The no socks advice is good advice. Moving around in your sleeping bag for a minute will warm it up as well. Another surpsing thing I sometimes use is to take off your footware and socks, and then walk outside in the snow or cold water if it's not that cold. Then, dry feet thouroghly and get in sleeping bag.
Warm nights sleep - Tips?
- Thread starter Kristien
- Start date
I get very cold when sleeping, and do the following to keep warm on cold nights:
Use a well rated sleeping bag - obvious, but important. Use the numbers on it as comfort, not minimum rating.
Wear socks and a hat - you lose most heat through your head and I often find my head escapes from mummy-style bags.
Wear layers, but not too many layers - as strange as it sounds I sleep warmer in 2 layers of thermals than one layer of thermals and one layer of ordinary clothes - something to do with heat transfer away from the body perhaps?
Eat before going to bed, but not too much or too soon - if you're digesting all night the blood is around your stomach, not in your arms and legs and your extremities get cold. Keep a thermos flask with hot liquid in it nearby for when you wake up cold in the morning and need a boost.
If you wake up cold, in the middle of the night, face up to the fact you need to get up, eat something, maybe drink a warm drink and run around. Lying in sleeping bag drifting in and out of sleep while cold just knackers you out for the next day.
Even with all of the above, sometimes you just get cold. the only solution then is an external heat source, be it a fire, stove or a warmer person to put your cold feet on
Use a well rated sleeping bag - obvious, but important. Use the numbers on it as comfort, not minimum rating.
Wear socks and a hat - you lose most heat through your head and I often find my head escapes from mummy-style bags.
Wear layers, but not too many layers - as strange as it sounds I sleep warmer in 2 layers of thermals than one layer of thermals and one layer of ordinary clothes - something to do with heat transfer away from the body perhaps?
Eat before going to bed, but not too much or too soon - if you're digesting all night the blood is around your stomach, not in your arms and legs and your extremities get cold. Keep a thermos flask with hot liquid in it nearby for when you wake up cold in the morning and need a boost.
If you wake up cold, in the middle of the night, face up to the fact you need to get up, eat something, maybe drink a warm drink and run around. Lying in sleeping bag drifting in and out of sleep while cold just knackers you out for the next day.
Even with all of the above, sometimes you just get cold. the only solution then is an external heat source, be it a fire, stove or a warmer person to put your cold feet on
Wear bivi boots, these are loose fitting well insulated padded sleeping bag socks, mod issue for around £5. There is some great advice here. I've had many a cold night and I have spent several winters in tents and old unheated caravans, so my top tips are, make a fibre pile inner bag from a mattress topper (£8-10), wear warm hat or even better a snood, make sure that you improvise a muffler to breathe through, either a snood or fleece scarf is good. In my experience, what wakes you up, is cold teeth, mouth and nose, you'll get used to breathing through fabric, but it makes a HUGE difference, don't breath into or through your sleeping bag because the moisture will freeze and you'll loose insulation. There are many bushcrafty things that you can do to help...
I spent several months traveling across the desert in Australia a few years back in an old motor, following the old camel routes to the red centre. My buddy and I had no tent nor really warm gear (it was Australia in their winter after all...). Every night we would light a fire in a shallow pit, using whatever wood we could salvage or even use charcoal and just before bedtime we would cover the embers with a good layer of sand/gravel and sleep soundly next to or on top. All went well for a couple of months however, after one very heavy drinking session after a long day, I retired to my doss bag, drunk as a skunk, and saying to my buddy just how lovely and warm my legs and feet were (the desert night was freezing), to my amusement he drunkenly laughed uncontrollably and I thought to myself , he's had too much to drink, then I realised that I had not sufficiently covered the embers of the fire that night in my drunken stupor and that the bottom of my sleeping bag was in fact alight.
So the moral of the story is keep warm by not drinking pmsl A bushcraft misdemeanor pmsl
I spent several months traveling across the desert in Australia a few years back in an old motor, following the old camel routes to the red centre. My buddy and I had no tent nor really warm gear (it was Australia in their winter after all...). Every night we would light a fire in a shallow pit, using whatever wood we could salvage or even use charcoal and just before bedtime we would cover the embers with a good layer of sand/gravel and sleep soundly next to or on top. All went well for a couple of months however, after one very heavy drinking session after a long day, I retired to my doss bag, drunk as a skunk, and saying to my buddy just how lovely and warm my legs and feet were (the desert night was freezing), to my amusement he drunkenly laughed uncontrollably and I thought to myself , he's had too much to drink, then I realised that I had not sufficiently covered the embers of the fire that night in my drunken stupor and that the bottom of my sleeping bag was in fact alight.
So the moral of the story is keep warm by not drinking pmsl
A bushcraft misdemeanor pmslAny idea where these can be purchased from?
I did a couple of google searches but failed to find anything useful.
They come up on ebay fairly regularly for around £5. Some of the surplus stores were selling them in bulk recently quite cheaply. Commercial ones are available but cost more esp the down ones.
I'd second Toddy's thoughts on eating buttered oatcakes, especially if they're the British Army ration pack oatcakes
Am i right in thinking you are refering to what i think was labeled oatmeal block and came in tins , if so does any one know if they are still available as i have not seen them for ages.
Exercise is good to warm up but don't over do it sweat will make your clothing damp. I wear a woolly hat that way I can keep my head out of the bag comfortably, so as not to breath moist air into it. I also wear a fresh pair of woolly socks.
Although its nice to have a warm drink before bed it may mean climbing out of a warm sleeping bag in the wee small hours, don't drink for an hour before bed.
As previously stated plenty of insulation under you, I have a friend that uses industrial bubble wrap foam coated one side, verr cheep and verr goot.
Also make sure your brew kit is ready for the morning and that your boots remain dry and off the ground.
Sweet dreams, Pothunter.
Although its nice to have a warm drink before bed it may mean climbing out of a warm sleeping bag in the wee small hours, don't drink for an hour before bed.
As previously stated plenty of insulation under you, I have a friend that uses industrial bubble wrap foam coated one side, verr cheep and verr goot.
Also make sure your brew kit is ready for the morning and that your boots remain dry and off the ground.
Sweet dreams, Pothunter.
Exercise is good to warm up but don't over do it sweat will make your clothing damp. I wear a woolly hat that way I can keep my head out of the bag comfortably, so as not to breath moist air into it. I also wear a fresh pair of woolly socks.
Although its nice to have a warm drink before bed it may mean climbing out of a warm sleeping bag in the wee small hours, don't drink for an hour before bed.
As previously stated plenty of insulation under you, I have a friend that uses industrial bubble wrap foam coated one side, verr cheep and verr goot.
Also make sure your brew kit is ready for the morning and that your boots remain dry and off the ground.
Sweet dreams, Pothunter.
PS. weatherman says it looks like rain if you have a tarp rig it before bed so as to have a dry area outside to cook etc. in the am, I hate trying to cook in a tent. P.
Although its nice to have a warm drink before bed it may mean climbing out of a warm sleeping bag in the wee small hours, don't drink for an hour before bed.
As previously stated plenty of insulation under you, I have a friend that uses industrial bubble wrap foam coated one side, verr cheep and verr goot.
Also make sure your brew kit is ready for the morning and that your boots remain dry and off the ground.
Sweet dreams, Pothunter.
PS. weatherman says it looks like rain if you have a tarp rig it before bed so as to have a dry area outside to cook etc. in the am, I hate trying to cook in a tent. P.
From my experience:
Decent sleeping bag. It's obvious, yes but much like good boots there is no subsitute for a quality sleeping bag.
Dry night clothes. Keep the clothes you are going to sleep in absolutely bone dry. Resist the urge to wear them when you are kicking around camp in the evening and want to get out of the soaked muddy things you were wearing for the day. Yes, it is horrid getting up in the morning and putting cold slimy wet things one - but it is worth it for a good nights sleep. Even if it hasn't rained at all during the day, your day gear will be full of sweat. If your sleeping gear has got wet, sleep nude and towel yourself down first.
Fire-in-a-box (aka the charcol stick handwarmers): Several variants on this approach have been listed (hot water bottles for example). I tend to use fire in a box because it is small, portable and lasts for a decent length of time.
A lot of other very good points have been made - you DO need a matt of somekind, hats & gloves come reccommeneded here as well etc.
I would also second Match's point about realising that if you wake up cold you need to do something about it rather than just lay there and be miserable.
Decent sleeping bag. It's obvious, yes but much like good boots there is no subsitute for a quality sleeping bag.
Dry night clothes. Keep the clothes you are going to sleep in absolutely bone dry. Resist the urge to wear them when you are kicking around camp in the evening and want to get out of the soaked muddy things you were wearing for the day. Yes, it is horrid getting up in the morning and putting cold slimy wet things one - but it is worth it for a good nights sleep. Even if it hasn't rained at all during the day, your day gear will be full of sweat. If your sleeping gear has got wet, sleep nude and towel yourself down first.
Fire-in-a-box (aka the charcol stick handwarmers): Several variants on this approach have been listed (hot water bottles for example). I tend to use fire in a box because it is small, portable and lasts for a decent length of time.
A lot of other very good points have been made - you DO need a matt of somekind, hats & gloves come reccommeneded here as well etc.
I would also second Match's point about realising that if you wake up cold you need to do something about it rather than just lay there and be miserable.
Choose the pitch with care. Sounds obvious but first impressions can be deceptive. What looks like a nice spot out of the wind and a good place to light a fire can turn out to be a frost hollow or develop a soggy base.
A reindeer fur is wonderfully warm as an overblanket, but they're also impractical and expensive and not everyone can use them - I have a reaction to cat and dog fur, and recently learned to reindeer fur too :-(
Have a snug one
A reindeer fur is wonderfully warm as an overblanket, but they're also impractical and expensive and not everyone can use them - I have a reaction to cat and dog fur, and recently learned to reindeer fur too :-(
Have a snug one
One of the last jobs I do in the evening if I'm out and about, is boil up my millbank filtered water.
That is then poured into a metal bottle to cool for the morning.
I then set up some more water in the bag to filter into the billy for a morning brew.
If it's really cold I can wrap the bottle in a shemagh and tuck it into the sleeping bag as a hottie.
By morning it's cooled down nicely but in the night it's easy enough to push around the sleeping bag if there are any cold spots.
That is then poured into a metal bottle to cool for the morning.
I then set up some more water in the bag to filter into the billy for a morning brew.
If it's really cold I can wrap the bottle in a shemagh and tuck it into the sleeping bag as a hottie.
By morning it's cooled down nicely but in the night it's easy enough to push around the sleeping bag if there are any cold spots.
They're foil wrapped these days, quite chewy, many calories
And a quick search reveals that there is a web page for everything
http://www.mreinfo.com/international/great-britain/british-rations-picture-gallery.html
I have found on a couple of could night when I have been lucky enough to have a campfire on the go. Take a couple of medium sized stones that have been heated in the embers. Give them a little time to loose the most scorching heat and wrap with something none synthetic. If stuffed down the bottom of a sleeping bag will pump out heat for many hours.
I have to admit my main experiences of waking up cold have been when consuming to much alcohol and waking up having not properly even got into my sleeping bag. Not begrudging anyone to unwind and have a few drinks. But it is pointless being prepared and having all the right kit if your not in a state to use it properly.
Great advice from everyone else so far.
I have to admit my main experiences of waking up cold have been when consuming to much alcohol and waking up having not properly even got into my sleeping bag. Not begrudging anyone to unwind and have a few drinks. But it is pointless being prepared and having all the right kit if your not in a state to use it properly.
Great advice from everyone else so far.
Similar threads
