Below freezing camp

[flyfisher11]

x3 on the sleep naked. Your body is the heater. You will conduct more heat by not restricting it (that is as long as you have a good bag). I stuff my clothes for the next day in the bag with me. Adds loft and are nice and toasty when you get up. If you are in the land of cedar then cedar bows as a mattress are great! Help keep you warm and smell good too. Never ever go to bed cold or damp. That is certain death in very cold temps.

Cheers,

Mike

 

[landrovered]

I sleep in my long johns and keep my socks in the bottom of the sleeping bag.

I got a small personal propane heater from wallyworld last year before the January camping trip at Caney, Sunday morning it was zero degrees. It did a great job of keeping the temps in the tent above freezing and lasted about six hours on one small bottle of propane.

Putting a tarp over your tent (mine is a summer tent) helps quite a lot at keeping the heat in and there is still enough ventilation to be safe.

I never liked the cumbersome nature of the air matress, they all seem to leak out during the night which puts my butt on the ground and makes me cold. I bought a simple cot that sets up quickly and a thin foam matress on top of it keeps the back side warm.

When it is really cold I use two sleeping bags for extra insulation. Also sleep with a wool cap on your head, remember you lose a lot of heat through your head.

If there is one big secret it is don't allow yourself to get cold to begin with. Adding and taking off layers is key and as others have said, don't let yourself sweat.

 

[rover4x4]

Ive heard the sleep naked thing, seems to work, your body has to work harder to heat clothes and then the sleeping back etc. Ill wear a beanie and socks when it is really cold. I have a fleece blanket I will lay in the bottom of my tent over my sleeping pads, its a nice addition. A quality sleeping bag and sleeping pad is the ticket. Also a naked female body is really warm.

 

[landrovered]

Those who sleep naked in winter camping are obviously too young to have to get up in the middle of the night to pee!

 

[peter sherman]

Those who sleep naked in winter camping are obviously too young to have to get up in the middle of the night to pee!

Thats the only thing a Nalgene bottle is good for! Then put it in your bag! MMMMM Toasty warm!:rofl:

 

[Ed Cheung]

Thats the only thing a Nalgene bottle is good for! Then put it in your bag! MMMMM Toasty warm!:rofl:

Good one.:applause:

 

[rovercanus]

I stay home and sleep naked with my nice toasty wife. Warm!

 

[flyfisher11]

Those who sleep naked in winter camping are obviously too young to have to get up in the middle of the night to pee!

That's what a milk jug is for. Not too young that is for sure but I learned that trick in Survival school and resistance training in the military. I had the pleasure of my classes being in Jan and Feb in N. Washington state near the Canadian border. It was a real pleasure to have the "prison guards" poor ice water on you standing at attention with your arms outstretched and being stripped to the waist amongst other sadistic "tortures". Water boarding ain't shit!

 

[peter sherman]

I stay home and sleep naked with my nice toasty wife. Warm!

I like to make mine toasty.

 

[HunterAK]

Screw a tent, build a snow cave! You can have a fire going inside there and it stays really nice and insulated. They're awesome!

 

[I HATE PONIES]

Screw a tent, build a snow cave! You can have a fire going inside there and it stays really nice and insulated. They're awesome!

You try that shit in Ohio and you will freeze to death. The snow here is rarely more than 10" deep.

 

[frank]

x3 on the sleep naked. Your body is the heater. You will conduct more heat by not restricting it (that is as long as you have a good bag). I stuff my clothes for the next day in the bag with me. Adds loft and are nice and toasty when you get up. If you are in the land of cedar then cedar bows as a mattress are great! Help keep you warm and smell good too. Never ever go to bed cold or damp. That is certain death in very cold temps.

Cheers,

Mike

I couldn't agree more. I'm not one to sleep with an air mattress under me in the cold (that air in the air mattress will get cold) but this sleeping naked advice is solid, from my experiences. Also, I take a cheap thick fleece sweatshirt and use it as a pillow case.

Oh yeah, seirratrader.com is an excellent place to purchase quality outdoor gear.

 

[HunterAK]

You try that shit in Ohio and you will freeze to death. The snow here is rarely more than 10" deep.

Yeah, I guess you wouldn't get too far with that then huh?

Just layer up, get some good long underwear and a nice sleeping bag. Done.

 

[Roxtar]

Go with a foam mattress in cold weather.
Air mattresses just bring the ground temp right up to you.
I got caught by a surprise cold snap once and my air mattress felt like sleeping on a soft ice cube.

Although these look like they'd be the shit:
http://www.outdoorresearch.com/site/downmats.html
Down filled air mattress

 

[HunterAK]

Air mattresses just bring the ground temp right up to you.

true. the ambient air temp. will be just as cold as the air in the mattress, but I guess it all depends on what kind of camping you're doing. I've never used a foam pad b/c they're too bulky for the camping I do, but if you're car camping and have a huge tent and size or weight isn't a concern, foam pads may be the way to go for warmth.

 

[DiscoS2]

Go with a foam mattress in cold weather.
Air mattresses just bring the ground temp right up to you.

Um... ya... I'm going to have to go ahead and sort of disagree with you there.
Before I actually did it, I had all these guys on my motorcycle forums tell me I would freeze my ass.

Unless you don't have it inflated enough and your body is actually making contact with the ground, the air mattress is an insulator. There is no significant convection inside the mattress to conduct heat away from you, and the cooler ground temp can't rise up to you. The majority of heat lost would be radiant, the same as a foam pad. A space blaknet between you and the ground fixes that if you need it.
The reason you got cold is most likely an inadequate sleeping bag (which should be rated 20 degrees colder than your intended use), or you had contact with the ground.

I find air mattresses to be super comfy, and with a 0F bag, i can camp in 20F and have the best night's sleep of my life.
All I can say to the folks who never tried it is, blow the $9 on an air mattress on sale and see for yourself.

 

[D Chapman]

Those who sleep naked in winter camping are obviously too young to have to get up in the middle of the night to pee!

Rookie http://sv4w.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/GA_Trip_073.jpg

 

[Roxtar]

Um... ya... I'm going to have to go ahead and sort of disagree with you there.
Before I actually did it, I had all these guys on my motorcycle forums tell me I would freeze my ass.

Unless you don't have it inflated enough and your body is actually making contact with the ground, the air mattress is an insulator. There is no significant convection inside the mattress to conduct heat away from you, and the cooler ground temp can't rise up to you. The majority of heat lost would be radiant, the same as a foam pad. A space blaknet between you and the ground fixes that if you need it.
The reason you got cold is most likely an inadequate sleeping bag (which should be rated 20 degrees colder than your intended use), or you had contact with the ground.

I find air mattresses to be super comfy, and with a 0F bag, i can camp in 20F and have the best night's sleep of my life.
All I can say to the folks who never tried it is, blow the $9 on an air mattress on sale and see for yourself.

Agree to disagree.
Among backcountry skiers it's pretty much accepted that air mattresses do exactly what I described.
I had my 4" thick air mattress fully inflated (using the OBA system in my truck) and I have a Marmot 15 degree down bag (outside temp was 25). The only thing cold was whatever touched the pad.
The skin touching the pad was noticeably colder to the touch than the rest of my body.

I keep a couple of 4' x 8' rubber bottomed industrial rugs (the kind Cintas brings to offices) in my truck.
I put one of them under the air mattress the second night and was cozy as can be. That 1/8" of rubber insulation made all the difference and did what 4" of air couldn't.
Air is a horrible insulator. That's why you fill the gaps between the inner and outer walls of your house with fiberglass.

 

[benlittle]

Um... ya... I'm going to have to go ahead and sort of disagree with you there.
Before I actually did it, I had all these guys on my motorcycle forums tell me I would freeze my ass.

Unless you don't have it inflated enough and your body is actually making contact with the ground, the air mattress is an insulator. There is no significant convection inside the mattress to conduct heat away from you, and the cooler ground temp can't rise up to you. The majority of heat lost would be radiant, the same as a foam pad. A space blaknet between you and the ground fixes that if you need it.
The reason you got cold is most likely an inadequate sleeping bag (which should be rated 20 degrees colder than your intended use), or you had contact with the ground.

I find air mattresses to be super comfy, and with a 0F bag, i can camp in 20F and have the best night's sleep of my life.
All I can say to the folks who never tried it is, blow the $9 on an air mattress on sale and see for yourself.

LOL, first of all... Where are you finding GOOD air mattresses for $9!!!

I don't need to go into detail about why you're wrong but you are. I've done a lot of negative degree weather camping and a good bag only goes so far. What is needed is a good self inflate foam pad OR a down lined air pad. A regular old $9 dollar air pad would do shit for you here :smilelol:

 

[craig]

Go with a foam mattress in cold weather.
Air mattresses just bring the ground temp right up to you.
I got caught by a surprise cold snap once and my air mattress felt like sleeping on a soft ice cube.

Although these look like they'd be the shit:
http://www.outdoorresearch.com/site/downmats.html
Down filled air mattress

They are!

My list is something along the lines of...

Polypro long johns (wicking base layer), a hat, and sock liners inside a good sleeping bag (Western Mountaineering or Feathered Friends).

Hot water inside a nalgene does a great job of heating the sleeping bag, or a hand warmer right over your heart.

Down tent booties or the liners from you plastic mountaineering boots to keep your feet extra warm.

If you need a warmer bag, bring a bivvy sack (10-15 degrees warmer) or a sleeping bag liner (5 degrees).

If you wake up cold, put your down jacket over the sleeping bag, eat some chocolate, and move around a bit.

Always go for a quick walk/ski/snowshoe to get the heart beating before going to bed.

NO alcohol

Swing your arms/legs in circles or your legs like a pendulum to get blood to your extremities