Ok. so im going camping in 2 weeks, what to take?

R

Rifter

Joined
Dec 15, 2001
Messages
774
Hello, me and a few friends decided to go camping the weekend before X-mas as most of us have time off. So anyhting i should take that i usualy dont since its winter? Temp should not drop below -10C at the worst and will probably be around +5 to -5C most of the time. For shelter im taking a tent and a GI issue Intermediate sleeping bag. Clothes will be GI issue field pants with cold weather liner, M-65 with liner. So anything special i should take?
 
spare socks for sleeping in. They make a cold night a lot easier to manage for me. Also I would suggest a pad between the ground and your sleeping bag. You should also try a night or two in some kind of survival shelter. I did a weekend in a snowcave once and had a blast:) Make sure to bring a shovel if you want to dig a shelter though.
 
i will take a sleeping pad, one of the guys had a folding shovel if digging needs to be done. And i ALWAYS take spare socks :D almost as important as TP.
 
Yeah, I agree with Bill about sleeping with a good pad between your bag and the ground, as well as an extra pair of socks.

I like to slide a wool watch cap over my head when it's cold and I'm hittin the hay. You might consider some good longjohns and a couple of wool blankets just in case the temps get colder than you anticipate. If you have any doubt of finding dry wood for your fire, you might bring some along with you. Lots of your favorite hot drink to help keep your core temp up and running.

I don't know if you drink alcohol or not and it's not for me to say one way or the other, but the one thing I'd leave home is the alcoholic beverages. A real potential threat to your health in cold weather.
 
Rifter - I'll echo the wool cap idea. I used to sleep bare-headed all the time. Froze my whatever off. Got a knitted stocking cap this year and have been toasty ever since! So grow a 'fro or get a hat. :)

I also like to sleep with my shirt around my neck (not pulled down over my arms and body) to help stop the flow of air into and out of the bag.

Edited to add: Look into buying one or two of those reusable hand-warmers. They are plastic and hold some kind of clearish liquid with a metal disc floating around. You flex the disc to set off a chemical reaction that creates a lot of heat. After it's all used up (it lasts a long time) you just drop it into boiling water and it resets to its liquid form, ready to use over. I think even Wal-Mart is carrying them now.
 
I have a wool watch cap that i will take, we will bring some wood depends on how far we have to hike, if its not snowing we can drive to within 20 min hike to campsite, if it is snowing we will have a 1.5 hour hike to campsite, but we will try to bring enough to get a fire going and dry the wood we find there if it is not dry already. Will also take some gas, help in the fire starting department, maybe take some home made napalm as well, good fire starter.
 
Since everyone seem to be suggesting things im already taking i will try to make a list, Will be for 2-4 days, 5 Days max:

Clothes:

Belaclava/watch cap
M-65 with liner
Field pants with liner
Thermal shirt under jacket
2 Pairs of socks on with my Danner acadia's(200 grain insulated)
Gloves

In pack(Becker Patrol Pack)/on belt
Food(dry Soup base, 5 MRE's, Power bars)
Custom Bowie knife(11" blade), BK&T Patrol Machete, Buck PCKS 110
Extra socks
TP! Lots of TP
Esbit Pocket stove/extra fuel(in case fire fails)
200 feet paracord
50 feet webbing
First aid kit
2 GI issue 2 quart canteens
Water purification tablets(for emergency use only)
Some dry wood
GI issue Intermediate Sleeping bad
GI issue closed cell sleeping pad
2 Man dome tent
DMT 6X2 Fine sharpener
a 40oz bottle of rum, gotta keep warm ya know :)
Zippo with extra wick/flint/fuel
Surefire M2+A19+KT2 Turbohead
Innova X5
ARC AAA
2 Surefire spares carriers with 12 Extra batteries and 2 Lamps
Small pot for cooking
.22 Pellet gun
Ammo for pellet gun
Roll of duct tape


Thats about all i can think of off the top of my head, im going to pack for it this weekend and then im sure i will remember some other things but thats a good start.
 
Oh, and we are thinking of making a shelter, cutting down some tree's for walls(will take forever but there are 4 of us with 2 machete's and 2 Axe's) and digging a hole in the ground and throwing a tarp over the top, will let you know how it goes, im still bringing the tent for the first night, as we will be hiking to the campsite in full darkness and will build the shelter the next day.
 
Well your list is pretty complete IMO. I would add 1 more comfort item though:a fleece blanket. They are only about $10-$15. When I was in the Army we would take our wool bed blanket to the feild and wrap up in that before climbing into the issue bag. Makes for an even warmer night. I had learned early on that if your feet are comfortable and you can get some sleep at night then you can handle any other crap that comes your way :) The best day with cold feet and no sleep will be miserable at best.
 
Well if it was me I would want something warmer than a field jacket with liner.You'd be suprised how quickly that jacket will feel like you have nothing on after many hours out there.
 
I will bring a wool blanket, i already have one that i use for field use. True the jacket may not be enough, will bring a thick sweater as well, i can always take it off.


Edited for spelling
 
For 5 days in the temps you describe with the clothes you describe you will be miserable.Always in the winter I carry a complete change of clothes with the thought in mind (what if I fall in the creek)and I have.You need at least a 3 layering system.Socks,..cotton,wool,neoprene seal skins.Thermal ins boots such as 1000 grams. PANTS,..thermal underware,cotton jeans or the like,outer wind shell or a fleece pant. JACKET,.cotton T or long sleeve cotton T,button up shirt(wool)Pullover fleece,and finally a down jacket or a fishtail military parka.And finally a wool cap.The food for 5 days you speak of will surely keep you alive no doubt but you must remember you will be expending more energy than normal especially in a cold enviroment.The weaker you are the more susceptable you are to hypothermia,sickness,etc..Take along salty snacks,lots of carbohydrates.If possible take cooking oil to cook foods in or items like bacon with a lot of fat content,this keeps your body warmer as its being digested.Take MORE food,dont go hungry if not necessary.You should have at least 2 meals a day with small snacks in between.And last but not least remember your priorities in any wilderness setting,WATER,FIRE,SHELTER.OH and one little trick to keepin your feet warm in the sleeping bag is to pick up some of those disposable hand warmers and throw them in the bottom of your bag as you go to sleep,it works!
 
IMHO your list is generally pretty good. There's good advice for adding items from the other forumites. In particular, I'd expand Tombstone's concern on the field jacket and Marsupial's on the clothes listed (or not listed).

For 2-5 days I'd recommend at least one more pair sox (2-3 pairs to rotate through day-to-day wear with rinsing/drying and one pair dedicated for sleeping duty). Your boot choice should work well for temps hovering around freezing point.

You don't mention if the Thermal shirt is cotton or cotton-blend. If it is, especially if it is the only layer to be worn under the M-65 plus liner, I recommend getting more synthetic fabric layers for your body. Those layers would be polypropelene type underwear tops & bottoms (US GI surplus for cheap to Patagonia Capilene for expensive) with a spare set and an warmth layer (200 or 300 weight Polarfleece for cheap to Primaloft for expensive). The watch cap for sleeping/hiking is excellent! :D I'd also recommend rain pants for sure, either for rain or tromping around in the snow. Gaiters can be improvised from plastic bags. Bread loaf bags are semi-sturdy, plus two of them pack pretty small. Use paracord lashed/woven over each bag to hold it in place over your boot tops & on your leg.

Two points I'll raise question with:
- 1. gas/napalm for firestarting - Its high volatility and relatively short burn duration, plus relatively heavy weight to pack, make it a dubious choice for firestarting. If wood is dry enough to soak up the gas, it'll probably burn without the gas. If the wood doesn't soak up the gas, the gas is vaporizing off the surface of the water/ice in the wood. Careful preparation of your fire materials should preclude needing such a drastic liquid tinder for firestarting. My $0.02 would be to carry more cotton/beeswax tinder balls, some fatwood tinder sticks (Walmart has them about $4 for 30 or more 12" long sticks) among the dry wood you listed, other grease-based tinders (vaseline or antiseptic creme) on cottonballs from first aid kit, and extra fire sources (Firesteels, Blastmatch, waterproof strike-anywhere matches, Bic lighters, etc).
- 2. Regarding your statement, "a 40oz bottle of rum, gotta keep warm ya know" - The warmth that you feel when drinking alcohol is vasodilation (expanding blood vessels) allowing heat from your body's core to flow out through vessels in the extremities that the body's normal thermal regulation had previously restricted. You are only redistributing the body's warmth, not creating new warmth. As LongBow noted, drinking hot liquid does introduce new core heat. IIRC caffiene, like alcohol, can also lead to vasodilation. So non-caffienated drinks may be preferable. Please note that I do not say "Don't take the alcohol." (Been there - done that, so I'm in no position to criticize anyone's drinking choices. ;) :) ) Just be aware of the body mechanics involved and compensate as best you can by dressing warm to conserve what warmth is inside you and drinking warm non-alcoholic liquids to both add core warmth to your body & stay hydrated (alcohol displaces water in your cells). Marsupials advice on fatty & salty (i.e. high caloric density) foods is on the mark. Taking extra food is usually just about enough.

FWIW here are a few reviews or discussions on primaloft jackets:
http://www.thru-hiker.com/anyboard/archive/1162.html
http://www.backpackinglight.com/index/article.asp?did=70&pid=226
http://appalachia.outdoors.org/bbs/messageview.cfm?catid=2&threadid=1371
http://www.outdoorreview.com/Techni...,Hardwear,Chugach,Pant/PRD_78216_2979crx.aspx

Have a fun trip. Sounds like you guys are gonna have a ball!
 
just in case there's any confusion, the temps he's stating are in celsius, so they're not as low as they may seem to those using farenheit...
 
Numberthree,

I was thinking the same thing. -10C is not really cold. The M65 will be warm enough, UNLESS it gets wet. Then you are hooped. And if you are in the Coast Mountains, you are getting wet. Better off to go down to MEC and pick up a Northern Lights Primaloft jacket for $100, and wear it with a waterproof breathable shell, or a good windbreaker. Cotton takes way too long to dry, and is very heavy, especially when wet.
Add a layer of microfleece long underwear, and you are ready for anything. The only thing is, the M65 is not going to melt if a flying ember meets it.
As far as the alcohol goes, in those temps, you are not likely to freeze, even if you are outside without shelter. You are, however, very likely to end up bleeding with those big knives around;)
A friend of mine always takes half a fire log(the ones that burn for eight zillion years, for indoor fireplaces) for every fire he plans on having. I have not tried it without him there to carry it in to the campsite, because I don't like the extra weight, but he likes them. But it works quite well.
Take a tarp so you can store dry wood, and have a fire in the rain in comfort.
I always have my Therma-rest with chair kit, but that is close to $200 CDN. The comfort is unbeatable.
Regards
 
Crap forgot to mention, Will be taking a GI issue Gore-tex jacket lashed to my pack for rain if it rains and some vinal rain paonts i can throw over whatever im wearing. Im expecting snow if anyhting but it might rain. M-65 has been recenty re-waterproofed and is fairly water resistant but if it starts pissing rain i will switch to the gore-tex. I know the rum will not keep me warm i was kidding, but im still taking it :D like mentiond above -10C is not really that cold, The thermal shirt is one of those Columbia sports ones, got it for x-mas last year, im unsure what its made out of i ripped off the tag cause it was itching like crazy. Its about 3-4 times thicker than a normal weight T-shirt and is a little more fuzzy than plain cotton, im unsure of the material, if i had to guess i would say its a cotton mix with some kinda synthetic. Will also take a wool sweater if i need it, the good thing about clothes is they are light you can just cram them into a stuff bag and lash it to your pack. Im unsure if i need a complete change of clothes, i have never fallen in a river before and where we are going there is a lake and one stream, its only about 1 ft deep maybe, usualy less, i walked in it in my acadias in the summer and i never stepped in anything deep enough to go over the top of them. And trust me i dont plan on jumping in a lake if its -10 LMAO, that would be about equal to suicide. Worst case senario, i get wet, i borrow some clothes from the rest of the guys climb in my sleeping bag and dry my clothes over the fire, no big deal. And i would have a extra jacket since im taking 2. I have ordered some Danner FT. Lewis boots with 600 gram insulation but dont expect them to arrive in time, if they do i will take them instead of the acadia's.
 
Forgot to mention, we have been camped there a few times before in the summer, we know what we are getting into and i could walk in blindfolded if i had to. Im just worried about going in with no snow, it snowing while we are there and then getting the car stuck, its a honda accord, not exactly the best off road vehicle :D. But if that happens then we would have about a 4 hour hike to the nearest place where my cell phone would work and we would call someone to haul us out. Probably would run into someone 4X4'ing before then and would get them to help us, we always see people off roading around there. I dont see to much that could go wrong, now that i said that im sure i jinxed myself and am probably going to chop my arm off but you only live once right? lol.
 
I started to tell you to ditch a bunch of stuff, but seeing as how you're only carrying your gear a few miles, I guess it's time to break out the toys:D
 
Thats what i figure, worst case senario its only a 1.5 hour hike, faster if you jogged it since there is a road, if there is no snow then its only like 20 min which means i can really break out the toys :)
 
I don't know man, -10 C. is 14 F. and that is pretty damn cold.A 5 mph wind will drop the wind chill to around 10 F. and a 10 mph wind pulls it below 0 F. , which is frostbite territory.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top