My girlfriend gets cold no matter the temp

[Different Socks]

Sheb can be wearing several layers and polys and have a 20 degree bag or better and believes she is still cold. This belief is constricting her desire to get out with me since hiking/backpacking/sleeping in the woods is new to her.
We use a small trailer for all the gear necessary for hiking/bping/camping. Can anyone suggest a good blanket and/or its material that can be used in the tent and would definitely keep her warm?

[Connie]

I think Winter Silks catalogue has cashmere. No kidding.

Maybe artificial fabric doesn't feel warm.

I wear New Zealand wood Icebreakers 200 wt first layer tops over a cami.

I wear "silkweights" bottoms over underwear. My favorite after underwear first layer is wool and silk.

Maybe she would like natural fabrics better.

Maybe she would like to share the sleeping bag? No mummy bag, for her?

[Tipi Walter]

I'd go the Titanium Goat or Kifaru route and camp in a "hot-tent", something with a woodstove. The whole contraption is fairly light and backpack-able. Nothing like in-tent wood heat on a winter trip.

[Different Socks]

I think Winter Silks catalogue has cashmere. No kidding.

Maybe artificial fabric doesn't feel warm.

I wear New Zealand wood Icebreakers 200 wt first layer tops over a cami.

I wear "silkweights" bottoms over underwear. My favorite after underwear first layer is wool and silk.

Maybe she would like natural fabrics better.

Maybe she would like to share the sleeping bag? No mummy bag, for her?

Thanks for ideas. I hike alot alone b/c I enjoy lung busting, leg aching ascents and long mile days. So I use a bag that is not compatible with hers. I have looked into getting bags that match, but can't spare the money right now.

[Different Socks]

I'd go the Titanium Goat or Kifaru route and camp in a "hot-tent", something with a woodstove. The whole contraption is fairly light and backpack-able. Nothing like in-tent wood heat on a winter trip.

Is the Titanium/Kifaru route a wood burning stove?

[DLP]

I'd up the sleeping pad R value and get a women specific pad. Or use two pads - a closed cell pad on the bottom and a more comfortable pad on top. It might be the pad and not the sleeping bag.

Make sure that she is using everything correctly. I recently shared a campsite with a woman with a Big Agnes bag and she didn't realize that the pad slides into the sleeve. She was rolling over and shifting the bag and had just 2 thin layers of nylon over her and was freezing.

[DLP]

Sheb can be wearing several layers and polys and have a 20 degree bag or better and believes she is still cold.

My take on bag ratings: "You will not DIE in 20 degree temperatures in this 20 degree rated bag. However, you will NOT be warm nor will you be comfortable. You will be miserable, but you will probably live". The newer EN ratings give comfort rating for men vs. women.

[Tipi Walter]

Is the Titanium/Kifaru route a wood burning stove?

They are single pole tipi tents made of very lightweight nylon with a stove jack and a collapsible stove and stove pipe. The whole wad comes to around 10 lbs---easily manageable for two people.


This pic from---

http://bookcoverimgs.com/hot-tent-st...interrentals*/

[The Solemates]

I'd up the sleeping pad R value and get a women specific pad. Or use two pads - a closed cell pad on the bottom and a more comfortable pad on top. It might be the pad and not the sleeping bag.

Make sure that she is using everything correctly. I recently shared a campsite with a woman with a Big Agnes bag and she didn't realize that the pad slides into the sleeve. She was rolling over and shifting the bag and had just 2 thin layers of nylon over her and was freezing.

Agreed. Correct pad is a huge factor that a lot of people overlook.

For winter camping I've used a traditional prolite equivalent thermarest for years. Its done a good job....or so I thought. About 2 years ago I bought a top of the line silver NeoAir...one of those with the reflecting material. Its double the R value. I cant believe the difference. I can sleep well below the temperature rating of my sleeping bag now in comfort. its night and day.

[FlyFishNut]

Get two bags that zip together and YOU keep her warm.

[illabelle]

I'm usually cold when I first go to bed. How long I stay that way depends on several things: temperature, what I'm wearing, etc. But eventually I do warm up, and can usually stay warm after that point.
I believe a lot of my problem is that I'm cold when I go to bed. If I would spend a few minutes just before bed generating some heat with a short walk or similar activity, I think it would help. Haven't really tried it though, so I can't be sure.
The quickest way for me to warm up is to snuggle close to my husband. Even in a separate bag, it's amazing how much instant heat can be felt just from eliminating the gap between us. Not always easy to do, because his pad is in the Big Agnes sleeve, so he can't shift to the edge of the pad to meet me in the middle. When I'm really cold, sticking the bottom half of my sleeping bag inside his (with him in it) brings fast relief from the shivers.

[Malto]

Agreed. Correct pad is a huge factor that a lot of people overlook.

For winter camping I've used a traditional prolite equivalent thermarest for years. Its done a good job....or so I thought. About 2 years ago I bought a top of the line silver NeoAir...one of those with the reflecting material. Its double the R value. I cant believe the difference. I can sleep well below the temperature rating of my sleeping bag now in comfort. its night and day.

This is my vote

[Different Socks]

I gave her my Z-rest to use as a pad, but last summer I tried a NeoAire, and had bad results for myself so I went back to my trusted closed cell pad and decided to let her use the Neo and the Z-rest. Will try the 2 together this summer, along with better polys and something else if necessary.
Pardon me for saying this, but when she says she is cold I can touch her belly and it is freakin hot!! So I'm thinking she just needs to learn a better tolerance level.

[Slack-jawed Trog]

She may be a cold sleeper, not unlike me. I use a bag rated 10º-20º lower than my expected low temps. And a fleece bag liner, as I HATE the feeling of cold nylon, even with a thermal base layer. Good advice about spooning, and the use of more than one sleeping pad, too. In winter, I always use 2: WallyWorld blue CCF, and a Z-rest, make a huge difference in comfort. FWIW, several of us get together annually, and spend a January weekend in a shelter either in the Green MTNs in VT or the Berks in Mass. (Haven't spooned since my ACW re-enacting days but it works.)
I've used a Thermacare back patch worn on my back/kidney area when camping, hunting and fishing in cold temps. The package said they were good for 12 hours but I've routinely gotten 14++ out of them. Combined with hand and foot warmer packs, I've been fairly comfy in some otherwise cold, snotty weather. Maybe she could try some combo of those to see if it helps.

YMMV, and invariably will...

[gypsy97]

I respectfully disagree that she should learn a better tolerance level, and hope you haven't told her that. Women sleep differently than men, and need a sleeping bag that is warmer in different places than what a man requires. She definitely needs a women's sleeping bag at as low a temp as you can afford. I used to freeze every night - loved the hiking and hated the camping part - until I bought a women's down bag rated at 10 degrees. If I couldn't afford down I might try primaloft filling but it should be a women's bag rated for women. Our differences aren't weaknesses, it's just the way some of us are wired.

[DLP]

when she says she is cold I can touch her belly and it is freakin hot!! So I'm thinking she just needs to learn a better tolerance level.

People with fevers can feel very hot when you touch them, but they feel freezing and have chills and shakes. Your hand on her stomach can't tell you how she feels.

If she feels cold, she feels cold. It isn't something she "believes" or has made up in her head or something she just needs to get over. Being cold is miserable.

[canoe]

Start with the feet. Try some alpaca socks or down boots. That said I have a friend that no matter what he puts on (and he has tried everything) he can never get warm.

[Slosteppin]

A few times when nights got much colder than expected I have used hot water bottles. A quart platy or Nalgene filled with near boiling water then covered with any spare clothing will till be warm in the morning. I've only used one at my feet but a second could also be used near stomach or back.
This costs nothing to experiment.

[Slo-go'en]

It may be psychological. What could be a comfortable temperature for her inside could be unacceptable outside, just because she is outside. If that is the case, no amount of insulation will help.

[kayak karl]

just like some people feel warmer after drinking a hot coco (it does not change your body temp) other feel cold when they breath cold air. my mother used to put on a sweater after eating ice cream.

also drinking ice cold water burns calories as your body works to bring it to 98.6 degrees. it should warm you up