Staying warm in the cold seasons. in your rig

[Mikeblack]

what is your method of staying warm in the colder months of the year while you are overlanding. sleeping bags, heavy blankets, furs, etc. Also if you don't mind show off what you use to stay warm.

 

[Louiston]

When I'm camping, this, and a good zero degree sleeping bag.

 

[rgallant]

I have :

• Heavy weight sleeping bag
• Wool blanket
• Heavy fleece blanket

I just layer as required, it has been good down to about -4 F, generally I just need the sleeping bag and fleece to start once I am warm the fleece tends to get shoved off. I would provide pictures but it I stored for the summer.

It is really about layering more than anything else

 

[egilbe]

Two sleeping pads, an inflatable and something like a Thermorest z-light or Ridgerest. A -30 down sleeping bag or two down quilts, depending on forecasted temps. My girlfriend and I use Accomplice Quilts The two person quilt we use is 20 degree rated. If it gets much colder than that we have 30 degree quilts we stack underneath. Pick a campsite out of the wind and hopefully sunny. Eat before bed. My girlfriend and I have slept down to -10 degrees F comfortably. Much colder than that and its too much work and downright dangerous. Its no longer fun.

 

[MMc]

I have sleeping bags from -30 to 40 degrees, I just take the one that fits the conditions. If my bag is to warm, I open it up and use as a quilt. I sleep in ground tents with a closed cell foam on top of a Thermarest when it's cold, other wise just the therarest.

 

[Mikeblack]

What the best way they y'all deal with moisture or build up in your tent ,that y'all have found to be affective

 

[rgallant]

I will be 1st open a window, and a small electric fan it is all about air flow. I use a usb powered one and a cell phone pack, works well

 

[Mikeblack]

I will be 1st open a window, and a small electric fan it is all about air flow. I use a usb powered one and a cell phone pack, works well

Have you ever been an issue with running electrical devices and moisture not only corrosion but also safety?

 

[rgallant]

@Mikeblack No, the usb fans pull all of 5 volts, and I do not get that much moisture. When I slept inside the truck I opened the window closest to me and put the fan in the blowing out, then opened the window on the other side for cross draft. My fan in about 4 inches across, it works pretty well. The 32000 mah battery pack will run it for about 6 hours as long as it is not too cold.

My biggest issue was figuring out how much window to have open, it is a bit of a balancing act. The problem is we have small spaces inside tents / trucks so airflow is pretty important. Now I get to do it again with my new RTT.

This is general look of the fan I use

usb fan

I put the battery pack in a metal coffee pot, never had one catch fire but the coffee pot it there anyway so simple safety.

 

[slomatt]

Interestingly, when camping a lot of your heat is lost to the ground through conduction so the R value of your sleeping pad becomes really important.

Mattress R-value and EN sleeping bag ratings

Did you know that your EN rated sleeping bag requires a mattress with an "R-value" of 5 or greater in order to meet its stated temperature performance? Most people do not realize that the mattress used in the testing fixture for the EN test has an R value of 5. But MOST mattresses sold today...

zenbivy.com

 

[California Overland]

As many have stated, it's important to have an appropriate sleeping bag or quilt combo to stay warm. But a lot of people look past properly insulating what they're sleeping on. We use Exped and REI Dreamliner inflatable mattresses and on cold nights you'll have 6 inches of cold dense air underyou that gradually makes your back side cold throughout the night. So I bought 190 gram fleece sheet sets to go over the mattresses. We're so much warmer on cold nights now. Don't forget to insulate what you're sleeping on!

As for condensation, you've got to get a cross flow of air. In the RTT I'll crack the tops of the side window zippers for air flow, that's usually enough to prevent condensation build up.

 

[egilbe]

What the best way they y'all deal with moisture or build up in your tent ,that y'all have found to be affective

Open the vents at the top of the tent. Warm, moist air will naturally vent though the open vents.

On a cold frosty night, my girlfriend got up in the middle of the night to go pee. When she came back to bed, she zipped up all the vents I had opened up to ventilate the tent. For the rest of the night, whenever I bumped the sidewall of the tent, I got a snow shower in my face. In the morning, when it warmed up to above 0F, I actually investigated why the inside of the tent was so frosty. I just gave her a look. She thought she would be warmer with everything zipped up, not thinking about where the 2 liters of water vapor were going that we breathed out during the night. That was the last time she zipped up the vents.

Ventilation is VERY important when its cold, as is what you are sleeping on. The R-values of sleeping pads are additive. In my case, a mat with 2.5 and 3.2 is 5.7 total and thats more than adequate for most cold weather sleeping.

Wear a base layer, gloves, thick loose-fitting socks and a hat to bed. My preferred baselayer is a Patagonia Capilene 4 hooded baselayer. I can put the hood over my hat so it doesn't slip off at night. Don't wear too much clothing to bed so that it constricts bloodflow to your extremities. If you have extra clothing, its better off to drape the extra over your sleeping bag, as long as its not compressing the insulation. I use down bags and quilts because they are highly compressible and lightweight for the insulating value. I'm primarily a backpacker, so weight and space is very important, much more so than in overlanding or car camping.

 

[MMc]

Interestingly, when camping a lot of your heat is lost to the ground through conduction so the R value of your sleeping pad becomes really important.

Mattress R-value and EN sleeping bag ratings

Did you know that your EN rated sleeping bag requires a mattress with an "R-value" of 5 or greater in order to meet its stated temperature performance? Most people do not realize that the mattress used in the testing fixture for the EN test has an R value of 5. But MOST mattresses sold today...

zenbivy.com

This is why If it's going to be cold, I have a closed cell foam top to my Threarest. When I was mountaineering a 1/2' closed cell foam pad is all we used in the snow, scrape a hip and shoulder slot and your are good.
When you are trying to stay warm you need to keep the air next to you from moving, a hot water bottle in you bed is great. It's nice to have water instead of ice when you wake up too.

 

[boogiedynamite]

Anyone running heating blankets up to their RTTs? I've seen how LLOD does it and thinking about doing the same for some cold weather excursions.

 

[Emost]

I run a heating blanket in our RTT, and it is perfect, even on a very low setting... Last week we camped Medicine Bow National Forest, was a little below freezing at night, but with the heating blanket on 2 (out of 10) a good pad underused and sleeping bag we were very toasty!

 

[Aequitas1916]

I use a thick memory foam sleeping pad, heavy sleeping bag, wool blanket, and if I need a little extra, I'll toss a hand warmer or two in the bag. I have a 12v fan for ventilation to reduce moisture buildup. I rarely need the extra, but it's nice when I'm just getting in the bag after being out in the cold. Usually, I'm roasting by the middle of the night.