Cold weather camping

[Irving]

I'm not the most experienced camper, and would like some knowledge on how to have a more comfortable time camping in cold weather. Last year I tent camped for forth rifle, and after I think 2.5 days, I bailed and went home. When you dread going back to camp, and then dread getting up before the sun is up, it makes for a pretty miserable experience. This year I've got second rifle, so it might be a little warmer, but I'm really not counting on it.

Here is my camp from last winter.



I have just your average 4-person dome tent with a rain fly. I used a cheapy 2-man pup-tent for extra dry storage. I have a GoLite 3 season down bag that has treated me very well in many camps. I brought a Nebo Zero degree bag that is so big it takes up the entire rear seat in my Amigo when rolled up. No joke, this thing is huge. I opened it all the way (only opens down one side, so it's not a full blanket) and laid that over my GoLite, and that kept me warm enough to sleep comfortably (enough). My neighbor let me borrow his Mr.Buddy propane heater and that thing was a life saver. I could turn it on right before bed to get changed, and first thing in the morning to change in a pretty comfortable climate. As anyone who has tent camped knows, you have about 45-60 seconds after that heater turns off before all your heat is gone, and you'd better be in your bag. It was about 20 degrees at night, and after the first day, the tent heater would shut off on me. I thought it had run out of propane, but I think it wasn't getting enough oxygen and auto shut off.

I had a very difficult time keeping a fire lit for some reason, so except for one or two hot meals, I ended up eating sandwiches. On morning two, when the ham in my ham sandwich was frozen, that's when I decided I was going home early.

This year I'm going to try and bring my trailer since my Amigo is so small. If I want to bring a meat cooler, and a food cooler, the trailer is mandatory.

I'm very interested in helping mitigate the cold with lighter, smaller things than that huge zero degree bag (though I'm still bringing it). Wulf202 gave me a lot of tips about what clothes to sleep in and that kind of thing. Now I'm more interested in bag liners and bivy sacks. How helpful are they? I'll take ANY general cold weather tips please.

Go!

[Irving]

As far as sleeping, I've got two Z-lite foam pads with the silver on one side. I have two inflatables as well. I generally roll with both Z-lites and my smaller inflatable, mostly inflated on top. I have an small inflatable pillow and some camp pillows. Those have been comfortable enough. This last camping trip, I slept with my under garments for the next day in the bag with me, and that went a long way in having everything a comfortable temperature the next morning. Kind of takes away from the idea of sleeping in the pajamas to keep your bag clean, but whatever. In the very cold weather with the two bags, I would put my clothes between the two bags, so my sleeping bag was still clean, and the clothes weren't frozen.

I have a 15 gallon barrel that I like to fill with water and take on the trailer. I haven't done that in the cold though, and am not sure how well that will work if everything freezes at night. I have a feeling that since it will likely be well above freezing during the day, that it will mostly stay liquid, but I just don't know.

Last year I just had the fire grate and a bunch of piles of beetle kill pilled up at each camp site. This year I'll bring my little single burner propane stove since it heats water/soup very quickly, so I know I'll at least be able to have hot food, which goes a long way toward mood.

ETA: I'd like to point out, that last year, during the day and out moving around in the sun, everything was fine and comfortable. I actually preferred being out on the mountain to camp. I hunted in my cheap, foam, Wal-mart boots and it was very comfortable, and even warm walking around in the snow with those. I have better boots this year, so hopefully I won't get wet feet at all. I'll bring those Wal-mart boots just in case though.

[ray1970]

You need an upgrade. Last time I was up elk hunting it was in the teens and snowing and I was on top of my sleeping bag in my underwear sweating it was so hot in the tent. The guy in charge of keeping the stove running through the night got an ass chewing from the rest of us.

[JohnnyEgo]

Current production Buddy Heaters state they should not be used over 7500' because of the low O2. My experience has been hit and miss with mine. It runs longer on the small bottle than hooked to my canister, but it's still 10 to 20 minutes tops.

I find my biggest issues relate to radiant heat loss. I have stepped better since sticking a closed cell foam pad under my moderately insulated Big Agnes inflatable. I use a bag liner, and it helps a bit, but it's not magic. I have heard the Thermarest Reactor liner is a good bit warmer. It's also $70. My biggest thing is to make sure I go to bed dry and empty, by which I mean clean thermals I won't sweat through, and an empty bladder. No point in making my body try to keep a bunch of waste liquid warm. I have also started eating a high carb snack about 20 minutes before I go to bed, at the advice of other cold weather campers. Seems to work pretty good in terms of ramping up the body heat before going to bed. Remember that the bag isn't going to generate heat; it can only work with what you bring in to it.

[SouthPaw]

Keeping the sunroofs closed would probably help..

All seriousness, I am barely a nice weather camper. My brother goes quite a bit and swears by his buddy heater.

[Irving]

I considered buying a small pop-up, in-bed camper to put onto my trailer (a friend is trying to sell it to me). I have to imagine that would be way more comfortable, but my 5'x8' trailer just isn't long enough. The part of the camper that would usually go over the cab, would run into the back of my SUV. It'd work with a pick-up though.

[ray1970]

There?s definitely no substitute for having a warm, comfy place to go at the end of the day.

I honestly wouldn?t even consider camping in the winter in anything less than a nice sized outfitters tent with a good wood burning stove.

I?m becoming quite the princess in my old age I guess.

[Irving]

That'd be nice if I had that stuff, but I don't. For the price of a good outfitters tent, I'd be a significant way to a nice, light and small, hard side, tow-behind.

[ray1970]

I hear you. I?ve been fortunate that I always go with other people and they already have the expensive stuff.

My brother in law has some sort of military tent. I think it?s about a 20x20 or maybe even bigger than that. I think it?s a mess hall tent. There?s plenty of room for five cots, all of the gear, the stove, and we even set up a kitchen area in one corner. If it weren?t for the actual hunting and an occasional trip to the latrine I?d never be cold.

[Hummer]

While I grew up camping 12 months a year out of a Boy Scout pup tent, it's a tough way to go for hunting in the cold seasons. To hunt efficiently you want to wake to a warm, comfortable and well organized space so you can go hunt at top performance. And you want to come back to a camp where you can clean up, eat well, recuperate, prepare and re energize for the next days hunt.

Some hunters do that in larger groups with big heated tents. I enjoy the camaraderie in visiting those camps but I prefer to hunt solo and I think I'm more successful because of it. My base camp is a small camper trailer, one that I first used for my 3rd elk hunt in 1968. It has everything I need; a heater, kitchen sink, stove, oven, refrig, dining table, a warm comfy bed, shower stall and plenty of handy storage. I keep a quiet camp with interior lighting from storage batteries that last the season. (I have a gen set but don't take it).

Probably too late for this season, Irving, but I suggest looking for a good used late model camp trailer 15-18 ft., maybe with a reversible (high lift) axle, and prepare it for cold weather use. You might get one for a few $K and make it last a lifetime.