OB Approved 10 Tips For Sleeping Warm In Camp

[Billiebob]

it makes your morning clothes nice and toasty warm when you put them on instead of being a cold shock

Many, many great tips but this ^^^^ is the best, I don't do the mountaineering, mummy, sleep under the stars anymore but even if you sleep in a bed in a cabin ^^^^ this is the best tip... I've been doing it for 50 years.

I sleep in a square drop home built trailer on a full size mattress, with 2 massive winter rectangular cotton bags plus a 3 season synthetic bag, and I just pick the number of layer I need. But wet is never an issue and American Express and the Hilton are never far away.

But yes, every one of those tips are invaluable.

 

[Billiebob]

This reminds me of skiing with my son. Budgeting was always tight and downhill skiing was never cheap. A typical weekend for us, the wife and daughter prefered to stay home, was....

Leave home by 6am, drive to Hinton for breakfast, drive to the winter campground, set up the tent, sleeping bags, be at Marmot for the 9am lift ticket office opening. Ski, ski, ski, lunch at the upper chalet, ski, ski, ski till closing. Drive into Jasper, first stop, swim, sauna, steam at the City Pool. Fresh clothes and out for dinner at a great restaurant..... never fast food.... salad, fish, or ?? Off to the movie theater. Desert at Dairy Queen or??? and by 10pm back to the free winter camp ground. Sleep was always easy and instant. Up by 7am, dress, pack up, breakfast in town, maybe at the Jasper Park Lodge, livin' high and then ski, ski, ski lunch on the hill again, ski, ski, ski, with dinner on the way home.

Those were fabulous trips. The best days were waking up to find the tent buried under a foot of fresh snow.

 

[Billiebob]

With a quality sleeping bag. What are your thoughts about not rolling it up after every use? I’ve been told to “stuff” it back into the bag so the fill will not push out of the folds

Yes, we always hung our down mummy bags in the closet.
Later, when we used them less we stored them in large parachute bags.
But never store them compressed.

I never realized the physiology of peeing, I just knew that I could lie awake for an hour holding it or get up, pee, and instantly fall back to sleep.

 

[AZt100]

A bunch of great advise that I will most likely use. Thanks!

 

[johnandashleyadventures]

This is some awesome advice. I think I have lost months off my life sleeping in, rolling up and trying to stuff into that way too small bag, Coleman rectangular sleeping bag. Ashley bought a nice Kelty bag and I think it's time to head to REI and get a better one. Those practical tips are so cool, never would have thought of half of them.

 

[AutomaticBluez]

Thanks for sharing. I’m enjoying the great information passed on by this community.

Cheers!
Gary

 

[Jeremy M.]

Great post, just another tip from someone who camped once a month every month for 7 years in Upstate NY. Make sure what ever you wear to bed is clean and dry, even if your underwear/base layer feels dry your sweat from the day will make you cold at night.

 

[DzrtShamrock]

Good recommendations, I can't help but agree. Sadly some of those lessons I learned the hard way. Plus one for the light and not too many layers worn when you do go to sleep. A lot of people I've gone to the field with don't get that or feel comfortable doing that because they don't really understand how the bag works.

Something else I've tried is sleeping in a hammock. The valve on my ground mat got crushed at the start of a field exercise so I ended up sleeping in a hammock the rest of the time. I ended up securing a blanket to the underside of the hammock to hold heat in, and then sleeping in a light weight sleeping bag. When I got back I had a sleeping bag zipper sewn to the long side of a military poncho liner. Next time around I just put the poncho liner around the hammock and that worked like a suspended mummy bag.

 

[The Gobbler]

I feel like a wuss even asking this, but does anybody have thoughts on an electric blanket and a portable power station?

 

[ThundahBeagle]

This is a great write up! Some I knew and used, some I've seen for the first time. Thank you for taking the time.

A word of caution about hot water bottles. If you are the type who is restless during sleep or you tend to open the bag or cover...be aware that over the course of the night, a hot water bottle's temperature often drops significantly and you could find yourself hugging a cold water bottle before too long.

I like to use them to warm up the inside of the bag or under the covers, then remove them and keep them on hand for drinking later if needed.

 

[fmcharley]

Hi all,

Great write up. Some I've known and used. I camp in the province of Ontario, and we've camped in -18 F or -28 Celsius. The one thing not to do, is overdress to be too warm. Sweat is an enemy. Feet, legs and hands need to be warm. In those temperatures, I have -50 Celsius boots. One pair of good fleece long-johns and sweater, snow-pants, a light jacket and then an outer layer jacket. When we're out there, we're working hard collecting wood for a fire (snow shoes will make you work hard). So most of the time, I have my outer layer taken off and either working or close to the fire. The moment I'm away from the fire and not working, then for sure it's outer layer jacket time. When sleeping, I have a -30 Celsius sleeping bag, sleeping in a shelter we created. I have a hot water bottle in the sleeping bag and I'm fine the whole night with it (6 hrs of sleep). Sometimes I even use some of the hot hand pouches. They work well. As Overland Bound says, it's very much in the planning that makes these adventures fun! Here's a picture.

Lots of fun! Enjoy!

 

[Wtf1]

Thanks for the write up.

 

[The Roach ...]

one size fit all mummy bags... a pain in the ass. after years in the Corps and dealing without bags at any level. I want to bring to the group the Poncho liner.. two poncho liners a Poncho and a sheet of plastic is a god send 90% of the time.

in a rtt, I use the square bag, a poncho liner in the bag and one on top. most of the time.. I'm unzipped. even down to the sub zero range. amen on the hot water bottle. old rubber ones are the best.

 

[Ursa Major]

Excellent write up! Knee some of these tips,but the information about choosing the right bag is the MOST important part IMHO. I need to relook at my bags and reassess my gear.

 

[BCMoto]

Great write up, for me and the wife we dont like sleeping seperate in bags but what we do have is a good oversized -20 sleeping bag and that has done well for us. We do sleep in a RTT and we have tested it snow camping

 

[old_man]

I found a hot chick in the bag with you really helps. The wife and I shared a bag for years.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

3-Dog Night, anyone?

 

[genocache]

I use a , I think, 64oz Nalgene bottle for hot water in the bag, usually by morning it is body temp. I also use a 32oz pee bottle, being an older guy I get up too often at night to pee unless I curtail my beer intake in camp.

 

[The Roach ...]

I use a , I think, 64oz Nalgene bottle for hot water in the bag, usually by morning it is body temp. I also use a 32oz pee bottle, being an older guy I get up too often at night to pee unless I curtail my beer intake in camp.

seal that second bottle tight! lol

 

[JDGreens]

I use a , I think, 64oz Nalgene bottle for hot water in the bag, usually by morning it is body temp. I also use a 32oz pee bottle, being an older guy I get up too often at night to pee unless I curtail my beer intake in camp.

When you're my age, it doesn't matter beer, tea, soda or just plain water. Up 2-3 times a evening time relieve myself. I know TMI.

I was also thinking along the line of having a secondary yellow top sitting in the rear passenger floor board hooked up to a solar charger to run a electric blanket down by our feet while we sleep in a dual sleeping bag. I think we can warm our feet area and shut it on and off as needed instead of using a hot water bladder. As it's my experience that my feet are the only body parts that get cold winter camping. Once our off road tear drop we are building is finished it will have a complete electrical system to plug into. I wish I didn't get so side tracked with honey due list, Off roading and working on improving my rig. Plus life in general. And I had it built already. It is so close.

Anyways I am looking forward to doing some winter camping while I am on my Holiday break!!!
Thanks for everyone's input. Get discussion!