Cold Sleepers: How to Stay Warm While Backpacking (and Camping)!

I get it being cold when you're sleeping in the middle of nowhere in the backcountry is like a nightmare I should know I'm a cold sleeper it's something I'm always thinking about but it hasn't stopped me from getting out into the backcountry even in the middle of winter now if you follow what I'm going to tell you in this video and try some of the tricks I'm gonna suggest along the way you too can sleep warm and comfortably in the backcountry even if you were using cold sleeper like myself so let's get to it [Music] one of the reasons I wanted to make this video is because I hear about it all the time people saying I'd like to go backpacking but don't you get cold when you're out there in the middle of the night or you go out in winter how do you stay warm at night there's so many people who think that being cold when you sleep is going to hold them back or hold you back from having a good backpacking trip and it doesn't have to in fact with a few lessons that I'm gonna tell you in this video as well as a few of the tricks I've learned along the way you can stay warm while you sleep in the backcountry I totally get that people have all these different reasons and excuses that hold them back from going backpacking and that's why I hear backcountry 4 because we believe the backcountry is for everyone I do my best to offer the tips and tools to get backpackers backpacking and being warm at night is an important part of going backpacking so in this video I'm gonna cover the three basics as well as go through some of the little tricks that I've learnt to stay warm at night even in the middle of winter but these tricks work year-round but it starts with the three basic things that you need to stay warm at night the first one is simple and it starts with your sleep system but it doesn't start with your sleeping bag it starts with your sleeping pad I recently was having a conversation on Instagram with somebody who thought that they could go to Iceland in the middle of winter with a non insulated sleeping pad and I try to explain that that is the most important part of staying warm at night in the backcountry and this isn't just backpacking this is a survival tip you need to get your body up off the ground and so an insulated sleeping pad will do that for you now if you're a cold sleeper like me you're not gonna want to go with anything that's lower than like 2.5 R value in the summertime especially if you know it's gonna be getting cold don't go to one of those like one point two sleeping bags you can but you'll probably get a little chilly now when it comes to those shoulder seasons or even winter I use the climate static v insulated sleeping pad I'm testing out a new sleeping pad but we'll get to that in a different video I trust typing pad that stays at about our value of four or higher in the winter months or the shoulder season to be honest I'll even take that out in the summer if I know it's gonna get a little chilly or I'm going into high altitudes because I want to be warm I remember my first backpacking trip I had no idea I thought well I got a good sleeping bag I have a comfortable sleeping pad I'll be fine first of all boy was I wrong about all of that my sleeping bag was not warm enough it was rated to a survival rating versus a comfort rating my sleeping pad had no r-value so I was just freezing all night long now fortunately I quickly learned that I'm just a cold sleeper in general so I had to learn some things but it starts with the right sleeping system you need an insulated sleeping pad and then you need a good sleeping bag make sure that it's warm enough you're gonna want a sleeping bag that's rated to about 5 to 10 degrees colder than what you expect to experience especially if you're a cold sleeper like myself one year I even went out with a zero Degree sleeping bag all summer long now that was a little excessive but boy was I toasty you want a warm sleeping bag that is crucial to your sleeping system but not as important as a warm sleeping pad now the other thing you do which I often do is bring a sleeping bag liner this will add some extra warmth you can get the sea2summit reactor extreme liner which will keep you just a little warmer at night as you go to bed so that's the basics rule number one you need the right sleep system ask questions feel free to ask me questions go onto Instagram backcountry forward and I will be happy to answer any of the questions leave them in the comments below and the community around can answer your questions make sure you have the right sleep system ok basic rule number two to having a good night's sleep and in the backcountry is staying dry I can't emphasize this enough and I don't just mean staying dry during the day I mean also staying dry at night in fact one night I woke up sopping wet because I had made one fatal decision and I was freezing fortunately it was just a test night I had to bail on the trip hike out to my parents house where I spent the rest of the night that was actually two years ago to the day of this trip that's kind of crazy to think and my mistake was that I had brought a Mylar blanket into my sleeping bag I had no idea that it was gonna trap all the moisture of my body and radiate it back to me making me even colder and that's when I learned the crucial lesson stay dry now you also want to stay dry throughout the entire day so without a shadow of a doubt especially if you're a cold sleeper have a separate sleep system outfit that you put on that stays dry that you never wear at any other point during the day it should be in a dry bag in your backpack so at night in your tent you get into that you get into your sleeping bag and your warm and dry the second thing is you want to make sure that sleeping bag of yours stays dry yes it might be some extra weight but maybe consider putting it in a dry bag making sure that your backpack is as watertight as possible because a wet sleeping bag will make you colder at night and if you're already prone to being cold at night it's just gonna make you miserable staying dry also means that you don't have too many layers on as you're going to sleep that you're sweating that being said you can put on layers so that you stay warm in your sleeping bag but you just don't want to overdo it staying dry is really important basic thing number three and this one everyone misses no one thinks about and it's so important fuel no I'm not talking about your canister fuel I'm talking about your fuel your body's fuel you need fuel to stay warm you need to eat and stay hydrated too often people neglected drinking and that actually is such an important part of your body's temperature regulation system that if you're dehydrated you can get cold that much easier and if you haven't eaten recently you're just going to get colder I recommend having a high-fat high-calorie meal fifth to 20 minutes before you get into your sleeping bag it should be the last thing you do before you go in for the night and if you know that this is safe where you're going and it's not safe in a lot of places but sometimes I do it is bring a snack into your sleeping bag something that you can munch on as you wake up in the middle of the night it will help keep your system warm now if you're not able to do that you could also put that snack somewhere close by where you know in the middle of the night when you have to go to release for yourself go walk to that area where your little snack bag is hanging in the tree grab your met your granola bar chow down relieve yourself and get back into your tent it might take a little extra time and I know in the middle of the night you're like thinking that's the last thing you want to do but that extra fuel will keep you warmer so those are the three basic things you need to stay warm if you're a cold sleeper the right sleep system insulated sleeping pad a warm enough sleeping bag maybe even a sleeping liner staying dry bring that extra pair of clothing yes it's extra weight but you'll be thankful because you won't be wet and keep that bedding dry rule number three stay fueled up hydrate yourself and eat a hearty meal right before you go to bed now those are the basics that maybe you're already doing those things or you think yeah yeah I know what are some tricks well let me tell you I got some I can tell you a few things that I do if you look into my tent right now I'll show you the first one if this if you can't see it you should be able to hear it it's a mylar sheet that I use as my ground sheet summer or winter it doesn't matter it goes underneath me and that just serves to radiate some of my body heat back up into the tent rather than letting it go straight down to the ground it's a small thing but I find it really helps another kind of two-in-one tips is keep your feet and your head warm wear a beanie or a toque if you're in Canada wear socks remember how I said you're gonna have that separate dry sleeping outfit make sure you have a warm pair of socks to put in there if you're going winter camping and you have a pair of winter boots that have internal liners I take the liners out and I keep my feet inside and I put them in my sleeping bag so that those liners keep my feet warm and let me tell you it makes getting up in the morning or in the middle of the night and putting on your shoes that much easier so it helps not only while you're sleeping and also when you're waking up head and feet covered you need that trick number three and this is a lifesaver Nalgene bottles whether you love them or you're like calm andreoli and you hate them PS backpacking and blisters Prime podcast check it out the only reason I bought one was for winter camping and now I'm glad that I have it for shoulder season and any time where I think it's gonna get a little colder basically you take one of these you'll boil the water you put the water in this you put it in your sleeping bag like 15-20 minutes before you get in and then you have a nice warm water bottle to cuddle with all night long on winter camping trips I bring two no joke one for me to cuddle with and one at my feet to keep my feet warm throughout the entire night life-changing seriously try it now you want to make sure you screw on the lid extra tight stay dry speaking of that I gotta stay hydrated okay to last little tricks before I let you go wear some clothing I know I mentioned this earlier but bring your clothing into your sleeping bag with you either by wearing it or just kind of around you or at the foot box of your sleeping bag however you want to do it because this does two things first of all it makes less space air space that your body has to keep heat up more added insulation inside around you secondly getting up in the morning and putting that clothes those clothes on is way warmer because they've been warming with you all night the last trick and this is the key how I as a really really cold sleeper genuinely I get cold so easily stay warm while I'm in the backcountry even down to extremely frigid temperatures in the middle of winter like minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit I made an entire video about it right here it's layer in your sleep system if you want to learn more about that you can click that video it will be super helpful and it's a budget option for how you can extend your backpacking experience I hope you guys found this video helpful and remember keep moving forward I'll see you over in the next one

Channel: Backcountry Forward

Views: 17,117

Rating: 4.7622952 out of 5

Keywords: backcountry forward, camping, backcountry, outdoors, backpacking, cold sleeper, winter camping, staying warm, backpacking sleeping, cold backpacking, cold sleeping, sleeping tips, camping tips, backpacking tips, how to stay warm while backpacking, how to stay warm while camping, how to sleep warm while backpacking, sleep warm all night, sleeping bag, backpacking sleeping bag, backpacking hacks, beginner backpacking tips, tips for beginner backpackers, first time backpacking tips

Id: FGaYGZWwGmg

Length: 11min 45sec (705 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 14 2020