Winter Camping Tips
Have you ever been out winter camping and just couldn’t stay warm through the night? I sure have, and I’m not sure about you but I can’t sleep a wink when I’m cold. I’ve put together a short video on some of the things I’ve figured out over the years that’ll help keep you warm through a cold night in camp.
The first thing you might be thinking is to have a good bag that’s rated well below the coldest temps you’ll expect to encounter. Although that’s important, I’d make the argument that a good sleeping pad is at least as important, if not more so. Even a good down bag doesn’t provide much insulation on the bottom side while you’re lying in it. Therefore a good sleeping pad is a must.
Another trick I’ll use for cold weather is to put all my extra cold weather clothing on top of my sleeping pad before laying my bag on top of that. It’s a good way to add some extra insulation between yourself and the cold ground and it also insures that your cloths are not freezing in the morning when you go to get dressed.
I’ll also wear my merino base layer at night (firstlite rocks), as well as a puffy or down vest, and a wool stocking cap to top things off. You lose a lot of heat out of the top of your head so a stocking cap makes a big difference.
This little seekoutside stove really comes in handy in winter camping situations.
When the weather’s cold it’s tempting to tuck your head down into your bag. It’ll be nice for a little while but you’ll regret it once you start to notice that your breath condensates and makes your bag damp. Keep your face out of your bag and you’ll be much better off. But if you’re winter camping for a few days in humid conditions, your bag is probably going to get a little damp even if you’re not breathing in it. If you’re lucky enough to get a nice sunny day take that thing outside and hang it up in the sun for a bit to dry out. Otherwise, you can hang it up high in the tent if you’ve got a wood stove. That’ll dry it out pretty well.
In the video I’m camping in a Seekoutside 8 man tepee with a wood stove. This setup is really nice but I’ve done a lot of cold weather camping with nothing more than a tarp and was just fine. But, if you do have a wood stove, or even a small white gas stove like MSR makes, it’s a good idea to have them within arm’s reach so you can get things fired up in the morning without getting out of the sack. Being able to make coffee without getting out of bed is nice when it’s hovering around the single digits.
Having a nice hot meal can go a long way to keep you warm. Not only will the hot food warm you up but the digestion process will generate some heat as well.The last thing I’d recommend is taking a hot water bottle to bed. Filling a Nalgene bottle with hot water and put that thing in the foot of your bag and you’ll be toasty all night long. When it’s really cold that little trick makes a huge difference.
I’m sure there are a lot of cool winter camping tricks out there so if you’ve got one up your sleeve let us know about it in the comments. Don’t forget to check out the survival skills page for more great Backcountry College videos. Big thanks to Backcountry Hunters & Anglers for supporting this series.
I really appreciate the wealth of info you share! In the last year I have taken my first DIY backcountry elk with a recurve and have made a few osage selfbows for next year. I would love to get into filming my hunts. Even your flemish twist video got me into making my own strings. Keep up the great work and thanks again.
Rob
Hello Clay
All good suggestions, I also use a tipi and wood stove set up, they rock !my days of being cold when camping are hopefully over as it really sucks when you get old.
Hope you had a good hunting season.
Take care
Ken
As always great video, article and great advice.
Agree with all you said about stocking cap and not breathing in the bag. Bring a towel in the bag orb a fleece blanket to double the zipper area. Take the stuff sack and pull it over the tie box of the bag, m&m at the frost shiver will give you body a sugar pump.
Put the largest set of boots at the door, that way everyone can wear them for nature calls. A few things learned in almost 30 years in the Marine Corps
I take an old rag type towel in the winter to wrap around a smooth camp fire rock. In the bottom of my bag. Nothing like it in the cold. stays warm for about 8 hours. Thanks for the tips.
many winter camping trips with our Boy Scout Troop. We purchased military surplus blankets and sewed an envelope out of them by folding in half, sewing across the bottom and and 2/3 up the side. Slip this envelope over your sleeping bag and it provides that extra layer of warmth throughout the night.
Boy a lot of planning for shore on cold trips over there. Im from the tropics North Queensland Aust/ we are lucky if it gets down to 15 or so in our winter. Mainly use hammocks as light weight cool and water proof.
Thanks for the clip and info always a pleasure to share with fello Hunters.
Cheers Wayno
Great tips Clay. We never had the benefit a stove in the scouts though. I like you tip on using your clothes for insulation under the pad. When I can I put a couple layers of cardboard under the pad an on top of the tarp. Also I use a small towel over my face so I breath warm air and don’t fill my bag with moisture. One more on buying a bag. Resist the temptation to buy an over sized sleeping bag. They take way more body heat to warm up. Go for one that fits tighter. Dry socks are a must but if you take yours off they really won’t dry anywhere in the tent. Just wear them at night and your body heat will dry them out.