Cold camping?

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Being comfortable winter camping takes expensive sleeping bags. I've never been willing to fork out for one. My gear will keep me comfy into the twenties. A 4" thick full length foam rubber pad will do wonders in the tent if you have room to pack it.

[MaryB]

neat ! its probably changed allot. I was able to easily drive right up to the (staked correctly this year) wilderness border on the ice. ive spent time both snowbank and up the number chain, i was likely east of your grounds if you were before and south of snowbank.

If you (or any castboolit-ite ) make it back to ely stop by the brewery and say Hello

When I was up there 10 years ago we drove almost to our old campsite, within 1/4 mile. Walked in but between blow down and some limited logging it has really changed. Thought about retiring up in that area but now my body is saying head south for winter LOL the -40 you guys get is way to cold for me! Typical down here in the SW corner is -20 max most winters, -31 is the record.

After spending a chilly 50 degree night in my bedroom last night nope, no more cold camping! Gad I have 2 20 pound cats who like to stay warm, they were curled up against me under the blankets.

Furnace ignitor died, seller shipped the new one pony express AKA Fedex Smart Post which is not smart it is slow, expensive... could have sent it parcel post and had it here last Friday... Pellet stove doesn't reach the upstairs bedrooms well on windy cold nights! 10 degrees outside last night...

[jimlj]

The coldest I have ever been was on a 10 day pack trip in the Idaho primitive area. I don't know how cold it got at night but every night was a dreaded experience until I wised up and piled stinky hairy horse blankets under and on top of my sleeping bag. Good thing I'm not allergic to horses.

[zardoz]

One of my bucket list items for retirement, was to camp out in Glacier National Park, Montana. I did so in September of 2015 just a few days before the roads were closed for the season. I knew from earlier experience in the boy scouts in the late 1960's (read freezing and chattering teeth), that I needed some serious stuff to be totally comfortable.

My shelter was an aluminum camper shell on the back of a Dodge Dakota. First a twin size air mattress laid down, then a thermarest pad on top of that. On top a large 6# quallofil sleeping bag. In reserve I had another 4# quallofil
bag, and then a 2# summer bag after that. I had found I could " layer stack" one within the other if conditions ever got really frigid.

Heavy weight thermal underwear and thermal socks, with a thermal watch cap for on my person.

Lastly, I rigged up a Big Buddy propane heater in the back on the camper shell. I built a removable shelf for it, and made reflective heat shields from aluminum flashing. I had done tests with a CO detector to see how much I had to crank open the side window vents. I used the heater to get things ready for getting in the bag(s) or getting up. When I had settled into the tight compartment for sleep, the heater would be shut off. Every time I ran that heater, I kept a close eye on the CO level, but it never got above 5ppm with vents cracked about an inch open on both sides. In tests, I could force it to go to 50ppm if I shut the shell up tight for an hour or so. The heater itself would shut off if O2 got too low, but even in testing it never did. I was just paranoid about CO levels.

So, after much planning and testing I made my journey. One night at Apgar when it rained, and second night at Many Glacier. Third night of camping was at Two Medicine, and light snow was falling with a stiff breeze. A thermometer inside the camper shell when I woke up, read right at 31 degrees, or just a hair below freezing.

As it was, I was incredibly warm and comfortable the whole time. Oh, one other item. Glock 20 10mm with some proven maximum power handloads and a large bear spray canister by the bed helped me sleep a little more soundly.

[MT Gianni]

When I was up there 10 years ago we drove almost to our old campsite, within 1/4 mile. Walked in but between blow down and some limited logging it has really changed. Thought about retiring up in that area but now my body is saying head south for winter LOL the -40 you guys get is way to cold for me! Typical down here in the SW corner is -20 max most winters, -31 is the record.

After spending a chilly 50 degree night in my bedroom last night nope, no more cold camping! Gad I have 2 20 pound cats who like to stay warm, they were curled up against me under the blankets.

Furnace ignitor died, seller shipped the new one pony express AKA Fedex Smart Post which is not smart it is slow, expensive... could have sent it parcel post and had it here last Friday... Pellet stove doesn't reach the upstairs bedrooms well on windy cold nights! 10 degrees outside last night...

Mary Extra ignitors are one thing to keep on hand for the little they cost in a non emergency.

[RogerDat]

I used to lean-to or tent camp in the winter, probably the coldest was sub zero in a snow mound. One thing I learned is you need to strip down to just long johns when you get into sleeping bag to stay warm. It is your body heat that warms up the sleeping bag and makes a warm cocoon around you. Wearing things like shirt or pants or sweats and you won't heat up the bag. I used to stuff my clothes either in the stuff sack as a pillow or in the bottom of sleeping bag to take up space and allow for semi-warm clothes in the morning.

Hat makes a world of difference. Can cut your heat loss by 80% over bare headed. Socks too are smart. If your sleeping bag has a drawstring top then use it. If it doesn't it isn't a cold weather bag. Open top bag dumps heat out like crazy and if the inside of that bag isn't warm you won't be warm.

You might well have been warmer on the ground in a tent than in a pop-up. If you insulate yourself from the ground, block the wind with a tarp maybe a small fire to reflect heat or better yet have a tent to trap some air around you it will probably be warmer than sleeping in a pop up with cold air on all sides, including flowing under you.

Candle or two will probably get your space 10* warmer, that is what a single one does in a car (winter breakdown kit fun fact) Having a couple of those big ones used as table center pieces that you set into a metal tuna fish sized can will make a significant difference. Worth packing as a backup. Furnace can break down, and the ones that require 12 volt power can kill your battery at most inopportune time.

Hot rocks from a campfire, like the pioneers did work well. Inside cloth bag and wrapped with a bit of thin towel the rock(s) will probably stay warm most of the night inside a sleeping bag, depending on how warm or cold ambient temperature is. Early summer at 9k foot elevation it was chilly not cold and the rocks were still good and warm inside a tent by the next morning.

1 Qt. thermos prepared the night before, pre-warm with really hot water. Then dump and fill with hot coffee, wrap with clothes, towel or whatever. Nice to wake up after a sort of rough night to a hot cup of coffee while you get the fire or stove going. Plus pre-warming you hands on the cup can make relieving yourself first thing in the morning not quite as shocking.

[starmac]

Artic oven, camp as cold as it gets and run around in your skivvies. lol

I worked one winter in colorado and stayed in an old freezer called a camp trailer, no electricity so no heater. I did have a propane stove that I could light and start my coffee to boil while still in the comfort of my sleeping bag. The windows had 1/2 if ice on the inside before christmas, but that old army bag kept me plenty toasty while sleeping, the problem was getting out of it in the morning. lol The coldest I remember it getting was 17 below, but there was a lot of nights that were below 0.

[MaryB]

Mary Extra ignitors are one thing to keep on hand for the little they cost in a non emergency.

I had one... friends furnace puked 2 weeks ago and needed one... My furnace is getting up there in age, over 10 years and it is a 92% so I am waiting for the heat exchanger to fail...

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Be careful of those propane heaters. Years back down at the Spring MG shoot a pickup was left in the campground a few days. When they checked on it they found two corpses in the camper. Mice had built a nest in the heater exhaust vent.

[jimlj]

I had one... friends furnace puked 2 weeks ago and needed one... My furnace is getting up there in age, over 10 years and it is a 92% so I am waiting for the heat exchanger to fail...

If you are talking about hot surface ignitors, I would keep a few around. I have seen several that were broken right out of the box, and have broke a few installing them.

[MaryB]

If you are talking about hot surface ignitors, I would keep a few around. I have seen several that were broken right out of the box, and have broke a few installing them.

When I get a spare I check it right away, stash it in the furnace so it won't get broken/lost. This is a newer style, not that old ceramic that broke easy. I had to use a lot of force to snap the old one where it had burned off.

[jonp]

When buying a bag, get one with a temp rating 10degrees more than you think you need. Wear a wool touque and socks in the bag and make sure to dry it in the morning from the dampness. I keep a dedicated touque and socks rolled up in the bag. Thin Merino wool. The pad under you is as important to your comfort as the bag rating. The self inflating foam ones you can get from campmor are worth their weight in cold.
Unless your doing true winter camping something like this will probably work https://www.campmor.com/c/thermarest...e-sleeping-pad
For extra comfort you can put a piece of this under the mattress if you have one https://www.lowes.com/pd/Reflectix-1...5-ft-L/3011906
I had a semi once that was cold as an icebox due to no winter kit. Trying to sleep in the bunk in the winter was impossible so I put that under the mattress and it helped quite a bit. I ended up getting a heated 12v mattress pad that plugged into a cig lighter and that was the bees knees. Down to mid-30's I didn't even have to idle the truck.

[jonp]

I used to lean-to or tent camp in the winter, probably the coldest was sub zero in a snow mound. One thing I learned is you need to strip down to just long johns when you get into sleeping bag to stay warm. It is your body heat that warms up the sleeping bag and makes a warm cocoon around you. Wearing things like shirt or pants or sweats and you won't heat up the bag. I used to stuff my clothes either in the stuff sack as a pillow or in the bottom of sleeping bag to take up space and allow for semi-warm clothes in the morning.
^^^Truth there. I wore light poly pro long underwear in the bag or light fleece sweat pants and a light top. Socks and hat are a must. My winter down jacket folds into an inside pocket to double as a pillow.

[Uncle R.]

Between my Boy Scout days and hunting trips as a young man in northern WI I've done my share of cold weather camping. There's lots of good advice here, but I'd like to summarize a bit. I have tent camped many times even with temps down close to zero, and I learned a few things from those experiences. I had a few tough nights in my early camping days but I learned pretty quickly how to sleep in warmth and comfort.

The old Boy Scout Handbook of my youth stressed that what was under you was just as important as what was over you when sleeping in the cold. That's especially true because your body weight compresses a sleeping bag and it loses much of its insulating ability. For winter camping I very much prefer closed-cell foam sleeping pads of at least 3/4" thickness rather than an air mattress. The foam is excellent insulation between you and the cold ground, even with your body weight on it, and it really helps keep you warm.

Next in the "stack" was usually a 20 degree rated sleeping bag with me inside in the usual manner, then another 20 degree bag unzipped to open flat and pulled over the whole stack like a quilt. A few shirts or (even better) a down jacket stuffed into a sleeping bag sack made a fine pillow, and a warm knit cap on my head finished off the outfit. Don't skip the hat - it's critical to staying warm in extreme conditions.

Many nights I slept in comfort with an outfit like this, while the frost formed in layers on the tent walls inches from my face. I couldn't have been any more comfortable if I were at home in my own bed covered with grandma's old quilt and the furnace on duty. Of course, getting up and dressed in that frosty tent so I could build a fire and start the morning coffee was often a rather bracing experience.

Uncle R.

[Mr_Sheesh]

You can do sleeping in COLD weather on the cheap if you put several blankets (like Harbor Freight furniture pads) under you for insulation, or closed cell foam, or one of those foil-covered pads that are sold sometimes) and then something like a cotton mexican blanket and your coat on top of you; A hat's NOT optional, tocque or wool cap or something to cover you. If you don't have those, use something like pine boughs, ferns, piled up leaves, moss, ANYTHING that will capture some air to insulate you.

One sleeping bag inside another works. Wool blankets, if you have them, are better than cotton Layering beats swearing at the weather any day If you have an open top sleeping bag you can cope by putting a blanket over you to seal around your neck and shoulders, it stops air from moving through and carrying off your heat.

(If you can afford better gear that's one thing, if poorer you figure out ways to make it do - or you turn blue...)

Last time I did that it got down to 14-15 degrees F, about half the campers went to sleep in their trucks, I just slept (with the occasional restroom break, brrr.) till morning, was a little cold but not really miserable. Camping in cold weather definitely requires the "I'm gonna DO this no matter what" mind set, really

[Hickory]

Things you can do to keep warm while camping in the cold.

1) Have proper equipment.
2) Eat a chocolate or energy bar before hitting the sack and another one for in the middle of the night.
3) Wear a wool sock hat.
4) Roast or par boil 2-4 large potatoes and wrap them in aluminium foil, then place them in clean socks and put them in you sleeping bag to help keep you warm. You can fry them up in the morning with your bacon & eggs.
5) If you can find soapstone it will serve you as good or better than potatoes, but you'll have a longer time cooking your potatoes in the morning.

[abunaitoo]

We don't have the beautiful country like you in hawaii. But we try to go camping twice a year at the range.
Twice a year there is a sporting fair at the range. Sat and Sun.
A small bunch of us try to camp overnight. Sometimes staying two nights.
We're not really camping because it's a no camping park. city rules.
We're there to provide overnight security to watch the set-up and display tents.
We have to hire a paid security guard to stand watch. Even though we're there. City rules.
No camp fire because open fires are illegal here. state law
We have a 55gal drum as a grill.
Cook dinner we bought at the store. It's a no hunting area.
Pitch our tents under the display tent.
I sometimes set up a home made shower in the bathroom.
Nothing like the camping y'all do in the states, but it's all we got.
Plus we're all getting old.
There's talk the city might put a stop to our overnight watch.
We'll still have to pay for a security guard to watch the display tents.
No real place to camp out on this island. City rules.
We can camp in some of the parks.
I think it's $40 a night for one lot.
No parking next to the tents, so cars are normally broken into at night.
At least it never get's really cold here.