Great tips! I have tried the hot water in the Nalgene and it worked great. I held it against my stomach and curled around it keeping it upright because I was paranoid about leaks but it never gave me trouble. I also wear wool pjs during the cooler months and my wool hoodie helps to keep my beanie in place. Sometimes I even add a neck gaiter and pull it up to my nose and pull the beanie down over my eyes. The ultimate face cozy! I purchased some down booties and a bag liner earlier this year but haven't had a chance to try them yet. In the past I've stuffed extra clothing into the foot box for extra insulation. It seems to help.
Excellent suggestions. Thank you for the video. I try to not wear my puffy or fleece to bed. If you wear them to bed and then get cold, you usually don't have anything else to put on. I do put my puffy in my quilt with me. This does two things. First, it prevents drafts from the quilt. Second, it keeps the jacket warm if I get cold need to put it on. Actually, like you, I prefer to put my jacket over my body rather than put it on. You quickly learn to turn over under the jacket just like your quilt. My friend has cold feet so he zips his jacket and puts it at the bottom of his bag and then puts his feet into the jacket. He also uses a pee bottle so he does not have to leave the tent.
Very good video. I've used the Nalgene with almost boiling water. I wrapped it in a towel and it worked well for 3 hours. In an emergency, you can heat rocks by a fire and bring them into your tent for warming it. I learned 60 years ago to always have heavy leather gloves for moving the hot rocks. In those days, our tents were canvass and didn't have floors. Upgrade your emegrency blanket from mylar to the American Medical Kits(AMK) SOL large emergency blanket. Its bigger, tougher, and quieter than mylar. Use it on top of your sleeping pad with the shiny side up. You are correct about the condensation problem from any impermeable layer over you. I like the Zippo Pocket Warmers that burn lighter fluid. They are warmer than chemical warmers and last 12 hours. Even if you are afraid of them in your sleeping bag, they work well at drying shoes and socks overnight. Always carry a few candles for light and heat. Happy Trails. Good Luck, Rick
Wool is the ticket! Just layer it and I use something to block the wind. For me a hoodie works better for sleeping. I toboggan comes off but a tied hoodie won’t.
👍👍👍 .. a good post with useful information therein. I believe in, most of the time, especially when 'active', multiple thin 'layering' with an outer shell to protect against whatever weather is present / predicted at the time. Here in Switzerland, combinations of Wool, Fleece, Synthetic and Natural Fibres (waxed and not), depending on the activity and environment work for me. At 74, I Nordic Walk year-round to stay reasonably fit. Being of the 'Be Bold, Start Cold' Clan, 'multiple thin layering' lends itself to me being able to adapt the level of body Insulation required at any one time. This reduces the wearing / carrying of excessive 'bulk' with often, the associated weight penalty. A Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Dry 22 Litre Day Pack takes care of stuff not being used at the time, but which will be needed later. 'Staying Warm'. Understanding and applying the Physics thereof, goes a long way in being comfortable. Setting aside external Heat Sources, 'the' source of heat is one's own body / internal furnace / metabolism .. period! How we generate this heat and manage it's retention close to the skin, thus creating an optima 'micro-climate', however thin around us. Clothing, Sleeping Bags, Tents, etc, do not 'warm' us .. they assist us in maintaining the desired micro-climate. My take .. keep the most effective Insulation as close to the body as practicable, taking 'wicking' and such into consideration. A Down Sleeping Bag or Puffy Jacket far removed from the heat source .. the body, by multiple layers of less effective insulation, loses it's advantage .. the secret being 'loft / dead air' and 'staying dry'. Just my tuppence-worth 😏. Thanks for sharing .. I'm certain that there are those who will benefit from your advice. Take care ..
Enjoy that snow! I keep a separate sweater fleece with a hood to keep warm and cover my head now because I got tired of having to scrounge around for my beanie that would always fall off. No getting out of the tent in the middle of the night for me either...a container with a screw on lid works great. I also carry a small Rumpl Nano travel blanket to wrap around me if extra warmth is needed.
Another great video. I love my down booties and down hood. They weigh and pack down next to nothing. My puffy does not have a hood by choice and I found that my beanie would come off at night. With the down hood it can’t do that. I hiked the JMT earlier this year and not knowing the actual weather and temp fluctuations for the entirely I had to pack smart. Luckily it only dusted snow once and rained once. There were several nights below freezing and several mild nights and hot days. I overstressed on my sleep system. I had a 10 and 25 degree quilt and a liner on hand. I also stressed about weight. I ended up packing a women’s neo air x-lite, a 1/4 inch pad and my 25 degree quilt. I thought about the closed foam pad, but that and my required bear canister just made it awkward. I brought my booties and hood. What I did purchase and added to my mix was a pair of down pants. I figured if needed, my puffy, down pants, booties and hoodie with my quilt would work on colder nights and it did just that. The other must-have for me is gloves. Breaking down camp in cold or sub freezing mornings is practically not possible without them for me. I too am a solo backpacker unless I can meet up with my sons occasionally.
I too use the Nalgene hot water bottle method last December in North Carolina. We were in our RV and the electricity went out. Everything froze. That was the only way I could get to sleep.
Great tips! I have tried the hot water in the Nalgene and it worked great. I held it against my stomach and curled around it keeping it upright because I was paranoid about leaks but it never gave me trouble. I also wear wool pjs during the cooler months and my wool hoodie helps to keep my beanie in place. Sometimes I even add a neck gaiter and pull it up to my nose and pull the beanie down over my eyes. The ultimate face cozy! I purchased some down booties and a bag liner earlier this year but haven't had a chance to try them yet. In the past I've stuffed extra clothing into the foot box for extra insulation. It seems to help.
Excellent suggestions. Thank you for the video.
I try to not wear my puffy or fleece to bed. If you wear them to bed and then get cold, you usually don't have anything else to put on.
I do put my puffy in my quilt with me. This does two things. First, it prevents drafts from the quilt. Second, it keeps the jacket warm if I get cold need to put it on. Actually, like you, I prefer to put my jacket over my body rather than put it on. You quickly learn to turn over under the jacket just like your quilt.
My friend has cold feet so he zips his jacket and puts it at the bottom of his bag and then puts his feet into the jacket. He also uses a pee bottle so he does not have to leave the tent.
Very good video. I've used the Nalgene with almost boiling water. I wrapped it in a towel and it worked well for 3 hours. In an emergency, you can heat rocks by a fire and bring them into your tent for warming it. I learned 60 years ago to always have heavy leather gloves for moving the hot rocks. In those days, our tents were canvass and didn't have floors.
Upgrade your emegrency blanket from mylar to the American Medical Kits(AMK) SOL large emergency blanket. Its bigger, tougher, and quieter than mylar. Use it on top of your sleeping pad with the shiny side up. You are correct about the condensation problem from any impermeable layer over you. I like the Zippo Pocket Warmers that burn lighter fluid. They are warmer than chemical warmers and last 12 hours. Even if you are afraid of them in your sleeping bag, they work well at drying shoes and socks overnight. Always carry a few candles for light and heat. Happy Trails. Good Luck, Rick
Wool is the ticket! Just layer it and I use something to block the wind. For me a hoodie works better for sleeping. I toboggan comes off but a tied hoodie won’t.
👍👍👍 .. a good post with useful information therein.
I believe in, most of the time, especially when 'active', multiple thin 'layering' with an outer shell to protect against whatever weather is present / predicted at the time. Here in Switzerland, combinations of Wool, Fleece, Synthetic and Natural Fibres (waxed and not), depending on the activity and environment work for me.
At 74, I Nordic Walk year-round to stay reasonably fit. Being of the 'Be Bold, Start Cold' Clan, 'multiple thin layering' lends itself to me being able to adapt the level of body Insulation required at any one time. This reduces the wearing / carrying of excessive 'bulk' with often, the associated weight penalty. A Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Dry 22 Litre Day Pack takes care of stuff not being used at the time, but which will be needed later.
'Staying Warm'. Understanding and applying the Physics thereof, goes a long way in being comfortable.
Setting aside external Heat Sources, 'the' source of heat is one's own body / internal furnace / metabolism .. period! How we generate this heat and manage it's retention close to the skin, thus creating an optima 'micro-climate', however thin around us. Clothing, Sleeping Bags, Tents, etc, do not 'warm' us .. they assist us in maintaining the desired micro-climate.
My take .. keep the most effective Insulation as close to the body as practicable, taking 'wicking' and such into consideration. A Down Sleeping Bag or Puffy Jacket far removed from the heat source .. the body, by multiple layers of less effective insulation, loses it's advantage .. the secret being 'loft / dead air' and 'staying dry'. Just my tuppence-worth 😏.
Thanks for sharing .. I'm certain that there are those who will benefit from your advice. Take care ..
Enjoy that snow! I keep a separate sweater fleece with a hood to keep warm and cover my head now because I got tired of having to scrounge around for my beanie that would always fall off. No getting out of the tent in the middle of the night for me either...a container with a screw on lid works great. I also carry a small Rumpl Nano travel blanket to wrap around me if extra warmth is needed.
Another great video. I love my down booties and down hood. They weigh and pack down next to nothing. My puffy does not have a hood by choice and I found that my beanie would come off at night. With the down hood it can’t do that. I hiked the JMT earlier this year and not knowing the actual weather and temp fluctuations for the entirely I had to pack smart. Luckily it only dusted snow once and rained once. There were several nights below freezing and several mild nights and hot days. I overstressed on my sleep system. I had a 10 and 25 degree quilt and a liner on hand. I also stressed about weight. I ended up packing a women’s neo air x-lite, a 1/4 inch pad and my 25 degree quilt. I thought about the closed foam pad, but that and my required bear canister just made it awkward. I brought my booties and hood. What I did purchase and added to my mix was a pair of down pants. I figured if needed, my puffy, down pants, booties and hoodie with my quilt would work on colder nights and it did just that. The other must-have for me is gloves. Breaking down camp in cold or sub freezing mornings is practically not possible without them for me. I too am a solo backpacker unless I can meet up with my sons occasionally.
I too use the Nalgene hot water bottle method last December in North Carolina. We were in our RV and the electricity went out. Everything froze. That was the only way I could get to sleep.
Or you can sleep with a nice warm dog…