Tips for Winter Camping
Saw this informative video of 7 common mistakes people do when winter camping, so I felt like writing them down on my blog to save them and remember them better.
Here is a quick summary.
- Bring a good sleeping pad that is rated for your expected temperature.
- Ensure your sleeping bag is rated for slightly lower than the temperature you expect, measured against the “Comfort” rating.
- Do not tuck yourself into a sleeping bag if you’re cold, it acts as insulation for cold just as well as heat.
- Always have dry clothing closest to your body when entering your sleeping bag.
- Bring a cap for your head, but don’t use cotton because it feels cold.
- Do not breathe into your sleeping bag, it generates damp inside your sleeping bag.
- Do not close all ventilation in the tent, you need to get rid of damp because it lowers the temperature.
Bring a good sleeping pad.
This is your main insulation from the cold ground.
Stina herself uses inflatable sleeping mats, that can also be complemented with a thinner sleeping mat underneath for extra insulation.
Personally I had a bad experience once when my inflatable sleeping pad broke while camping and I had to spend a very cold night directly on the ground. Since then I’ve bought a non-inflatable one that is a bit thicker.
Do not enter a sleeping bag when cold.
Do some exercise first, gather wood or jump around for a few minutes. You can also boil some water and put into a water bottle to act as a heater.
The sleeping bag is not heated on its own, it only acts as insulation. So it will insulate your body whether it’s cold or hot.
Always wear dry clothing in your sleeping bag.
It’s very common to go to sleep in the same clothes you’ve been wearing all day, but they might be slightly damp with sweat.
Always bring a set of dry clothes that you can wear closest to your body, for example merino wool.
You can also dry your damp clothes by wearing them outside your inner layer, or putting them between your sleeping mats as added insulation.
Do not wear your jacket or outer layer clothing in your sleeping bag because it does not breathe. You can use it as a cover ontop of your sleeping bag, or as extra insulation between your sleeping bag and sleeping mat.
Bring a hat or cap for your head.
Heat escapes from the top of your body, always bring a hat.
Cotton is apparently not good for cold temperatures because it feels colder than other fabrics. A wool hoodie is also very good because it covers your neck.
Do not exhale into your sleeping bag.
It might be tempting to completely cover yourself but your exhaled air is very damp and damp is your biggest enemy because it contains water which gets very cold and cools down everything it touches.
You can bring the sleeping bag over your head, and close it so only your nose and mouth are exposed.
Do not close all the ventilation on your tent.
Same as the previous point, it’s actually worse to get damp inside your tent than to allow for ventilation in cold climates.
Stina demonstrates that she has her inner tent zipper completely open during winter nights.
If you get condensation inside your tent make sure to bring a cloth or dishrag you can use to wipe it off with.