Winter Camping Tips

·         Leave the tent flaps vented a bit, it cuts down on interior frost. With the tent pole going up right where the tent ties you will have gaps. Don’t worry, tie it up the best you can the gaps and cracks between the bottom of the tent and the ground will help with ventilation.

·         Hay is a great insulator to surround your tent, some events offer hay/straw for this purpose.

·         INSULATE UNDERNEATH YOU. The ground is cold and you will lose body heat if you are in contact with the ground. You should have 3 times more (in insulating value) under you than you have on top. Make sure you never come in direct contact with the ground. Get a closed cell foam pad to provide insulation between your sleeping bag and the ground. A foam pad cushions and insulates. The air pockets are excellent in providing good insulation properties. Use more than one insulating layer below you – it’s easy to slide off the first one. You can also use blankets or a piece of carpet to help insulate underneath you. Do not use a blow-up air mattress. Air mattresses only increase the amount of air that you need to heat up. In an emergency, cardboard makes a great insulator. Old newspapers are also good insulation. If using a cot, use the space under the cot for storage. It reduces the space that cold air can collect.

·         THE SLEEPING BAG DOESN’T HEAT YOU; YOU HEAT IT. So use this rule: "Thickness is warmth." If you’re cold, add some more insulation (blankets, clothes, more newspaper).

• Use a sleeping bag that is appropriate for the conditions. If necessary, double-up two bags (putting one lightweight bag inside another). Two +20ºF sleeping bags, one inside the other will work to lower the rating (making it warmer) of both bags. Use a sleeping bag liner. There are silk and fleece liners that go inside the sleeping bag. They will lower your sleeping bag's rating by up to 10 degrees. Or buy an inexpensive fleece throw or blanket and wrap yourself in it inside the sleeping bag. Use a bivvy sack to wrap around your sleeping bag. You can make a cheap version of this by getting an inexpensive fleece sleeping bag. It isn't much more than a blanket with a zipper but it helps lower the rating by as much as 10 degrees.
• MUMMY STYLE BAGS ARE GENERALLY WARMER THAN RECTANGULAR BAGS. This is because there is less “dead air” space to warm.
• Put tomorrow's clothes in your bag with you. This is especially important if you’re small of stature. It can be pretty hard to warm up a big bag with a little body, the clothes cut down on that work. Since your dress would get wrinkled put your shawl, under clothing, socks, spare spectator clothing in the bottom to fill the gap.
• Fill a Nalgene water bottles with warm water and sleep with it at your feet. Or use toe/hand warmers. Toss them into your sleeping bag before you get in. Some of the toe/hand warmers will last 8 hours.
• Most cold weather bags are designed to trap heat. The proper way to do this is to pull the drawstrings until the sleeping bag is around your face, not around your neck. If the bag also has a draft harness make sure to use it above the shoulders and it snugs up to your neck to keep cold air from coming in and warm air from going out.
• Don't burrow in - keep your mouth and nose outside the bag. Moisture from your breath collecting in your bag is a quick way to get real cold. Keep the inside of the bag dry.
• Put a trash bag over the bottom half of your sleeping bag to help hold in the heat. A zipped up coat pulled over the foot of a sleeping bag makes an extra layer of insulation.