Not true. Prof Charlie Ellington explained why that claim is bunk back in the 90s, but somehow the fable lives on.
- 35 sleeping bag advice
- Thread starter Green Knight
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Not true. Prof Charlie Ellington explained why that claim is bunk back in the 90s, but somehow the fable lives on.
i usually dont get involved in the naked vs clothed sleeping bag debate, but in this occasion i'll add my 2p worth.
Last month, we went out for the weekend, low temps in valley in Wales (two seperate thermometers recorded -6 degree's)
I was in a hammock, with a downmat inbetween the layers, a 3/4 down underquilt, a synthetic diy underquilt under that. Inside the hammock i had my mountain equipment classiuc down bag, rated down to comfort level of -15degree's, extreme of -25.
Anyway, i sleep hot. That particular night we'd had a few bevvies and i climbed into bed, taking my outer layer off. left my longjon's therma socks, therma t-shirt and merino balaclava on. nodded off then woke up around 1-2am cold. I tried to go back to sleep but, feet, shoulders forearms etc were all chilly.
So i decided to give the "naked" option a try as i obviously wasnt going to be warm. Got out of the hammock, de-clothed completely, apart from the balaclava and got back into my sleeping bag, zipped back up. Within 5 minutes i was nice and hot, fell asleep straight away. Infact i woke up around 45 minutes later sweating like no tomorrow. So i ended up unzipping some of the baffles and trying to cool down !
So as much as im a believer in science and thermal dynamics etc, i know in my personel experience that sleeping in the buff (in a down bag) is warmer than having cloths on
Last month, we went out for the weekend, low temps in valley in Wales (two seperate thermometers recorded -6 degree's)
I was in a hammock, with a downmat inbetween the layers, a 3/4 down underquilt, a synthetic diy underquilt under that. Inside the hammock i had my mountain equipment classiuc down bag, rated down to comfort level of -15degree's, extreme of -25.
Anyway, i sleep hot. That particular night we'd had a few bevvies and i climbed into bed, taking my outer layer off. left my longjon's therma socks, therma t-shirt and merino balaclava on. nodded off then woke up around 1-2am cold. I tried to go back to sleep but, feet, shoulders forearms etc were all chilly.
So i decided to give the "naked" option a try as i obviously wasnt going to be warm. Got out of the hammock, de-clothed completely, apart from the balaclava and got back into my sleeping bag, zipped back up. Within 5 minutes i was nice and hot, fell asleep straight away. Infact i woke up around 45 minutes later sweating like no tomorrow. So i ended up unzipping some of the baffles and trying to cool down !
So as much as im a believer in science and thermal dynamics etc, i know in my personel experience that sleeping in the buff (in a down bag) is warmer than having cloths on
For temperatures of -35°C it's smart to use two down sleeping bags. Your summer bag (comfort 3°C) inside your winter bag (comfort -20°C), or the other way around, given that the outer bag is big enough. This way you have more options and can use the equipment throughout the year.
At those temperatures I don't use a bivvy but it can be useful to protect your bag from your breath and the condensation on the inner tent. Definitely if you are heating up the tent with a stove and the space inside is quite small, e.g. the well ventilated Nammatj 2 runs down at the foot side where condensation will most likely wet your bag (definitely if snow falls on the tent, making the slope lower). This is no problem in the Keron 3... So I'd choose a better heavier and bigger tent and drop the bivvy to save weight. It's good to take a two person tent if you're alone or a 3 person tent if you're two to have enough room during those long winter nights (cooking, drying, eating...). Please don't take my advise for cooking inside the tent without getting some first hand experience from teachers who show you how. In these circumstances things can and will go wrong quickly if using the wrong kind of stove, not having a proper technique or having the wrong tent!!
Sleeping naked or with clothes? Having some clothes on is nice to get up for an emergency, though at -35°C a bottle will have to do... One of the advantages of being naked in a bag is that your core body heats up your arms and both your legs are heating each other. If you zip two sleeping bags together with your partner it gets a lot hotter when being naked too. From what I've read about the Inuit they slept naked during the cold Arctic winters. They must have had a good reason for it.
At those temperatures I don't use a bivvy but it can be useful to protect your bag from your breath and the condensation on the inner tent. Definitely if you are heating up the tent with a stove and the space inside is quite small, e.g. the well ventilated Nammatj 2 runs down at the foot side where condensation will most likely wet your bag (definitely if snow falls on the tent, making the slope lower). This is no problem in the Keron 3... So I'd choose a better heavier and bigger tent and drop the bivvy to save weight. It's good to take a two person tent if you're alone or a 3 person tent if you're two to have enough room during those long winter nights (cooking, drying, eating...). Please don't take my advise for cooking inside the tent without getting some first hand experience from teachers who show you how. In these circumstances things can and will go wrong quickly if using the wrong kind of stove, not having a proper technique or having the wrong tent!!
Sleeping naked or with clothes? Having some clothes on is nice to get up for an emergency, though at -35°C a bottle will have to do... One of the advantages of being naked in a bag is that your core body heats up your arms and both your legs are heating each other. If you zip two sleeping bags together with your partner it gets a lot hotter when being naked too. From what I've read about the Inuit they slept naked during the cold Arctic winters. They must have had a good reason for it.
We NOW know that this assumtion is bumkum due to serious research, better understanding of aerodynamics & with the aid of slow motion film but it was calculated by some mathematicians & physicists at the end of the 19th & begining of the 20th centuries that the flight of the bumblebee was scientifically impossible.I was merely illustrating that somethings before being understood were deemed impossible on paper according to known scientific laws at the time. We will no doubt scoff in the future at some of the scientific ideas held today simply because they would have been proven to be wrong.
At -35C there should be no rain. If it is warm enough for water to be in liquid or semi liquid state, then yes, a bivi or other shelter is needed.
i usually dont get involved in the naked vs clothed sleeping bag debate, but in this occasion i'll add my 2p worth.
Last month, we went out for the weekend, low temps in valley in Wales (two seperate thermometers recorded -6 degree's)
I was in a hammock, with a downmat inbetween the layers, a 3/4 down underquilt, a synthetic diy underquilt under that. Inside the hammock i had my mountain equipment classiuc down bag, rated down to comfort level of -15degree's, extreme of -25.
Anyway, i sleep hot. That particular night we'd had a few bevvies and i climbed into bed, taking my outer layer off. left my longjon's therma socks, therma t-shirt and merino balaclava on. nodded off then woke up around 1-2am cold. I tried to go back to sleep but, feet, shoulders forearms etc were all chilly.
So i decided to give the "naked" option a try as i obviously wasnt going to be warm. Got out of the hammock, de-clothed completely, apart from the balaclava and got back into my sleeping bag, zipped back up. Within 5 minutes i was nice and hot, fell asleep straight away. Infact i woke up around 45 minutes later sweating like no tomorrow. So i ended up unzipping some of the baffles and trying to cool down !
So as much as im a believer in science and thermal dynamics etc, i know in my personel experience that sleeping in the buff (in a down bag) is warmer than having cloths on
How you feel is only a rough guide to the actual temperature, often people who are suffering from extreme hypothermia take off clothes because they feel too hot. I prefer a thermometer if that shows a higher skin temperature naked than clothed then it's probably warmer, trouble is it doesn't.
I think the key here is how long you sleep after stripping off. If you wake up cold with clothes on, then strip off and sleep warm the rest of the night, seems like a result to me! If you wake up colder than ever after an hour or so, then yes, it probably is just a short-term solution....
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