Ever camp in freezing temp's?

steve-in-kville said:
Okay, this is tempting me to try it...

1) what was the outside temp?
2) what did you wear while sleeping?
3) tent or no tent?
4) source of heat, if any?
5) what temp was your sleeping bag rated for (also brand name/model)?

Thanks!!
Click to expand...

I did this lots in Northern Ontario ice fishing and stuff and in the Army Cadets here's the coldest though:

1) -45 Degrees Celcius
2) Toque
3) Tent (Not that it made a difference at that temp)
4) heat?? lol
5) Surplus Canadian Military Issue Mummy bag good till -60 supposedly.

Gotta admit though I was completely toasty while sleeping. Those bags are really warm. Then I got dressed and got out. Man I jumped into my snow pants and parka really quick, and waited the 10min for them to warm up. hehe. Still lots of fun though. Winter camping is the best. Cold nights to sleep good and best of all no bugs.
 
Last fall, up on the Dempster (northern Yukon) caribou hunting, -40, open tent, Thermorest foam pad, Kelty synthetic mummy bag (rated 0 F.) inside a rectangular down bag (4 lb. down, about 25 years old). Wore synthetic long johns and long sleeve top, synthetic socks, synthetic toque. Slept like a baby, nice and warm (until the dog tired to crawl in). Getting up was a trial though; I think it was even colder in the morning. This year, same rig, only a 12 x 12 wall tent with an airtight stove, and only -20 or so. Too warm. The dog was happier though, and it was a LOT easier to get up in the morning :D .
 
1) 10*F recorded at the nearest town. I've actually been out in colder, but won't count my younger inadequate gear years.
2) Capilene top and bottom, Mtn. Hardware fleece balaclava(ears get cold)
3) No tent. Slept under a rock outcropping
4) me
5) TNF Cat's Meow 3D rated 15*F + a Thermarest 3/4 length Guidelite pad and a trash bag around the bottom of the sleeping bag
I use a fleece vest for a pillow when it's cold, and pull part of it over my head if it gets drafty.
Found an old scan of a pic I took on that camping trip.
 
I've been camping in the winter for years, but the record breaker was north east of Thunder Bay (Northern Ontario) on a dogsledding / skiing trip

1) what was the outside temp?
-50 C one night, -35 C average
2) what did you wear while sleeping?
Polypro pants and shirt, and a fleece toque
3) tent or no tent?
No tent, occasionaly a tarp if it was actualy snowing
4) source of heat, if any?
A belly full of food and a nalgene full of boiling water (inside a closed cell foam jacket)
5) what temp was your sleeping bag rated for (also brand name/model)?
My sleeping bag was rated to -10, but I had 2 of them, and a therma-rest self inflating mattress

After that trip I decided the number 1 winter survival system is... a Malamute! They're big, happy, warm, friendly and in a pinch... edible :D
 
I did 2 nights in sub 32 temps... I believe it got down to 18 degrees...

In a fleece sleeping bag (A fleece blanket folded in half, with a zipper.)

I wore everything I had packed... thermal underwear and all. If you value your sleep... DONT go with something thats not rated for the temperature.

I froze my behind off. I have to find jeans with "no butt" or maybe thats genetics...

COLD. :)
 
After that trip I decided the number 1 winter survival system is... a Malamute! "They're big, happy, warm, friendly and in a pinch... edible"

;) Your dog may have been thinking the same thing in reverse. Good story! :)
 
1. 0 F
2. thermals, wool socks, balaclava, glove liners
3. ureaka timberline
4. me
5. slumberjack rated to 0 F
 
Ok it was -40F and C the place they meet

Bag integral deign -35 mummy down
polypro under wear
body heat
Tent
slept snug as a bug
used therma rest sleeping pad

and as a trick I learned to keep your core temp up eat a handle full of peanuts or cashews before bed complex protien your body has to work to break them down.
 
8 degrees overnight
in a snow cave last month
tarp + thermarest pad underneath (I've heard closed cell is better, but it's what I had)
slept in thermals and stuffed outer clothing in with me in the bag

north face 32 degree bag inside another summer weight bag

I threw in a 1 liter nalgene filled with boiling water into the bag 15 minutes before getting in and slept with it in there. Also kept an empty 1 liter mountain dew bottle handy for thoses 2 a.m. moments when you really don't want to get out of that bag.

I'll second the advice to do some vigorous activity and take in some fuel right before going to bed.

Was with a group of scouts, and the only one who had problems was the one who went to bed with wet gear on.
 
I did quite often when I was stationed at Ft. Lewis (way back when the 9thID was there).
We trained in Yakima and South Rainier all the time.

1) I don't know the exact temp but there was lots of ice covering everything.
2) When sleeping I wore boxer shorts, military t-shirt, my BDU pants, and a wool knit ski-cap (I can't stand my head inside the sleeping-bag).
3) The tent was a "GP Tiny" which is Army slang for the little shelter-half canvas tent they issued. You got one half and your buddy got the other--you and your buddy could snap them together to form a tent.
I bought the other half myself so I would'nt have to share a tent with another stinky guy.
4) No source of heat in my tent but we did have a company warm-up tent that was also our medical-tent. If your NCO thought that you were going to die or get frostbite, he would send you there for about 15 minutes to thaw out.
5) My sleeping bag was the heavy down standard issue.

I look back fondly upon my time as a Soldier--except those winter field exercises and winter in Korea!

Good luck,
Allen.
 
Sender said:
8 degrees overnight
in a snow cave last month
tarp + thermarest pad underneath (I've heard closed cell is better, but it's what I had).
Click to expand...

Thermarest-type mattresses are superior to closed cell pads in every respect but price. The greater thickness means more insulation (also way more comfort). You may have heard that closed cell is superior to open cell (in effect, a sponge), but that does not apply to air mattresses filled with open-cell foam.
 
Thomas Linton said:
Thermarest-type mattresses are superior to closed cell pads in every respect but price. The greater thickness means more insulation (also way more comfort). You may have heard that closed cell is superior to open cell (in effect, a sponge), but that does not apply to air mattresses filled with open-cell foam.
Click to expand...


Good to know, I had thought that with snow/ice in direct contact with the pad on one side, and a warm body on the other, that an air filled pad would function like a heat sink. That must just apply to inflatable pads with no foam core. It worked pretty well. I noticed that in the morning the snow underneath me had hardened to ice, so either I compressed it enough or warmed it enough to melt/refreeze through the pad.
 
Sender said:
Good to know, I had thought that with snow/ice in direct contact with the pad on one side, and a warm body on the other, that an air filled pad would function like a heat sink. That must just apply to inflatable pads with no foam core. It worked pretty well. I noticed that in the morning the snow underneath me had hardened to ice, so either I compressed it enough or warmed it enough to melt/refreeze through the pad.
Click to expand...

It is still air in small enough spaces that convection currents do not form that creates insulation. A conventional ait mattress has spaces too large for this effect. The open-cell foam in a Thermarest-type mattress does the job very well. Of course, no insulation is perfect. Some heat passes through or you'd quickly reach 98.6.
 
steve-in-kville said:
Okay, this is tempting me to try it...

1) what was the outside temp?
2) what did you wear while sleeping?
3) tent or no tent?
4) source of heat, if any?
5) what temp was your sleeping bag rated for (also brand name/model)?

Thanks!!
Click to expand...

1) 26 F (2 weeks ago)
2) 200 wt fleece top and bottom, medium wt longhandles under that, bomber style hat, Sealskins Chillblocker socks and gloves. Thorlo wool socks over chillblocker socks (I actually had on moe than I needed but I like to sleep cozy and keep my feet extra warm)
3) Crazy Crib hammock with Big Agnes Hinman Pad (25 x 78 x 2.5 pad)
4) me
5) 20 F Slumberjack Ultimate 20+ F

3 years ago
1) 16 F (my coldest so far)
2) dont rember exactly but enough:')
3) Hennessy Original Hammock (no longer available)
4) me
5) REI O deg Downtime

Coy Boy
 
1) Temp -5º with 60mph winds (blizzard)
2) Slept in briefs,socks,wool cap..
3) No tent,Built classic Igloo using blocks cut with an ice saw.
8' inside dia. 7' tall..
4) no heat, they're relatively warm inside.
one candle lights the whole thing.
5)My EB bag was rared at 5º w/ full lenth Thermasrest.

That was back in 1982, we were in northern Cal. Desolation wilderness and after returning from top of Pyrimid pk. noticed severe weather coming on us, so we decided we had time enough to build an igloo. It was a killer storm that swept through most of the north western states. That was home for those two days and it made the difference of life and death. It was nice not having to dig a frozen tent out of the snow. As it was the shelter was no longer visable as a beautiful igloo it looked more like a gopher hole after we move out. Thanks for bring back a memory of that time in my life..
 
temp: low 20's/high teens, Appalachain trail in the winter
what I wore: boxers/pair of socks, clothes in the bottom of bag
tent: Wal-Mart backpack tent that was on sale
source of warmth: myself and a buddy back to back in his sleeping bag
sleeping bag: military issue rated to 0 or -10?

Lesson learned: its just better to be completely undressed except for undies when in those bags, the more clothing you wear the worse off you are.
 
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