screws in the middle and hung my Buddy as stated above ...EZPZ on/off/adjustment

[rdhammah]

sportsmans guide price diff is $13.  with free shipping over $49. for the short money, think I will go with the buddy for the stability and 2 heat settings. run time on low setting is same as the little buddy. plus, with a little mod, can heat up water for tea or something.
thanks for all of your responses.
Rich

[mjk67]

Insulated or non-insulated?

I had the little buddy in my 3 man hub yesterday. 6 degrees outside......Got it to barely above freezing inside. Enough to take the edge off but definitely not warm in there.

[3300]

get both!
i have them both and more. use what you need to use.
the little buddy only has 3800. i use this most of the time. i have the portable buddy and it goes lower than 3800 if you make it by turning it down while pushing down on the knob. it won't shut off but will lower the gas flow. it will do 4000 and any where in between and up to 9000.

the little buddy stays in a cat litter bucket with the base and a tank of gas and a tiny glassless lantern and spare mantels and a cooker. and it serves as a table top and a rod holder.

the portable heater is for windy and colder days when you just know you'll want it. i bought a case for the portable heater that also hold gas cans and plenty of room for other things. i bought the bass pro version because it uses hand straps instead of shoulder straps.

keep them contained to keep them clean and free of bugs.

i might buy the hunting buddy next.

i have 4 different shelters. only one is insulated, but it is the biggest one.

[WARRIOR_ON_ICE]

Get the Portable Buddy. The advantages of two heat settings and the option to use a bulk tank and hose are well worth the extra dollars spent.  Both of my shacks are insulated and I very rarely have to use the higher heat setting (9000btu), but it's nice to know it's there.

I couldn't have said this better. I have the Buddy and bought the 12 foot hose that allows me to use a 20 # tank and therefore save a lot of $$ on propane. I bought the hose on Amazon. The higher heat setting keeps my Shappel 6000 toasty warm in single digit outside temps.

[rdhammah]

Insulated or non-insulated?

non-insulated

[spoofhoundicefisher]

i have a very old dave genz 2 man flip over style shelter.  i have a buddie who has a little buddie and it will not knock off the chill when it is very cold around 10 degrees and colder.  my shelter is non insulated of course.  but the little buddie will knock the chill off and keep up at 10 degrees and even well into the negative temps as well.  just my experience with the two.  i have never fished in a one man and unless it is really windy i will fish outside of the flipover most of the time. 

[aschack]

Low for me too

[VTMatt]

I started with the Little Buddy in my Yukon X thermal. It was OK heat-wise but it annoyed the crap out of me with how unstable it was. It didnt really get "warm" but enough to feel comfortable. I borrowed my dads portable buddy one day and ended up getting rid of the Little Buddy.

On high, I can be warm in a t-shirt inside my Yukon while its 10 degreea outside.  I mostly have it on low, which is perfect for most days. Def go with the larger one.

[BaitBucket]

I have a 1 man flip over and a 2 man hub shelter. have not used either yet due to lack of much of a season. would like to get a heater for those extreme cold days. looking for comparisons of the 2 heaters. Pros and cons.  the buddy heater is the one that has 2 heat settings - 3800 - 9000 btu.
help me make a decision. thanks - Rich

I have the little buddy for my 2 man frabill pop up hub. It kept it 65deg on a day in the low 20s. 1 1lb can lasts about 8hrs to. I like that is small and light, takes up very little space compared to the bigger buddy heater.

[liquidonyx]

I liked both the lil buddy and the portable buddy for my 2 man. I think each have their pros/cons.
A big factor for me was size. My sled is getting pretty full and I liked the fact that a little buddy would fit into a half full 5 gallon bucket I was already packing. I watched a lot of reviews on YouTube, there's quite a few from people who do winter van Camping/living...I'd check those out.

However, I ended up buying the potable buddy because of the adjustable thermostat and the ability to heat twice the square footage. Plus, there was only a $10 price difference at Walmart.

[52isntbigenough]

Have them both, and like the little guy just to get some warmer air in the Voyager. I hate getting too warm and very rarely spend time in the shack, so the little one is perfect for me.

[Kobey]

My vote is for a Portable Buddy.  If you only have one heater, you'll want something that can put out more heat if needed.  IMO, the Big Buddy is overkill for almost any situation.  If I needed the third heat setting, I wouldn't be out there to begin with.

[perch chacer]

One point when using your Buddy Heaters, if you use a flip over Fish Trap style hut and you flip open your hut on a windy day the Buddy Heaters blow out easy.   In side a hub hutor cube they ere OK. 

[RickWakeman]

One point when using your Buddy Heaters, if you flip open your hut on a windy day they blow out easy.  If you have a zipper door always use that so your heater stays lite.

So you probably have much more experience than I do, but I fished for the first time in a hub style shelter with a buddy heater and it was windy outside. I left the door open so I could see my flags. The wind did not enter the hub and the heater did not blow out. Maybe the orientation of the door is important?

To the OP: I would go with the buddy. It is nice to be able to crank the heat up if needed and there are mods on here that allow you to heat up food on it. I also like the flexibility of being able to use a 20lb propane tank instead of the little 1lbers.

[IrishnId]

I've got the Lil Buddy, and it is not enough in 3 man hub after about 10 degrees. I'll be getting the Buddy heater next year.

[shermanpup]

The Llittle buddy has a small footprint that comes in handy if you have a chair style shelter ( ht polar express 1, nature vision) . The regular buddy I have has been super dependable and is useful in the food warm up category . I have a hunting buddy too that I got for $35.00 at Meijer . It was reconditioned and marked down to $70.00 when I went to pay for it, it rang up at $35.00 ,they had 2 so I went back and bought the other one for an old guy I know who uses it deer hunting . The hunting buddy eats 1lb. tanks and it is noisy on low. I only use it in my garage . I had to clean the pilot out this year on the Hunting buddy and it works good now. The big buddy is too big to haul around for me . . Best value is the regular Buddy on sale . My nephew thinks that deer can smell the propane , he went to electric heat for deer hunting for next season