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re: Tent Canping in 5-15 degree weather?

Posted on 1/2/25 at 11:50 am to
Posted by DownshiftAndFloorIt
Here
Member since Jan 2011
72081 posts
Posted on 1/2/25 at 11:50 am to
Next to the truck, put all your liquids and whatever else needs to stay un-frozen in an ice chest with a bottle of warmed water. It'll stay plenty warm enough overnight to not freeze.

Otherwise, putting it in your sleeping bag with you is the 2nd best option. Sucks sleeping with water/toothpaste/contacts/breakfast bars all in there with all the other stuff but if you hike hard enough during the day you'll sleep.
This post was edited on 1/2/25 at 11:51 am
Posted by LSUintheNW
At your mom’s house
Member since Aug 2009
36972 posts
Posted on 1/2/25 at 12:48 pm to
quote:

And if your have a coleman lantern put in the tent about 15 minutes before you crash..... then put if out.


Fire hazard

The little indoor buddy heater is made for indoors, in case you fall asleep, and has a tip over sensor.

Electric LED lights is the way to go. It’s quiet. I hang up 2 little black diamond moji “lanterns” and it lights up my tent.
Posted by bigbuckdj
Member since Sep 2011
1988 posts
Posted on 1/2/25 at 1:13 pm to
Everybody is saying great stuff but I’ll emphasize the PAD. If you are well insulated from the ground, you don’t need near as much bag to keep you warm. If you aren’t, no bag will be enough.
Posted by TU Rob
Birmingham
Member since Nov 2008
13472 posts
Posted on 1/2/25 at 2:51 pm to
quote:

Everybody is saying great stuff but I’ll emphasize the PAD. If you are well insulated from the ground, you don’t need near as much bag to keep you warm. If you aren’t, no bag will be enough.


And to piggyback off of this, some heavy moving blankets in the floor of your tent help a great deal. I have a couple of cheap ones from Harbor Freight that I take with us when I take the boys camping. Also helps keep the floor of the tent clean. All of the air mattresses and duffel bags sit on top of that to keep it off the ground. They're not super thick, but it gives a little more insulation between the ground and the bottom of your air mattress or sleeping pad.

Don't forget about the disposable hand warmers too. I had a big pack of those, and put one in the bottom of the sleeping bag and another where your torso goes, about a half hour before we went to sleep. Had them out and getting warmed up in jacket pockets while we were sitting by the fire, then tossed a couple in each bag and zipped them up. Getting into something already a little warmed up helps.
Posted by RockoRou
SW Miss
Member since Mar 2015
935 posts
Posted on 1/2/25 at 3:15 pm to
So I guess sleeping naked is not an option, damn, no threesomes this trip.
Posted by m2pro
Member since Nov 2008
29901 posts
Posted on 1/2/25 at 3:22 pm to
a -20 or 0 degree bag.
remember, the degree a bag is isn't about if it's comfortable, but if it's going to protect your safety. if it's sub 20 outside, you will want a -20 bag for warm coziness in my experience.

layers. get a good set of thermal underwear.
have a coat that is both a real warm coat, but also has a windproof outer layer
bring gloves

light a fire. you'll be fine.
This post was edited on 1/2/25 at 3:24 pm
Posted by beulahland
Little D'arbonne
Member since Jan 2013
4074 posts
Posted on 1/2/25 at 4:25 pm to
Wall tent with stove jack.
Wood stove. Charcoal will work till you get some wood split.
Use a cot to get off of the ground.
Has worked for me hunting the mountain west for 20 years.

Or
Do what them other fellers said.

Goodluck.
Posted by Marciano1
Marksville, LA
Member since Jun 2009
20033 posts
Posted on 1/3/25 at 4:07 am to
quote:


Two thick women to sleep between



Posted by j_f
NOLA
Member since Oct 2024
94 posts
Posted on 1/3/25 at 11:20 am to
It won't be fun unless you're in an outfitter tent with a stove. But it's doable. Some tips off the top of my head:

-Your bag should be rated BELOW your expected temp. The rating means you probably won't be hypothermic at that temp, not that you'll be comfortable.

-Get off the ground, and use a foam pad even if you stack it on top of an air pad. Otherwise, your body will be trying to heat 1) the earth or 2) the air in the pad all night. Your bag won't do anything here because all of the insulation will be compressed by your bodyweight. I'll say it again: foam pad. Conductive heat loss is a bitch. You will also need a pad if you're in a hammock or cot, but the principle is the same (though convective heat loss, not conductive).

-Sleep with your clothes for the next day in your bag and maybe even your boots. You'll put on frozen boots only once in your life.

-- When you get into your bag, change to clean, DRY clothes. NOT the thermals you've been wearing all day, as they're guaranteed to be slightly sweaty and your body doesn't need extra work to dry them out via bodyheat.

- Eat a massive, calorie- dense meal right before you go to bed, even if you're just spooning peanut butter. You will continue to digest/burn calories through the night. Ideally it's something warm.

--the hot nalgene in the bag before bed is a great idea, but take it out before you fall asleep and it cools. Otherwise, that's just more mass you've gotta try to keep at 98.6 all night (conductive heat loss, again).

--likewise, if you have to urinate in the night, suck it up and go do it! You're getting rid of a lot of liquid that you're no longer trying to keep at 98.6

I've spent many nights out in the cold, but I'll say this: by the time you acquire the gear necessary to make it viable or even enjoyable, you could rent an RV or cabin several times over.

Good luck.
This post was edited on 1/3/25 at 11:22 am
Posted by Cracker
in a box
Member since Nov 2009
19268 posts
Posted on 1/3/25 at 8:16 pm to
Buy this LINK

best 100.00 you will ever spend. not as compact as the little buddy but propane has nasty problem in the winter MOISTURE do diesel.
This post was edited on 1/3/25 at 8:19 pm
Posted by 2Dueces
Member since Dec 2018
359 posts
Posted on 1/3/25 at 8:30 pm to
All I need is my browning goose down sleeping bag that’s rated well into the negative degrees. I also have a big buddy heater hooked to a 5gal propane bottle. I stay comfortable all night long.
Posted by Squirrelmeister
Member since Nov 2021
3688 posts
Posted on 1/3/25 at 8:45 pm to
I have some sleeping bags rated for -40°. At 5-15°F I could sleep buck naked except for a pair of drawers and a face mask and a wool knit cap.

When it’s time to wake up to get dressed, crank up the buddy heater.

I assume this is about hunting and not camping in that cold for nothing.
Posted by DownshiftAndFloorIt
Here
Member since Jan 2011
72081 posts
Posted on 1/3/25 at 10:20 pm to
Do you have one? I've been thinking about getting one.

We ran the buddy heater all night once. Crucial mistake. The whole tent was ice lined in the morning. My rifle was so frozen I couldn't load it. It was a mess.
Posted by Cracker
in a box
Member since Nov 2009
19268 posts
Posted on 1/4/25 at 5:56 pm to
My buddy does and it works great they are all Chinese built prob from the same place but they work well. The only thing is the ticking of the fuel pump, plus it’s dry I am gonna get one for my duck boat.
Posted by Tridentds
Sugar Land
Member since Aug 2011
23924 posts
Posted on 1/4/25 at 7:10 pm to
Cold camped a number of times elk hunting close to Rifle in 10-15 degrees and breezy. Sleeping bag rated for temp is all you really need inside a tent.

Now when it is time to get up out of that bad boy is an entirely different story.
Posted by deeprig9
Unincorporated Ozora
Member since Sep 2012
75332 posts
Posted on 1/5/25 at 1:22 pm to
quote:

the hot nalgene in the bag before bed is a great idea, but take it out before you fall asleep and it cools. Otherwise, that's just more mass you've gotta try to keep at 98.6 all night (conductive heat loss, again).


How else do you avoid waking up to a solid block of ice instead of water?
Posted by ccard257
Fort Worth, TX
Member since Oct 2012
1464 posts
Posted on 1/5/25 at 2:34 pm to
Edit, misread your post.

I’ve never bothered to take the warm water bottle out. It’s starting well above the temperature of everything else in the bag and will simply cool to be at the same temperature as the rest of the inside of your bag. Not fall below it to something that you now have to bring back up.

To address a point earlier, you should be getting dressed inside of your bag. There is no need to get cold every morning To get dressed. You should already have a base layer on, maybe a mid as well. Pull on a layer on top of that And you should be able to crawl out of that thing plenty warm inside of a tent. About the only thing I ever put on fully outside of my bag is a shell layer and boots.
This post was edited on 1/5/25 at 3:02 pm
Posted by X123F45
Member since Apr 2015
29820 posts
Posted on 1/5/25 at 3:39 pm to
quote:

you should be getting dressed inside of your bag.


Tell me you're under a buck 60 without saying you're under a buck 60
Posted by awestruck
Member since Jan 2015
14592 posts
Posted on 1/5/25 at 5:50 pm to
quote:

Fire hazard
You dense. If I had a little buddy I'd be using my little buddy.

You smart enough to turn your bag out every morning?

Inside out to air dry... before fluffing up for round two?

It's an honest question.
Posted by j_f
NOLA
Member since Oct 2024
94 posts
Posted on 1/6/25 at 8:58 am to
You don't? Your campfire or stove will melt it pretty quickly. Just make sure to pour it into a pot/pan that you can toss on the fire in the AM. Also, as has been suggested by someone above, you can use a quality cooler to keep things from freezing overnight.
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