I was thinking today, when you only have one or two people and build a fire, a lot of the heat is wasted going in directions away from you. Has anyone brought along some sort of metal reflective sheet to place around the fire to direct more of it to one side? What do you use that's lightweight, packable, pliable, yet rigid enough to stand? I was thinking you could either have a roughtly 4'x2' piece of sheet metal curled around the fire just shoved into the snow, or maybe try to construct something out of sticks and aluminum foil.

We have only used builders to reflect heat back when cold camping. Otherwise we build large fires on the lake and huddle around.

Always trying to come with a good reflector for the wood stove while camping on the ice, simply to keep the ice from melting.

I made a "tri-fold" made of aluminum sheathing and mylar/duct work tape for the hinges. The three panels are the same size as the base of my woodstove and fit underneath the stove in a bag i sewed for the stove.

tg

I use a stick frame with a aluminum foil sheet attached for a reflector oven. I also use them as a wind block for the stove. I think using it to reflect heat back is a good idea. I will have to try it next time I'm out.

One of my indispensible tools for camping is a pair of old license plates.

You would not believe how useful those things are, I'm sure I'm not the only one who swears by them.