I've been busy with family over the holidays. Just getting around to posting again.
I picked up a few things here & there. I got a Little Buddy heater for camping. Some might consider it for emergency purposes. It uses the small round propane canisters. I also got an MSR pocket rocket camp stove.
I took both out camping to test them in cold weather. It has rained quite a bit and I arrived at my destination as the sun was setting. No chance for finding dry firewood.
Anyway - The heater...if you want it for emergencies, they better be short duration.
Pros - you can use it almost like having a campfire to sit around. I go by myself and sat close to it drinking coffee in the morning with everything around me covered in ice. Very comfortable.
It has an O2 sensor to cutoff automatically to address CO concerns. You can run it in your tent. I have a small REI half dome plus tent (2 person) made for backpacking. It was only in the 20s at night, but the heater did okay when it was on.
It also has a tilt sensor to shutoff if it tips over.
Cons - a canister will only last ~6 hrs. I woke up in the night to my dog shivering because it went out. It also doesn't make the small tent to the point where you think it's warm when it is running. It will make it comfortable enough but you're not going to feel like you've completely escaped the elements outside.
It gets very hot around the shield. While it will cutoff if it's knocked over, I think you'd melt your tent flooring or other things that contact it. Not a major con...just be careful.
On the MSR pocket rocket, I really liked it's performance.
Some pros & cons -
Pros - it is literally a little rocket. The amount of heat this thing kicks out is impressive. I've got a GSI 1 liter kettle. It boiled water in ~4 minutes. Less for coffee with less water.
It's very lightweight and comes in a triangular plastic case. Very easy to carry.
Cons - It requires a fuel source. MSR makes other models that work with a variety of fuel sources. My small fuel can lasted the 3 days. Not sure how much is left in it.
No igniter. I don't see it as a big deal. If you're in S&P, you'd better have multiple ignition sources.
Anyway, as I said...I got them mainly for camping. I know others have considered these items for survival situations. I like to test out my stuff and see how it works under less-than-ideal conditions. Figured I'd post the results.