Tenting it in winter

[NathanJG]

HI
Just chasing ideas on how people keep warm while tenting in winter? We have self inflating mattrsses for ourselves and the kids have air mattresses. Would it help laying a blanket under the mattresses or on top of the mattresses? We will be camping in Cania Gorge with the posibilty of frosts. Yeah, I know, cazy for going camping.
Thanks for any help/ideas.

 

[Geoff3DMN]

We make sure to use good quality sleeping bags with a comfort rating of somewhere around -10C (make sure that the rating is stated as being the comfort rating).

Then we use 4WD sleeping matts which are about 100mm thick.

Then for really cold nights we keep a supply of heat patches, a couple of those will make you warm enough even on the coldest of nights.

It helps to wear thermals inside the sleeping bag as well.

 

[-JOSH-]

-5 or colder sleeping bags. I find it always best with layers. Blow up mattresses don't usually stop the cold coming through. So if you do throw something thick underneath the mattress you'll feel a fair bit of difference.

 

[tweak'e]

good sleeping bag is the best thing.
sqab/blanket to get you off the ground.
silk liner helps keep it clean and increase warmth.
DO NOT wear clothes. sleeping bags work by your body heating the sleeping bag. if your insulated you will not heat the bag up and you end up being colder.
maybe a blanket over the top, just to catch any moisture dripping down so the bag doesn't get wet and turn to ice in the bag.

frosts are nothing for any good sleeping bag.
i slept out in a small tent some years ago. my sleeping bag is not top end. in the morning i had a layer of ice on top and tent was frozen solid.
warm as toast.

 

[FatBoy89]

I'll be camping down mortgaging way this weekend it's supposed to be 2 degrees. Camp
Fire tent and extra blankets and sleeping bag

 

[qqc d22]

Layer the clothes thick and plenty of blankets. cania george is good cause you can have a fire so you have the ability to get molten hot before you hop in sleeping bag or under blankets. im in Bundy to went there a couple of winters ago it was good sleeped in swag with a doona in back of ute under a canopy was toasty all night. made sure i threw my swag beside the fire for a bit before i went to bed but

 

[rexxie]

We went camping last weekend down here in Tassie.....just had the fire going, ran a gas heater for a while in the camper trailer before we went to bed, kids had a sleeping bag and foam mattress and airbeds....no issues at all with being too cold.....i had my electric blanket on though mind you!

 

[nakedape]

Small tents are often warmer than big'ns ( less air to warm). Quality sleeping bag are a must (do not rely on the ratings on cheap bags, nor advice from places like anacoda - both will lie to get a sale). A thick foam matress or a quality hiking mat - I've snow camped on mine with top end bag & tent no probs (-15c overnight).

And squeeze everyone in as small as possible space. Stay positive - there is nothing as cold as negativity.

 

[fzrr]

I use an Exped Downmat 7 DLX while camping and it stops the cold coming up through the ground. Combine that with a -5C sleeping bag and silk liner and I haven't found anywhere in Australia where i've been cold yet.

They also make Synmats that are a synthetic insulation instead of down and are almost as good and a bit cheaper.

 

[Old.Tony]

When I was motorcycling and camping I'd use layers. On the floor of the tent I'd put a thermal sheet (like an emergency thermal blanket but sown into some heavier material). Above that, the air mattress, then my sleeping bag. I'd wear thermal underwear and close-fitting clothing.

Didn't matter where I stayed I'd be warm.

The LAST thing I'd do is consume the air inside the tent with a gas stove. That could be dangerous. Not as bad as the idiotic idea of upturning a pot on your stove in the caravan to turn it into a radiant heater while you sleep (how many of you can spell 'asphyxiation'?) but still some danger of carbon monoxide - it's a practice I'd try to avoid, even if it meant a beanie plus gloves for everyone.

 

[Nevyn]

I'm with Tweake on this one. I prefer to layer an extra sleeping bag on top and sleep in normal sleepwear for comfort. Try getting hold of some roof or wall sarking and putting it under your air bed or mattress (I've heard it works). Even if your sleeping bag has a hood you can't go wrong with a beanie.

Cheers Brad

 

[scottybobcat]

Yep throw a mat on the ground under the air bed.
Good sleeping bags, Kendall and I sleep in the roof top in underware because we have good sleeping bags and a down doona. Toastie as

 

[Bucktruck]

Rum!

 

[BravoBrad]

Stop the cold from underneath with a good self inflating mat. -10 sleeping bag and I never put anything on top of the sleeping bag. crushing the bag makes it less efficient.

If really cold, I set up a swag inside the tent. The canvas of the swag adds about 10 deg

The only prob with -10 nights, is you will be so hot, you wont want to get out of the swag in the morning.

 

[user 12270]

Like others, The blow up mattresses are no good for the cold, I have a 4x4 mat for Camping which does a good job. I also have a hiking one designed for the cold though you probably don't want to spend the cash.

Good quality down sleeping bag is the key, I have a really good one and never been cold, even in the Winter Alpine Open air (around -10).

Just on the sleeping bag thing, I read an interesting thing on the sleeping in sleeping bags as I always believed that sleeping with no clothes on is the way. The article in the latest 'Great Walks' Magazine is say's "A sleeping bag's ability to insulate is partially dependent on the amount of redundant air volume inside the bag.....The best way to fill it is with a sleeping sheet (mentions a brand and Price), so it's true to some extent that sleeping naked can feel warmer, on the condition you are in a sleeping sheet!". Also mentions that thermal underwear or lightweight fleece can help boost the bag as well as thermal or fleece sleeping bag liners (which i thought were the same as a sheet.

I use a liner as i believe it helps and also keeps the bag cleaner longer.

All the best with your trips.

 

[nakedape]

I use exped mats - they work but are expensive. Forget synthetic bags - go down & mummy bags are even warmer.

Quality thermals will keep you warmer in your bag but are not as effective as another body.

 

[superiorcruiser]

air mattresses are the worst thing you can sleep on to keep warm.
your body temperature can never heat up the cold air in the air mattress.
sleeping on a sponge mattress is way warmer,preferably in a swag...

 

[bullwinkle]

I've got a couple of pretty big sun shield thingys (that go inside the car windshield) which I intend to put under our swags, on top of the foam mats that join together. Hopefully this will stop the cold coming up into the swags on our trip into the Flinders Ranges in a couple of weeks.

 

[JAFO]

I still have and use my old faithfully Army Sleeping Bag, use a cheep self-inflpatable camp mat, but these days I not that keen on sleeping on the ground so use a camp stretcher in an OzTent. Have always sleept in just a T-shirt and underwear while camping, and if I get cold (below 0c or more) I just pull the bag up over my head and breath into my bag, which helps raise the temp in the bag, worked a treat during the past 3 week's Simpson desert trip where most nights were down around 0 degrees most nights.

 

[Old.Tony]

I can't tell whether I feel incredibly jealous, or dreadfully wary, of you guys that sleep with very little clothing on in a tent. Either you have marvellous bladder control, or you don't mind sleeping in it.

Personally, I rug up well, because I know without a doubt that at some point in the night, I have to get up, and there's no way I want to crawl out and freeze.