Taking My -20 F. down bag to -40 F. ... maybe

[Mike 338]

Air is a conductor rather than a insulator. Most foam pads are all air. Very comfortable but all air. Closed cell foam is much better insulator. If a guy didn't want to use a gore-tex bivy, he could go to home depot and get a canvas drop cloth to cover up with. Canvas breaths.

People are a bit concerned with spending money on sleep stuff but another way of looking at it is, and we've all been there, how much would we spend for a night in a motel when we just spent the entire night shivering and hardly got a wink of decent sleep? Bad sleep = bad next day.

 

[Plinker147]

-40 or -20 ***!! Stay home that sounds like more misery than fun

 

[Litehiker]

Plinker,
We winter campers love the beauty of a snow covered landscape, the feeling of being snug in our tent while a storm blows outside, of cooking a hearty meal either sheltered in our tent vestibule or in a "kitchen" dug out of the snow near the tent.

Yes, it takes specialized skills and specialized gear but if both are up to the conditions you have a great feeling of accomplishment and some great photos and memories. The more severe the conditions the better your skills and gear needs to be.

And you'll find this is not UL camping. Winter gear is heavier, travel often more difficult and hours of daylight more limited. Plan for a shorter trip and bring your iPod or part of a novel to read in your tent during the long nights.

Why sit inside during the winter when you can camp, hike or in deeper snow, ski, snowshoe and see another side of your favorite hiking trails?

To get started in winter camping I highly recommend the little paperback book "Allen & Mike's Really Cool Backcountry Ski Book". It is 30% winter travel info and 70% winter camping info. The cartoon-like illustrations by Mike Clelland are as informative as the text. If for no other reason you should get the book and read it so you will be well informed if your ever get into a winter survival situation.

Eric B.

 

[Litehiker]

UPDATE:
Recently I bought an REI FLASH Insulated All Season air mattress (not foam filled). It has an R5.3 insulating value. Good for -15 F.
It has an aluminized interior bottom and bonded Primaloft synthetic fibers on the top inside.

To inflate I use a Sea to Summit dry bag fitted with a bottom flap having a mating valve to my mattress "INFLATE" valve. Usually pushing two full bags of air into the mattress fills it all the way to being rigid.
I would never blow air in from my mouth B/C I want to keep moisture and bacteria out of the mattress.

For anything below -15 F. I'd put my Thermarest Ridgerest closed cell mat under it.

Eric B.

 

[birdiemc]

First off what's wrong with you people? -40 doesn't even compute in my Texan brain.
Second, I was in New Mexico this January on a ski trip, and it got down to -20 a couple days and I was amazed at how well I was able to tolerate it. Here at home if it drops to the 30's I'm absolutely miserable, but somehow -20 didnt seem that bad. Not sure if it was difference in humidity or altitude or what.

 

[Mustang72]

Yep -big difference in minus 20 in the Rockies compared to +30 in Tx! Litehiker- have you ever put a lightweight fleece blanket inside your bag? It makes a huge difference in my woods -20.

 

[Litehiker]

Mustang,
I'd like to have a light fleece bag liner but it's too heavy for the warmth. What I have carried is an old down mummy-shaped "top" that used to be zippered to a foam mattress. It goes over my Western Mountaineering 20 F. bag.
My LL Bean -20 F. down bag will have to "do" for more frigid temps. I know, I'm such a gear freak.

This winter I bought an REI FLASH Insulated All Season air mattress with an R 5.3 insulation rating which is good to about -10 F. After that I'll put my Ridgerest closed cell mat beneath it.

But from my experience wearing puffy clothing in my WM 20 F. down bag really makes the biggest difference. Of course you have to have a warm mattress.

BTW, I always put my pants and any other outer clothing beneath my mattress for a bit more insulation. And if you expect a truly frigid night you can put layers of small evergreen boughs or 6" of dry leaves under your tent floor. Very comfy.

Eric B.

 

[Mustang72]

Thanks for the reply. Hope to hear more after you try it out. My knees don't hold up to well for backpacking anymore which stinks! But the upside is a cot goes along now by horseback or scout. The right gear makes a big difference!

 

[Alex Wheeler]

I have not done it in a couple years but I did enjoy winter camping here in sw mt. -20s was as cold as I have gone ambient temp. You cant get very far in the mountains once we get snow and your packing a lot of stuff so you probably wont get too far in. I lost most heat to the snow under me. I used a foam pad and insulated inflatable, still not enough. I never had a truly comfortable night but not bad.

 

[Longshotjames]

someone said "no memory foam"...That's sound advice! at those temperatures the memory foam is a brick! I own a mattress store and took a Tempurpedic to Colorado base camp one time in the teens. Memory Foam will warm up only on your pressure points causing severe discomfort. By the 3rd night I literally cut the mattress apart and discarded the memory foam. Finally I could get some sleep
James

 

[DartonJager]

FWIW, My friend has successfully camped for several weeks in temps in the low teens to single digits with a WC below zero by placing his mummy bag bag rated at zero in an rectangular bag rated also rated for 0* and he was beyond toasty warm. He as well as I also make a point to use closed cell foam pads when camping in cold temps as we were warned by friends from AK that air mattresses will cause you to loose heat.

I'm not as cheap and bought a great bag rated at -20* below and I stumbled across a thick 100% fleece comforters like the ones used to sit on a couch that is essentially a fleece sleeping bag that I use inside of my bag and I've used it in trial camping at home in my yard in temps of 10 below zero and I stayed warm enough when combined with heavy ECWCS fleece tops, bottoms, wool socks and a good balaclava.