Big Buddy Heater (the fan is back)

Here’s a review of the new updated version of the Big Buddy heater. Spoiler alert, I never liked the fan and and always thought it was overrated.

I would buy one if they had the rechargeable fan like you mentioned but I’m not dealing with buying new batteries all the time. Total letdown in todays world.

Agree with you the fan is worthless. I have a big buddy that’s probably 8 years old. Housing is all busted up but it still works. Will buy another one when and if this one dies.

Actually sitting in the otter cottage in the garage right now having some cocktails using the buddy to keep warm.

you know they make rechargeable batteries right? I have a couple different buddy heaters and it rarely gets cold enough to use the “BIG” buddy but that thing will cook you out of your boots.

Good info, enjoyed the video. The details about fuel keg is good to know.

eyeguy507 wrote:

you know they make rechargeable batteries right? I have a couple different buddy heaters and it rarely gets cold enough to use the “BIG” buddy but that thing will cook you out of your boots.

I mostly run night trips and once the sun goes down (and in an Eskimo 650) it takes ALL of that Big Buddy to keep it comfortable.

No need for a battery operated fan. I bought one of these fans and it works great

That fan is very cool!!!

Fan does look useful.

Coletrain27 wrote:

I would buy one if they had the rechargeable fan like you mentioned but I’m not dealing with buying new batteries all the time. Total letdown in todays world.

I rigged up a 6 volt battery to power my fan. It was pretty simple to do but had to pull the wires to the battery compartment and wire up some blade connectors. Works great.

CaptainMusky wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Coletrain27 wrote:</div>
I would buy one if they had the rechargeable fan like you mentioned but I’m not dealing with buying new batteries all the time. Total letdown in todays world.

I rigged up a 6 volt battery to power my fan. It was pretty simple to do but had to pull the wires to the battery compartment and wire up some blade connectors. Works great.

where to the battery go then? is there enough room to put it where the batteries normally go?

I put the battery on the side where a 1# tank would go. Worked great.

Mr. Heater almost needs two SKU’s with this…one with the fan and one without.

they make rechargeable D cell lithiums and no need to modify anything. site wont post a link but look em up

eyeguy507 wrote:

you know they make rechargeable batteries right? I have a couple different buddy heaters and it rarely gets cold enough to use the “BIG” buddy but that thing will cook you out of your boots.

Hell, I run 2 Big Buddies in my 850 and it still gets a bit frosty sometimes, I have one with the fan and one without, the fan helps A LOT, especially paired with the clip on fan running off the generator. Wish I’d had them this weekend, the sleeper we were in on LOW definitely needed a furnace about two sizes bigger, and the 2 one pounders we got for the “back up”, coulda used about 6 friends. Had two inches in the minnow bucket…

yeah I don’t fish in subzero weather for many reasons but I fish in a 4 person hub and don’t do ice camping. My hunting buddy is perfect for a normal trip and I never get cold. LOW is 12 hours north of me and you need to prepare for that.

One trip a while back on Leech, my buddy shut off our heat in our skidshack trying to turn it down at night. I woke up at 4am to no heat and could not get it lit. went out and grabbed the big buddy out of our sled covered in snow and brought it into the shack. one click and it started right up in -20 degrees. I think it saved our lives that night. that was the coldest I have ever been.

eyeguy507 wrote:

they make rechargeable D cell lithiums and no need to modify anything. site wont post a link but look em up

The fan is absolutely not worth the cost of any type of battery or power solution. The external fan I highlighted in the video is 100x better. As seen in the video the built in Buddy fan hardly even moves a piece of tissue paper. LOL

My Big Buddy has a fan and I tried it a few times. Didn’t use it after that, didn’t move much air. I have been using a camping fan that attached to the top pole by a magnet and uses 1 or 2 d-cell batteries.