View Full Version : sleeping in the cold tonight
so I see 10-K is going to try out the cold - my local prediction is -16 with 19 mph wind, I think that is a little colder than I have tried
who else wants to give it a shot and give a synopsis on this thread
That's tempting but I just lent my good sleeping bag to a friend for a section hike they're doing. Maybe I can get it back before they leave :-?
You are a brave man, George. I do my winter camping in my uninsulated bedroom, where the temps have been running 36-38 degrees. That's perfect for sleeping, and about as cold as I want to go.
Wow just saw George's temperature prediction, up here near Philly it's "only" been getting down to about 5 at night, but -16 makes me look like a pansy.
That's tempting but I just lent my good sleeping bag to a friend for a section hike they're doing. Maybe I can get it back before they leave :-?
try a system of 2 standard bags
so I see 10-K is going to try out the cold - my local prediction is -16 with 19 mph wind, I think that is a little colder than I have tried
who else wants to give it a shot and give a synopsis on this thread
mine will be a bivy and sierra design - 20 bag, with another bag draped over if needed
My son gave me an igloo kit--Grand Shelters Ice Box. He works with a guy who lives in the Black Forest in Germany who says he builds and camps in them regularly. The instructional video is set in Colorado. Two people are supposed to be able to build it in a couple of hours. The literature says the inside temperature will stay near freezing, no matter how cold it is outside.
Some of my coworkers and I are going to build one tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get to spend the night in it before winter is over.
BTW, a lot of the strategy for keeping warm is not really about gear as much as about site selection and body heat management. I suspect 10-K has a pretty good handle on those things already, and will enjoy challenging himself.
BTW, a lot of the strategy for keeping warm is not really about gear as much as about site selection and body heat management.
I know I definitely slept warmer in cold weather when I slept in only my shorts and hat vs bundled up with all my clothes. Letting the sleeping bag do it's job of trapping your body heat is a good idea.
Most, if not all people, will sleep warmer wearing base layers and other insulating clothing inside sleeping bags. The layering techniques and principles we use outside the sleeping bag (base layer, mid layer, shell) don't magically change inside a sleeping bag. The myth of sleeping warmer naked or near naked comes from the days of hikers wearing wet cotton clothing inside sleeping bags. Today, not many people wear cotton. Instead we wear wool and polypro fabrics that keep us warm when damp. I'm not trying to discount your anecdotal advice. Hike your own hike.
SunnyWalker
01-05-2014, 14:15
OK George, write us in the morning . . . . . or when you come in from the cold. Me, I am camped out right now next to the fireplace, haw, haw!
I know I definitely slept warmer in cold weather when I slept in only my shorts and hat vs bundled up with all my clothes. Letting the sleeping bag do it's job of trapping your body heat is a good idea.
I wear enough clothes in my sleeping bag to allow me to get out of it when I need to. ;-)
4eyedbuzzard
01-05-2014, 14:32
I wear enough clothes in my sleeping bag to allow me to get out of it when I need to. ;-)Ditto, especially if camped near other hikers. Keeps 'em from trying to tuck dollar bills in your skivvies while you're dancing around freezing looking for the privvy or a suitable place. :D
HikerMom58
01-05-2014, 14:34
Did you guys/gals see this thread posted the other day? I watched it and I still can't believe it....
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?100605-Ely-Minnesota-and-shug-at-his-best-40degrees
Ditto, especially if camped near other hikers. Keeps 'em from trying to tuck dollar bills in your skivvies while you're dancing around freezing looking for the privvy or a suitable place. :D
Never found a dollar bill but one time the guy I'd joined up with for a couple weeks decided it was hilarious to turn my sleeping bag inside out when I went to relieve myself, and in my half asleep state coming back I was looking for a blue sleeping bag and I only saw a grey one, took me literally 2 minutes to realize what happened.
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4eyedbuzzard
01-05-2014, 14:51
Yeah, seems you can get punked anywhere these days. As long as you know the other person well enough and they will find it funny, that's a pretty good one. I'd never do that or anything similar to someone that I didn't know well enough though.
SunnyWalker
01-05-2014, 15:18
I'm with Marta, keep well clothed and ready to jump out of the bag. I watched the video! Wheweeee! That looked cold!
SouthMark
01-05-2014, 20:42
It is not going to be cold enough here tonight to sleep outside but tomorrow night I'm going to sleep out in my hammock. Of course that will not be much of a big deal compared to Shug's -40º night in his hammock. I spent a night on Roan High Knob in my hammock with a low of 1º, 35-40 mph wind gusts and deep snow. Two hangers there had just come from hanging in Ely, MN at -24º.
Yowsa. I'll bet that frostbite had a lot to do with having the guts to make a decent video for us. Thanks. Great stuff. Watch that finger, and other appendages.
One of the things they mention in the igloo material is that, inside the igloo, neither your water bottles nor your boots will freeze. I can't wait to try it!
fredmugs
01-05-2014, 22:18
Did you guys/gals see this thread posted the other day? I watched it and I still can't believe it....
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?100605-Ely-Minnesota-and-shug-at-his-best-40degrees
I subscribe to Shug's YouTube page so I see most of his antics. If you watch his videos he explains how he's setup.
Prime Time
01-05-2014, 22:55
That was a great video! In my youth about 40 years ago on a winter camping trip to the Pemigawasset Wilderness in NH it got down to minus 33. I can't begin to tell you how primitive our gear was! We slept in a 3 season tent on a half length Thermorest pad in a double sleeping bag. I didn't even own a pair of snowshoes. Just trudged about 3 miles into the campsite with about a 60 pound pack. I woke up the first morning with about 3 inches of frozen breath on my chest. We spent the day building furniture out of logs and keeping a fire going. We ate and drank water non stop and played "Indian Hockey" in a clearing we made on a frozen beaver pond. The trick was to not stop moving! I'd do it again if I could find anyone crazy enough to go!
I'm going to be out this week - I'm sure i'll get single digits in NC.
Tipi Walter is out right now - I'm pretty sure - - he has like a negative 30 bag
in his Hilleberg Tent - it's literally bombproof
Packed up and hitting the trail here in an hour or so. This is really a unique opportunity for those of us in the Southeast.
ok, had to drive the daughter home so I did not get the chance to do this until last night
the low ended up -10 with light winds
used a full and a short thermarest
bivy
-20 sierra design 800 fill bag
base layer, fleece layer, insulated pants, down jacket with the zip off sleeves over the feet, base layer gloves and down mitts, face shield over the nose
kicked out a trench in about 7 inches of snow
was out for about 7 hours, was fully warm and estimate this would be true for another 5 degrees and some more wind
certainly this system would be reasonably comfortable to - 25 and keep one alive overnight to - 35
no big issues with condensation / frost as I try to expel my breath outside the bivy
some cold spots on the feet when they were pushing outward/ compressing the insulation - felt no cold spots from the ground
Glad you made it, George. Not my cup of tea, for sure.
ok, had to drive the daughter home so I did not get the chance to do this until last night
the low ended up -10 with light winds
used a full and a short thermarest
bivy
-20 sierra design 800 fill bag
base layer, fleece layer, insulated pants, down jacket with the zip off sleeves over the feet, base layer gloves and down mitts, face shield over the nose
kicked out a trench in about 7 inches of snow
was out for about 7 hours, was fully warm and estimate this would be true for another 5 degrees and some more wind
certainly this system would be reasonably comfortable to - 25 and keep one alive overnight to - 35
no big issues with condensation / frost as I try to expel my breath outside the bivy
some cold spots on the feet when they were pushing outward/ compressing the insulation - felt no cold spots from the ground
nice write up and valuable information---now whats the plan?
will look at the forecast for mid Feb, unlikely to carry a -20 bag, would likely stay with the -5 I usually use in the winter