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Camping in really cold weather..need suggestions


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My boys and dh are going camping with their Webelos scouts group this weekend and the weather forecast is in the 20's at night and mid 50's for the daytime high. I bought them some long underwear and my dh is going to get them some warmer sleeping bags. Also, I think they should take our smaller tent as it will be easier to warm up w/the 3 of them rather than our bigger tent that sleeps all 6 of us.

 

Do you have any other ideas/suggestions for them to stay warm? They are camping at a primative camp site so no electricity!!

 

I'm so worried they will come back so sick and they are singing in a Christmas program Sunday night! :confused:

 

It snowed here in the Dallas area yesterday and it's supposed to snow again tomorrow. That is completely unusual for this time of year!

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I have camped in snow.

 

The good sleeping bags are important but more important IMO is a good thermarest style pad. You need something to keep you off the ground. Something like this is good. IMO when you're camping in cold weather, it's not enough to have a foamie, it's got to inflate.

 

Wool socks & wool hats. They should wear both to sleep in. Warm jammies of course, or you can sleep in most of your clothes. When it's really cold, I don't change - just remove some layers.

 

If you're really worried, pack them something like this:

http://www.emprep.com/hand%20warmer%20heat%20pack.html

 

I have the old version of these warmers: stainless steel boxes which take a charcoal stick inside & the whole thing goes inside a little velvet pouch. You light the charcoal & then shove the thing in your sleeping bag by your feet or just hold it in your hands.

 

My other tip is to take a couple really good thermoses. Boil water in the evening, just before going to sleep (like when you're boiling water to wash), put it in thermoses. By morning it will not be so hot anymore but it will be warmish & you can have something a little warm to heat up your insides before you get the fire going. You can do the same with tea or hot chocolate or whatever the beverage of choice is. I find having a warm drink first thing really improves my mood. With good thermoses you'll often still have quite warm liquid in the morning.

 

It can be fun!

 

Though the last time we did it we were near an army base in an offseason provincial park camground (just dh & I in the entire park) & in the middle of the night the military was doing exercises all around us. They came to tell us about it so we wouldn't be freaked out but all night long I was drifting in & out of war movie dreams.

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Very Big Smile. (i wondered what you meant by "very cold").

 

do they have down sleeping bags or sleeping bags rated to the nighttime low? if not, and you can afford them, they are worth their weight in gold. OR something else we do is pack an extra bag to go on top.

 

silk longjohns. also worth their weight in gold and not as expensive.

 

pack lots of layers, fleece hats and mitts, snowjackets....

 

hth,

ann

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My boys and dh are going camping with their Webelos scouts group this weekend and the weather forecast is in the 20's at night and mid 50's for the daytime high. I bought them some long underwear and my dh is going to get them some warmer sleeping bags. Also, I think they should take our smaller tent as it will be easier to warm up w/the 3 of them rather than our bigger tent that sleeps all 6 of us.

 

Do you have any other ideas/suggestions for them to stay warm? They are camping at a primative camp site so no electricity!!

 

I'm so worried they will come back so sick and they are singing in a Christmas program Sunday night! :confused:

 

It snowed here in the Dallas area yesterday and it's supposed to snow again tomorrow. That is completely unusual for this time of year!

 

There are sleeping bags designed for below 0 degrees. There are also these really nice blankets that fit on the inside of your sleeping bag. The blanket sips up like a sleeping bag so they would zip up the blanket and then the sleeping bag. Those sleeping bags also have like these hooded tops to nest your head so that even your head won't get cold. I got mine at walmart. The sleeping bag was like $30 (I think) and the blanket was like $10. Its not one of those thick bulky blankets either but it does work at keeping you warm. That along with a fire that is kept going all night long and they should be ok.

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Something I learned about winter camping is NOT to wear too much inside your sleeping bag. If it's rated for the weather you're camping in, one layer inside and a hat on the head should be enough. I froze for 4 nights, wearing every bit of clothing inside my bag until someone filled me in. I was amazed at the difference of wearing just one layer and a hat. Hope that helps!

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