re: Tent Canping in 5-15 degree weather?

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Hope you don't have to wake up to pee before daylight.

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No matter the weather I keep a Gatorade bottle in my tent and just pee in it.

Bag rated for that temp, a surplus of clothes, the ability to know how much to wear in the bag without sweating, and frankly the knowledge of how to know you're getting hypothermia. Those temps are no joke, but when I was younger doing temperatures like that, biggest thing that got people injured was sweat, as it created moisture that would freeze.

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AND, its REALLY fun when you get to go take a dump! Aint no getting around that, you gonna have to let your arse feel the full effect.

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I’ll throw on some bibs and a jacket real quick and step out to pee, but when it comes time to take a dump in weather like that, I’ll put a grocery bag in a bucket and let it rip inside the tent lol

My wife and I did sub-15 n the tent a couple of times. We coupled my Sub-Zero sleeping bags on an air pad. Slept basically fully clothed with hoods up. Once we were settled in, I slept fine.

When I woke up, I cranked on a small catalytic heater in the tent for my wife while I started the fire and got the coffee cooking. It was an awesome experience to step out of the tent into the snow without a soul around.

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Will investigate little buddy tent heater

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I use one in mind. I turn it on about 15 minutes before I go to bed and it makes the tent almost toasty. I turn it on 5 or 10 minutes before I get up as well.

I’ve done a fair bit of camping/backpacking/mountain stupidity in those temps and colder. This would be my setup for similar temps. Note that I’m a warm sleeper and my wife is a very cold sleeper so I’ll post her setup too.

Two sleeping pads - closed cell foam with an insulated inflating one on top.

0 degree sleeping bag

I’d be sleeping in lightweight base layer top/bottom and might have whatever mid layer I brought on top. Clean/dry socks. Warm hat. Spare clothes in the bag. Pee bottle in the bag. I probably wouldn’t bother with a hot water bottle at the upper end of those temps but might at the lower.

My wife would have the above, maybe with a warmer bag. She’d also throw my summer backpacking quilt over her and would for sure be wearing her down mid layer and have a hot bottle.

The sleeping naked thing is bullshite. Don’t do that.

And yes, the tent adds warmth, especially if it is crammed full of people. One guy in a 10 person tent doesn’t do much, but put 4 people in a 4 person tent and you’ll be surprised how warm it gets.

Eat a hot meal/drink something hot at bedtime.

What will the wind situation be like? Make sure your tent can handle whatever wind is forecast+ a good bit more.

Just invest in good sleeping bag and pad. Western Mountaineering bags aren't cheap but warm to temperature rating. Look for R value on pads. Something in R 4 or 5 will be good to 0. You can always double if needed.

I've camped in my Hammock at 5 below very comfortable with 0 degree quilts. Goose down from Warbonnet. Bennie hat and hood pulled over. A face mask would have been nice and probably needed if it had gotten any colder.

Yall are tougher than me. Sleeping at single digits to below zero, I'm in a 0* bag, double sleeping pads, zipped to the top, baffles in the right places, beanie on my head, wool socks, heavy wool base layer, down puffy pants and top, outter layer stuffed in my bag with me, and if I have it a down blanket in there with me.

Above zero i might skip the puffies but they will be on hot standby.

I was in Colorado in snow and 15 degree temps. The tent was not bad with a zero degree sleeping bag, buddy heaters and we had a wood stove/chimney set up. So we burned logs until we were going to bed and had the heaters ready to go for when the wood burned out.

But frick all that sleeping on a cot and thin blowup mattress. Especially after hiking up and down a mountain all day, you'd be so much more refreshed and relaxed with a nice bed.