Cold Weather Camping

[repeter1977]

some great ideas on here. IF you are to try and use a heater, its always a good idea to be awake, as there have been many fires that i know of that burned down tents and more then one Soldier that has been killed due to this.
Depending on how cold you are, or how much you want to warm up, you can always use the 2 person in a sleeping bag. Both people's body heat warm each other up. Granted, most people are against this unless they are married, or they are about to freeze to death.
As I have also done more then a fair share of cold weather camping, including being out in Korea in the winter. One of the more important thing is to watch the extremities, so sleeping with fresh, dry socks, or even putting on gloves as well as a good hat helps as well. The hat is one of the most important things, since most of your body heat is lost through your head.
As was pointed out here as well though, make sure you dont overdo it either and then you are sweating to death as well.

 

[Sailor]

Eat high calorie foods before bed. Like peanut butter on a pop tart.

Lean to, fire with a reflector and lots of insulation under your bag.

 

[Dave Doehrman]

Bree Olsen

 

[Sailor]

Bree Olsen

Everybody's already kept warm with her I'll pass.

 

[IndyPrepper]

Bree Olsen

I would never leave my tent

 

[Zoub]

Duly noted, should revise to say as long as I'm not producing sweat I will have many layers.

Wrong, your body always produces moisture through transpiration. Frostbite and hypothermia NEVER take a day off, they just wait for you to screw up.

Deal with it in your sleeping bag the same way you deal with it when walking around. Head, hands feet should be kept warm. Sleep in the least amount of layers possible. Wear a wicking layer next to your skin. Always rotate all your clothes daily. It is good to have dedicated first layers to sleep in. They can dry out all day before you hit the sack again.

You can get in your bag dressed/semi dressed and then peel off layers. A quality bag is critical in cold weather.

A big rule is to never sleep in clothes you have worn that same day. NEVER, not a single item. If you observe that rule, you will be warmer and able to sleep in less layers. No cotton either.

 

[rockhopper46038]

Bree Olsen

Well, that'll leave a burning sensation, I suppose...

 

[Balinor]

Take care on what rocks you heat some can "explode" if heated too high. I have never had that as an issue, possiably because that type of rock is not our area but something to think about. I am sure some one here can clarify my comments.

 

[IndyPrepper]

Wrong, your body always produces moisture through transpiration. Frostbite and hypothermia NEVER take a day off, they just wait for you to screw up.

Deal with it in your sleeping bag the same way you deal with it when walking around. Head, hands feet should be kept warm. Sleep in the least amount of layers possible. Wear a wicking layer next to your skin. Always rotate all your clothes daily. It is good to have dedicated first layers to sleep in. They can dry out all day before you hit the sack again.

You can get in your bag dressed/semi dressed and then peel off layers. A quality bag is critical in cold weather.

A big rule is to never sleep in clothes you have worn that same day. NEVER, not a single item. If you observe that rule, you will be warmer and able to sleep in less layers. No cotton either.

Good Tips, Thanks !

 

[doubleshock]

What pistolbob said!

 

[SolidSnake99]

Yes that is the other thing I forgot to mention, always change everything you wore during the day to fresh clothing. you will freeze if you go to bed with clothes you "think" are dry but are actually not.

If you get a sleeping pad make sure it is a close cell pad. Open cell pads will soak up moisture from the ground and become an icicle. NO AIR MATTRESSES!!!

 

[PistolBob]

Remember the signs of hypothermia, learn the "umbles" phrase, which is "stumbles, mumbles, fumbles, and grumbles." These words describe changes in a person's physical coordination and mental alertness that may be the first signs of hypothermia.

Tent placement can help a lot to ward of hypothermia, whenever possible, place your tent in a location that will catch the sunrise in the morning. This will aid in melting off any ice and evaporating any frost or dew that may have formed during the night. This will also warm your tent as you awaken in the morning.

Cold air sinks. Try to place your campsite on slightly higher ground than the rest of your surroundings. Try to choose a protected site if it is snowing or the wind is blowing.

Dehydration can seriously impair the body's ability to produce heat. Drink fluids as often as possible during the day and keep a water bottle or canteen with you at night.

One more thing...cooking in cold weather will take about twice as long as normal. Always use a lid on any pots that you are cooking in. This will help to hold in the heat and decrease the overall heating time. Make sure you start hot cleaning water before you start cooking. The pots and utensils must still be cleaned.

Try to keep your menu to good one-pot meals. Things like stews, chili, and hot beans stick to your ribs, lessen the cleaning time, and provide good sources of energy and fuel for your internal furnace. A good high-calorie snack before bedtime will also keep you warm all night. Stay away from an overabundance of sugar or candy, cheese or chocolate is a good high-calorie bedtime snack.

 

[mrfjones]

For this weekend just take lots of dry clothes it will more likely be rainy this weekend. Even though it will be raining stay hydrated.

 

[Aaronhome27]

It doesn't heat the tent per se, but the single most important thing you can do (which you probably already know) to stay warm is to get up off contact with the tent floor by using a sleeping pad underneath you.

This .....This...... This. ......

The single best thing you can do aside from the proper gear. We used to camp in February every year. The first year I tried it I learned the hard way. After getting camp mats the rest was easy. All we do is get good quality sleeping bags and use a good quality tent that is just big enough to fit us without touching the edges. Add some mats to keep you from touching the ground and it spells warm. I havent tried any of the other heating methods but we have done fairly well keeping it simple and spending on the right equipment we do use. Best of luck to you.

 

[pirate]

We went last weekend. It got to about 12 out at night. Was a great weekend. The only thing I learned is that I need a better frame pack for hike/camping trips were we have to hike more than 4 miles to our campsite. That and always use layers.

 

[hooky]

Bree Olsen

Note to self. Don't google bree olsen from work.

 

[hooky]

For giggles one year when my son was 6 or 7, we dug a snow cave during the day and then slept in it that night. Laid down a tarp and sleeping pads. Crawled in the bags and told stories for an hour or so and woke up the next morning no worse for wear. It's all about staying dry.

 

[Willob]

I have a Cabela's Alaknak tent that I use during deer and turkey seasons as well as some western trips. In cold weather I have a small wood stove that I bought with the tent. It works well, but is not all that airtight. Even when you shut off the air intake after getting a hot fire going it still burns up wood quickly. before next deer season I will have a more expensive airtight stove to use.

 

[IndyPrepper]

Reason why I have asked is that I will be under shelter I am building myself.

Right now I have a tarp 10X12 (need to check that size again to see if I'm accurate) It is 10mil
I'm 6ft 4 so the smaller ones I was finding didnt seem up to par.

Headed to Gander this eve to track down a good pad as I haven't ever had one.

REALLY appreciate all the comments received thus far. Feeling more comfortable that I will be as warm as possible.

 

[larrylegend]

A good pad to use would be a blue roll up closed cell foam pad you can buy at walmart. They are actually sold as "yoga" mats but they should work especially if you use two of them. The problem with air matresses is that air is not a good insulator, especially when it moves. Another cheap option, although not comfortable, is a silver coated windshield reflector. The ones people put in their car to reflect sunlight, these can be bought at walmart for cheap. I spent a night out a few weeks ago and used one of those silver mats and a closed cell foam pad that was a half inch thick and was fine.