UKC

hi all.
I've never camped in winter before, so I want to hear from all that have.

I would be tenting
so what range sleeping bag should I get?
where should I go etc etc...

In reply to Ban1:

Get a two man tent and two companions and always sleep in the middle to get their body heat. Does mean who spoons who keeps changing as you turn over but is nice and warm.

In reply to Ban1:

Ensure you get a decent sleeping mat. Most body heat is lost to the ground. Something R>/=5 should suffice, unless you're going somewhere really cold!

In reply to Ban1:

Make sure you go with someone you,'d be happy marrying. You'll be in close, very close company for many hours.

In reply to Ban1:
I do all my mountaineering with a tent or bivi bag as I refuse to stay in huts I like it spartan!

I have a ME Glacier 750 (you can look up the temp range on their website) which has done me well down to minus 20, though after a long day on the mountain I sometimes need to wear my belay jacket inside. Though this is with a light foam sleeping mat for weight reasons so if you're just camping you can get a better mat and skip the belay jacket (though best to have one as a backup anyway).

As for where to go... Scotland is the easiest as its legal there, though I have done it in Wales with no problem if you stay out of sight and don't leave evidence afterwards.

I always use a petrol stove (MSR dragonfly) as these work in any temp. Just don't expect to cook gourmet food on them - they have a tendency to weld things to pans. I find Be-Well (or Be-Good? Can't remember) freeze dried meals are very tasty and just need hot water, while being very light. Also if using a petrol stove, make sure it has a windshield and base so it doesn't melt into the snow.

Finally, take a range of tent pegs - I keep a full set of strong Y or V pegs which work in neve (and softish snow when doubled up in an inverted V) along with 6-8 snow stakes for softer snow. If you're not worries about weight it can also be worth taking a shovel to level the snow and create wind barriers for cooking, but personally I never have.

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In reply to Ban1:

Alternatively, get yourself a kit sled and go hot-tenting http://wintertrekking.com/equipment/hot-tenting/

In reply to Ban1:

take a J cloth-the inside of the tent will get wet whatever you do so the cloth is handy for wiping down surfaces. (J cloth can also double for strip washing-the scuzzy feeling of even a few days without a proper bath is a real downer). Don't cook inside a sealed tent unless you want a quick death from carbon monoxide poisoning. Make sure to roll up your sleeping bag each morning as soon as you get out of it-this expels the moisture leaden air (sweat) which will otherwise condense on the inside of the bag, making it much less efficient over time due to wetness. Get your self a wide mouth pee bottle and make sure to go for a piss before turning in other wise you will waste valuable energy keeping piss warm-not a smart move. A portable personal radio for those tent bound days is pretty handy as well.

In reply to crayefish:

In the absence of specialised pegs and stakes.

If the snow is really fluffy and unconsolidated, you can use old placcy shopping bags. Fill with snow, compress, wrap the guy line around it and then bury, or at least pack in some ground snow around it (ie ground anchor principle).
Needs to be cold though, otherwise your connection to mother Earth could disappear in the night.

In reply to sbc_10:

Very true! Never hurts to have bags with you anyway for keeping clean socks dry and smelly socks from turning your pack into a festering shitheap (or is that just my feet? lol).

In reply to Ban1:




Go into WH Smith and have a look at page 71 of January 2014 TGO magazine.
There's 10 very practical bits of advice from Chris Townsend.

In reply to Ban1:

The assumption seems to be you are a backpacker but if instead you are camping out of the back of a car a couple of things spring to mind

sounds a bit odd but take a couple of tents, a large cheap one for general living when weather is gentle and a small mountain tent for real winter weather

buy some groundhog pegs they are 9 inches long and as thick as 6 inch nails they can be eased in passed any obstruction with a claw hammer - they don't come out

good mat

In reply to Ban1:

great replys to answer a few.
It would be myself and my wife. normally I have just cooked on the cheap butane stoves.
never used a floor mat as we have always slept on a double blow up mattress(I know not really Spartan).

so if I get a decent mat I should be set.
what about sleeping bags as my is only 2 season.(too warm in the summer as we zip them together)

In reply to Ban1:

How high/cold will you be sleeping? If anywhere above the snow line a quality 4 season should see you OK (nothing worse than shivering all night). You might want to couple this with a silk/ fleece liner to keep the bag clean and give a little extra insulation.

In reply to Ban1:
How cold do you sleep? That's the biggie really. I'm skinny and cold, and WRT the latter, worse when I sleep. Once you have a good enough mat, what you need is dependent upon this factor.

In reply to Ban1:






Some people use synthetic fill bags others use down both have their good and bad points. Down is light compresses better than synthetics and weighs less than an equivalent minus factor bag in synthetic, downside (oooh) is it is pretty useless when wet.

Synthetics perform better when wet however they are heavier, bigger packed size, plus the performance of the fill doesn't last as long as down.

Some people combine bags for winter, one medium weight down with a similar weight synthetic so if you do get wet you still have some warmth, if you are big then you might have problems getting yourself and another bag inside another, but the likes of PHD make combo bags.

I mainly use a Cumulus down bag rated at -18 for winter and a lighter one in summer but I usually end up with some layers or a jacket on inside it depending on conditions, I also have some down socks which keep my feet toasty however after two or three days I am usually looking for somewhere to dry damp stuff out due to condensation and gear getting wet on the hill from sweat.

In reply to Ban1:

If you can avoid having to melt snow for water, then do so - it takes quite a bit of fuel and though it's a fun experience the first time, it's actually a lot less hassle (and fuel) to find an actual water source.

Go camping anywhere! The same sorts of places you'd go wildcamping in summer might be just as good in winter. My first winter wildcamp I went somewhere just over an hour's walk from the car just in case I needed to retreat!

In reply to Ban1:

if you are genuinely wild camping (rather than the back of a car on a campsite) take some time to find a suitable site-you will be spending a long time lying down on the ground so it's worth avoiding uneven/lumpy/sloping ground. The only way the really check is to actually lie down on the proposed
site, which feels fairly stupid fully clothed, but never mind you won't regret time spent on this. Speaking of time, if you are back packing make sure to stop at least half an hour before sunset to give yourself enough daylight to find a suitable site. If the only site you can find is sloping then sleep with your feet pointing up hill otherwise you will spend the whole night slowly slipping downwards, which is not conducive to sleep.

In reply to Garbhanach:

My post should have read a Cumulus Prime rated -12

In reply to Ban1:

The posts that mention snow are a bit optimistic. I think your biggest problems may be wind, rain, and long nights.

In reply to Phil1919:

myself and my wife have figured out how to speed up long winter nights.
I think it will be the wet and windy days like you say.

so do you think the double air mattress will provide enough insulation or should I get a mat aswell

In reply to Ban1:

Air mat will be cold, you need additional insulation

In reply to Ban1:

+1 on the additional insulation standard airmats are not v warm

In reply to Ban1:

Standard air beds (as I learnt to my discomfort one cold week in Font) don't really insulate - they are large enough that convection transports heat efficiently within them, and they have a large surface area in contact with the cold ground. The end result is that they get cold and stay cold. They are comfy though; combine with a suitable insulating mat (just a foam one will help dramatically). Put it between you and the airbed rather than trying to insulate under the airbed (that way you are insulating a smaller surface area).

In reply to Removed Userena sharples:

You sleep feet uphill on a slope? Strange! I could never sleep like that with your head butting up against the tent wall and all the blood rushing to it. I can only sleep head uphill... way more natural.

In reply to crayefish:

each to there own.

In reply to crayefish:

A little bit off-topic, but what kind of tent is that? It is not advertised in Marmot page at the moment.

In reply to Ban1:

If you are car camping get some tent underlay (needle sports) makes a big difference to the warmth of the tent.

Whilst whisky is traditional, a glass of port at bed time goes down very well...

In reply to PPP:


Yeah it was hard to get (its a Home Alone bivi). The UK version (despite what Likes show on their website) only has a single hoop but I think the double is much better. I spoke to Marmot directly and they managed to sort me out with a staff-used item. Personally I think at 800g, with eVent, it is the best bivi bag around. Worth getting from America if Marmot can't get you one directly.