View Full Version : winter sleeping clothes ?
LIhikers
10-09-2007, 13:37
What kind of clothes do you bring with you, to sleep in, when you know night time temps will be colder than your sleeping bag is rated for?
Of course in a perfect world they'd weigh nothing, take up no pack space, and be very warm. I realize that's never going to happen but I wonder what's the closest thing I could expect to find.
Blissful
10-09-2007, 13:54
Bring a sleeping bag liner, that helps.
If it's projected to be colder than my bag, I'm in trouble...
I strongly suggest the ever handy and versatile balaclava.
Balaclava - light, warm, versatile.
Not to be confused with a delicious Greek pastry (http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/Baklava.htm) . Mmmmmm The balaclava is not as tasty, but is less sticky to wear on my head....
Headware is a very important piece of winter gear. And the balaclava, IMO, is the most versatile hat for all backpacking.
A clean, dry base layer (eg. polypro, capilene, merino wool, etc.) Socks, thin hat and thin gloves (eg. glove liners.) No cotton.
oldfivetango
10-09-2007, 15:13
As a cold natured HH person I made a nifty little foot warmer
out of a piece of windshield reflective material that works quite nicely.
Just tape it back to itself such that it forms a little "stove pipe" about
a foot long or so and insert feet.
Will probably chuck it altogether if and when I purchase the JRB
nest and quilt etc but you never know.
Oldfivetango
Appalachian Tater
10-09-2007, 15:19
I make sure my bag is sufficient and can sleep in a hat. Anything else is really a problem to sleep in unless it is absolutely necessary, then long underwear, tops first, then bottoms, then a light wool sweater on top of that. In an emergency, all my clothes, and sleep in a shelter and use my tarptent as an extra blanket. Fortunately that only happened once.
-SEEKER-
10-09-2007, 15:49
I use a Gore-Tex suit as my rain gear and I actually slept with that on one night, almost too much for someone who is always cold!
shelterbuilder
10-09-2007, 17:13
I strongly suggest the ever handy and versatile balaclava... Not to be confused with a delicious Greek pastry (http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/Baklava.htm) . Mmmmmm The balaclava is not as tasty, but is less sticky to wear on my head....
However, when the temperature REALLY drops, consider wearing the delicious Greek pastry IN YOUR STOMACH as extra fuel!:D :D
However, when the temperature REALLY drops, consider wearing the delicious Greek pastry IN YOUR STOMACH as extra fuel!:D :D
Heh! True!
ACtually, Shelterbuilder does bring up a good point. Eating some quick energy (cookies, candy bar or a delicious Greek pastry) can often give your body enough extra "oomph" to warm up. The body is a furnace, and it needs fuel.
Drinking fluids before going to bed is a wise idea, too.
The Solemates
10-09-2007, 17:30
What kind of clothes do you bring with you, to sleep in, when you know night time temps will be colder than your sleeping bag is rated for?
Of course in a perfect world they'd weigh nothing, take up no pack space, and be very warm. I realize that's never going to happen but I wonder what's the closest thing I could expect to find.
I would not intentionally go on a trip without an adequately rated sleeping bag for the conditions I was going to face, as you have suggested in your question. Thats not to say that it hasnt happened: there are times when I have taken a bag and the temperature has dropped below its rating. I just try to avoid these situations.
In either case, I typically wear the clothes I hiked in that day to bed. I put on my extra camp clothes if I am expecting to be chilly. This always include a warm hat and an extra pair of socks, which are the most most valuable items to wear during cold weather. I do not believe that you need additional "clean" clothes to sleep in, as many people believe. But to each his own.
I take off any wet clothes and layer up in whatever I have packed--generally, I would not leave either without an adequately rated bag, at least not on purpose...but yes, its happened to me too. Wind takes that temperature down in a jiffy. I have a silk liner and I am especially fond of some fleece pants and a fleece top as part of my layering system.
I got a taste of "colder than my bag" was rated last year, on a day that wasn't supposed to be like that. I was greatful for the extra clothing, hat and gloves included, that I had had in my pack. I have a 20 degree WM down bag, and its super--but the windchill just about froze me up! I'm all for a little extra precaution, including a space blanket.
Two Speed
10-09-2007, 19:28
. . . and can sleep in a hat. . . Either you're a really small dude or you've got a really big hat.
'Kay, couldn't resist that one.
Like many of the previous posters I keep a dry base layer, including a pair of big wool socks and a fleece hat . . . which means sometimes I sleep in my hat . . . :-?
Well, at least I don't get my baklava and my balaclava mixed up.
Appalachian Tater
10-09-2007, 19:37
Well, at least I don't get my baklava and my balaclava mixed up.
That's a good one.
The hat is very important to me because it's so easy to take on and off and is so effective.
shelterbuilder
10-09-2007, 19:48
I like either a balaclava or sometimes just a watch cap, along with a down vest. I've found that just keeping my torso a little warmer can make a huge difference all over. Of course, some type of base layer (I've used polypro for years)under it all.
bigcranky
10-09-2007, 20:30
Well, depending on the trip, my camp/sleep clothes are part of my sleeping system, and I often carry a sleeping bag that's rated higher than the expected temperatures. There are several rationales for this:
I can carry a lighter bag
It's more versatile in changing weather conditions (say, March in the Southern Appalachians.) If I expect lows anywhere from 10-F to 35-F, do I take my 5-F bag and roast on the warmer nights?
I stay warmer hanging around camp, cooking, eating, etc. I'm also warmer heading out to the call of nature at 3am.
I'm already carrying warm clothes -- I might as well take advantage of them when I'm sleeping. The exact clothing choices depend on the expected weather and time of year, but can include a nice puffy down jacket, down booties, Powerstretch tights, and a warm balaclava. Warm dry wool socks are good, as is a mid-weight base layer top. With these items, I've slept comfortably into the mid-teens in my 30-F Western Mountaineering Megalite bag (which is wide enough that my down jacket can loft up inside.)
Now, the usual caveat -- don't do this without actual sleeping experience in really cold weather using your bag and clothing. Sleeping really cold can be an unhappy and potentially life-threatening event.
Like Big Cranky I carry a light sleeping bag and wear my fleece jacket and fleece pants to sleep. I also wear wool sox and a wool tuque. I was surprised by a sudden change of weather while on a weekend trip and have been doing it this way ever since. If the weather is nice fleece off, if it's cold fleece on.
I have also come to understand that I cannot, under any circumstances, go to bed with as little as one piece of clothing I wore that day, otherwise I'm sure to get cold, so the fleece is for bedtime only. I have friends who do it but for me it needs to be a complete change of clothes, otherwise I am sure I won't sleep.
Tipi Walter
10-09-2007, 21:36
When in a tent a lighter sleeping bag will work but of course when sleeping cowboy style more warmth is needed. I've done both and the coldest is always out in the open exposed to the wind and snow. I spent a winter in Boone, NC camping out without a tent and had to use a zero bag WITH a large, heavy boy scout type rectangular bag unzipped and atop. Many mornings I woke up under a foot of fresh snow and shook off the scout bag and packed up. My ground cloth was a cheap boy scout vinyl sheet and one cold morning as I folded it the thing broke in pieces like a crisp cracker.
Another winter I slept under a North Face zero down bag and had to use an Army feather bag over it to stay warm(beroll on the ground,etc). The secret to winter camping is a high R value sleeping pad(Thermarest, Exped), coupled with the most important piece of gear: A quality goose down bag rated to minus 20 degrees or more. Such a bag usually costs around $600 and is worth every penny.
Serious winter campers carry the extra down weight(minor)since no one wants to sleep zipped up wearing more than necessary. Capilene underwear(or polypro)tops and bottoms with socks and a good warm hat is all that is needed if the bag has enough quality down fill. Plus, sleeping in extra clothing can compress down from the inside and make a warm bag actually colder.
You'll know what kind of bag you have when the temps dip to zero or below for several days and you'll know in the night when that Door of Cold slams shut locking you onto the pad and into the bag.
LIhikers
10-10-2007, 08:05
Thanks for the tips, everybody. We do most of the things you folks have offered. I'm just trying to think ahead as I'm planning to purchase a Montbell super stretch down hugger #2 which is rated at 25 degrees. The wife and I usually get out for a 2 to 4 day trip in the dead of winter when night time temps could dip into low teens or even single digits. Maybe I'll just rent a winter bag for those trips.
taildragger
10-10-2007, 08:40
How warm of a sleeper are you?
If you only take one winter trip with cool temps that are only a few degrees (20 or less) below your bag, then I think with proper clothes you'll be fine.
I've camped in my 20* synthetic bag (which is about 10 yrs old and was stored in a stuffsack for 9 years cuz no one taught me better) in temps that dropped into single digits and was fine. I've also lost the same bag to a blow down, couldn't find it in the dark, and had to use my friends bag as a quilt for the both of us. The temps were low teens to single digits, we made it through the night just fine (well, until I realized that I had frozen pants still on and the dethawed, that was fun waking up and realizing that I just made a huge error)
I guess my point is this, if you sleep warm, then I wouldn't worry too much about the bag. I'd make it more of a point to get a good ground pad, maybe a down vest, and a good baselayer. That should take you down to some good temps.
And if the fecal matter hits the fan, you can heat some water, chuck it in the bag, and then you'll really appreciate that hot totty when you get back home.
NICKTHEGREEK
10-10-2007, 08:54
Last time it was a patagonia mid weight zip t, a patagonia R1 flash pull over, and a pair of patagonia mid weight capelene long johns.