Camping in Alaska here, plenty of winter camping. Here's my thoughts. Camp site is important. You want to be on the side of a hill but with as much coverage as possible. Put a boulder between you and the wind direction and one between you and the nearest peak to protect from avalanches at night. Clothing layers is important. Keep yourself slightly cold. Better to feel a little bite of cold than to sweat a drop. I bring totally separate clothes for sleeping, I use under armor base 2s for sleeping. I strip naked and jump into the bag and put the base layers on inside. Hot coco is very important on winter trips. Camp in your back yard is a good suggestion. Definitely get a bigger bag than you and make it warmer than you will ever see. Next mornings clothes go in my footbox. Pre fluff your bag before sleeping. Hot water bottle prewarm the bag. Next morning I like to let the body moisturizer frost off and wipe it clean before packing it away. If your feet are cold put a hat on. I prefer fleece beenies to wool, but definitely wool socks. Warm hands you need inner gloves and mittons. No two ways around it. So much better than gloves. Ski mask for sleeping in the winter. Hand warmers actually suck, they only work when they are already hot. Throw a unopened pack in the freezer then try to get it to heat up, you will see what I mean. Fuel ones are better but the best trick is a USB battery pack heated vest. Mine will heat on low for 7+ hours and high for around 3. I really just use it for taking the chill off so a battery lasts me about a whole day. It's dark winter camping here, but I don't think daylight would heat a tent. I always gotta pee in the night, I bring a pee bottle. I'm a dude so simply lemonade bottle is curved nicely so you can pee on your side without leaking inside your bag. Bring sunglasses if your going into a winter wonderland, polarized. It's very nice for wind and bright white eyestrain. Emergency blanket sucks, crinkles all night and your pad slides off. I bring cardboard to throw under my R5 inflatable sleeping pad. Nothing fancy just left over boxes from Costco flattened and overlapped. I've successfully slept in -20 on snow that was at least 7ft deep using this with my western mountaineering bristlecone. Some things you didn't mention that might help others. If your sleeping on top deep snow make sure you pack it down using your snow shoes really good. Usually this will give you a 1.5ft ditch to help with wind and keep you from waking up under your tent. Your two biggest enemies in the winter camp are wind and moisture in that order. Have gear that will stop the wind. Both clothes and shelter. Don't get wet and have enough venting in your tent your breath doesn't soak you at night. I use a black diamond mega mid which is a floorless tipi. And always be prepared to self rescue, camping in the winter is very enjoyable but it's not as forgiving of mistakes as summer camping is.
I freaking LOVE hiking in the cold! The crispness of the air, the cold on my cheeks...the absolute lack of other humans around because they hate the cold....it's magical magicness!
Bahahahaha this too is why I backpack solo in the winter. Not one soul on the trail or in the backcountry. And if i do happen upon someone else I’m sure they’re thinking the same shit I am; “this person is nuts. Not someone to mess with”. Lol
I love winter car camping, and going on day hikes from my basecamp, but backpacking in the snow is honestly a chore. To pack enough clothes to keep you warm and dry, you need a lot of down ($$$) and no way I’m sitting in front of a fire burning holes in my expensive gear, so instead I end up in my sleeping bag as soon as it’s dark. The fun of winter camping is all about the bonfires, booze, and hearty foods like chili, all of which are incompatible with camping out of a backpack for me. If I want to do a snowy overnight in the backcountry, I prefer pulling my gear on a sled (aka pulk), but then you’re limited to pretty flat terrain. Depending on what part of the country you’re in, that can be a fun way to cross frozen lakes and camp on islands you’d normally need a boat to get to.
My two cents on this is, if you're going out in the cold, make sure it's really cold. There's nothing worse than the slush zone a few degrees either side of the freezing point. Proper cold is fun. Snow becomes an insulater and a desiccant. As long as you're dry and prepared, winter is great.
Agreed, cold can be prepared for and one can wear warm clothes. Cold and wet is miserable. One get cold so, you wear warm clothes. Then you sweat and cold. Then you can’t get warm. Walking through wet bogs, stream trails, wet weeds, all are miserable.
Air holds more moisure when it's warm. Just above freezing is, perhaps, the most uncomfortable temperature in wet weather. Freezing rain is very hazardous to hike and climb in. Slightly colder weather will give you snow, which doesn't soak through your (hypothetically) waterproof raingear as quickly as liquid precipitation. In the teens (Fahrenheit) and below, you had better be equipped and prepared to use your equipment properly.
@@chipblanc6037 Why do some people have the annoying habit of stating the obvious in a way that screams, "Look at me! I'm a good, sensitive person, and nobody else is as nice as me!"? Everyone knows what opinions are. Now quit bothering people.
Plan your evaporation carefully. Before you stop, while you are very warm/hot and still hiking, take off damp payers BEFORE you stop, hang to dry out on top of your backpack then carry on moving. Continue on hiking while-under clothed to force evaporate the moisture off your body. You can tolerate this cool down while in motion, pay attention to become dry & not become chilled. Then when you stop immediately take off your next to skin layer if it is still damp and hang it, stand around a bit to dry further, and put on a fresh dry layer. Hang the wet layer to dry. If you've been keeping your calories up you won't get chilled. The point here is evaporative drying is key. Do not put a dry layer on over wet clothes that are next to your body unless you are forced to by the weather, that is dumb and ruins the R value of your layers. When you stop, take off the wet layers, and put on dry socks, but only after giving your bare feet time to dry. A necktube is important, and makes a good hat because the top is open for evaporation. However a proper winter facemask is made of thin neoprene and usually sold for skiing, with a shaped area with hole for your nose and small holes for your mouth. They add the warmth of a proper hat because they will preheat your breath. They can be worn tight against the elements if it's sleeting etc. or very loose to hang in front of your face and just warm your breath, they make a HUGE difference. MSR makes a super rugged water bag with a wide mouth that is designed for their gravity filter system, and it can be filled with hot water for your sleeping bag and will not leak.
Lots of great advice there! Putting on a layer as soon as you stop makes a huge difference. Our guides pretty much insisted on that during the Mount Rainier climb, and it didn't take long for everyone to habituate to it, because it worked so well. As soon as you stop, you throw on your down puffy, and THEN take a break and grab a snack, water, etc. I did one winter trip where I actually forgot my 2nd layer, which I discovered when I got into my tent and was all ready to change. It was not a pleasant experience, though running my stove in the vestibule because of how heavily it was snowing ended up helping, because it took just a couple of seconds to warm the tent up, which ended up drying out my shirt in just a few minutes. Changing to a drier layer is definitely better though :) A lot of winter newbies using winter tents button the tent down at night in an effort to hold warmth in, which is actually not the best way to go about it. That does hold in some warmth, but it also leads to a lot more condensation, which will ruin your insulation, so counter intuitively, ventilation is actually more important than insulation on the tent end of things. The trick is to keep the draft off of you, because that will draw heat away from you rapidly, and that's the big advantage in a double wall winter tent; they allow you to configure the ventilation to match the conditions. Thanks for continuing to share your and your community's knowledge :)
Remember to put sun-block under your nose and under chin. Snow is very reflective (as is sand) and you can easily burn there. Once I slept in a record cold of minus 20 and my cold face was the only thing keeping me awake, I used a bandana across my mouth and nose to have a tiny bit of warmth without breathing into the 5 degree Marmot gortex covered sleeping bag. Go to bed warm. The extra 5 ounces of a Nalgene is absolutely worth it. It is tight, safe with really hot water and unbreakable.
My experience with emergency blankets, they work great for reflecting/ storing convection heat. Not so great for protection from conduction. Meaning wrapping up with it in a seated/ squatted position would be effective. Laying on it, it tends to conduct your heat to the ground and conduct the cold from the ground to you. Hand warmers/ toe warmers/ body warmers are excellent. As is wool. Survived being stranded in my truck during a snow storm with little more than a wool blanket and a couple of hand warmers in -25 degree weather -40 with wind-chill.
A good overview. A few decades ago, my guy hiking partner, originally from Wisconsin and then like me, relocated to Wyoming had a mutual mantra on winter backpacking. Roughly it went it would be cheaper for us to head to California or Arizona than fully kit up for winter Wyoming and Montana. A few years later, we were doing both. Yes, the pine forests of Southern Arizona can be snowy and cold in the Spring. My best winter tip, from winter in the Central Rockies, is a good wind shell and light ski gloves, to keep the warmth stripping breezes at bay without overheating. Pee bottles rule! Make sure they are right sized. Nothing like straddling your $600 arctic WM bag and panicking about not have enough room in that bottle.
Mainer here - winter hiking/backpacking is the best! No bugs LOL. Wildlife is often easier to approach in winter because the snow muffles a lot of “human” sounds. Snowshoes will let you go places you’d never be able to without them, and there’s really no learning curve to use them. Buy a roll of foil-covered bubble wrap insulation and make a liner for your tent floor. I cut a 4’x7’ piece, cut it down the middle, taped all the edges and taped 2 long edges together so it folds and rolls for carrying.
A good list of usefull tips. As Norwegian this is second nature and something we learn from we are kids, so we are lucky. You mention this and I just would like to stress the fact of staying dry and not sweat to much, wear thin layrs and changing into dry wool when going to sleep. Remember the snow is wet from 0 to - 10 celcius, if cooler then - 10 the snow goes dry. Which is much better.
I swear by my balaclavas. I have several, and my favorite one is the Nomex® CVC balaclava that I managed to hold on to after ETSing from being a tanker in the Army. It's a bit heavy for the desert most of the time, but it absolutely saved my skin during those brutal cold winter field training exercises in Germany. It's a great choice for wear in the sleeping bag, too, because it allows you to stick your head out to the open air but stay warm.
@@philsmith2444 True that! My last winter there (JAN-FEB 1989) we did a gunnery then road march straight to Hohenfels, and it was so effing cold … that balaclava was basically my last line of defense against the wind on that road march, during which IIRC the daily high was 24° F with light snow showers and a thick overcast. It sucked. 🥶
Yes! Listen to these guys Dixie. Mil gear as heavy as it is, is there for a reason, in deadly cold. If you can't handle the weight, stay home by the 🔥🙂.
im in colorado... spring is loaded with ice and summer is full of texans and other tourists. ill take negative temps any damn day over crowded trailheads and forest fires... also..when layering, make sure you start off cold, dont put on clothing to warm up to how it feels when you're stationary. you want to avoid sweating at all costs. lastly...merino wool, merino wool, merino wool. its the goldilocks of layers, at least for me. minus 33 makes great beanies and shirts and gloves out of merino
Timing is everything in the cold. Getting to camp and setting up and cooking dinner before sundown means your hands are warm enough to function when you need them most. Although a hot breakfast is a moral booster, mornings are the coldest part of the day. So I pre-pack as. much as I can the night before, break camp as quickly as I can and eat a snack in the morning. Once you get moving you warm up and it warms up from the sun coming up, I stop and make oatmeal and coffee and such as a second breakfast or I eat my large meal around mid-day when it’s warmer. Protecting batteries from the cold is important as the cold can decrease capacity. I put them in my puffy pockets. Both your battery bank and your devices warm up when they are charging/discharging, so if you put your device in one pocket and your battery bank in the other, you get two free hand-warmers while they charge. I access my phone a lot for navigation and photos and I’ve found touch-capable gloves don’t work consistently. What I do is wear a normal glove on my sub-dominate hand, and a fingerless flip-top mitten on my dominant hand. This way I don’t have to remove gloves to work devices or otherwise use my fingers.
One suggestion for down bootie substitutes ... Dutchware Gear makes synthetic insulation booties with Up insulation. I have a pair and they're great. If your feet get cold at night and down isn't an option, this is a really good alternative.
Yes! We have some synthetic fill booties and they're a life saver. Some manufacturers also make versions with soft soles which would be more suitable for wearing inside a sleeping bag.
I keep my puffy in a separate, waterproof stuffsack right at the top of my pack so I don't have to fumble for it at breaks. Unlike many, I don't start hiking cold, because I don't warm up very fast if I do that, and hiking while freezing sucks. I start warm, and plan a break not too far into my day to remove layers and tighten shoelaces. I use a down miniskirt to keep my butt warm when hiking. I bought a small fleece blanket (child or pet sized) and put a slit in the middle, then wore it as a sarape. When I'm cold I pull the corners down to my hands and tuck the loose edges in. When I'm warm, I push it up around my neck, or pull it off and stuff it in the side pocket of my pack. I modified some dyneema hammock sacks (open on each end) with velcro to attach to my trekking poles handles, so I can stick my hands in them for precip and wind protection. A hot water bottle Nalgene is totally worth the weight - the softer, translucent white ones are lighter but I don't know if they still make them. The hot water bottle is cozy plus it guarantees at least one bottle of unfrozen water in the morning. Bring extra ziplocks or stuffsacks to put wet or gross things into so you can bring them in the bag with you - and make sure your winter bag has enough room to bring things in with you. Better to start the day with pants, socks, and shoes that aren't frozen stiff. If you can, dry things out with your body heat - put your dry clothes on, then your rain gear, then your wet clothes over top. But don't bring too much of that wet stuff in the bag if it's sopping - put it in ziplocks first. Canisters for stove fuel are doable as long as you warm them thoroughly before use. My experience with headlamps is new batteries die in under an hour in the cold, so no night hiking when it's really cold. I carry extra gloves for when mine inevitably get wet. If it's snowing, an umbrella keeps the snow off your shoulders and as a result makes for much warmer hiking. Lastly, I carry so much down for in camp - my sleeping bag, a summer weight quilt as a liner, down pants, down jacket, down booties. It's more bulk in the pack than it is weight, but even if it were heavy, the extra warmth of down (or down alternative) in camp is priceless.
@@CoffeeKillersClub I should have said I start warmly dressed. The transition from warm in sleeping bag to ready to hike does not usually leave me very warm.
One December night, when it got down to about 10 degrees, I pulled my sleeping bag hood tight around my face, with only my nose poking out. When I awoke in the morning, and had to pee so bad it hurt, my sleeping bag's zipper was frozen solid with a chunk of ice from my warm breath. I had to chew the ice off the zipper to get free. All the while thinking that it was possible I might have to sleep in a wet bag that night.
It's been decades since I winter camped in northern Minnesota, but I remember we relied heavily on the snow to shelter us from the worst of the cold, and we consumed about 4000 Calories a day. Your body needs a lot of calories to keep warm in cold conditions.
One rock little bigger than a soft ball, one page of Newspaper, and wrap, clean, will never leak and last longer. I would never put water in my bag, think you're the same. Im looking at the Torid Jacket by Enlightnemnet Equipment my REI 650 flash is no good below 50 is that Torid warm?
We only hike in the fall and winter. Hate spring and summer hiking. Don’t like snakes, bugs and humidity. Lol We kayak during the spring and summer. We are day hikes only also.
Dixie hiked the PCT in the biggest snow year on record, on mountains of ice and snow on the AT and CDT, and in the most brutal conditions in Iceland. I'm not sure how much more experienced you need to be.
Lots of people do things incorrectly over & over all the time, just look around the gym, or any workplace, or when you are out hiking. She's not managing sweat particularly well here, she uses two poles all the time when one would be better ie she's basically carrying them for no reason. Everybody learns from everyone else, but not unless you are open to learning, as she is.
Highly recommend getting the light version of the nalgene (3 oz instead of 6 oz) for the hot water bottle trick. To me, 3 oz is well worth it to ensure I WILL be warm and cozy no matter what at night. It works just as well as the regular nalgene with hot water, and you’ll have thawed water ready to heat or drink in the morning :)
Great tip! The 3oz is lighter. I haven't tried the warm Nalgene trick. I'm so worried it might spill, but I hear about the Nalgene trick all the time. I've opted for getting a really warm sleeping bag. So far, I've enjoyed my warm sleeping bag without needing any other methods. Thanks for your tip. I will try someday.
The "getting up to pee at night" thing really depends on the type of sleeper you are. If you're a deep sleeper who falls asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow, sure, get up, pee and go back to bed. But if you're like me and get up at the middle of the night to go out in the cold to pee, you won't be falling back asleep for a good hour or two because once you're awake, you're AWAKE. So in that case, don't drink too much water before going to bed, don't drink alcohol (it's a diuretic) and pee right before going to bed even if you don't "feel like it." Also, emergency blankets don't "add" any R-value as the R-value is an insulation index and emergency blankets have near 0 insulation capabilities, they work by reflecting heat via radiation, whereas sleeping bags and pads stop the heat from escaping by inhibiting conduction and convection. What emergency blankets DO insulate against is moisture: they trap all the moisture that condenses on their surface as they're completely impermeable. I'd really only recommend emergency blankets in... well, emergencies.
I agree about emergency blankets as part of a stack (and BTW, also an aluminum surface of a foam pad) - they do not contribute to thermal resistance ("R value"). Even the heat radiation reflection makes no sense as long as they are between two layers of only slightly different temperature. - In the real emergency application when there is no other insulating layer they help against convection and especially wind, and may help against radiation loss especially in a clear night with a radiation-cold sky. - But another, and maybe the main reason for their aluminum layer is protection against the sun heat for people suffering from a heat stroke.
Yes ! emergency blankets for emergencies ! particularly the bags, in just a few minutes you will start to sweat,which you don’t want. You can be cold to the bone and shivering! Also you can’t really re-pack the things so they’ll be a nuisance ! Yes, I always have one with me, and I don’t ever want to unpack the thing.
@@CrimeVid yeah, they're meant to be used on someone who's rapidly losing body temperature (severe hemorrhage or blunt force trauma significantly reduces the body's ability to regulate its temperature) while rescue arrives. A healthy body produces way too much moisture for them to be a viable option for sleeping gear. I think every (and I mean EVERY) hiker and even driver should carry one in their trauma kit but they're really only for emergencies.
Dear Dixie, this is for feet but the principal can apply to your hands as well. Start with insulated, waterproof boots that are a size too big for you to create internal space. Pull on a thin pair of merino wool socks and then pull on a gallon sized ziplock freezer bag. Pull on a fluffy pair of merino wool socks over the freezer bag, and finally, some darn tough socks over this. Then put your boots on. What will happen is that the freezer bags over your feet will create a moisture barrier, trapping any sweat moisture within the first thin marine wool socks. This will keep the fluffy merino wool socks and the darn tough socks and the inside of your boots bone dry. This dryness plus the effects of the multiple layers of insulation will keep your feet nice and warm in even the coldest climate. The same principle applies to your hands. Thin merino wool gloves covered by a thin waterproof glove and then an outer fluffy merino wool glove will create a moisture barrier helping your hands stay warm. Applying an outer glove over this that is windproof and waterproof will absolutely do the trick in even the harshest conditions. Your head needs a nice thick wool balaclava that pulls down to cover your neck covered by a wool beanie and then (with a face covering of choice) covered by the hood of your outer jacket and a pair of ski goggles for your eyes. Always protect your eyes from the sun in whiteout conditions. I hope this helps, a Norwegian friend taught me this!
Thanks, CS! A friend gets upset when I talk about putting plastic bags on feet, but you are right about putting the bag on your base pair. Feet stop perspiring when the humidity gets high, it doesn't get clammy. My final touch, a set of Arctic Shield boot covers. Infrared reflective, hunters wear them in tree stands. I tried a lot of things, feet stay toasty now. They make a whole outfit, start with the boot covers, great with snowshoes.
Of course, it's always smart to do numerous dry runs (cold runs) at home before you head for the wild white yonder. I can't tell you how many attempts it took me before I was comfortable sleeping in cold winter weather in my hammock, despite thinking my underquilt, down quilt, warm wool socks, etc were supposed to mitigate the cold temperature. You ain't lived until you sleep outside your home in freezing temperatures! But no one talks about your face getting cold, wearing an appropriate mask to sleep comfortably, etc. (thick wool balaclava and a Marino Buff). Even still, just like being in a cold swimming pool after a few hours, you definitely have the urge to pee. So by all means do lower extremity exercises (run in place) before turning in to warm up your quads and feet. And it's not a bad idea to put a hot water bottle between your thighs by your crotch when you turn in, which will transfer heat to your femoral arteries and core (I love a single layer 17 ounce stainless steel water bottle which you can also put in the fire to warm it up). Even still, having something like a pair of LoftTek™Hybrid Booties on your feet is heavenly. Or if all else fails, grab some smooth hot rocks from the fire! Bottom line, learn your solutions/secrets BEFORE mother nature has her way with you!
Dixie, lots of a great tips! Many of which I have used and continue to use during cold weather camping. Coming from a cold weather area of the country and spending a lot of time in the outdoors during the winter months I can say that many of your tips have helped me stay warm and comfortable. For sleeping attire when camping I change into dry clothing. Usually a fleece like pajama bottom, polypropylene t-shirt, fleece shirt, fleece balaclava, and a heavy pair of wool socks (I have some super plush/heavy wool socks from Redhead). I find this combination seems to work great for me and has kept me warm when the temps dip down into the single digits. I've heard some swear that a down booty worn over your sleeping socks is the only way to go when getting warm and cozy for the night, but I haven't tried those yet. As for hands though? I have found that multiple layers of gloves don't work for me and have tried all sorts of things. Even wool gloves inside a waterproof (rubber) glove have failed me while ice fishing on the Canadian border. The best options I have found for warm hands in those conditions, and I've been out there during temps of -25F, are mittens. There are cons to this approach if you are doing tasks that require finger dexterity though. I've recently purchased a pair of gloves designed for ice fishing, but do not have sufficient experience with them in those (ice fishing) conditions to say much about them. These gloves are called "Ice Armor by Clam". They are insulated waterproof gloves, but do not rely on rubber for waterproofing. I have worn them while operating my snow blower during snow removal and they have been fantastic in that role as the blown snow tends to get all over my hands and arms while operating the machine. Another option that works for me is a wool glove worn inside military surplus arctic mittens, but that might be a difficult combo for most to locate. With that combo I can slip my gloved hand out of the arctic mitten for finger dexterity and then slide them back inside the mitten shell for warmth. Good combo. As for my feet in the cold... I've tried many things through the years and have found that a good pair of wool socks inside a properly fitting pair of boots that are loosely tied keep my feet the warmest when I'm not moving. Not much of an issue while on the move, but once at camp and not moving around much I'd suggest changing into dry socks and loosening the laces on your footwear if you are prone to cold feet. I have other options for cold feet issues, but none of them would be much use while hiking. Those solutions are more for sedentary outdoor activities during cold weather. Suffice it to say I've not had issues staying warm in the outdoors when on the move. It's when I stop moving that I get cold and I'm sure it's the same for everyone else. Finding that combination of gear that works for hiking, but also keeps you warm when at camp can be tough.
Look at my 11 tip winter sleep video, i been winter sleeping for 39 years. Down to -35 Celcius too without a fire. But here is basically what i do no matter if i have a fire or a nalgene in winter time. An you have to remember is all about micro temperature climate, and air flow of your body core heat: Golden Rule nr. 1: Aclima or Brynje Nett first as a first thin layer!!! THEN a Merino wool or polytester or combine blend. THIS IS THIN baselayers (this is what the norwegian armed forces uses and are thought by expert and scientist, even american soldiers fly overseas to get same winter training). Its not a matter of warm or cold sleeper, rather how your blood floods through your vains, that creates warmth. And guess what Earthing, barefoot and even Zero dropp training shoes will improve your blood circulation as well as eating healthy. (this is however a newer revelation, not from the armed forces) 2. A simple merino wool beenie/buff and down booties for sleeping. Mittens. Thick wool socks work less than thin injinjiwool inside a spacie down bootie. Why? Again the micro climate and due to heat escaping from those parts. 3. A comfort degree rating on both sleeping bag quilt and pad. ( You only need that thin layer two layer, under trust me. Its more likely that overdressed people shiver and get cold, i actually seen people get hypothermia and got told to undress and get rather close to a sgt. to get back their warmth core, i did this too my wife once too, funny enough we got engaged after that too.) 4. Eat small, and warm. Here is where i normally boil water on a nalgene ( i have both metal or plastic, however it will get messy if you boil directly your stainless steel and put inside your sleeping quilt...) 5. Go to the toilet before bed and also have a pee bottle aside you. 6. Outer Shelter should mainly protect you from the wind. Dyneema are NOT winter designed tents, they give you condensation hell. Silnylon two layer aerodynamic tents are the way to go, a hot tent, or a simple tarp for a bon fire, might do depending on where you setup and the Helsport Fjellduk is a breathedable third option over your quilt. I tipically dont recomend hammocks due to way you banana lay down can kill layering, but if one use the normal Amok version, since its different from all hammocks. If a banana hammock then expensive underquilts and housing tarps are very important. As far as finger gloves, use mittens instead, actually the way you sleep, is the same way you wear mittens with a thin wool finger glove/ or another mitten inside... And your bed outdoors is typically a simulation of what you feel comfortable at your home, specially regarding the sheet (liner feel) madrass and pillow. BONUS Tip: Nature can sometimes be noicy, i do sometimes wear earplugs.
- Cold Kills - Nature is Neutral, and - Mountains don't Care Old school wisdom from a Boyscout Master I met on a trail. I am now spending my 2nd winter outside almost every night in Central Washington. I do not like the cold. 85°F is my preferred temperature, even hiking, but I know how to handle cold. #1 - Wool works #2 - Fire is your friend. But without a saw And an ax, getting your firewood is much harder than it need be. Full size tools aren't needed, but little crappy multi-tool stuff is no good. Ax needs to have some heft. A landscaper type folding saw works well, but don't go too cheap. Fire-making skills improve with practice. #3 - Take enough food to ignore the tourist schedule stuff as needed. Do not rush #4 - Go slow and don't exert all your energy or wakefulness at any time, unless shelter is actually in sight. Keep a reserve of energy and wakefulness at all times. Exhaustion can become fatal. #5 - My biggest difficulty in cold is with my hands which are not big meaty mitts. One thing that helps a lot is an extra layer for my wrists and forearms. Lots of heat is lost from this limb area before it gets to your hands. I have used both synthetic and wool. The sleeve ends from a cast off sweater works. Wool is especially useful if you are building fires and you otherwise have synthetic outer layers as the wool will not melt from random embers.
My two cents: apart from all the good tips you already have given, I would say: ditch fashion. You don't need to "look good" in the winter, you need to stay warm. If it looks baggy, worm, scruffy, but warm...bring it! The other thing is: don't cut corners. Ease of the UL thinking. You can carry an extra pounds if it keeps you varm and cost when you need to. Getting frozen on the trail sets you in a downward spiral fast. Thank you for a nice video!
(1) You don't bring SmartWater bottles in the winter time as you bring Nalgene and/ or a lightweight thermos (hence why your video clip shows the water frozen to ice). Also, the water bottle insulator/ parkas only fit Nalgene bottles and SmartWater bottles cannot hold hot boiling water without breaking; and (2) in many of your video clips it becomes clear that you're not using a proper winter tent. Indeed, the Duplex, StratoSpire and X-Mid are three season tents and cannot handle a lot of snow or winter blizzard winds. If you want to use a DCF tent in the winter, then get an HMG Ultamid as that is a true and proper four-season DCF shelter.
Insulation doesn't produce warmth. Your body does. Insulation only retains it. Dead air space provides the thermal barrier, not necessarily the material used to insulate. The thicker the dead air space, the better the insulation. Since your body provides the heat, keeping the insulation as close to your skin as possible increases its efficiency. Mummy bags fit more snugly than rectangular bags, so they will hold the insulation closer to the heat source - you, and, with the same thickness of insulation, will keep you warmer, as well as being lighter and less bulky. Dixie refers to "dead space" as being inefficient: this would be the corners of a rectangular sleeping bag or excess girth or length in a mummy shaped bag. Another common gap that is very familiar with hammockers is the gap that often occurs between the bottom of the hammock and top of the underquilt which allows cold air between the two and prevents your body from warming up the heat-trapping insulation in the underquilt. Shock-corded underquilt suspension systems pull the underquilt tightly against the hammock bottom, eliminating the air gap and making the most of the insulation. Fwiw, logic dictates that, when using two sleeping pads in cold weather, you place the most thermally efficient pad against your body; in other words, the closed cell foam is most effective when used on TOP of your air mattress, rather than underneath it. When I figured this out, logically, I tried it, practically, and found my hypothesis to be valid. Winter camping in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and research in various studies of physics have been a lifelong passion for me. P.S. the thickness of insulation is referred to as "loft" in the industry. Two inches of 600 fill power duck down is just as warm as two inches of 1,200 fill power Polish grey goose down. It's just heavier, bulkier, and may come in a bag that isn't as ergonomically efficient, made of heavier fabric, with sloppy workmanship, etc. The colder it gets, and the more challenging the trip, the more it matters. Also: dampness negatively impacts the efficiency of all insulation, but extreme wetness can render down useless. Hydrophobic chemical down treatments can help, but a waterproof storage system is critical. "Warm when wet" is a gross exaggeration, if not a fallacy. In summer, you might get away with a damp bag and be just uncomfortable. At -20 degrees Fahrenheit, it could cost you dearly! Stay dry and warm, and don't forget the hot water bottle. Outdoor Research makes an insulted holder for a quart Nalgene plastic bottle. The polycarbonate Nalgene bottles will handle boiling water. The polypropylene ones will not. I came across a padded 35mm camera lens case which works for my 40 fl.oz. stainless steel Klean Kanteen bottle, which I prefer to carry because I almost always have a campfire below freezing, and I can put the bottle right in the coals (plastic cap off!) and boil water for dinner, add more, boil again, and have a hot water bottle for bed and warm, sterilized water that will heat more quickly with less fuel than cold water in the morning.
I would like to add that it ultimately depends on your style of camping as well. When I go car camping I take an insulated Eskimo ice fishing shelter and a big buddy heater in addition to reindeer furs and a cot with a RV mattress. When I do all that I don't need to acclimate myself as much and it's great for a quick overnight in the woods. Bottom line though, if you think you're getting too cold do not try to tough it out. There's nothing shameful with practicing safety first.
Good words pal. My oldest brother and I were tenting it with a bunch of others, from across the globe, in the treeline, outside of a cannery where we worked double shifts, outside of Kenai Alaska. It was -40, cold even for that area. We ran a catalytic heater and draped a sleeping bag over our cots to prevent airflow underneath. Then another bag to sleep in. c1994. You have to be prepared. Around all those people, it didn't stop me from getting pneumonia. Miserable. We called it 'scuddering'.
As ice fishing shelters are quite airtight and buddy heaters are operated on propane, please bring a carbon monoxide alarm. Even though the manufacturer claims a low-oxygen-shutoff.
@@manone9325 while I can't speak for every shelter, the one I have has vents in the top because it's designed to be used with a heater. That said I keep a CO detector in my fire box with the heater gear.
If the title would be, Tips For Backpacking In The WINTER, I would say it's not problem for our today's hike in West Ghats in Southern India 😉 Back home it is already minus 11 degC
Hiking and camping are two different things, so temper tips accordingly. I abide by the you should feel a little chill when hiking, that way you are at that point between being thermally efficient and not starting to sweat more than the moisture management of your clothing system. That's not the same as go bold start cold. Starting cold immediately requires more energy to increase core temp and will also tend to make you exert more to get warm. The tortoise approach is better than the hare approach, because you don't want extreme heating and cooling. Plus, all that blood moving away from the extremities to warm up your core, just means you are starving your primary means of movement (legs) when hiking. I think people over think the sleep system and forget that it is basically the same as your clothing layering system. Instead of your puffy jacket, you are using the sleeping bag as that layer. remember also that an ice cube in a sleeping bag is an ice cube in a sleeping bag. A sleeping bag cannot warm you up because it does not generate heat. Eat calories just before going to bed. hand layering system. No shame in wearing overmittens and gloves when you need dexterity underneath. When you are moving hiking all day, how much finger dexterity do you really need vice keeping your fingers warm? those heat warmers are terrible: for the environment and just extra unnecesary weight. if you are trying to hold your pee when you sleep, you aren't sleeping which is overall not good for your body. winter hiking it is also important to keep the largest organ of your body (your skin) lubbed. Hydration is a key part of this, because people tend to underhydrate when cold.
1) Dress light as possible for sleep, then pull insulation layers inside bag and on-top of body as necessary. It's surprisingly more comfortable and just as warm (if not warmer, since added insulation is trapping heat above and not squished below). 2) A bivy-bag is much warmer than a liner, and bivy weighs less. 3) Pee. The natural state of pee is ambient; anything above ambient, body had to heat to maintain. 4) When hiking, hands and head can be modified without stopping. This author uses a four-layer glove system, hoods on everything, including base-layer, merino balaclava and a MYoG eVent hood. A lot easier to peel head/hands than jackets/fleeces.
Great tips, Dixie. I have tried most of them. Just a couple of my own takes: 1. Mylar. Emergency. Blanket. Don't leave home without it. Probably saved my life. Back in high school, 40+ years ago, first real hike ever, a rainstorm left my sleeping bag (cotton, homemade by my mom!) soaked. When we got to our shelter, I was shivering. My buddy put his space blanket over me and secured it with little rocks all around the perimeter. I didn't even know he was doing this, no recollection, which is saying a lot since these blankets are noisy! But in the morning, I was dry, my clothes were dry, my sock, my boots, everything -- my body heat was enough to dry them out. The wooden floor of the shelter had a ring of moisture, I assume was condensation, all around my sleeping bag. 2. Pee bottle. Not Gatorade, no way is that big enough, (for me anyway). Try a small laundry degerget bottle, pull the pour spout out with pliers, rinse well, I suggest some white distilled vinegar. Good to go, and go.... 3. If in snow, make sure your footwear is completely waterproof. 4. Mittens. Yak, alpaca, wool of some kind. Or at least, windproof mitts over the gloves. 5. Balaclava - better than trying to get the hat and neck gaiter to cooperate. You can always add a hat and neck gaiter, but as a base, the bala is a game changer, (for me).
Double sleeping bag/quilt. Down inner, synthetic outer. Moves the dew point out to the synthetic layer, down inner stays dry and holds loft. Vapour barrier liner useful to in very cold situations.
I love hiking / snowshoeing & taking pictures here in the PNW. For hand warmth I use a glove layer that works well for touch screen and then wear heavier fleece mittens over that have the flap mitten part. Makes it easy to keep my hands warmer, keep a hand warmer near my fingers in the mitten part, and quickly be able to use touch screen or do dexterous things (like setup hammock, cook, open snacks, etc.
For sleeping you can wear a balaclava or ski face mask. The latter is good because these tend to have small holes where the mouth is so vapour escapes. A ski mask will also have an opening for your nose but a piece of fabric over the nose so the skin stays warm but breath is allowed out. Either a ski mask or balaclava will prevent the need to snuggle your nose into your sleeping bag.
Excellent advice all around! A few of additional thoughts: I like wool base layers for hiking over synthetic ones because they are much easier to dry by a fire without melting. Puffy pants are amazing around camp when you get the post hike chills. Sleeping bag liners can increase the flexibility of your bag/quilt and keep it drier, cleaner and therefore warmer.
First let me say I love your videos thanks for taking the time to make them all. Living in the white mountains its hard not to go hiking when it’s not cold. Now I just have to get my 13 yr old son out there with me. Hoping to have enough gear for him by the holidays. Having a spring summer set up does nothing up here come freezing fall nights. Happy trails
ALWAYS pee before going to bed . . . ask your urologist. It's bad to hold a full bladder because you are making more as you sleep and you can get bladder hypertrophy from it.
Hey Sunny Dixie, Here are some tips from a Canadian used to the winter outdoors: CLOTHING Your clothes are your main shelter, never forget that. A) COTTON Avoid cotton at all costs. A.V.O.I.D. cotton! B) SWEAT-WET Avoid any water, moisture, or sweat. Water increase body heat loss by 25%. Use layers and USE them. Several other tips below for that. B) MERINO Merino wool is the best. It's more expensive but it helps regulate body temperature and keeps away bad odors. C) SOCKS Have two pairs of socks. Merino is the best. You can have a pair of medium thicknesses and one thicker. D) FIRST LAYER Again, Merino is the best but Nike has a top that I love and you can also go for polypropylene. It's always good to have two tops in case the first one gets wet. E)SECOND LAYER Wool is best but heavier. Fleece is also good, lighter, and dries faster. F) OUTER SHELL Wind and waterproof, make sure to test it! (like everything else) G) HANDS Gloves are great, but mits are way warmer. H) HEAD I use a thin merino hat from HH and also have a fleece one and a wool one. I switch to whatever I need. You can also combine the thin merino and fleece one at the same time. I) SLEEPING CLOTH Never go to sleep with the socks you were wearing even if you think they are dry. A good habit is to have the cloth you'll use to sleep in the sleeping bag so you know where they are and they're ready on the spot. I use thin or medium merino leggings, my top is either merino or polypropylene and I may also wear my fleece jacket if very cold. It's also good to have a thin wool glove and a hat ready at hand. H) DIY FURNACE Have a 1L Nalgene bottle, fill it with boiling water, and put it in a large wool sock. Then place it at your feet. Not only your feet will be toasty, but you'll also have UNfrozen water to drink in the morning. When very cold, I also use a 500ml Nalgene bottle between my legs. The femoral arteries transport lots of blood, so you'll warm up quick :) I) CALORIES Eat lots of calories or sugar before going to bed. Like a hot chocolate. Digestion will also warm you up! J) PEE BOTTLE There's nothing worst than having to leave your sleeping bag in the middle of the night. A pee bottle (or two) will make a huge difference! K) ISOBUTANE STOVES Certainly not the best in very cold weather. Gas contracts when cold, so less pressure so.... poor performance. If you're stuck with that, put the canister in your jacket for a few minutes before using it. You can also use the toe warmers. They have a sticker so you can stick one under the canister and TADA! L) HOLDING YOUR PEE I have the answer for you here Dixie. Humans tend to pee more frequently when cold. This was scientifically proven in 1918 by Adler. In short, cold triggers the sensors in the ureter and bladder, which in turn contracts the muscle, and there you go...you need to pee! That's why you need to pee before going to bed. Also, your body wants to warm up all fluids... yes, ALL fluids, including pee. So you'll waste energy there instead of warming up the rest of your body. Bottom line, it's scientific... keep the bladder empty as much as possible. M) MASKS We're all tired of masks, aren't we? But they help a lot in winter to warm up the air that you're breathing. You can use a cheap surgical mask or buy the same one used by the mountain climbers: Vapro Airtrim or the ColdAvenger. You can also use a neoprene mask. N) SLEEPING BAG As stated by Dixie, don't trust too much the rating on sleeping bags. Also, some are getting colder faster than others. Always aim for the "comfort" rating and do some tests before going on a trek(we can't say that enough, right?). Use a liner or you can use two sleeping bags if you don't have the money for a good one. DUVET Best ones, but if wet, then... disaster. They will last you for decades if you take good care of them. SYNTHETICS Will protect you even if wet, but a lot bulkier and will last just a few years. My choice? Duvet all the way! O) SNOWSHOES The most common mistake is this... People are buying snowshoes according to their weight. WRONG! You need to add at least 10-14 pounds because of your clothing. You'll be surprised by how heavy all the layers and boots can be. P) VARIOUS TIPS - water freezes from top to bottom, keep your water bottle upside down - never keep your water bottle in the backpack (Sintax77 can tell you about it...) - you will get dehydrated more than you think. Drink often. - sleeping in red clothes will keep you warmer. - always use a sleeping pad. you can add a reflectix to increase the R-rating! - DIY pot cozzies are amazing! - a UCO candle lantern is a must. You'll get light, it'll warm up the tent (same as a 100-watt light bulb) and help reduce moisture inside. - two in a tent keeps you warmer and you can do the Inuit's kissing;) Last, use a sled you can. It's the best for winter camping. Winter camping is fun and so relaxing. You just need the right clothing and gear and someone to teach you well ;) Have fun!
To keep your hands warm, wear a thin synthetic liner glove inside a warm mitten or glove. The liner glove will keep moisture away from your hands so even if your outer glove or mitt is damp from sweat or snow your hands will still be warm. If your hands get hot take off the outer gloves or mitts and put them inside your outermost layer. It keeps your gloves or mitts warm while not using them, dries them out a bit, and they’re nearby if you need them.
One of the best not so commonly discussed things to help you get and/or keep warm is some kind of heating device like Ocoopa, I believe it is, a little chinese device that can get crazy hot at the highest settings. Inexpensive, but you throw that inside your sleeping bag and it will warm it up real nice. Plus you can use it to recharge your phone or whatever. Newbies may not be aware that even the warmest sleeping bag will not melt an ice, meaning if you're really cold, it's not going to do a whole lot if your body has a hard time creating some heat. Anyway, I thought I'd mention it because I've seen hundreds of hiking videos and only one time someone mentioned it.
If it's not been said, a big one for me is switching from a cannister stove set to either a small woodstove, or alcohol stove. Trying to get a cannister stove to stay lit long enough when it's below freezing is a pain, especially when cold and tired! But if you do forget, using a hot hands under it to get it *just* warm enough works, if you already got it warm for your hands in your pockets. Those hot hands can also work as an emergency hypothermia save. (I read about an incident up in the White Mountains where someone found another who was on the brink - and used hot hands on major artery places to keep them warm long enough to build a fire.) And I'm looking forward to the "cold"*** snap coming this week - to try out really cold temps. (In the south, single digits are bitterly cold - but almost springtime for Minnesota folks!)
Even if it's super cold and you're all covered up, make sure you have sunscreen on your face and anything else exposed (hands, ears, etc), including the underside of your nose and chin, especially if there is snow, granite or sand. The worse sunburn of my life was on the underside of my nose after snowboarding all day.
The best advice I can give for winter camping is to do your best to get acclimated to cold weather before you go if possible and ideally colder weather than what you're expecting. My reason for this is if you get moderately used to a low temperature, say 0 degrees, and then you go out backpacking and it's 20 you're going to feel considerably more comfortable. I realize it's not easy but you can do things like keeping your house at a lower temperature and not using heat while driving and wearing thinner layers, all while being in a safe controlled environment but basically anything you can do to bridge the gap of whatever temp is normal for you to what you're expecting to be camping or hiking in.
On a related note, I'm convinced that I got into winter backpacking since I work in a refrigerated warehouse. I got used to spending time at 38 F (4 C) so camping as it got colder felt more natural.
Great suggestions as always! If it's cold, I never leave without my Appalachian Gear alpaca sleeping bag liner. I'm already a cold sleeper and this was a game changer for me. You rock Dixie!
I am not fond of cold camping either. But I am planning to start the AT in February. I watched Scott Benerofe’s (Aquaman) vlog of the AT starting at Katadin in December last year. He shared the equipment he used and the routines he used to keep warm. He needed snowshoes, pickax, and ice spikes as he was in the most extreme temperatures. I plan on getting off trail if the weather gets that bad. But if you like the challenge, he is a pretty sharp guy and was successful in his attempt. You might check him out.
The Arizona Trail is a fantastic hike. From low deserts to high peaks you'll experience a full gamut of terrain changes. Can't wait to follow your trip!
I can’t stand the cold in winter. Not even when hunting. If astronaut suits came in Realtree, I’d wear one in my tree stand. Winter camping isn’t for me. I’ll be in the cabin by the fire.
I'm in Washington state and hike the Olympics regularly. To address the hot water bottle for warmth ...it's a thing. I use a Hydrapak Seeker collapsible water bottle as my savior for solo hiking in the cold weather. They fit the Katadyn Befree for water filtration, as well. Great tips, Dixie! For those of use who hike, your lived experience is precious.
I've been backpacking in the teens already this year 20 degree synthetic bag, no tent only a tarp. I took 2 walmart liners put goosedown I bought in bulk inside and sealed it with hemming tape to put in my bag. I also advocate for Toe warmers ( They get way warmer with consistent heat vs. Hot hands ) throw a couple of hot hands in the bag, it does heat the bag significantly. I only sleep in fleece base layers , merino wool socks, and a beanie. Through the day stay moving. A 700 fill down coat during the day. Dont forget chapstick and if you work with ropes as much as I do bring aquifer for your hands. The winter is so drying. Honestly it's all what works for the individual. Happy trekking
Great video as always. I would add a couple of tips to keep warm outdoors... Let's see : 1. I would bring a cotton or leather bag to put a hot stone out from the fire pit inside that bag... and use it instead of an steel bottle or rubber bag with hot whater inside. Coz stones don't leak.😉 2. Dog food bags has aluminum and plastic layers and so they are great heet keepers for feet and legs if we carry a big one rolled inside the backpack... and empty (just in case some troll says that they are heavy). And if you consider it will also keep the sweat and so provoke condensation, and that will weat your feet... well... bring a pair of cotton socks, and also punch some holes in the middle, in the side that goes up, with a paper puncher to prevent that condensation. They are also very usefull to keep things dry into the backpack if we use it as a liner. 3. Don't cover the noses, they are the "body's thermometer"... if the nose it's warm your body will think it's hot an so it won't increase the body temperature... and the same the opposite way around... If your noses are cold your body shall increase the body temperature... Cheers Martin from Argentina🇦🇷 by the way...
I would suggest gaiters. Not those short summer ones. Full gortex to just below the knee. Keeps snow out of your boots & add a surprising amount of warmth. Micro spikes can also tame a slippery nightmare of a trail to a fun hike but you have to judge if they are worth the weight.
CDT, PCT etc... Put anything foam on top of your inflatable pad, quilt or sleeping bag. Neo Air with a 1/8" thinlight foam pad ON TOP will make all the difference. I spend my winters on the CDT in Montana and Wyoming, yes, really cold but I've never been cold in my 14,000+ miles.
I buy the smallest camelback they make, lightest too......and in the winter I wear it UNDER my coat......body heat keeps it from freezing....not my original tho... From a friend in Colorado.
Hey Dixie, I've thoroughly enjoyed your videos for several years now and I think I may have an idea for you ! A US Army cold weather field jacket liner. It may weigh2 oz. The batting is 100% polyester and the outer shell is 100% nylon. For years I've worn one under my polar fleece camo jacket to hunt in and I've never found anything that can match it for total warmth ! Its amazing ! You can get the pants liner too, which are great to sleep in when its really cold, and once again they don't weigh anything and don't cost very much at all. You can get them on Amazon or at your nearest Army Navy surplus store. I've also used a poncho liner that is made of the same material to sleep under. I always keep one in my truck in case I have to spend the night in the woods. GREAT SURVIVAL TOOL. Thanks again for the videos , take care , be careful, and don't let the MUMMY catch up to ya !
Don’t use a water filter. It WILL freeze. As soon as it has been frozen even once, it does not function any more - the micropores will have been widened by the expanding water. You can use water purification drops or boil the water. Chlorine drops taste horrible, but the Aquamira drops are great. With certain drops, NEVER use any vitamin C in the same bottle. Even the slightest trace of vitamin c will neutralise the active substance before it can do it’s job. Vitamin C is very often contained in various squirts (I often add those for taste). If you want to boil water, make sure it is still liquid when boiling time comes (so bring water into the sleeping bag, use a thermos, OR pour the water already into your pot the night before).
The micropores in a water filter act like a sieve. The holes in this sieve are usually 0.1 µm. So when a bacterium with 0.2 µm comes along, it cannot pass the sieve. If the water filter freezes, the water that is in the holes at that time will expand and thereby widen the hole. If the hole is now 0.3 µm, the bacterium will now pass with ease. The freeze-up will be invisible to you.
Iodine will most definitely be neutralised by ascorbic acid (vitamin c). There are also some chemical reactions between chlorine dioxide (Micropur forte and Aquamira) and ascorbic acid. However, this probably does not affect the purification process.
1. If using both inflatable & solid pads, like Anish, put the solid one on top (no convection currents next to your bag). 2. Change into (dry) sleeping clothes (long woolen or polypro base layers) immediately when you stop for the night, even before setting up the tent. 3. Sleeping socks should be ridiculously oversized for your feet: sloppy loose. You want dead air. Orlon is a good, lightweight choice. Down is even better. Cut off elastic cuffs, which constrict blood flow. 4. Showa gloves work well. So do thin wool gloves + rain mitts, which cut the wind. Hillbilly option for the overmitts: bread bags, Subway bags, gallon ziplocks. Big difference from gloves alone. 5. Waterproof neoprene socks are a game changer if you wear trail runners. 6. Don't expect isopro stoves to work well below 20-25F. As the stove burns, your isopro fuel will get colder--several degrees colder than the air! (Boyle's Law). Alcohol, propane, white gas are better options in cold. Feral sends.
It doesn't hurt to start out with less clothing. You should know how far you have to travel before your up to temperature. This doesn't count if the wind is blowing. Add something to block the wind. I never put on my down coat until the temps are zero or below. You can adjust to the cold easier if you don't over dress when it is not needed. I never wear a coat in the vehicle or in a store. Fuel the inner furnace more often, take a morning and afternoon break. Calvin Rutstrum's book Paradise Below Zero is encouraging to be out in the cold.
Definitely sleep in a tent that has really good ventilation! 40 some years ago I went backpacking with two other guys along the rim of linville gorge in an ice storm. The tent had a fly but not a well ventilated roof. We woke up to a pool of water in the tent from condensation. Lesson learned. The scenery was stunning though.
I am a warm sleeper and I have camped in weather down to 13 below zero comfortably I might add. I find the threat from sweat is real. I wear a long sleeve shirt and hat but no pants and that works for me. I do keep my clothes in my bag so when I wake up in the morning they are warm. Also I will put my boots under the foot box of my sleeping bag to keep them warmish. I sometimes put my jacket over my foot box for added warmth.
Question for anyone. My wind/rain jacket is usually the last layer I keep on due to the weather. But the inside feels TERRIBLE on my skin, sticky...rubbery. It is a Marmot precip...that I LOVE for the pitzips, but is there such a pitzip rain jacket that has a skin loving interior? Got to have pitzips.
Transferring of heat to a cold surface such as the ground can cause condensation and literally freeze your hiney. I like to gather dry leaves and pine needles for under the tent/ground cover. Also I use a light weight 1/4" closed cell packing foam insulation (very light weight) under the air sleep mat. Since using a down quilt ( I roll around a lot like an alligator doing a death spiral) I have an addition lighter quilt. Utilized snaps to attach it to the primary quilt in colder months prevents it from falling off. Sleep ware is medium polyester base layer, merino wool tee and heavy merino wool socks. Super comfy down to 30 F. But now I have added puffy britches for really cold. Experimented in cold weather beforehand and prefer the base layer britches in combination with puffy britches.....controls condensation and works great in really cold temperatures!!
Hi Dixie, put your dry clothes underneath your sleeping bag for morning. Sleep with less clothing if needed put extra clothing over sleeping bag. Don’t restrict your circulation in your sleeping bag with too many clothes on. Happy hiking
Minnesota resident here. I disagree with handwarmers for backpacking; they are a one-time-use item and you still have to pack that weight in and out. Just bring a light glove and a heavier glove and a mitten for very cold. Use the less-warm gloves while you are active. Use the warmer ones when you are stopped at camp. Manage your layers properly to ensure you don't overheat and sweat a lot getting your clothing wet. When it's wet cold, take extra care to stay dry. Dry cold (below 20F) is actually less dangerous than wet cold (around freezing). Most people who get hypothermia get it in that 20-50F range where it's still cold but also wet.
Gloves are particularly important hiking in Winter. I find the best( and I've tried many brands) in the UK where I live are the Sealskin brand. Maybe more expensive but a real investment to ensure your hands are always warm.
Base layer + mid layer (Patagonia R2, Senchi Lark, Melanzana, etc.) with a 2-3 oz windshirt over that and then another heat trapping proper rain shell over that. I’ve found the two shell system works great.
Dixie, for your feet, Enlightened Equipment makes synthetic booties that work awesomely. I've had mine for a couple of years and they are lightweight and warm. The companies Outdoor Vitals and Wiggy's also make synthetic booties.EE, OV and Timmermade have synthetic hoodies as well. Hitting close to 0*F in a couple of days and I'm going to be outside with an over quilt to boost my sleeping bag range. Great video
I'm not going to read all the comments but we Norwegians swear by mittens. Your fingers get much happier when they can snuggle together. Homemade knitted is best. I've never had any good experiences with Thinsulate or other liner based hand wear (would you call it that?). If you're allergic (I'm told) you can have issues with lanolin. If not you can buy cures of lanolin for your wool to soak in. This greatly increases the wicking quality of the wool. Only use it on what you expect to get wet, like mittens, your thick socks and beanie. I have no experience using it on mixed thread material, only wool. When I go out, even for day hikes, I always carry extra. Especially for my hands where I'll wear a pair of gloves or mittens that I expect to be adequate, you don't want to get too warm from moving about, I'll even take those of if need be. This I can do because I also carry mittens that will bomb any cold situation: thick inner layer of wool, covered by ‘polar mittens’ or ‘polarvotter’, I've seen them listed as ‘shell gloves/mittens’. I like mine to cover halfway up my forearms. I always have double and triple redundancy and have not gotten myself into trouble for quite a while but I've helped others out who would otherwise be in quite the predicament, straight from onset shivering/hypothermia to toasty. Don't be a wheenie about warm clothes for safety.
Clothing.... Nice Wool / Alpaca / Qiviut (Ki-vee-oot) and add layers and eat a lot to generate calories. I have camped & worked outside all day - even at minus 30F temperatures. Keep moving and when going to sleep - build a fire and heat rocks and put those rocks inside a double cloth bag inside your sleeping bag.
Could you do a video for us day hikers? I Live 25 miles East of the PCT in Central Oregon (Bend) and hike and snowshoe up there year round. I carry a 20 lb. backpack and average 4 hours 2-3 times a week.
14:13 - Use SPF lip balm (goop) for the underside of your nose. Through years of mountaineering, I have found it impossible to keep sunscreen on the underside of my nose because I am very frequently wiping away snot in cold air. Hiking in snow you actually get a lot of reflected sun on the underside of your nose. And, all that snot and wiping really chaps my nose. Since I already carry lip balm with sunscreen in it in my pocket (easy access and keep it warm so I can apply it), I’ve begun just rubbing that under my nose. Protects from both sun and chapping!
In "proper" cold (0F and lower, or with windchill), and if there is plenty of snow available, a snow cave is soooooo much warmer than a tent. I avoid inflatable mattresses in snow-camping: every single one I've owned developed a leak. Foam is bulky, but it's bomb-proof. So I take two old-school foam thermarests. Valleys may be a bit colder b.c. of the cold air drifting down, but the advantage of protection from the wind chill, I think, is more important (as long as as there are no avalanches). Evergreen trees are also good for wind protection.
Excellent video on the topic. The only thing I would add is that filling a Nalgene bottle with very hot water just before bed really does work amazingly well. Yes, Nalgene bottles are comparatively heavy, but worth their weight in the winter. I recently camped in sub-zero (F) temps and the boiling water I put into the bottle at bedtime was still lukewarm at daybreak! Two warnings about doing this though... first, you MUST fill the bottle up within a half inch of the rim, otherwise the extra volume of air will expand and pressurize the container enough to force water out around the lid...ask me how I know! Second, you definitely don't want the bottle touching bare skin for the first few hours for obvious reasons. I usually put the freshly-filled bottle between my quilts (I'm a hammock camper) about 10 minutes or so before bedtime in order to "preheat" the down. Upon entering the hammock and settling in for the night, I move the Nalgene bottle around as needed. If my feet are cold, the bottle is nestled against my socks. If my gloved hands are chilled, a few minutes of holding the bottle warms them up quickly. But for most of the night, I've found the most effective location to keep the bottle is near the femoral arteries (basically between the thighs). These major arteries supply blood to the legs and pretty much guarantee your feet will not get cold during the night. Keep in mind if you use this trick it is very easy to get TOO warm initially, so make sure you adjust your clothing to prevent sweating. For me this means removing my down jacket and maybe even my fleece layer, and then adding these back later (if needed) during the night when I get up to pee.
When I was a kid in Alaska I skied at -20F. That was a little much. I agree with the other posts; dry cold is OK. When I worked outside in the rain all day, I dressed for it. Rain coat(not some lame little windbreaker),rain pants. I considered crappy cold rain a challenge. Kind of like SCUBA; your underwater, but your OK. 'if your feet are cold, put on a hat' I don't like the idea of wearing all the stuff I wore all day in the sleeping bag. Work clothes are for the daytime. A beany and thick socks and add if need be.
I'm Canadian and have been camping for easily 38 years, and although I agree with most things stated, one thing always kind of makes me chuckle. I wear one piece trap door flannel long johns in shoulder season and winter camping and they're the best investment I ever made, as it distributes body heat from area's like your groin and upper legs far better. Here is the thing.....the FLANNEL .....IS COTTON for those long johns....but they work AMAZING at keeping moisture off your skin and heat in as a base layer....try it and tell me it doesn't work.....old farmers and outdoors people wore those cotton flannel long red underwear for generations for a reason....they work....so cotton isn't always bad a a base layer, I can assure you. Although I do love Moreno wool, I do find there is different qualities and I do have a few dozen pairs. The pair with higher synthetics in the pairs I find are drastically warmer where the purer Moreno wool seems to be far cooler. So for down south yes Moreno is better purer, but up North a higher synthetic blend is likely your best bet, but try a few types before you figure out your favorites.... I have had two different blends from the same manufacturers with very different results with Moreno wool products, so it's sometimes a very tough call to figure out what will work best with variables like that.......Some synthetic products are far better than natural products I find, and yes that goes for sleeping bags in very damp climates as well. Sometimes an extra pound or two of weight won't matter when you're warm, and weight and extreme colds is almost an evil necessity, when you get down to extreme colds.
I like thin fleece liner gloves and breathable but waterproof insulated mittens for my hands, and a purpose made pee bottle for the obvious. The gloves and mittens have worked well for me including winters on the Finnish, Russian border down to minus 54 degrees Celsius.
Camping in Alaska here, plenty of winter camping. Here's my thoughts.
Camp site is important. You want to be on the side of a hill but with as much coverage as possible. Put a boulder between you and the wind direction and one between you and the nearest peak to protect from avalanches at night.
Clothing layers is important. Keep yourself slightly cold. Better to feel a little bite of cold than to sweat a drop. I bring totally separate clothes for sleeping, I use under armor base 2s for sleeping. I strip naked and jump into the bag and put the base layers on inside.
Hot coco is very important on winter trips.
Camp in your back yard is a good suggestion. Definitely get a bigger bag than you and make it warmer than you will ever see. Next mornings clothes go in my footbox.
Pre fluff your bag before sleeping. Hot water bottle prewarm the bag. Next morning I like to let the body moisturizer frost off and wipe it clean before packing it away.
If your feet are cold put a hat on. I prefer fleece beenies to wool, but definitely wool socks.
Warm hands you need inner gloves and mittons. No two ways around it. So much better than gloves.
Ski mask for sleeping in the winter.
Hand warmers actually suck, they only work when they are already hot. Throw a unopened pack in the freezer then try to get it to heat up, you will see what I mean. Fuel ones are better but the best trick is a USB battery pack heated vest. Mine will heat on low for 7+ hours and high for around 3. I really just use it for taking the chill off so a battery lasts me about a whole day.
It's dark winter camping here, but I don't think daylight would heat a tent.
I always gotta pee in the night, I bring a pee bottle. I'm a dude so simply lemonade bottle is curved nicely so you can pee on your side without leaking inside your bag.
Bring sunglasses if your going into a winter wonderland, polarized. It's very nice for wind and bright white eyestrain.
Emergency blanket sucks, crinkles all night and your pad slides off. I bring cardboard to throw under my R5 inflatable sleeping pad. Nothing fancy just left over boxes from Costco flattened and overlapped. I've successfully slept in -20 on snow that was at least 7ft deep using this with my western mountaineering bristlecone.
Some things you didn't mention that might help others. If your sleeping on top deep snow make sure you pack it down using your snow shoes really good. Usually this will give you a 1.5ft ditch to help with wind and keep you from waking up under your tent. Your two biggest enemies in the winter camp are wind and moisture in that order. Have gear that will stop the wind. Both clothes and shelter. Don't get wet and have enough venting in your tent your breath doesn't soak you at night. I use a black diamond mega mid which is a floorless tipi.
And always be prepared to self rescue, camping in the winter is very enjoyable but it's not as forgiving of mistakes as summer camping is.
I freaking LOVE hiking in the cold! The crispness of the air, the cold on my cheeks...the absolute lack of other humans around because they hate the cold....it's magical magicness!
And... BO BUGS! 😁
@@RakeshMalikWhiteCrane Yeeessss, the no bugs is awesome too!
Bahahahaha this too is why I backpack solo in the winter. Not one soul on the trail or in the backcountry. And if i do happen upon someone else I’m sure they’re thinking the same shit I am; “this person is nuts. Not someone to mess with”. Lol
I love winter car camping, and going on day hikes from my basecamp, but backpacking in the snow is honestly a chore. To pack enough clothes to keep you warm and dry, you need a lot of down ($$$) and no way I’m sitting in front of a fire burning holes in my expensive gear, so instead I end up in my sleeping bag as soon as it’s dark. The fun of winter camping is all about the bonfires, booze, and hearty foods like chili, all of which are incompatible with camping out of a backpack for me.
If I want to do a snowy overnight in the backcountry, I prefer pulling my gear on a sled (aka pulk), but then you’re limited to pretty flat terrain. Depending on what part of the country you’re in, that can be a fun way to cross frozen lakes and camp on islands you’d normally need a boat to get to.
My two cents on this is, if you're going out in the cold, make sure it's really cold. There's nothing worse than the slush zone a few degrees either side of the freezing point. Proper cold is fun. Snow becomes an insulater and a desiccant. As long as you're dry and prepared, winter is great.
Agreed, cold can be prepared for and one can wear warm clothes. Cold and wet is miserable. One get cold so, you wear warm clothes. Then you sweat and cold. Then you can’t get warm. Walking through wet bogs, stream trails, wet weeds, all are miserable.
YOUR inexperience doesn't translate to other's reality.
Air holds more moisure when it's warm. Just above freezing is, perhaps, the most uncomfortable temperature in wet weather. Freezing rain is very hazardous to hike and climb in.
Slightly colder weather will give you snow, which doesn't soak through your (hypothetically) waterproof raingear as quickly as liquid precipitation.
In the teens (Fahrenheit) and below, you had better be equipped and prepared to use your equipment properly.
Totally agree. Nothing worse than 36 and rainy.
@@chipblanc6037 Why do some people have the annoying habit of stating the obvious in a way that screams, "Look at me! I'm a good, sensitive person, and nobody else is as nice as me!"?
Everyone knows what opinions are. Now quit bothering people.
Plan your evaporation carefully. Before you stop, while you are very warm/hot and still hiking, take off damp payers BEFORE you stop, hang to dry out on top of your backpack then carry on moving. Continue on hiking while-under clothed to force evaporate the moisture off your body. You can tolerate this cool down while in motion, pay attention to become dry & not become chilled. Then when you stop immediately take off your next to skin layer if it is still damp and hang it, stand around a bit to dry further, and put on a fresh dry layer. Hang the wet layer to dry. If you've been keeping your calories up you won't get chilled.
The point here is evaporative drying is key. Do not put a dry layer on over wet clothes that are next to your body unless you are forced to by the weather, that is dumb and ruins the R value of your layers. When you stop, take off the wet layers, and put on dry socks, but only after giving your bare feet time to dry.
A necktube is important, and makes a good hat because the top is open for evaporation. However a proper winter facemask is made of thin neoprene and usually sold for skiing, with a shaped area with hole for your nose and small holes for your mouth. They add the warmth of a proper hat because they will preheat your breath. They can be worn tight against the elements if it's sleeting etc. or very loose to hang in front of your face and just warm your breath, they make a HUGE difference. MSR makes a super rugged water bag with a wide mouth that is designed for their gravity filter system, and it can be filled with hot water for your sleeping bag and will not leak.
Lots of great advice there!
Putting on a layer as soon as you stop makes a huge difference. Our guides pretty much insisted on that during the Mount Rainier climb, and it didn't take long for everyone to habituate to it, because it worked so well. As soon as you stop, you throw on your down puffy, and THEN take a break and grab a snack, water, etc.
I did one winter trip where I actually forgot my 2nd layer, which I discovered when I got into my tent and was all ready to change. It was not a pleasant experience, though running my stove in the vestibule because of how heavily it was snowing ended up helping, because it took just a couple of seconds to warm the tent up, which ended up drying out my shirt in just a few minutes. Changing to a drier layer is definitely better though :)
A lot of winter newbies using winter tents button the tent down at night in an effort to hold warmth in, which is actually not the best way to go about it. That does hold in some warmth, but it also leads to a lot more condensation, which will ruin your insulation, so counter intuitively, ventilation is actually more important than insulation on the tent end of things. The trick is to keep the draft off of you, because that will draw heat away from you rapidly, and that's the big advantage in a double wall winter tent; they allow you to configure the ventilation to match the conditions.
Thanks for continuing to share your and your community's knowledge :)
After 2500 mikes backpacking I agree that ventilation is more important especially with a single walled tent.
Remember to put sun-block under your nose and under chin. Snow is very reflective (as is sand) and you can easily burn there. Once I slept in a record cold of minus 20 and my cold face was the only thing keeping me awake, I used a bandana across my mouth and nose to have a tiny bit of warmth without breathing into the 5 degree Marmot gortex covered sleeping bag. Go to bed warm. The extra 5 ounces of a Nalgene is absolutely worth it. It is tight, safe with really hot water and unbreakable.
I had my Nalgene freeze and break one time. I was more baffled then mad.
My experience with emergency blankets, they work great for reflecting/ storing convection heat. Not so great for protection from conduction. Meaning wrapping up with it in a seated/ squatted position would be effective. Laying on it, it tends to conduct your heat to the ground and conduct the cold from the ground to you.
Hand warmers/ toe warmers/ body warmers are excellent. As is wool. Survived being stranded in my truck during a snow storm with little more than a wool blanket and a couple of hand warmers in -25 degree weather -40 with wind-chill.
Dixie, I've used the Nalgene "hot water bottle trick" while camping at -10F. It works. Definitely worth the extra weight in the winter.
A good overview. A few decades ago, my guy hiking partner, originally from Wisconsin and then like me, relocated to Wyoming had a mutual mantra on winter backpacking. Roughly it went it would be cheaper for us to head to California or Arizona than fully kit up for winter Wyoming and Montana. A few years later, we were doing both. Yes, the pine forests of Southern Arizona can be snowy and cold in the Spring. My best winter tip, from winter in the Central Rockies, is a good wind shell and light ski gloves, to keep the warmth stripping breezes at bay without overheating. Pee bottles rule! Make sure they are right sized. Nothing like straddling your $600 arctic WM bag and panicking about not have enough room in that bottle.
Mainer here - winter hiking/backpacking is the best! No bugs LOL.
Wildlife is often easier to approach in winter because the snow muffles a lot of “human” sounds. Snowshoes will let you go places you’d never be able to without them, and there’s really no learning curve to use them.
Buy a roll of foil-covered bubble wrap insulation and make a liner for your tent floor. I cut a 4’x7’ piece, cut it down the middle, taped all the edges and taped 2 long edges together so it folds and rolls for carrying.
A good list of usefull tips. As Norwegian this is second nature and something we learn from we are kids, so we are lucky. You mention this and I just would like to stress the fact of staying dry and not sweat to much, wear thin layrs and changing into dry wool when going to sleep.
Remember the snow is wet from 0 to - 10 celcius, if cooler then - 10 the snow goes dry. Which is much better.
I like snow caves. The temp is at a steady 12 F -12 C One candle makes for a cheerful evening
Snow caves are excellent. Just remember to make the roof inside nice and smooth, otherwise it will dripp from where it is pointed.
Be bold, start cold (you should be comfortably cool before you start hiking, you will warm up to comfortable temp when you start hiking)
I swear by my balaclavas. I have several, and my favorite one is the Nomex® CVC balaclava that I managed to hold on to after ETSing from being a tanker in the Army. It's a bit heavy for the desert most of the time, but it absolutely saved my skin during those brutal cold winter field training exercises in Germany. It's a great choice for wear in the sleeping bag, too, because it allows you to stick your head out to the open air but stay warm.
CVC hood with a Jason mask, too! They were a lifesaver in Graf LOL
@@philsmith2444 True that! My last winter there (JAN-FEB 1989) we did a gunnery then road march straight to Hohenfels, and it was so effing cold … that balaclava was basically my last line of defense against the wind on that road march, during which IIRC the daily high was 24° F with light snow showers and a thick overcast. It sucked. 🥶
Yes! Listen to these guys Dixie. Mil gear as heavy as it is, is there for a reason, in deadly cold. If you can't handle the weight, stay home by the 🔥🙂.
I LOVE my fleece balaclava! It lives in my backpack so it is always with me!
Rainmaker
I recall the nomex balaklava being water proof or resistant, too.
im in colorado... spring is loaded with ice and summer is full of texans and other tourists. ill take negative temps any damn day over crowded trailheads and forest fires...
also..when layering, make sure you start off cold, dont put on clothing to warm up to how it feels when you're stationary. you want to avoid sweating at all costs.
lastly...merino wool, merino wool, merino wool. its the goldilocks of layers, at least for me. minus 33 makes great beanies and shirts and gloves out of merino
I agree with not trying to get warm right off the bat. I warm up as I sleep. Just make sure your head is warm.
Timing is everything in the cold. Getting to camp and setting up and cooking dinner before sundown means your hands are warm enough to function when you need them most. Although a hot breakfast is a moral booster, mornings are the coldest part of the day. So I pre-pack as. much as I can the night before, break camp as quickly as I can and eat a snack in the morning. Once you get moving you warm up and it warms up from the sun coming up, I stop and make oatmeal and coffee and such as a second breakfast or I eat my large meal around mid-day when it’s warmer.
Protecting batteries from the cold is important as the cold can decrease capacity. I put them in my puffy pockets. Both your battery bank and your devices warm up when they are charging/discharging, so if you put your device in one pocket and your battery bank in the other, you get two free hand-warmers while they charge. I access my phone a lot for navigation and photos and I’ve found touch-capable gloves don’t work consistently. What I do is wear a normal glove on my sub-dominate hand, and a fingerless flip-top mitten on my dominant hand. This way I don’t have to remove gloves to work devices or otherwise use my fingers.
One suggestion for down bootie substitutes ... Dutchware Gear makes synthetic insulation booties with Up insulation. I have a pair and they're great. If your feet get cold at night and down isn't an option, this is a really good alternative.
Yes! We have some synthetic fill booties and they're a life saver. Some manufacturers also make versions with soft soles which would be more suitable for wearing inside a sleeping bag.
Yep. Enlightened Equipment also makes Torrid booties with Apex insulation.
I keep my puffy in a separate, waterproof stuffsack right at the top of my pack so I don't have to fumble for it at breaks. Unlike many, I don't start hiking cold, because I don't warm up very fast if I do that, and hiking while freezing sucks. I start warm, and plan a break not too far into my day to remove layers and tighten shoelaces. I use a down miniskirt to keep my butt warm when hiking. I bought a small fleece blanket (child or pet sized) and put a slit in the middle, then wore it as a sarape. When I'm cold I pull the corners down to my hands and tuck the loose edges in. When I'm warm, I push it up around my neck, or pull it off and stuff it in the side pocket of my pack. I modified some dyneema hammock sacks (open on each end) with velcro to attach to my trekking poles handles, so I can stick my hands in them for precip and wind protection. A hot water bottle Nalgene is totally worth the weight - the softer, translucent white ones are lighter but I don't know if they still make them. The hot water bottle is cozy plus it guarantees at least one bottle of unfrozen water in the morning. Bring extra ziplocks or stuffsacks to put wet or gross things into so you can bring them in the bag with you - and make sure your winter bag has enough room to bring things in with you. Better to start the day with pants, socks, and shoes that aren't frozen stiff. If you can, dry things out with your body heat - put your dry clothes on, then your rain gear, then your wet clothes over top. But don't bring too much of that wet stuff in the bag if it's sopping - put it in ziplocks first. Canisters for stove fuel are doable as long as you warm them thoroughly before use. My experience with headlamps is new batteries die in under an hour in the cold, so no night hiking when it's really cold. I carry extra gloves for when mine inevitably get wet. If it's snowing, an umbrella keeps the snow off your shoulders and as a result makes for much warmer hiking. Lastly, I carry so much down for in camp - my sleeping bag, a summer weight quilt as a liner, down pants, down jacket, down booties. It's more bulk in the pack than it is weight, but even if it were heavy, the extra warmth of down (or down alternative) in camp is priceless.
Good words.
How do you get warm before you start hiking? I've noticed if I start cold then my hands don't warm up if the trail is not steep enough.
@@CoffeeKillersClub I should have said I start warmly dressed. The transition from warm in sleeping bag to ready to hike does not usually leave me very warm.
@@MrsJoyism Got it thanks, makes sense.
I love the down miniskirt idea. I hate a cold butt. Also when my jacket rides up and cold wind goes up my back. Brr. 🥶
One December night, when it got down to about 10 degrees, I pulled my sleeping bag hood tight around my face, with only my nose poking out. When I awoke in the morning, and had to pee so bad it hurt, my sleeping bag's zipper was frozen solid with a chunk of ice from my warm breath. I had to chew the ice off the zipper to get free. All the while thinking that it was possible I might have to sleep in a wet bag that night.
It's been decades since I winter camped in northern Minnesota, but I remember we relied heavily on the snow to shelter us from the worst of the cold, and we consumed about 4000 Calories a day. Your body needs a lot of calories to keep warm in cold conditions.
One rock little bigger than a soft ball, one page of Newspaper, and wrap, clean, will never leak and last longer. I would never put water in my bag, think you're the same. Im looking at the Torid Jacket by Enlightnemnet Equipment my REI 650 flash is no good below 50 is that Torid warm?
We only hike in the fall and winter. Hate spring and summer hiking. Don’t like snakes, bugs and humidity. Lol We kayak during the spring and summer. We are day hikes only also.
kayaking would be fun . . .
I love and appreciate your videos Dixie. Thank you!
Dixie hiked the PCT in the biggest snow year on record, on mountains of ice and snow on the AT and CDT, and in the most brutal conditions in Iceland. I'm not sure how much more experienced you need to be.
Lots of people do things incorrectly over & over all the time, just look around the gym, or any workplace, or when you are out hiking. She's not managing sweat particularly well here, she uses two poles all the time when one would be better ie she's basically carrying them for no reason. Everybody learns from everyone else, but not unless you are open to learning, as she is.
Highly recommend getting the light version of the nalgene (3 oz instead of 6 oz) for the hot water bottle trick. To me, 3 oz is well worth it to ensure I WILL be warm and cozy no matter what at night. It works just as well as the regular nalgene with hot water, and you’ll have thawed water ready to heat or drink in the morning :)
Great tip! The 3oz is lighter. I haven't tried the warm Nalgene trick. I'm so worried it might spill, but I hear about the Nalgene trick all the time. I've opted for getting a really warm sleeping bag. So far, I've enjoyed my warm sleeping bag without needing any other methods. Thanks for your tip. I will try someday.
The "getting up to pee at night" thing really depends on the type of sleeper you are. If you're a deep sleeper who falls asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow, sure, get up, pee and go back to bed.
But if you're like me and get up at the middle of the night to go out in the cold to pee, you won't be falling back asleep for a good hour or two because once you're awake, you're AWAKE. So in that case, don't drink too much water before going to bed, don't drink alcohol (it's a diuretic) and pee right before going to bed even if you don't "feel like it."
Also, emergency blankets don't "add" any R-value as the R-value is an insulation index and emergency blankets have near 0 insulation capabilities, they work by reflecting heat via radiation, whereas sleeping bags and pads stop the heat from escaping by inhibiting conduction and convection. What emergency blankets DO insulate against is moisture: they trap all the moisture that condenses on their surface as they're completely impermeable. I'd really only recommend emergency blankets in... well, emergencies.
I agree about emergency blankets as part of a stack (and BTW, also an aluminum surface of a foam pad) - they do not contribute to thermal resistance ("R value"). Even the heat radiation reflection makes no sense as long as they are between two layers of only slightly different temperature. - In the real emergency application when there is no other insulating layer they help against convection and especially wind, and may help against radiation loss especially in a clear night with a radiation-cold sky. - But another, and maybe the main reason for their aluminum layer is protection against the sun heat for people suffering from a heat stroke.
Yes ! emergency blankets for emergencies ! particularly the bags, in just a few minutes you will start to sweat,which you don’t want. You can be cold to the bone and shivering! Also you can’t really re-pack the things so they’ll be a nuisance ! Yes, I always have one with me, and I don’t ever want to unpack the thing.
@@CrimeVid yeah, they're meant to be used on someone who's rapidly losing body temperature (severe hemorrhage or blunt force trauma significantly reduces the body's ability to regulate its temperature) while rescue arrives.
A healthy body produces way too much moisture for them to be a viable option for sleeping gear. I think every (and I mean EVERY) hiker and even driver should carry one in their trauma kit but they're really only for emergencies.
Dear Dixie, this is for feet but the principal can apply to your hands as well. Start with insulated, waterproof boots that are a size too big for you to create internal space. Pull on a thin pair of merino wool socks and then pull on a gallon sized ziplock freezer bag. Pull on a fluffy pair of merino wool socks over the freezer bag, and finally, some darn tough socks over this. Then put your boots on. What will happen is that the freezer bags over your feet will create a moisture barrier, trapping any sweat moisture within the first thin marine wool socks. This will keep the fluffy merino wool socks and the darn tough socks and the inside of your boots bone dry. This dryness plus the effects of the multiple layers of insulation will keep your feet nice and warm in even the coldest climate. The same principle applies to your hands. Thin merino wool gloves covered by a thin waterproof glove and then an outer fluffy merino wool glove will create a moisture barrier helping your hands stay warm. Applying an outer glove over this that is windproof and waterproof will absolutely do the trick in even the harshest conditions. Your head needs a nice thick wool balaclava that pulls down to cover your neck covered by a wool beanie and then (with a face covering of choice) covered by the hood of your outer jacket and a pair of ski goggles for your eyes. Always protect your eyes from the sun in whiteout conditions. I hope this helps, a Norwegian friend taught me this!
Thanks, CS! A friend gets upset when I talk about putting plastic bags on feet, but you are right about putting the bag on your base pair. Feet stop perspiring when the humidity gets high, it doesn't get clammy. My final touch, a set of Arctic Shield boot covers. Infrared reflective, hunters wear them in tree stands. I tried a lot of things, feet stay toasty now. They make a whole outfit, start with the boot covers, great with snowshoes.
Of course, it's always smart to do numerous dry runs (cold runs) at home before you head for the wild white yonder. I can't tell you how many attempts it took me before I was comfortable sleeping in cold winter weather in my hammock, despite thinking my underquilt, down quilt, warm wool socks, etc were supposed to mitigate the cold temperature. You ain't lived until you sleep outside your home in freezing temperatures! But no one talks about your face getting cold, wearing an appropriate mask to sleep comfortably, etc. (thick wool balaclava and a Marino Buff). Even still, just like being in a cold swimming pool after a few hours, you definitely have the urge to pee. So by all means do lower extremity exercises (run in place) before turning in to warm up your quads and feet. And it's not a bad idea to put a hot water bottle between your thighs by your crotch when you turn in, which will transfer heat to your femoral arteries and core (I love a single layer 17 ounce stainless steel water bottle which you can also put in the fire to warm it up). Even still, having something like a pair of LoftTek™Hybrid Booties on your feet is heavenly. Or if all else fails, grab some smooth hot rocks from the fire! Bottom line, learn your solutions/secrets BEFORE mother nature has her way with you!
Dixie, lots of a great tips! Many of which I have used and continue to use during cold weather camping. Coming from a cold weather area of the country and spending a lot of time in the outdoors during the winter months I can say that many of your tips have helped me stay warm and comfortable. For sleeping attire when camping I change into dry clothing. Usually a fleece like pajama bottom, polypropylene t-shirt, fleece shirt, fleece balaclava, and a heavy pair of wool socks (I have some super plush/heavy wool socks from Redhead). I find this combination seems to work great for me and has kept me warm when the temps dip down into the single digits. I've heard some swear that a down booty worn over your sleeping socks is the only way to go when getting warm and cozy for the night, but I haven't tried those yet. As for hands though? I have found that multiple layers of gloves don't work for me and have tried all sorts of things. Even wool gloves inside a waterproof (rubber) glove have failed me while ice fishing on the Canadian border. The best options I have found for warm hands in those conditions, and I've been out there during temps of -25F, are mittens. There are cons to this approach if you are doing tasks that require finger dexterity though. I've recently purchased a pair of gloves designed for ice fishing, but do not have sufficient experience with them in those (ice fishing) conditions to say much about them. These gloves are called "Ice Armor by Clam". They are insulated waterproof gloves, but do not rely on rubber for waterproofing. I have worn them while operating my snow blower during snow removal and they have been fantastic in that role as the blown snow tends to get all over my hands and arms while operating the machine. Another option that works for me is a wool glove worn inside military surplus arctic mittens, but that might be a difficult combo for most to locate. With that combo I can slip my gloved hand out of the arctic mitten for finger dexterity and then slide them back inside the mitten shell for warmth. Good combo. As for my feet in the cold... I've tried many things through the years and have found that a good pair of wool socks inside a properly fitting pair of boots that are loosely tied keep my feet the warmest when I'm not moving. Not much of an issue while on the move, but once at camp and not moving around much I'd suggest changing into dry socks and loosening the laces on your footwear if you are prone to cold feet. I have other options for cold feet issues, but none of them would be much use while hiking. Those solutions are more for sedentary outdoor activities during cold weather. Suffice it to say I've not had issues staying warm in the outdoors when on the move. It's when I stop moving that I get cold and I'm sure it's the same for everyone else. Finding that combination of gear that works for hiking, but also keeps you warm when at camp can be tough.
Look at my 11 tip winter sleep video, i been winter sleeping for 39 years. Down to -35 Celcius too without a fire. But here is basically what i do no matter if i have a fire or a nalgene in winter time. An you have to remember is all about micro temperature climate, and air flow of your body core heat:
Golden Rule nr. 1: Aclima or Brynje Nett first as a first thin layer!!! THEN a Merino wool or polytester or combine blend. THIS IS THIN baselayers (this is what the norwegian armed forces uses and are thought by expert and scientist, even american soldiers fly overseas to get same winter training).
Its not a matter of warm or cold sleeper, rather how your blood floods through your vains, that creates warmth. And guess what Earthing, barefoot and even Zero dropp training shoes will improve your blood circulation as well as eating healthy. (this is however a newer revelation, not from the armed forces)
2. A simple merino wool beenie/buff and down booties for sleeping. Mittens. Thick wool socks work less than thin injinjiwool inside a spacie down bootie. Why? Again the micro climate and due to heat escaping from those parts.
3. A comfort degree rating on both sleeping bag quilt and pad.
( You only need that thin layer two layer, under trust me. Its more likely that overdressed people shiver and get cold, i actually seen people get hypothermia and got told to undress and get rather close to a sgt. to get back their warmth core, i did this too my wife once too, funny enough we got engaged after that too.)
4. Eat small, and warm. Here is where i normally boil water on a nalgene ( i have both metal or plastic, however it will get messy if you boil directly your stainless steel and put inside your sleeping quilt...)
5. Go to the toilet before bed and also have a pee bottle aside you.
6. Outer Shelter should mainly protect you from the wind. Dyneema are NOT winter designed tents, they give you condensation hell. Silnylon two layer aerodynamic tents are the way to go, a hot tent, or a simple tarp for a bon fire, might do depending on where you setup and the Helsport Fjellduk is a breathedable third option over your quilt.
I tipically dont recomend hammocks due to way you banana lay down can kill layering, but if one use the normal Amok version, since its different from all hammocks. If a banana hammock then expensive underquilts and housing tarps are very important.
As far as finger gloves, use mittens instead, actually the way you sleep, is the same way you wear mittens with a thin wool finger glove/ or another mitten inside... And your bed outdoors is typically a simulation of what you feel comfortable at your home, specially regarding the sheet (liner feel) madrass and pillow.
BONUS Tip: Nature can sometimes be noicy, i do sometimes wear earplugs.
- Cold Kills
- Nature is Neutral, and
- Mountains don't Care
Old school wisdom from a Boyscout Master I met on a trail.
I am now spending my 2nd winter outside almost every night in Central Washington. I do not like the cold. 85°F is my preferred temperature, even hiking, but I know how to handle cold.
#1 - Wool works
#2 - Fire is your friend. But without a saw And an ax, getting your firewood is much harder than it need be. Full size tools aren't needed, but little crappy multi-tool stuff is no good. Ax needs to have some heft. A landscaper type folding saw works well, but don't go too cheap.
Fire-making skills improve with practice.
#3 - Take enough food to ignore the tourist schedule stuff as needed. Do not rush
#4 - Go slow and don't exert all your energy or wakefulness at any time, unless shelter is actually in sight. Keep a reserve of energy and wakefulness at all times. Exhaustion can become fatal.
#5 - My biggest difficulty in cold is with my hands which are not big meaty mitts. One thing that helps a lot is an extra layer for my wrists and forearms. Lots of heat is lost from this limb area before it gets to your hands. I have used both synthetic and wool.
The sleeve ends from a cast off sweater works. Wool is especially useful if you are building fires and you otherwise have synthetic outer layers as the wool will not melt from random embers.
My two cents: apart from all the good tips you already have given, I would say: ditch fashion. You don't need to "look good" in the winter, you need to stay warm. If it looks baggy, worm, scruffy, but warm...bring it! The other thing is: don't cut corners. Ease of the UL thinking. You can carry an extra pounds if it keeps you varm and cost when you need to. Getting frozen on the trail sets you in a downward spiral fast.
Thank you for a nice video!
(1) You don't bring SmartWater bottles in the winter time as you bring Nalgene and/ or a lightweight thermos (hence why your video clip shows the water frozen to ice). Also, the water bottle insulator/ parkas only fit Nalgene bottles and SmartWater bottles cannot hold hot boiling water without breaking; and (2) in many of your video clips it becomes clear that you're not using a proper winter tent. Indeed, the Duplex, StratoSpire and X-Mid are three season tents and cannot handle a lot of snow or winter blizzard winds. If you want to use a DCF tent in the winter, then get an HMG Ultamid as that is a true and proper four-season DCF shelter.
Insulation doesn't produce warmth. Your body does. Insulation only retains it. Dead air space provides the thermal barrier, not necessarily the material used to insulate. The thicker the dead air space, the better the insulation. Since your body provides the heat, keeping the insulation as close to your skin as possible increases its efficiency. Mummy bags fit more snugly than rectangular bags, so they will hold the insulation closer to the heat source - you, and, with the same thickness of insulation, will keep you warmer, as well as being lighter and less bulky.
Dixie refers to "dead space" as being inefficient: this would be the corners of a rectangular sleeping bag or excess girth or length in a mummy shaped bag.
Another common gap that is very familiar with hammockers is the gap that often occurs between the bottom of the hammock and top of the underquilt which allows cold air between the two and prevents your body from warming up the heat-trapping insulation in the underquilt. Shock-corded underquilt suspension systems pull the underquilt tightly against the hammock bottom, eliminating the air gap and making the most of the insulation.
Fwiw, logic dictates that, when using two sleeping pads in cold weather, you place the most thermally efficient pad against your body; in other words, the closed cell foam is most effective when used on TOP of your air mattress, rather than underneath it. When I figured this out, logically, I tried it, practically, and found my hypothesis to be valid.
Winter camping in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and research in various studies of physics have been a lifelong passion for me.
P.S. the thickness of insulation is referred to as "loft" in the industry. Two inches of 600 fill power duck down is just as warm as two inches of 1,200 fill power Polish grey goose down. It's just heavier, bulkier, and may come in a bag that isn't as ergonomically efficient, made of heavier fabric, with sloppy workmanship, etc.
The colder it gets, and the more challenging the trip, the more it matters.
Also: dampness negatively impacts the efficiency of all insulation, but extreme wetness can render down useless. Hydrophobic chemical down treatments can help, but a waterproof storage system is critical.
"Warm when wet" is a gross exaggeration, if not a fallacy. In summer, you might get away with a damp bag and be just uncomfortable. At -20 degrees Fahrenheit, it could cost you dearly!
Stay dry and warm, and don't forget the hot water bottle. Outdoor Research makes an insulted holder for a quart Nalgene plastic bottle. The polycarbonate Nalgene bottles will handle boiling water. The polypropylene ones will not. I came across a padded 35mm camera lens case which works for my 40 fl.oz. stainless steel Klean Kanteen bottle, which I prefer to carry because I almost always have a campfire below freezing, and I can put the bottle right in the coals (plastic cap off!) and boil water for dinner, add more, boil again, and have a hot water bottle for bed and warm, sterilized water that will heat more quickly with less fuel than cold water in the morning.
I would like to add that it ultimately depends on your style of camping as well. When I go car camping I take an insulated Eskimo ice fishing shelter and a big buddy heater in addition to reindeer furs and a cot with a RV mattress. When I do all that I don't need to acclimate myself as much and it's great for a quick overnight in the woods. Bottom line though, if you think you're getting too cold do not try to tough it out. There's nothing shameful with practicing safety first.
Good words pal. My oldest brother and I were tenting it with a bunch of others, from across the globe, in the treeline, outside of a cannery where we worked double shifts, outside of Kenai Alaska. It was -40, cold even for that area. We ran a catalytic heater and draped a sleeping bag over our cots to prevent airflow underneath. Then another bag to sleep in. c1994. You have to be prepared. Around all those people, it didn't stop me from getting pneumonia. Miserable. We called it 'scuddering'.
As ice fishing shelters are quite airtight and buddy heaters are operated on propane, please bring a carbon monoxide alarm.
Even though the manufacturer claims a low-oxygen-shutoff.
@@manone9325 while I can't speak for every shelter, the one I have has vents in the top because it's designed to be used with a heater. That said I keep a CO detector in my fire box with the heater gear.
there's a big difference between camping and hiking/backpacking, and the equipment and clothing needed for the respective endeavor.
If the title would be, Tips For Backpacking In The WINTER, I would say it's not problem for our today's hike in West Ghats in Southern India
😉
Back home it is already minus 11 degC
Hiking and camping are two different things, so temper tips accordingly. I abide by the you should feel a little chill when hiking, that way you are at that point between being thermally efficient and not starting to sweat more than the moisture management of your clothing system. That's not the same as go bold start cold. Starting cold immediately requires more energy to increase core temp and will also tend to make you exert more to get warm. The tortoise approach is better than the hare approach, because you don't want extreme heating and cooling. Plus, all that blood moving away from the extremities to warm up your core, just means you are starving your primary means of movement (legs) when hiking. I think people over think the sleep system and forget that it is basically the same as your clothing layering system. Instead of your puffy jacket, you are using the sleeping bag as that layer. remember also that an ice cube in a sleeping bag is an ice cube in a sleeping bag. A sleeping bag cannot warm you up because it does not generate heat. Eat calories just before going to bed. hand layering system. No shame in wearing overmittens and gloves when you need dexterity underneath. When you are moving hiking all day, how much finger dexterity do you really need vice keeping your fingers warm? those heat warmers are terrible: for the environment and just extra unnecesary weight. if you are trying to hold your pee when you sleep, you aren't sleeping which is overall not good for your body. winter hiking it is also important to keep the largest organ of your body (your skin) lubbed. Hydration is a key part of this, because people tend to underhydrate when cold.
1) Dress light as possible for sleep, then pull insulation layers inside bag and on-top of body as necessary. It's surprisingly more comfortable and just as warm (if not warmer, since added insulation is trapping heat above and not squished below). 2) A bivy-bag is much warmer than a liner, and bivy weighs less. 3) Pee. The natural state of pee is ambient; anything above ambient, body had to heat to maintain. 4) When hiking, hands and head can be modified without stopping. This author uses a four-layer glove system, hoods on everything, including base-layer, merino balaclava and a MYoG eVent hood. A lot easier to peel head/hands than jackets/fleeces.
I’d recommend taking more fuel for your stove while backpacking in the winter time in case you have to melt snow for water.
Great tips, Dixie. I have tried most of them. Just a couple of my own takes:
1. Mylar. Emergency. Blanket. Don't leave home without it. Probably saved my life. Back in high school, 40+ years ago, first real hike ever, a rainstorm left my sleeping bag (cotton, homemade by my mom!) soaked. When we got to our shelter, I was shivering. My buddy put his space blanket over me and secured it with little rocks all around the perimeter. I didn't even know he was doing this, no recollection, which is saying a lot since these blankets are noisy! But in the morning, I was dry, my clothes were dry, my sock, my boots, everything -- my body heat was enough to dry them out. The wooden floor of the shelter had a ring of moisture, I assume was condensation, all around my sleeping bag.
2. Pee bottle. Not Gatorade, no way is that big enough, (for me anyway). Try a small laundry degerget bottle, pull the pour spout out with pliers, rinse well, I suggest some white distilled vinegar. Good to go, and go....
3. If in snow, make sure your footwear is completely waterproof.
4. Mittens. Yak, alpaca, wool of some kind. Or at least, windproof mitts over the gloves.
5. Balaclava - better than trying to get the hat and neck gaiter to cooperate. You can always add a hat and neck gaiter, but as a base, the bala is a game changer, (for me).
Double sleeping bag/quilt. Down inner, synthetic outer. Moves the dew point out to the synthetic layer, down inner stays dry and holds loft. Vapour barrier liner useful to in very cold situations.
Sleeping pad, I made a reflectix "envelope" to slip my pad into. It does work and the weight is worth it
Always the best videos. Will be listening to it again to fall asleep (not boring just safe feeling)
I love hiking / snowshoeing & taking pictures here in the PNW. For hand warmth I use a glove layer that works well for touch screen and then wear heavier fleece mittens over that have the flap mitten part. Makes it easy to keep my hands warmer, keep a hand warmer near my fingers in the mitten part, and quickly be able to use touch screen or do dexterous things (like setup hammock, cook, open snacks, etc.
For sleeping you can wear a balaclava or ski face mask. The latter is good because these tend to have small holes where the mouth is so vapour escapes. A ski mask will also have an opening for your nose but a piece of fabric over the nose so the skin stays warm but breath is allowed out. Either a ski mask or balaclava will prevent the need to snuggle your nose into your sleeping bag.
SHOWA has a new updated glove - 282-02 Waterproof/Insulated Gloves. will be perfect for the AT in the colder months
Excellent advice all around! A few of additional thoughts: I like wool base layers for hiking over synthetic ones because they are much easier to dry by a fire without melting. Puffy pants are amazing around camp when you get the post hike chills. Sleeping bag liners can increase the flexibility of your bag/quilt and keep it drier, cleaner and therefore warmer.
I like your plaid fleece where'd you get it? Haha
Don't let your hollow fiber water filter freeze!!
First let me say I love your videos thanks for taking the time to make them all. Living in the white mountains its hard not to go hiking when it’s not cold. Now I just have to get my 13 yr old son out there with me. Hoping to have enough gear for him by the holidays. Having a spring summer set up does nothing up here come freezing fall nights. Happy trails
ALWAYS pee before going to bed . . . ask your urologist. It's bad to hold a full bladder because you are making more as you sleep and you can get bladder hypertrophy from it.
Hey Sunny Dixie,
Here are some tips from a Canadian used to the winter outdoors:
CLOTHING
Your clothes are your main shelter, never forget that.
A) COTTON
Avoid cotton at all costs. A.V.O.I.D. cotton!
B) SWEAT-WET
Avoid any water, moisture, or sweat. Water increase body heat loss by 25%. Use layers and USE them. Several other tips below for that.
B) MERINO
Merino wool is the best. It's more expensive but it helps regulate body temperature and keeps away bad odors.
C) SOCKS
Have two pairs of socks. Merino is the best. You can have a pair of medium thicknesses and one thicker.
D) FIRST LAYER
Again, Merino is the best but Nike has a top that I love and you can also go for polypropylene. It's always good to have two tops in case the first one gets wet.
E)SECOND LAYER
Wool is best but heavier. Fleece is also good, lighter, and dries faster.
F) OUTER SHELL
Wind and waterproof, make sure to test it! (like everything else)
G) HANDS
Gloves are great, but mits are way warmer.
H) HEAD
I use a thin merino hat from HH and also have a fleece one and a wool one. I switch to whatever I need. You can also combine the thin merino and fleece one at the same time.
I) SLEEPING CLOTH
Never go to sleep with the socks you were wearing even if you think they are dry. A good habit is to have the cloth you'll use to sleep in the sleeping bag so you know where they are and they're ready on the spot. I use thin or medium merino leggings, my top is either merino or polypropylene and I may also wear my fleece jacket if very cold. It's also good to have a thin wool glove and a hat ready at hand.
H) DIY FURNACE
Have a 1L Nalgene bottle, fill it with boiling water, and put it in a large wool sock. Then place it at your feet. Not only your feet will be toasty, but you'll also have UNfrozen water to drink in the morning. When very cold, I also use a 500ml Nalgene bottle between my legs. The femoral arteries transport lots of blood, so you'll warm up quick :)
I) CALORIES
Eat lots of calories or sugar before going to bed. Like a hot chocolate. Digestion will also warm you up!
J) PEE BOTTLE
There's nothing worst than having to leave your sleeping bag in the middle of the night. A pee bottle (or two) will make a huge difference!
K) ISOBUTANE STOVES
Certainly not the best in very cold weather. Gas contracts when cold, so less pressure so.... poor performance. If you're stuck with that, put the canister in your jacket for a few minutes before using it. You can also use the toe warmers. They have a sticker so you can stick one under the canister and TADA!
L) HOLDING YOUR PEE
I have the answer for you here Dixie. Humans tend to pee more frequently when cold. This was scientifically proven in 1918 by Adler. In short, cold triggers the sensors in the ureter and bladder, which in turn contracts the muscle, and there you go...you need to pee! That's why you need to pee before going to bed. Also, your body wants to warm up all fluids... yes, ALL fluids, including pee. So you'll waste energy there instead of warming up the rest of your body. Bottom line, it's scientific... keep the bladder empty as much as possible.
M) MASKS
We're all tired of masks, aren't we? But they help a lot in winter to warm up the air that you're breathing. You can use a cheap surgical mask or buy the same one used by the mountain climbers: Vapro Airtrim or the ColdAvenger. You can also use a neoprene mask.
N) SLEEPING BAG
As stated by Dixie, don't trust too much the rating on sleeping bags. Also, some are getting colder faster than others. Always aim for the "comfort" rating and do some tests before going on a trek(we can't say that enough, right?). Use a liner or you can use two sleeping bags if you don't have the money for a good one.
DUVET
Best ones, but if wet, then... disaster. They will last you for decades if you take good care of them.
SYNTHETICS
Will protect you even if wet, but a lot bulkier and will last just a few years.
My choice? Duvet all the way!
O) SNOWSHOES
The most common mistake is this... People are buying snowshoes according to their weight. WRONG!
You need to add at least 10-14 pounds because of your clothing. You'll be surprised by how heavy all the layers and boots can be.
P) VARIOUS TIPS
- water freezes from top to bottom, keep your water bottle upside down
- never keep your water bottle in the backpack (Sintax77 can tell you about it...)
- you will get dehydrated more than you think. Drink often.
- sleeping in red clothes will keep you warmer.
- always use a sleeping pad. you can add a reflectix to increase the R-rating!
- DIY pot cozzies are amazing!
- a UCO candle lantern is a must. You'll get light, it'll warm up the tent (same as a 100-watt light bulb) and help reduce moisture inside.
- two in a tent keeps you warmer and you can do the Inuit's kissing;)
Last, use a sled you can. It's the best for winter camping.
Winter camping is fun and so relaxing. You just need the right clothing and gear and someone to teach you well ;)
Have fun!
Well written
To keep your hands warm, wear a thin synthetic liner glove inside a warm mitten or glove. The liner glove will keep moisture away from your hands so even if your outer glove or mitt is damp from sweat or snow your hands will still be warm. If your hands get hot take off the outer gloves or mitts and put them inside your outermost layer. It keeps your gloves or mitts warm while not using them, dries them out a bit, and they’re nearby if you need them.
I don't camp in winter anymore, not enough daylight hours. 12+ hours in a small tent ain't fun. But I still do day hikes. :)
Where did you camp next to LAVA??? It's in the last clip around 17:01, and wow, I can't help but imagine hot cocoa made with LAVA!!!
ruclips.net/video/esNV10ZWSRg/видео.html
One of the best not so commonly discussed things to help you get and/or keep warm is some kind of heating device like Ocoopa, I believe it is, a little chinese device that can get crazy hot at the highest settings. Inexpensive, but you throw that inside your sleeping bag and it will warm it up real nice. Plus you can use it to recharge your phone or whatever. Newbies may not be aware that even the warmest sleeping bag will not melt an ice, meaning if you're really cold, it's not going to do a whole lot if your body has a hard time creating some heat. Anyway, I thought I'd mention it because I've seen hundreds of hiking videos and only one time someone mentioned it.
If it's not been said, a big one for me is switching from a cannister stove set to either a small woodstove, or alcohol stove. Trying to get a cannister stove to stay lit long enough when it's below freezing is a pain, especially when cold and tired! But if you do forget, using a hot hands under it to get it *just* warm enough works, if you already got it warm for your hands in your pockets. Those hot hands can also work as an emergency hypothermia save. (I read about an incident up in the White Mountains where someone found another who was on the brink - and used hot hands on major artery places to keep them warm long enough to build a fire.)
And I'm looking forward to the "cold"*** snap coming this week - to try out really cold temps. (In the south, single digits are bitterly cold - but almost springtime for Minnesota folks!)
Even if it's super cold and you're all covered up, make sure you have sunscreen on your face and anything else exposed (hands, ears, etc), including the underside of your nose and chin, especially if there is snow, granite or sand. The worse sunburn of my life was on the underside of my nose after snowboarding all day.
The best advice I can give for winter camping is to do your best to get acclimated to cold weather before you go if possible and ideally colder weather than what you're expecting. My reason for this is if you get moderately used to a low temperature, say 0 degrees, and then you go out backpacking and it's 20 you're going to feel considerably more comfortable. I realize it's not easy but you can do things like keeping your house at a lower temperature and not using heat while driving and wearing thinner layers, all while being in a safe controlled environment but basically anything you can do to bridge the gap of whatever temp is normal for you to what you're expecting to be camping or hiking in.
Way true
On a related note, I'm convinced that I got into winter backpacking since I work in a refrigerated warehouse. I got used to spending time at 38 F (4 C) so camping as it got colder felt more natural.
Dixie....you have to try hot tent camping. Small backpacking wood stove with glass door. Makes Winter camping so fun, the more snow the better!
Great suggestions as always! If it's cold, I never leave without my Appalachian Gear alpaca sleeping bag liner. I'm already a cold sleeper and this was a game changer for me. You rock Dixie!
I am not fond of cold camping either. But I am planning to start the AT in February. I watched Scott Benerofe’s (Aquaman) vlog of the AT starting at Katadin in December last year. He shared the equipment he used and the routines he used to keep warm. He needed snowshoes, pickax, and ice spikes as he was in the most extreme temperatures. I plan on getting off trail if the weather gets that bad. But if you like the challenge, he is a pretty sharp guy and was successful in his attempt. You might check him out.
May I ask why you're planning on starting so early?
@@rjensen2586 I am older (61) and pokey. Having a bubble coming up behind me is good motivation to keep my butt moving!
I'm excited for you! Sounds like you're doing all the right research.:)
@@rjensen2586 thanks!
The Arizona Trail is a fantastic hike. From low deserts to high peaks you'll experience a full gamut of terrain changes. Can't wait to follow your trip!
I can’t stand the cold in winter. Not even when hunting. If astronaut suits came in Realtree, I’d wear one in my tree stand. Winter camping isn’t for me. I’ll be in the cabin by the fire.
I'm in Washington state and hike the Olympics regularly. To address the hot water bottle for warmth ...it's a thing. I use a Hydrapak Seeker collapsible water bottle as my savior for solo hiking in the cold weather. They fit the Katadyn Befree for water filtration, as well. Great tips, Dixie! For those of use who hike, your lived experience is precious.
I've been backpacking in the teens already this year 20 degree synthetic bag, no tent only a tarp. I took 2 walmart liners put goosedown I bought in bulk inside and sealed it with hemming tape to put in my bag. I also advocate for Toe warmers ( They get way warmer with consistent heat vs. Hot hands ) throw a couple of hot hands in the bag, it does heat the bag significantly. I only sleep in fleece base layers , merino wool socks, and a beanie. Through the day stay moving. A 700 fill down coat during the day. Dont forget chapstick and if you work with ropes as much as I do bring aquifer for your hands. The winter is so drying. Honestly it's all what works for the individual. Happy trekking
Great video as always. I would add a couple of tips to keep warm outdoors... Let's see :
1. I would bring a cotton or leather bag to put a hot stone out from the fire pit inside that bag... and use it instead of an steel bottle or rubber bag with hot whater inside. Coz stones don't leak.😉
2. Dog food bags has aluminum and plastic layers and so they are great heet keepers for feet and legs if we carry a big one rolled inside the backpack... and empty (just in case some troll says that they are heavy). And if you consider it will also keep the sweat and so provoke condensation, and that will weat your feet... well... bring a pair of cotton socks, and also punch some holes in the middle, in the side that goes up, with a paper puncher to prevent that condensation. They are also very usefull to keep things dry into the backpack if we use it as a liner.
3. Don't cover the noses, they are the "body's thermometer"... if the nose it's warm your body will think it's hot an so it won't increase the body temperature... and the same the opposite way around... If your noses are cold your body shall increase the body temperature...
Cheers Martin from Argentina🇦🇷 by the way...
I would suggest gaiters. Not those short summer ones. Full gortex to just below the knee. Keeps snow out of your boots & add a surprising amount of warmth. Micro spikes can also tame a slippery nightmare of a trail to a fun hike but you have to judge if they are worth the weight.
Well done, as usual! Your subscribers always have a lot of great information.
Speaking of subscribers…409k 👏👏👏
CDT, PCT etc... Put anything foam on top of your inflatable pad, quilt or sleeping bag. Neo Air with a 1/8" thinlight foam pad ON TOP will make all the difference. I spend my winters on the CDT in Montana and Wyoming, yes, really cold but I've never been cold in my 14,000+ miles.
Shug has spent years backpacking Minnesota winters (he's also youtube's hammock teacher)ruclips.net/video/tQ9XVH1KmFo/видео.html
I buy the smallest camelback they make, lightest too......and in the winter I wear it UNDER my coat......body heat keeps it from freezing....not my original tho...
From a friend in Colorado.
Hey Dixie, I've thoroughly enjoyed your videos for several years now and I think I may have an idea for you ! A US Army cold weather field jacket liner. It may weigh2 oz. The batting is 100% polyester and the outer shell is 100% nylon. For years I've worn one under my polar fleece camo jacket to hunt in and I've never found anything that can match it for total warmth ! Its amazing ! You can get the pants liner too, which are great to sleep in when its really cold, and once again they don't weigh anything and don't cost very much at all. You can get them on Amazon or at your nearest Army Navy surplus store. I've also used a poncho liner that is made of the same material to sleep under. I always keep one in my truck in case I have to spend the night in the woods. GREAT SURVIVAL TOOL. Thanks again for the videos , take care , be careful, and don't let the MUMMY catch up to ya !
Hey Dixie , the one on Amazon is made by Rothco M65 field jacket liner.
I think the best one , on Amazon, is FIELD JACKET LINER GENUINE MILITARY ISSUE M-65 FIELD JACKET LINER
Don’t use a water filter. It WILL freeze. As soon as it has been frozen even once, it does not function any more - the micropores will have been widened by the expanding water.
You can use water purification drops or boil the water. Chlorine drops taste horrible, but the Aquamira drops are great.
With certain drops, NEVER use any vitamin C in the same bottle. Even the slightest trace of vitamin c will neutralise the active substance before it can do it’s job. Vitamin C is very often contained in various squirts (I often add those for taste).
If you want to boil water, make sure it is still liquid when boiling time comes (so bring water into the sleeping bag, use a thermos, OR pour the water already into your pot the night before).
The micropores in a water filter act like a sieve. The holes in this sieve are usually 0.1 µm.
So when a bacterium with 0.2 µm comes along, it cannot pass the sieve.
If the water filter freezes, the water that is in the holes at that time will expand and thereby widen the hole. If the hole is now 0.3 µm, the bacterium will now pass with ease.
The freeze-up will be invisible to you.
Iodine will most definitely be neutralised by ascorbic acid (vitamin c).
There are also some chemical reactions between chlorine dioxide (Micropur forte and Aquamira) and ascorbic acid. However, this probably does not affect the purification process.
1. If using both inflatable & solid pads, like Anish, put the solid one on top (no convection currents next to your bag).
2. Change into (dry) sleeping clothes (long woolen or polypro base layers) immediately when you stop for the night, even before setting up the tent.
3. Sleeping socks should be ridiculously oversized for your feet: sloppy loose. You want dead air. Orlon is a good, lightweight choice. Down is even better. Cut off elastic cuffs, which constrict blood flow.
4. Showa gloves work well. So do thin wool gloves + rain mitts, which cut the wind. Hillbilly option for the overmitts: bread bags, Subway bags, gallon ziplocks. Big difference from gloves alone.
5. Waterproof neoprene socks are a game changer if you wear trail runners.
6. Don't expect isopro stoves to work well below 20-25F. As the stove burns, your isopro fuel will get colder--several degrees colder than the air! (Boyle's Law). Alcohol, propane, white gas are better options in cold.
Feral sends.
It doesn't hurt to start out with less clothing. You should know how far you have to travel before your up to temperature. This doesn't count if the wind is blowing. Add something to block the wind. I never put on my down coat until the temps are zero or below. You can adjust to the cold easier if you don't over dress when it is not needed. I never wear a coat in the vehicle or in a store. Fuel the inner furnace more often, take a morning and afternoon break. Calvin Rutstrum's book Paradise Below Zero is encouraging to be out in the cold.
Definitely sleep in a tent that has really good ventilation! 40 some years ago I went backpacking with two other guys along the rim of linville gorge in an ice storm. The tent had a fly but not a well ventilated roof. We woke up to a pool of water in the tent from condensation. Lesson learned. The scenery was stunning though.
I *SO* hate camping in the cold. All good ideas that I hope never to need!
Thanks for sharing, Dixie.
I am a warm sleeper and I have camped in weather down to 13 below zero comfortably I might add. I find the threat from sweat is real. I wear a long sleeve shirt and hat but no pants and that works for me. I do keep my clothes in my bag so when I wake up in the morning they are warm. Also I will put my boots under the foot box of my sleeping bag to keep them warmish. I sometimes put my jacket over my foot box for added warmth.
Awesome, "Dixie", love it about sunscreen in cold, most will probably be in outerwear, an "britches", cool.👍
Question for anyone. My wind/rain jacket is usually the last layer I keep on due to the weather. But the inside feels TERRIBLE on my skin, sticky...rubbery. It is a Marmot precip...that I LOVE for the pitzips, but is there such a pitzip rain jacket that has a skin loving interior? Got to have pitzips.
I'm looking forward to seeing your Arizona trail videos. Thanks.
Transferring of heat to a cold surface such as the ground can cause condensation and literally freeze your hiney. I like to gather dry leaves and pine needles for under the tent/ground cover. Also I use a light weight 1/4" closed cell packing foam insulation (very light weight) under the air sleep mat. Since using a down quilt ( I roll around a lot like an alligator doing a death spiral) I have an addition lighter quilt. Utilized snaps to attach it to the primary quilt in colder months prevents it from falling off. Sleep ware is medium polyester base layer, merino wool tee and heavy merino wool socks. Super comfy down to 30 F. But now I have added puffy britches for really cold. Experimented in cold weather beforehand and prefer the base layer britches in combination with puffy britches.....controls condensation and works great in really cold temperatures!!
Hi Dixie, put your dry clothes underneath your sleeping bag for morning. Sleep with less clothing if needed put extra clothing over sleeping bag. Don’t restrict your circulation in your sleeping bag with too many clothes on. Happy hiking
Minnesota resident here. I disagree with handwarmers for backpacking; they are a one-time-use item and you still have to pack that weight in and out. Just bring a light glove and a heavier glove and a mitten for very cold. Use the less-warm gloves while you are active. Use the warmer ones when you are stopped at camp. Manage your layers properly to ensure you don't overheat and sweat a lot getting your clothing wet. When it's wet cold, take extra care to stay dry. Dry cold (below 20F) is actually less dangerous than wet cold (around freezing). Most people who get hypothermia get it in that 20-50F range where it's still cold but also wet.
Gloves are particularly important hiking in Winter. I find the best( and I've tried many brands) in the UK where I live are the Sealskin brand. Maybe more expensive but a real investment to ensure your hands are always warm.
Base layer + mid layer (Patagonia R2, Senchi Lark, Melanzana, etc.) with a 2-3 oz windshirt over that and then another heat trapping proper rain shell over that. I’ve found the two shell system works great.
Before actually watching the video I’d like to share my own tip about backpacking in the cold: Don’t!
Dixie, for your feet, Enlightened Equipment makes synthetic booties that work awesomely. I've had mine for a couple of years and they are lightweight and warm. The companies Outdoor Vitals and Wiggy's also make synthetic booties.EE, OV and Timmermade have synthetic hoodies as well. Hitting close to 0*F in a couple of days and I'm going to be outside with an over quilt to boost my sleeping bag range. Great video
Only gloves that work for me are thumb gloves. Anything with fingers and I end up freezing alot and almost immediately.
I'm not going to read all the comments but we Norwegians swear by mittens. Your fingers get much happier when they can snuggle together. Homemade knitted is best. I've never had any good experiences with Thinsulate or other liner based hand wear (would you call it that?).
If you're allergic (I'm told) you can have issues with lanolin. If not you can buy cures of lanolin for your wool to soak in. This greatly increases the wicking quality of the wool. Only use it on what you expect to get wet, like mittens, your thick socks and beanie. I have no experience using it on mixed thread material, only wool.
When I go out, even for day hikes, I always carry extra. Especially for my hands where I'll wear a pair of gloves or mittens that I expect to be adequate, you don't want to get too warm from moving about, I'll even take those of if need be. This I can do because I also carry mittens that will bomb any cold situation: thick inner layer of wool, covered by ‘polar mittens’ or ‘polarvotter’, I've seen them listed as ‘shell gloves/mittens’. I like mine to cover halfway up my forearms.
I always have double and triple redundancy and have not gotten myself into trouble for quite a while but I've helped others out who would otherwise be in quite the predicament, straight from onset shivering/hypothermia to toasty. Don't be a wheenie about warm clothes for safety.
Clothing.... Nice Wool / Alpaca / Qiviut (Ki-vee-oot) and add layers and eat a lot to generate calories. I have camped & worked outside all day - even at minus 30F temperatures. Keep moving and when going to sleep - build a fire and heat rocks and put those rocks inside a double cloth bag inside your sleeping bag.
Love your red plaid shirt! Is it fleece? I want one!!! Great video. Absolutely change when you stop!
It’s heavy so maybe it wouldn’t work for backpacking, but a 90% wool blanket works wonders for me in the cold
Could you do a video for us day hikers? I Live 25 miles East of the PCT in Central Oregon (Bend) and hike and snowshoe up there year round. I carry a 20 lb. backpack and average 4 hours 2-3 times a week.
I have a pair of Enlightened Equipment synthetic insulated booties, they're great.
14:13 - Use SPF lip balm (goop) for the underside of your nose. Through years of mountaineering, I have found it impossible to keep sunscreen on the underside of my nose because I am very frequently wiping away snot in cold air. Hiking in snow you actually get a lot of reflected sun on the underside of your nose. And, all that snot and wiping really chaps my nose. Since I already carry lip balm with sunscreen in it in my pocket (easy access and keep it warm so I can apply it), I’ve begun just rubbing that under my nose. Protects from both sun and chapping!
In "proper" cold (0F and lower, or with windchill), and if there is plenty of snow available, a snow cave is soooooo much warmer than a tent. I avoid inflatable mattresses in snow-camping: every single one I've owned developed a leak. Foam is bulky, but it's bomb-proof. So I take two old-school foam thermarests. Valleys may be a bit colder b.c. of the cold air drifting down, but the advantage of protection from the wind chill, I think, is more important (as long as as there are no avalanches). Evergreen trees are also good for wind protection.
Excellent video on the topic. The only thing I would add is that filling a Nalgene bottle with very hot water just before bed really does work amazingly well. Yes, Nalgene bottles are comparatively heavy, but worth their weight in the winter. I recently camped in sub-zero (F) temps and the boiling water I put into the bottle at bedtime was still lukewarm at daybreak! Two warnings about doing this though... first, you MUST fill the bottle up within a half inch of the rim, otherwise the extra volume of air will expand and pressurize the container enough to force water out around the lid...ask me how I know! Second, you definitely don't want the bottle touching bare skin for the first few hours for obvious reasons. I usually put the freshly-filled bottle between my quilts (I'm a hammock camper) about 10 minutes or so before bedtime in order to "preheat" the down. Upon entering the hammock and settling in for the night, I move the Nalgene bottle around as needed. If my feet are cold, the bottle is nestled against my socks. If my gloved hands are chilled, a few minutes of holding the bottle warms them up quickly. But for most of the night, I've found the most effective location to keep the bottle is near the femoral arteries (basically between the thighs). These major arteries supply blood to the legs and pretty much guarantee your feet will not get cold during the night. Keep in mind if you use this trick it is very easy to get TOO warm initially, so make sure you adjust your clothing to prevent sweating. For me this means removing my down jacket and maybe even my fleece layer, and then adding these back later (if needed) during the night when I get up to pee.
When I was a kid in Alaska I skied at -20F. That was a little much. I agree with the other posts; dry cold is OK. When I worked outside in the rain all day, I dressed for it. Rain coat(not some lame little windbreaker),rain pants. I considered crappy cold rain a challenge. Kind of like SCUBA; your underwater, but your OK.
'if your feet are cold, put on a hat' I don't like the idea of wearing all the stuff I wore all day in the sleeping bag. Work clothes are for the daytime. A beany and thick socks and add if need be.
I'm Canadian and have been camping for easily 38 years, and although I agree with most things stated, one thing always kind of makes me chuckle. I wear one piece trap door flannel long johns in shoulder season and winter camping and they're the best investment I ever made, as it distributes body heat from area's like your groin and upper legs far better. Here is the thing.....the FLANNEL .....IS COTTON for those long johns....but they work AMAZING at keeping moisture off your skin and heat in as a base layer....try it and tell me it doesn't work.....old farmers and outdoors people wore those cotton flannel long red underwear for generations for a reason....they work....so cotton isn't always bad a a base layer, I can assure you. Although I do love Moreno wool, I do find there is different qualities and I do have a few dozen pairs. The pair with higher synthetics in the pairs I find are drastically warmer where the purer Moreno wool seems to be far cooler. So for down south yes Moreno is better purer, but up North a higher synthetic blend is likely your best bet, but try a few types before you figure out your favorites.... I have had two different blends from the same manufacturers with very different results with Moreno wool products, so it's sometimes a very tough call to figure out what will work best with variables like that.......Some synthetic products are far better than natural products I find, and yes that goes for sleeping bags in very damp climates as well. Sometimes an extra pound or two of weight won't matter when you're warm, and weight and extreme colds is almost an evil necessity, when you get down to extreme colds.
I like thin fleece liner gloves and breathable but waterproof insulated mittens for my hands, and a purpose made pee bottle for the obvious. The gloves and mittens have worked well for me including winters on the Finnish, Russian border down to minus 54 degrees Celsius.