As someone who hates the cold with a passion, there’s nothing worse than waking up cold in the morning because you either didn’t have on enough to keep you warm during a cold winter night in a sleeping bag or had on too much and wake up cold from sweating throughout the night.
Winter campouts are the only camps I absolutely do not miss at all from my time at scouts. The cold mornings are enough for me to not suggest it, despite it not actually being that bad after you’ve warmed up.
Though, on a more serious note, one of the things I do remember being taught but never followed through with for various reasons is to put your clothes for the next day under your sleeping bag so that way the next day they should be warm or at least warmer so you aren’t putting on freezing cold clothes. Especially good for things like jeans because there’s nothing worse than putting on jeans with frigid cold metal buttons if your hands are already trembling a little from the cold winter morning in general.
HARD DISAGREE! I fucking love camping in the winter, as there’s nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night hot asf.
The whiney southerners unable to take a simple 40° night was my least favorite part of scouting. Clowns crying whilst I curled up in a snowbank. Losers!
Half-Jokes aside, I grew up cold and have a monstrous tolerance, but winter camping is often great, build the fire high, and find your Sisu!
My slightly littler cousin doesn’t appreciate the cold so much, so she also wraps herself in tomorrow’s clothes, good call
I’m a 3 season camper but that’s fall, winter, spring. I love winter camping but I also have a travel trailer. I have gone tent camping in sub-30°F weather. That was the nightly low, and the high was 50’s, so plenty comfy during the day, just had to bundle up good for the night. If you have a branded Nalgene bottle, you can fill it with hot (not too hot though) water and put that in your sleeping bag with you. Always have a beanie. I crochet so I’m never without one. Don’t wear any cotton (especially don’t wear cotton socks). “Cotton kills” as they say. Performance fabrics, wool, and layers layers layers. 2 layers of socks as well. And that will also help keep your feet from blistering if you go hiking.
I had winter camping every year in scouts. We two subzero night in a quinzhee hut one year. It was awesome. We did the old boiling water in a nalgene water bottle in our sleeping bag before bed and slept great in the cold. Great memory
Just to toss this out there, don’t put your clothes actually under the sleeping bag unless the goal is wet clothes. Definitely strip down in your sleeping bag though, this way you don’t sweat all night and have warm/dry clothes to put on before climbing out in the morning. There have been mornings I’ve had to crack the ice off my outer shell and been fine climbing out. Seems like a lifetime ago but that was what we were taught in the Army… now I have a small camper because… well because I don’t want to have an extra soreness when I wake up lol.
Normally I’d be on solid ground, in a tent, with a sleeping mat beneath my sleeping bag, so it would probably be safe to keep my clothes under it, probably towards the end of the bag near my feet. I’ve also never had any sort of ice forming on my sleeping bag before since we always had tents for every campout as needed.
Maybe I’m misremembering the advice or it’s bad advice, but in general I am probably never gonna have another chance to test this advice. So I’ll take your word for it.
I’d definitely agree, solid ground and a tent would make putting them in the sleeping bag a bit less important (plus then you can use them as a pillow). Having them in our bag was just something I was taught in basic training and it worked well the few times I have woken up with frost or ice on my outer shell (all Army related “camping”).
In the decades since I’ve slowly shifted from big tents to a small travel trailer, it’s so much better on my joints lol.
No matter what, don’t go in the winter.
As someone who hates the cold with a passion, there’s nothing worse than waking up cold in the morning because you either didn’t have on enough to keep you warm during a cold winter night in a sleeping bag or had on too much and wake up cold from sweating throughout the night.
Winter campouts are the only camps I absolutely do not miss at all from my time at scouts. The cold mornings are enough for me to not suggest it, despite it not actually being that bad after you’ve warmed up.
Though, on a more serious note, one of the things I do remember being taught but never followed through with for various reasons is to put your clothes for the next day under your sleeping bag so that way the next day they should be warm or at least warmer so you aren’t putting on freezing cold clothes. Especially good for things like jeans because there’s nothing worse than putting on jeans with frigid cold metal buttons if your hands are already trembling a little from the cold winter morning in general.
HARD DISAGREE! I fucking love camping in the winter, as there’s nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night hot asf.
The whiney southerners unable to take a simple 40° night was my least favorite part of scouting. Clowns crying whilst I curled up in a snowbank. Losers!
Half-Jokes aside, I grew up cold and have a monstrous tolerance, but winter camping is often great, build the fire high, and find your Sisu!
My slightly littler cousin doesn’t appreciate the cold so much, so she also wraps herself in tomorrow’s clothes, good call
I’m a 3 season camper but that’s fall, winter, spring. I love winter camping but I also have a travel trailer. I have gone tent camping in sub-30°F weather. That was the nightly low, and the high was 50’s, so plenty comfy during the day, just had to bundle up good for the night. If you have a branded Nalgene bottle, you can fill it with hot (not too hot though) water and put that in your sleeping bag with you. Always have a beanie. I crochet so I’m never without one. Don’t wear any cotton (especially don’t wear cotton socks). “Cotton kills” as they say. Performance fabrics, wool, and layers layers layers. 2 layers of socks as well. And that will also help keep your feet from blistering if you go hiking.
I had winter camping every year in scouts. We two subzero night in a quinzhee hut one year. It was awesome. We did the old boiling water in a nalgene water bottle in our sleeping bag before bed and slept great in the cold. Great memory
We did this a few times too. I will say that for winter camping, make sure you have season appropriate gear.
Very true for all seasons. Remember it will be both hotter and colder than you expect. Usually in the same day
Just to toss this out there, don’t put your clothes actually under the sleeping bag unless the goal is wet clothes. Definitely strip down in your sleeping bag though, this way you don’t sweat all night and have warm/dry clothes to put on before climbing out in the morning. There have been mornings I’ve had to crack the ice off my outer shell and been fine climbing out. Seems like a lifetime ago but that was what we were taught in the Army… now I have a small camper because… well because I don’t want to have an extra soreness when I wake up lol.
Edit: typos
Normally I’d be on solid ground, in a tent, with a sleeping mat beneath my sleeping bag, so it would probably be safe to keep my clothes under it, probably towards the end of the bag near my feet. I’ve also never had any sort of ice forming on my sleeping bag before since we always had tents for every campout as needed.
Maybe I’m misremembering the advice or it’s bad advice, but in general I am probably never gonna have another chance to test this advice. So I’ll take your word for it.
I’d definitely agree, solid ground and a tent would make putting them in the sleeping bag a bit less important (plus then you can use them as a pillow). Having them in our bag was just something I was taught in basic training and it worked well the few times I have woken up with frost or ice on my outer shell (all Army related “camping”).
In the decades since I’ve slowly shifted from big tents to a small travel trailer, it’s so much better on my joints lol.