Winter camping gear

The best sleeping bag in the world wont keep you warm unless you have good ground insulation under you. I use a z-rest and a thermarest on top of that and it works. Using just one or the other is cold and miserable.

Keep dry and wear layers to strip off as you sweat. Temp regulation is the key.

Double the food intake and stay hydrated. Stoves make it easy to melt snow for water.

Boot temp rating are for activity not for sitting still. Add 50% at least if you plan on sitting around inactive.

Mitts better than gloves, wear a thin liner glove under for when you pull the mitt off to do some quick work.

Lip protection as they dry and crack in winter. Sunblock and glasses.

Change socks often so your feet dont rot or get cold. Take lots of socks.

No cotton for any reason.

Pick a sheltered area from wind for your tent.

Winter hat and face protection.

Pulling yourr gear on sled is much easier than packing it on yor back.

Dozens of other tips others will chime in.

Skam
 
I love going out in the winter. No one is ever out where I like to go that's close by in the winter. Some things that I always take with me (I'm almost always on the water or near by:
GOOD rain gear for obvious reasons
Hot drinks for comfort and keeping the core warm
Hot water in a water bottle in your sleeping bag helps to warm your bag and you
A fleece balaclava - mine can be used as a neck warmer, head and neck, or head, neck, and face.
Emergency bivy or bivy and tarp
A road flare for quick and easy fire lighting.
A couple pocket warmers for comfort, and they work well to warm your fingers quickly when dexterity is dropping.
Small plastic bags wrapped up small with rubber bands to use as emergency foot protection and warmers

Just some ramblings
 
A full sized Axe and as a contradictory side note if you need fire to stay warm enough in your tent then you need more or better clothes, Skull cap, Balaclava

MTMM
 
And remember

When you drink alcohol in the cold, it will feel nice and warm inside but on the long run it will lower you body temperature so be carefull with any alcohol consumption

hannya
 
x2 for the balaclava... lifesaver, especially if windy (doesn't negate need for Chapstick though).

Tent... there's three and four season tents. You need a four season if you expect it to be set up while it's snowing, and will be under a heavy load. If not then a three season tent will do just fine.

Don't rule out making a snow shelter. It takes some time, but is a worthwhile experience to have. Read up on it first; I've done it twice and really enjoyed it. You'll sweat, sweat, sweat while building it, so the extra clothes/socks mentioned above really will come into their own if you're going this route.

Little avalanche shovel - this is a must if you're in the mountains, as would be avalanche probes/walking sticks, and a beacon for each member of your party. The shovels are only suggested (not necess') if you're in the flats, but do make quick work of moving snow, like if you were setting up camp for a while and wanted to set your tent on a more flatter/sunken surface, while berming the excavated snow to face the wind.

More matches than you think you'll need. Inability to light a fire is a trip-ender in the winter, as opposed to just a bummer in the summer. haha.

Yeah, skip the alcohol consumption if it's going to be real cold. Better walking out healthy and warm than waking up hungover (you're gonna need more water to rehydrate anyhow, which is just more work) or carried out hypothermic.

First aid kit. Essential.

Cell phone? Recommended. Getting into trouble in the woods is far more serious when 12 feet of snow hampers your attempt to return to where you parked. If you injure yourself, being able to call 911 would kick ass over having to hump it out.

Unless you're certain you can keep your bag dry, don't use a down bag... go synthetic, and go for one rated for considerably colder than what you're expecting. Being cold sucks ass. Hard. In fact, keeping your bag dry is just good, day-to-day advice. ;)

Camera. You're gonna want pictures, for sure.

There's way more, I'm sure. Have fun, lucky bugger.

Nearly forgot... Purists may like to use birch bark toilet paper and cook over a fire. While both sound like fun, I'd highly recommend planning on cooking everything over a backpacking stove and not over a fire. If you wind up using the fire; great, but you really should have a small stove. You can go butane/propane if you want simplicity and extra weight, but I'd suggest white gas for hotter/quicker cook times and lighter weight fuel and gear. A look at any outdoor supplier will net you good results. I've had an MSR Whisperlite for over a decade, adn it rocks. DON'T cook inside your tent. You'll asphyxiate on carbon monoxide.
 
sharpinend said:
Nearly forgot... Purists may like to use birch bark toilet paper and cook over a fire. While both sound like fun, I'd highly recommend planning on cooking everything over a backpacking stove and not over a fire. If you wind up using the fire; great, but you really should have a small stove. You can go butane/propane if you want simplicity and extra weight, but I'd suggest white gas for hotter/quicker cook times and lighter weight fuel and gear. A look at any outdoor supplier will net you good results. I've had an MSR Whisperlite for over a decade, adn it rocks. DON'T cook inside your tent. You'll asphyxiate on carbon monoxide.
Click to expand...

I agree with the stove, but I'd also really recommend not using bark for toilet paper. Take some fluffy stuff!
 
+1 on taking pad(s) to insulate you from underneath. YOUR BODY HEAT WILL NOT WARM UP THE GROUND BENEATH YOU, IT WILL MELT THE SNOW!!! Ask me how I know.:)
+1 On what everybody else said so far. 'Course who am I? (Read first statement in this post):)
Your tent will keep you warmer if you can zip up the windows so the warm air stays in. Makes a big difference by morning.
 
Good insulated, waterproof, high boots. If you are camping in the snow or where it is wet nothing is more miserable than cold wet feet. Invest in a set of 8 or 10 inch medium wt insulated Gore-tex lined boots. This should be enough to keep your feet warm in the lower 48. Make sure you clothing is layered and has underarm vents. You cannot believe how warm you get when you are chopping or doing other camp chores. The rest of the posted hints are great, good luck camping!!!
 
In my opinion, winter camping is much more comfortable in a quonset (snow shelter) rather than a tent, a couple of candles will keep a proberly built quonset warm (above zero) even at -30c. That being said, a good bivy sack for your sleeping bag to keep off the drips from the roof is essential. I bring a thermarest, but also line the bottom of the quensot (the entire thing) with criss-crossing blue ensolite pads, 2-3 layers, then a light-weight reflective tarp on top of that. To make your hut all you need is a shovel... a good quality mountaineering shovel is best, light weight and compact. I use a down sleeping bag (Marmot Snow Goose) with a goretex bivy (www.mec.ca). The down does not work well at all when wet or damp so it is important to keep the sleeping bag dry, and put it outside in the sun to dry in the daytime (always keep it in the bivy sack).

A good stove that works at low temps is essential, I use a MSR Whisperlite International with priming paste (the priming paste usually is not needed, but good to have). And bring twice as much fuel as you think you will need. Most stoves perform differently at low temps so make sure to try it out outside before you go

A quonset is not always practical, it takes an hour or more to build, so best if in one spot for a couple of days, you also need the right sort of snow. I have a North Face VE-25 tent for those trips where I think that there will not be enough snow, or the right snow; expensive, but well worth the money.

Clothing... stick with wool/polypropelene and definitely no cotton, one of the most important things is to keep your feet warm and dry, lots of extra wool socks and high quality gators (like Outdoor Research Crocs), and remember not to compress your foot insulation with tight-fitting boots....
 
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