Winter camping using two blankets?

[Teepee]

Well, one can,t chase ya, the other needs to be careful with which hand she hits ya with, good time to go methinks
On a more sensible note, and you lot have a HUGE amount of knowledge compared to me, my wife recently bought a picnic style blanket, foil lined on side and fold,s down with Velcro straps fairly compact and reasonably light. Could be used for multlipe uses, will find out where she got it from? and let ya know.

ship

Very useful bits of kit if its the same thing. TV packaging foam with reflective Mylar glued to it-I stocked up when I found them after taping car windshield reflectors together for years. I spent last weekend with one as hammock insulation.

Not very traditional though

 

[Emdiesse]

OOOh, I'll be watching this thread with great interest!

I recently built up a 'traditional kit' consisting of wool blankets, canvas lavvu shelter half, canvas pack, axe, tinder pouch, (proper) flint & steel and so on so forth.

I am OOA for 3 months whilst I recover from shoulder surgery patiently awaiting January with a Winter Camp planned!

I look forward seeing how you get on and what you learn so I can take it on board and give it a go.

I have just seen your Boone challenge.... i'm in, when I am back in action!

 

[Man of Tanith]

Lovely stuff the more the merrier.
I'm pretty certain its more about the skills than the kit per se.

 

[Emdiesse]

Certainly good to see you have the necessary fallback precautionary sleeping bag and such in place with mates on hand!

It's never wise to put yourself into a survival situation without a fallback option, however with those in place I think it's worth while challenging yourself as can then consider yourself prepared and THIS IS A CHALLENGE!

Good luck to you for your winter challenge

 

[Toddy]

Hot rocks under the soil you put your bed on.....watch you don't inadvertantly steam yourself.....it's ususally kind of damp here

You know how to do the blanket wrap so that you have yourself neatly in the middle of double (you can do triple if your blankets are big enough) both top and bottom ? Big blanket pins are a very, very good thing indeed
I have a stash and will share

atb,
M

 

[crosslandkelly]

Certainly good to see you have the necessary fallback precautionary sleeping bag and such in place with mates on hand!

It's never wise to put yourself into a survival situation without a fallback option, however with those in place I think it's worth while challenging yourself as can then consider yourself prepared and THIS IS A CHALLENGE!

Good luck to you for your winter challenge

Hot rocks under the soil you put your bed on.....watch you don't inadvertantly steam yourself.....it's ususally kind of damp here

You know how to do the blanket wrap so that you have yourself neatly in the middle of double (you can do triple if your blankets are big enough) both top and bottom ? Big blanket pins are a very, very good thing indeed
I have a stash and will share

atb,
M

Both sage advice.

 

[petrochemicals]

The parts that I got cold where the head shoulders, and legs and feet below the knee, so maybe a shawl and a foot cosy.

I don't know much of what you're trying to do, but a fire inside a Teepee (!), seems to be the idea, or maybe a fire inside a wigwam that you build yourself. Eskimos igloos are far warmer than the outside, so maybe an enclosed shelter if your building one.

 

[Man of Tanith]

Emediesse safety back ups are always good until an individual feels comfortable enough to not require its a bit of fun I dont wanna risk my life for it

Toddy-oh do you? Sharing is good although I probably owe you a few favours by now....
Whats the doubke wrap btw?

Colin yup some very wise folk on here always nice to raid the collective mind.

Petrochemicals I'm none too sure myself t be honest

 

[davidpingu]

I guess you'd be greatly improving your odds with an improvised shelter. A tarp is great for keeping you dry but Keeps little heat in even in a more closed configuration I'd imagine.
The military are taught to construct a sort of A frame/sapling shelter that's barely big enough to squeeze in to so as to limit existing heat loss.
If your chosen location was to allow, if you followed this principle and add plenty of natural insulation both under and over the shelter then I'd say that's got to be the tried and tested approach. Those guys don't even get to light a fire or use blankets in their training as its supposed to mimic a survival situation behind enemy lines, not giving away position etc.

I think add a fire near the opening of that style of shelter with a reflector the other side and sleeping with your head nearest the fire to limit heat loss from that part of your body (and keep your face from freezing ) that's about the best idea I can come up with. As already said, maybe a couple hot rocks under you in some super thick leaf litter also?

Will also watch with interest as it's something I did wonder about as you know

 

[petrochemicals]

The parts that I got cold where the head shoulders, and legs and feet below the knee, so maybe a shawl and a foot cosy.

I don't know much of what you're trying to do, but a fire inside a Teepee (!), seems to be the idea, or maybe a fire inside a wigwam that you build yourself. Eskimos igloos are far warmer than the outside, so maybe an enclosed shelter if your building one.

 

[Uilleachan]

I read something about some guy out in the frozen eastern step/desert with some locals who simply lit and stoked a huge fire with dry bushes, chucked on lots of stones as it burnt down then covered the embers with sand/soil. No blankets no cover, just lay on the hot ground. The bloke writing the article complained about the heat. The air temp was -35ºC.

Shelter and insulation from the ground are the main considerations IMO. I've slept out in -20ºC with a pit that I'd happily have swapped for two heavy wool blankets. Although I did have a proper mat and some shelter in the way of a cycling cape for my top half and my rucksack for my lower part. Spindrift was an issue on my face at times as I kept popping it out in my sleep for some reason, woken each time with a start as spindrift dusted my chops.

During the night I wasn't warm but I wasn't too cold either, it was the morning that was the tough part, or rather getting up in the morning, thats where I chilled down. Really difficult to get squared away and moving. No frost nip but how I cried, with hot aches once underway. Possibly the worst I've experienced. Thats the folly of youth for you

I really think there's more than something in the posts above that talk of improvising some shelter and using natural material to get a body off the ground.

In times gone by people sleeping out in highland scotland slept on a plinth of heather and slept under a big mound of the stuff, all materials were cut for the purpose. But I'm unsure if it was tied in bundles etc. However it was done it was done in such a way as to shed rain.

In the book "Dersu the Trapper" by V K Arseniev ( http://www.amazon.com/Dersu-Trapper-Recovered-Classics-Arsenev/dp/0929701496 ), Arseniev describes being caught out with his local guide Dersu at the end of a trip, the pair had headed off from the main body of the expedition to take some sightings and bearings for the purpose of mapping the bottom edge of a near by lake, whilst they waited for a train to pick them up on a newly extended bit of the line.

The guide started getting agitated about a bank of fog headed their way on another wise lovely early autumn day. The guide busied himself cutting and tying reed bundles that he in turn tied to the reed bed, adding bundles tied end on together to form an anchored and secure reed mat. The fog turned out to be an advancing winter storm that they survived by huddling under the reed mat for 24 to 36 hours until it passed. A good read that book.

Anyway, an interesting proposition and I'll look forward to hearing how you get on. Personally, I think with a shelter and fire, a thick mat of thin twigs or similar, you'd be fine. My only comparable experience that I can pass on would be to get something hot (food and drink) into yourself before you get up into the cold of the morning.

 

[Stringmaker]

Interesting thread and good luck for when you do it.

My only observation about the various fire options is the time you will need to devote to gathering fuel and then getting a large enough fire going properly; especially the long log job.

Warm feet and head would be the priorities for me.

 

[Man of Tanith]

Ive been thinking a bit more over this since I posted.
Insulation is gonna be important. Ive got access to a fallow field near my permission which I could harvest some grass to manufacture the mattress material from and build a stick base to it to remove me from the ground.
Similar to the reed mat you mention and I'll look out that book it sounds interesting
Head and feet definitely need to be kept warm. I usually use a wool balaclava in winter whilst sleeping to avoid or at least attempt to avoid bells palsy (had it four times sooner or later its not gonna respond to treatment)

I've a fair few stones up the permission so I can use one of them as a heat storer

 

[Emdiesse]

It's interesting to read all the thoughts of others essentially it seems that the more effort put into building some sorts of comforts, a fire reflector, a shelter, some bedding to insulate off the ground so on and so forth... then the more comfortable the challenge could be...

I suppose that's just it, the more energy you put in, the more you'll get out and the same goes with fire making.... "it's all about the energy, far out man"

You might not want to come home!

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

im planning on building an arctic lean to ala Paul Kirtly blog post when i go to norway in feb. If you have the wood, it could be a good skills challenge as well as providing the warmth required

http://paulkirtley.co.uk/2012/how-to-build-an-arctic-lean-to/

 

[decorum]

Head and feet definitely need to be kept warm.

Keep your kidneys and bladder warm too ~ your kidneys will let you know whether you got it right the following day and a cold bladder can see you in and out of your wrap multiple times per night .

And, in freezing conditions, an overnight application of plain petroleum jelly to any potentially exposed extremities (nose, lips, forehead etc) might also be worth considering (tiger balm would be a poor choice in this instance! :yikes: )

 

[Big Stu 12]

I think the secrect of it would be to work up to it, so you sort of aclimatise in a way, I know you cant fully get used to it, but it must help reather then just jump in, may be a couple of one nighters in the back garden, so you can learn the best way to wrap... ect.

I ve now started to winterise, at the meets/nights outs trying to work out best ways of blankets, and wich ones are the best out of the slection I have.. also different tarp set ups... the other night I had a candle in the TArp with sides droped, ends mostly closed to see how much the UCO would give...

 

[copper_head]

Interesting reading here, I'll be trying the 2 blankets method in November so food for thought. As has been said I think it will come down to a good fire lay coupled with a reflector to ensure a warm night.

 

[Corso]

If there's any good excuse to buld up winter storage it'll be this one

 

[Uilleachan]

Core temperature is the key to the feet, the head needs good insulation as it's intrinsically linked to the core. These are fantastic folded as a hat or down as a balaclava;

http://www.joe-brown.com/outdoor-equipment/trailwise_wool_balaclava

For dossing in clothing I've found loose fitting layers to be best, getting the arms out of the sleeves close to the chest and abdomen under the sweater etc is a great comfort and helps a lot, just as important as blanket folding IMO. Also, boots off and extra socks on then feet in the bag/sack works well too.

I know this runs contrary to modern thinking, which is now settled on a series of close fitting layers as being best, and I've no doubt it is, for minimal clothing for maximum insulation efficiency, but any restriction caused by clothing whilst sleeping in the kit is in my experience a negative.