Camping in cold temperatures presents a whole set of complications that don’t exist in summer camping. It’s a good idea to plan ahead. A certain amount of preparedness and the right gear are prerequisites to having an enjoyable time on a camping trip in cold weather.
Clothing
The first item that will help you stay comfortable in cold conditions is the correct clothing. Proper clothing will not only help you feel comfortable but will also help you stay safe when it’s cold outside.
Base layer
The thermal underwear next to your skin or your base layer is a crucial component to staying warm and comfortable. Your base layer needs to be composed of a material that keeps you warm yet takes sweat moisture away from your skin.
Cotton clothing is a very poor choice. Avoid cotton for cold weather expeditions. Cotton fabric doesn’t draw the moisture away from your body like wool, and synthetic materials will but instead holds in next to your skin. Being wet in the extreme cold could have disastrous consequences, such as being a precursor to hypothermia.
Merino wool is best. It’s very insulating and yet wicks moisture away from your body very well. Wool fibers are hydrophilic. In other words, they attract water molecules. In fact, wool can absorb 30% of its weight in moisture and still feel dry to the touch. Not only does it wick the moisture away from your skin, but it releases it into the air as vapor. On the negative side, wool has a bad reputation for being scratchy. This isn’t so much so with merino wool. It’s the coarseness of the wool fibers that determine how itchy it will be. Merino fibers are longer and finer than any other wool.
Merino clothing is a little beyond the budget of some people. You might decide that going with merino is too pricey. If this is the case with you, there are alternatives made of synthetic materials that are almost as good. The materials in these are either polyester or polypropylene.
| Advantages | Disadvantages | |
| Merino Wool | *It’s lightweight *It’s soft *It does an excellent job of wicking moisture away from your skin. *It does not hold odors. | *It’s more expensive than synthetic materials *It’s not as durable as synthetic materials *Although it’s not as scratchy as other wools it still may irritate if you have sensitive skin. |
| Polypropylene | *It’s lightweight *It’s moisture-wicking | *Unlike merino wool, it tends to hold odors, so unless you don’t mind being smelly, you’ll need to rotate your polypropylene base layer more often. |
Insulating layer
The next layer of clothing out from the base layer that you’ll need is your insulating layer. The insulating layer is there to retain body heat. It should be lightweight enough not to make you sweat excessively and yet have sufficient insulating properties to trap heat from your body rather than allow it to escape from you.
Once again, the best clothes for the job are made out of wool. A wool sweater and pair of pants will have excellent insulating and moisture-wicking properties yet still be lightweight and comfortable. If the activity you’ll be performing won’t be too strenuous, a light-down jacket will do nicely as a substitute for the wool sweater. If you’re going to be doing a lot of physical activity, I’d opt for a merino wool sweater. The down parka will create more perspiration.
Once again, for those who don’t have the budget for merino clothing, there are synthetic alternatives that still do a pretty fair job while not quite as good as the best. Synthetic fleece is a less expensive alternative to wool.
Outer layer
Your outer layer of clothing needs to seal you off from the weather conditions. Depending on what you’re doing out there, you might be hiking through deep snow or even melting snow. Consequently, your outer layer needs to be not only insulated but also waterproof. There’s nothing worse than wet clothing to stop you from feeling comfortable. Not only that, but wet clothes are potentially deadly in extreme cold. If you can not, get in out of the elements. Your body temperature drops more rapidly when you are wet, and the effects of hypothermia set in when your temperature drops below 95 degrees F (35 degrees C)
To help keep you warm and dry, you should wear waterproof snow pants that are lined either with down or synthetic material. Down has the best insulating properties until it becomes wet. If, for some reason, the lining of your outer shell becomes wet, synthetic lining retains its insulating properties better than down.
You need a hooded waterproof parka on your upper half. Again, down is the best insulator. As such it is more expensive. Synthetic material runs a close second.
One last thing on your outer layer, all your openings need snugly fitting cuffs and or drawstrings to keep the snow and the cold air out.
Your feet
To stay comfortable in winter conditions, you need to keep your feet warm.
To keep your feet warm and dry, apply the same layering principle to them that we just went through for the rest of your body.
Your base layer sock needs to be warm, lightweight, and breathable. Just like with the rest of your body, avoid cotton socks. They don’t do a good job of wicking sweat moisture away from your skin. Instead, they soak up moisture leaving your feet clammy and cold. Lightweight merino wool socks are the best at keeping your feet comfortable and dry. There are also synthetic fiber alternatives out there that do passably well.
Again, just like with your legs and upper body, the next layer out from your base layer will be your insulating layer. The best choice for this is a pair of heavy wool socks. Since they won’t be right next to your skin, the itchiness factor isn’t as big a deal. Consequently, you don’t necessarily need to pay the extra money for merino wool. A cheaper grade of wool will do for these while still having excellent insulating properties.
Your boots are your outer layer. Your summertime hiking boots are not going to be adequate for cold season exploration. The best winter boots have a temperature rating, just like sleeping bags do. A temperature rating tells you the lowest temperature at which you can comfortably wear the boots.
If you’re only going to be in the snow, then Bogs or Muck boots will work great for you. However, if you’re going to be hiking over any type of rugged terrain, you’ll want boots with more durable soles than either Bog or Muck boots provide. The latter should be covered with a Gore-Tex or some comparable membrane and probably have some sort of removable liner.
Your hands
To keep your hands warm, employ the same layering technique we’ve been talking about to keep your feet and body warm.
First of all, start with a base layer. This base layer glove should be lightweight and warm while doing an excellent job of wicking moisture away from your skin. The two best choices are thin, lightweight merino wool or polypropylene glove liners. When conditions are extremely cold, some people wear plastic disposable kitchen gloves outside of these. They do this to retain body heat and keep it from leaving through their fingers.
For your insulating layer, choose heavy wool mittens. Mittens are superior to gloves because when you can keep your fingers together, they’ll stay warmer.
Your outer layer needs to be a lightweight waterproof mitten.
Your head
According to the British Medical Journal, we lose up to 10% of our body heat through our unprotected heads. Cover your head and ears with a woolen stocking cap. In extreme cold or weather conditions with high winds, you’ll want a stocking cap that you can pull down over your face and use as a ski mask or a balaclava. You can pick an excellent stocking cap/balaclava at your local army surplus store at a reasonable price.
Your outer shell parka should come equipped with a hood that you can use as a second layer over your stocking cap.
Be sure and bring a complete set of dry clothes. Wet clothing will not only make you have a miserable time, but they are also possibly deadly.
Camping gear
Your tent
If you’re camping near your vehicle or have a way to carry one, such as a packhorse, then a canvas wall tent equipped with a wood-burning stove and cots to sleep on is living in the lap of luxury.
However, if you cant afford the price of a canvas wall tent or if you’ll be packing your camp on your back, then you’ll want to opt for a 4-season tent. Tents are rated 1, 2, 3, or 4 season by their manufacturers to indicate how severe the weather is that they’re designed to stand up to.
A good 3-season tent is designed to stand up to moderately strong wind conditions and will get you through a moderately strong snowstorm. On the other hand, 4-season tents are designed to stand up to high winds and heavy snow. They also have a double layer of fabric for extra insulating power. The extra fab means excess weight on your back, though, so if the weather forecast doesn’t call for high winds or heavy snow, you might want to opt for a 3- season tent with some extra insulation.
To insulate your tent, you can use duct tape to stick an emergency blanket to your tent ceiling. Take care that you don’t cause extra condensation doing this, though. Your breath might condense on your tent ceiling and fall on you like rain.
You’ll also need to pack a folding shovel to remove the snow from the spot where you’ll pitch your tent and some sort of tent shadow to give you an extra barrier between your tent floor and the cold ground.
Your insulated sleeping pad
Before we talk about sleeping bags, let’s talk about sleeping pads. An insulated sleeping pad not only provides you with a cushion to lay on, but it also provides you with an additional layer between yourself and the frozen ground. A sleeping pad’s ability to insulate is measured in its R-value. R-value is a measure of how well a barrier, such as a layer of insulation, resists the conductive flow of heat.
The higher the R-value of a sleeping pad, the better its insulating properties are. For a good buffer between yourself and the frozen ground in winter conditions, choose a sleeping pad with an R-value of 6.5 or higher.
An air mattress
An air mattress it will give you a layer of warm air between yourself and the cold ground. If you use one, you’ll still want to use an insulated sleeping pad. Put the air mattress down first, then your sleeping pad, then place your sleeping bag on top.
There are a couple of different brands of self inflating air mattresses out there.
Your sleeping bag
A good wintertime sleeping bag will cost some extra dollars. Consequently, you need to understand sleeping bag ratings before you go out and buy one. You want to make sure you purchase a bag rated for the kind of conditions you’ll be experiencing.
In the U.S, some companies still use their own in-house rating system. In this scenario, the bag will be rated to the minimum temperature that will still be useful in keeping you warm. For instance, a bag that is rated to -30 should be effective in keeping you warm down to -30 degrees Fahrenheit or -34.44 degrees Celsius.
Some American sleeping bag manufacturers have adopted the same rating standard that they use in Europe. I’ll explain how it works below.
In 2005 the European norm or “EN” was formalized to give the public a uniform standard to compare bags from different manufacturers. In 2017 “EN” ratings were updated to ISO (International Organization for Standardization) ratings. Both systems are similar. Here’s how they work.
Both EN and ISO tests use a heated mannequin wearing long underwear and a hat. The sleeping bag is on a closed-cell foam pad. There are four EN ratings.
- EN Upper Limit: is the air temperature at which an average male can sleep without excessive perspiration.
- EN Comfort: is the air temperature at which an average woman can sleep comfortably through the night. This rating makes the assumption that women are cold sleepers.
- EN Lower Limit: is the temperature at which an average male can sleep for eight hours in a fetal position without waking
- EN Extreme: This is the temperature that an average woman can remain six hours without risking hyperthermia. Source
ISO ratings are as follows. The ISO comfort rating is the minimum temperature at which cold sleepers can sleep comfortably through the night. And ISO limit is the maximum limit that warm sleepers can sleep comfortably through the night.
It’s a good rule of thumb to buy a sleeping bag rated 10 degrees colder on the lower range than the lowest temperature you expect to encounter.
An additional tip here is don’t go to bed cold. Winter sleeping bags don’t create heat. They keep heat in. If you feel chilled before you go to bed, move around, do some calisthenics, or whatever it takes to generate some heat then go to bed.
Propane tent heaters
Propane tent heaters are safe to use as long as you completely follow all the directions. However small it might be, there is always a danger of carbon monoxide poisoning when using one of these. If you judge that the added warmth is worth the added risk, be very vigilant about following instructions and keep a CO. detector on hand.
Various winter gear items that you’ll need to bring along
- Bring plenty of high calorie high fat food, for example peanut butter is not only dense in proteins but also dense in fats. Your body needs to metabolize fats to generate heat. Another good example is trail mix with plenty of nuts and M&Ms . Again remember you need to burn calories to fuel your onboard heater.
- Waterproof matches and fire starter.
- A sleeping bag liner
- Plenty of drinking water in containers that are insolated from the cold. It’s important to stay hydrated even though you don’t feel you need as much water in the cold. Here’s a tip on this. Store your drinking water containers upside down to keep their openings free from ice. Ice forms from the top down.
- Propane stove
- Firewood
- A container to boil water in.
- Hot chocolate. Drinking plenty of warm drinks will help to elevate your core temperature.
- Hot water bottle. Your hot water bottle shouldn’t have any leaks because its intended to put in your sleeping bag with you for extra warmth.
- Water bottle. This one is for drinking water and should be insolated so that it wont freeze. Keep this with you in your tent so that you can stay hydrated.
- Pee bottle. It takes extra energy to hold your pee at night because you don’t want to go out in the cold. You have to burn calories to keep that urine warm. You need to get rid of it! If you keep a pee bottle in your tent with you, you wont have to hold it. Just make sure it has a secure sealable lid. It wont make for pleasant sleeping if your tent smells like a latrine.
- A bag to put your cellphone in. You will want to keep you cellphone in your sleeping bag with you to conserve its battery. You will want to keep a small bag with you at night to put items in that you don’t want to keep out in the cold.
- Extra fuel. Bring extra fuel for your propane stove and/or heater. Its better to have extra than not enough.
- Hand warmers.
- A face mask to sleep with. If you wear a ski mask or a balaclava to bed it will keep you from being tempted to bury your face inside your sleeping bag. Breathing inside your sleeping bag will create wet condensation.
Final thoughts
Cold season camping can be just as enjoyable as summertime camping with the right preparation done in advance. Go and enjoy the great outdoors in any season.
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