How do I stay warm while camping out under the stars?
by admin on Saturday, May 14th, 2011 | 12 Comments
I love camping out and take my four wheel drive out and sleep in the back all the time.
Winter has hit us though, and while the weather is gorgeous, it is so cold! Nobody seems to feel it as much as I do, sometimes I cant go out!
Apart from sleeping next to the fire, which keeps me awake, and using a hot water bottle, which always seems to leak, is there anything sold out there in camping stores that Im not aware of?
How do you guess Australia?
Right by the way, if that helps other answers. I live in Central Australia, Alice Springs.
And Sean1201?……good one 
You must be from Australia or somewhere down under. C’mon, it doesn’t get that cold down there. Try camping in the winter time in the American Midwest. I think it’s considered suicide.
Try parking your vehicle in a motel parking lot and checking in for the night.
Alice Springs eh? Well anyway…Try bundling up, wear long johns, get a battery powered sleeping bag, try some brandy.
Have you tried the disposable heater packs? Available in many sizes.
Try the link below!
Get a sleeping bag rated for cold weather. Make sure it has a hood, that you wear a cap/hat while you sleep, or that you can get down in the bag far enough to cover your head. (that’s where you will lose most of your body heat). Then make sure you get in the bag naked. Trust me on this one. Clothing will prevent the bag from working more effectively. I put my clothes on the foot of the bag so they are warm in the morning.
Well, I live in the midwest in America, we get REALLY cold nights. A few things that I have found help, is if you bring a sleeping bag (if you didn’t already). And line it with a few things. First, get a fleece blanket, and wrap yourselves in them before you get in the sleeping bag. Also, if you get a few large socks, fill them FULL with rice and tie/sew off the top. Then heat them over a fire until they’re warm enough. Then line your sleeping bag with them. It’ll heat you really well.
Thermal Underware and a sleeping bag
One of the things that you can do is to put an extra layer or two of blankets between your sleeping bag and the ground. The cold ground will seep onto your sleeping bag and you will feel colder than it really is.
First of all, forget the water bottles and sleeping by the fire, because your body is all the heater you need while camping. You just have to feed and insulate that body so the heat you produce naturally stays in and keeps you warm.
Secondly, you should make sure you have a mummy style sleeping bag rated to the minimum temperature you expect to encounter, and if you sleep that cold, then get one even warmer. Put your head inside the hood and snug it down so just your nose is exposed. You don’t want to breathe inside your bag.
Thirdly, you should sleep on one or even two thick closed cell foam pads to insulate your body from the cold truck bed and the cold moving air underneath the truck. Or sleep on one pad on a tarp on the ground.
Finally, if you’re still cold, you can sleep in long underwear, or wearing an entire fleece suit, with fleece socks, fleece mittens, and fleece hat or balaclava.
Don’t try alcohol, it’s a fallacy that it makes you warm, it makes you loose heat faster than taking your clothes off! Keep your head covered, that’s where you loose most heat, wear thin layers of clothing, a string vest and a silk overshirt will keep you warmer than 1 thick jumper – coz it allows warm air to circulate, and try throwing a real sheepskin over the top of your sleeping bag – you’ll be toasty in no time – oh yeah, wear fingerless gloves in bed – i know it sounds daft, but as long as your wrists are warm where the pulse is, it’ll carry warm blood to your fingers – happy camping and don’t eat too many beans!!!
We live in Switzerland,and boy can it get cold! we tour alot with the band, but we do go to some cold places
Even in Australia, the ground can be damp. If you sleep on the ground, put a plastic sheet under your sleeping bag for a moisture barrier; a damp bag won’t insulate.
A space blanket will reflect your body heat back at you; it’s a whole lot warmer than the Ausie sky.
From what I’ve seen in movies, Alice Springs is long on hot and horny crock hunters and short of Sheilas. Company is sure to keep you warm.
0 degree or -20 degree goose down mummy style sleeping bag. Also consider a silk or wool sleeping bag liner to add even more insulation to conserve heat. Be sure to sleep on a sleeping pad to be sure there is no direct contact with the ground. Wool hat or balaclava to keep your head warmer. Wool sleep socks.
get a good sleeping bag for cold weather. when i go deer or racoon hunting in late fall and winter i have found that putting on clothes the next day after they have sat out all night is terrible. stuff your clothes into your sleeping bag. it keeps the clothes warm for in the morning and if its sweatpants, sweatshirts, or fleece its like having extra blankets in your sleeping bag
you have got some great ideas here, sum it up with what i know ……….warm mummy sleeping bag, fleece blanket indside,something to wear on your head and feet (lose lots of warmth through head and feet)do not breathe inside of sleeping bag, plastic to sleep on(prevent moisture from seeping through bag) if it’s a big enough piece of plastic wrap around the bag, then and insulated camping foam, doesn’t need to be thick just enough to protect you from the ground. Wear something light weight not heavy as it tends to make you sweat, and if you do wear clothes to bed make sure you change EVERYTHING, even underwear
have fun