Below zero in a tent

Dad was a business man that wore suites most days at work. As he got older the normal winter cold would really bother him. I did winter backpacking in the 80's and 90's and learned a few tricks for sub-zero warmth. Any long johns are better than no long johns! But a base layer of Polypropylene is much better. But for in a suite Polypro sticks to the fabric, so shinny silk is the best! 1) very thin, won't require larger set of clothing, 2) The shiny

keep cloths from binding and bunching, so no one will know they are there (like panty hose) 3) silk has no odor, and the fibers won't adsorb odor, so if you get toasty you don't reek! 4) Only silk Long Johns can be worn for several days, then hung on a branch over night and all the body odor will blow away! (The wind can't remove whatever you spill on them!) Comes in hand for long trips!!!

I have my winter mummy bag to this day! I hope I never need it again, but I have it. Mine is an extra long left hand zipper, my wife's is a long right hand zipper. I've been to around -12F in a summer dome tent solo, and -15 to -18 in the same tent zipped to my wife. It is true, 2 bodies are much warmer than one, but only sometimes more fun. With zipped together bags, there are twice as many bathroom exits! If it warm up in the night you can roast just like "August without A/C"! My bags are a pound heavier than if they were down, about only 2/3 the price, but still insulate well if damp from perspirations/expiration/condensation. To store them I keep them all fluffed up in large coolers, so the mice can't get at them!

Winter camping in tents or cabins, is about the most fun you can have at Zero!

Ivan
 
cherrypointmarine said:
My dad was stationed at Lowry AFB in Denver from 1968-71 . I was a boy scout and we had a polar bear patch . You guessed it , you had to sleep out in a tent below freezing . It wasn't too bad , but like John said , we were too stupid to know better . One thing I remember . We had an older leader well versed in cold weather camping . The best thing was a good mummy sleeping bag , and women nylons . Don't laugh , ask any woman if they don't keep them hot . That's something you can only imagine , boy scouts running around in womens nylons .
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An old time elk guide told me he wore panty hose under his jeans==kept him from getting saddle sores. Also, a used car salesman told me it cut down on varicose veins.

A couple of years ago, wife and I volunteered to work at a Veterans event at the local armory. They said all veterans could choose one item for themselves. I chose a -30 sleeping system (bivouac bag, double mummy bag and summer cover). Then they came by and said any volunteer could get one item (plus the item for a veteran), so I got my wife a sleeping system. Both were in the manufacturer's bag! Also, we were given a couple of issue wool blankets (used)=those are in my survival box in my 4WD.
 
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BearBio said:
An old time elk guide told me he wore panty hose under his jeans==kept him from getting saddle sores. Also, a used car salesman told me it cut down on varicose veins.

A couple of years ago, wife and I volunteered to work at a Veterans event at the local armory. They said all veterans could choose one item for themselves. I chose a -30 sleeping system (bivouac bag, double mummy bag and summer cover). Then they came by and said any volunteer could get one item (plus the item for a veteran), so I got my wife a sleeping system. Both were in the manufacturer's bag! Also, we were given a couple of issue wool blankets (used)=those are in my survival box in my 4WD.
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To this day I still keep a couple of GI wool blankets in the truck, stored in a plastic bag to deter moths and other critters. Carhartt insulated coveralls and a couple of surplus ponchos complete the survival gear. With some bottled water, non-perishable snack foods, a good S&W .22 revolver and a box of cartridges, I think I can survive for a night or two no matter where I find myself stranded.
 
LoboGunLeather said:
To this day I still keep a couple of GI wool blankets in the truck, stored in a plastic bag to deter moths and other critters. Carhartt insulated coveralls and a couple of surplus ponchos complete the survival gear. With some bottled water, non-perishable snack foods, a good S&W .22 revolver and a box of cartridges, I think I can survive for a night or two no matter where I find myself stranded.
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Mine also includes dehydrated food, fuel, a good First Aid kit I made, shovel, ax, kitty litter, and stuff for the dogs.
 
BearBio said:
and stuff for the dogs.
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That's a good way to keep the dogs from eating YOU! (a very important consideration!)

Ivan

My truck kit is almost identical. I rotate the outer layer depending on the season, about 5 months of Carhartt's, and seven months of good rain gear!
 
Take a cake pan and fill it full of melted pariffin wax. Stick in a bunch of birthday candles as it starts to cool and set up. Now you have a small heater/ stove. In the winter going out of town means a seabag with 2 sleeping bags stuffed in it goes along. People here die in the winter. Winter here always gets a couple drunks. Poor time to pass out or go off the road. Another one a bottle in the rig. A slug of booze fro a -30 bottle isn't that great on throat or stomach. Duh.
 
Like many here have already mentioned, I earned my polar bear in the scouts where we had to make our camp using clear poly sheets hanging on a rope and a snow dam along the edges. The night had to get below 0 to make the grade. The Scout Master woke me up the next morning, where I had rolled in my sleeping bag, under the wall of the "tent" and ended up 10' away but still toasty in the sleeping bag. Wouldn't trade the memories for a million bucks or a Registered Magnum maybe.
 
I tried the panty hose thing. A real PIA but guess they worked ok. The silk long johns I did like..but they were kind of expensive back then. We still have a few of the military wool blankets. Got them in a re-packaged surplus mash unit we got at work. ...included a whole bunch of Valium in big jars with the mess. The blankets were all wrapped in plastic when we got them. My wife keeps a large canvas bag in the vehicles for winter and we also keep a couple of Silver/black plastic tarps in there too...JIC. It gets cold here sometimes..4 above this AM...warmer tonight
 
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We have several people die each winter locally here in the Cascades. Most are skiers who can't drive in winter conditions. They stay over until Monday AM and then rush out to get to work in Seattle, etc. Roads are slick, drivers over confidant, passes are steep=OOOPPPPSSS! Not a time to be rushing! Unfortunately, they often manage to take innocent locals with them! We lost one family that way as well as several friends. Or, they refuse to use chains! What part of "Chains Required" is hard to understand? I have had several winter driving courses (Federally mandated for my agency) and I would drive slow often and keep "flatlanders" in sight (matched my speed to them) during blizzard conditions. Pulled more than one out! Most don't realize what I am doing but I had one family pull up in a gas station and thank me!

Took my mom to SEATAC=blizzard coming back. Sign said "Chain up". People ignored it and all four lanes had people spinning out and stuck (on I-90 near Snoqualmie pass) -- those with 4WD could get around by driving off-pavement. After that, I got behind a semi and drove in 4WD at 20 mph. Just sat it out=nobody was getting anywhere any faster. Sometimes, you gotta just bite the bullet!

Others are hikers unprepared for changing weather. One slope can be significantly colder than the next due to micro climates or avalanche hazards (rain on snow, etc.).
 
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Our scouts got an award for so many frost points. IIRC 100 got you a badge, one point for every degree below freezing you were out in a tent in. One year they qualified in two nights as it hit -20 both nights.
The key is having insulation under you. We would pack 4-5 straw bales and get them on the ground before the tent floor. was down.
Spent some comfortable nights below zero in a canvas lodge [tepee] as well. Put a liner up, build a fire in the center and you're good to go. It was a lot easier when I was younger. Anymore my wife boils and I freeze.
 
The most miserable night that I ever spent was up above Taylor Reservoir in Colorado. If i had know enough about winter camping to have put my sleeping bag on the ground instead of on a cot it would have been better. We were in a tent and no stove.
 
In my early fifties I found myself with a few free days in late November,a crabby wife and a need to get out of the house.Grabbed a left over license,a small propane heater,my old camping gear and set up a camp at 10,000’. It dropped below zero that night and snowed about a foot,but I was nice and toasty in my bag.Felt awfully groggy the next morning and only hunted for an hour or two before deciding to strike camp.It took forever to accomplish that and I headed home.About a day later,after my head cleared,it dawned on me that I may have given myself a mild overdose of CO2 and that was the last time I Winter camped on purpose..
 
This looks like my kind of place. I wish I was there. I envy you.

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Arjay, you were probably lucky that you woke up. My and my better half decided to spend the night at the lake in insulated camper(not over the cab). I had one of the Coleman heaters(no flame, just a red glow) and it was keeping us warm enough in our light sleeping bags. I couldn't sleep for worrying about it in the close quarters. A miserable night, especially with the drunks having a very loud party not far away.
 
I was using a pair of those glowing heaters with the tent doors cracked a bit at each end,but it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t a good idea
 
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