Basically dirt cheap but for ice/sub-zero conditions.

To keep in the car for the family incase of emergency.

If it’s just to keep you warm if you get stuck in a car, why not just get a cheap duvet from Tesco?

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.200-6007.aspx

1 in each car here.

Any more thought on this?
Were doing the real ale wobble in a couple of weeks and sleeping in a tent in November is a slight worry…

I just took every blanket and duvet I owned to real ale wobble last year and was fine. You’ll be pretty plastered anyhow I imagine so even easier to sleep!

A mate of mines got a nato sleeping bag which normally cooks him

TBH I do expect the beer overcoat to help… 😳

nato sleeping bag

Oh hello, where can you get these?

Space blanket FTW.

Any more thought on this?
Were doing the real ale wobble in a couple of weeks and sleeping in a tent in November is a slight worry…

I camp in the Highlands about once or twice a month through winter.

I was in Glencoe at the weekend there, which was taste of winter temperatures to come (it’s been pretty mild up until now). Hit about -3.

IMO, if you are sleeping in a tent in sub zero, you have 2 options:

buy a good sleeping bag designed for the weather; or
buy a cheaper sleeping bag and wear sufficient layers, add a liner etc.

If you are only going to use it once, and aren’t anticipating very low temperatures, borrow a “decent” bag, get a liner and wear clothes in bed. Job done.

I’ve got an Alpkit Skyehigh 800, which is only £140 and is really toasty down to about -5 to -10, then I start needing layers on. £140 is cheap for a winter sleeping bag and I can recommend it. (Obviously, it is expensive if you’re using it once though!)

Also, a couple of tips:

It’s normal to wake up a few times during winter camping, it’s your body trying to get you moving to generate some heat. So even if you are boozing, you can expect a restless night unless you are really toasty.

Go for a pee if you need one, even if you can’t stand the though of getting out of your warm bag. Your body wastes loads of good energy by warming all that pee!

Keep some food next to your pillow. If you find yourself waking up then have something to eat, it gives your body fuel to keep you warm (although avoid too much sugar since it can cause you to get warm and then suddenly cold shortly after).

Condensation is a major issue in cold temperatures, and the dampness can make you much colder than you need to be, each person will breathe out around 1 litre of moisture. Keep your tent as vented as possible (it’s counter intuitive, but it works). Open the fly doors a bit and just have the inner bug net closed. Try to keep a flow of air through between the fly and inner. For the same reason, try to avoid breathing inside your sleeping bag, even if it seems really cosy.

Wear a warm hat in bed. You’ll sleep much, much better!

Go for a pee if you need one, even if you can’t stand the though of getting out of your warm bag

If you don’t want to get out of the tent, use the Elfinsafety method: Use a suitable receptacle ( a plastic pint glass is ideal), pee into that, then just lob the contents outside. Pint pot can then just be stored under outer tent bit. This method works especially well if you’re at a 24 hour bike race where there are thousands of other people around even throughout the night so you can’t just nip out and go behind yer tent and the toilets are a bit of a walk away plus you’ve got to put shoes on etc what a faff. And if you’re like me and need to pee every hour if you’ve bin drinking, it saves so much hassle.

Try to avoid lobbing the urine over someone else’s tent though. 😳

it saves so much hassle

What a thoroughly nasty thing to do.

a nato sleeping bag

No such thing. If you are after an ex military bag, get the modern synthetic ones. The older down filled ones were battered and never looked after properly. You’d be better off buying a sleeping bag then getting a liner or something for it.

No if the weather is proper gharstley then peeing in a bottle is ok.

You want a wide mouthed vessel (ooh-err) preferably a bright yellow nalgene that you can in no way, confuse with your drinking bottle.

You can keep it safely inside your tent, or even bag if need be, and dispose of in the morning.

Your body wastes loads of good energy by warming all that pee!

Really?

It’s inside your body, cold, and then your body warms it up? 🙄

I bought myself a silk liner, adds 5degC to the bags rateing apparently, mean the bag didn’t need washing, and stoped it feeling clammy.

For car based camping taking an extra douvet and a proper airbed makes a huge difference.

I spose what was meant was, that you use energy raising it to body temp whilst inside the body, then lose the heat when chucking it out. My solution means that you can use it as a warm water bottle. wouldnt have thought itd make much difference, but not having to go outside does.

Regardless of the science behind it, I get freeeezing if I need a wee, and using a bottle when wildcamping is often the way to go imo.

cynic-al – Member
> Your body wastes loads of good energy by warming all that pee!
Really?

It’s inside your body, cold, and then your body warms it up? It’s been the general advice for years – a bladder full of water takes some energy to keep warm, so get rid of it. Dunno how much science went in to that though.

A pee bottle is a good idea – especially if it’s raining. Coming back into your tent, in the dark, dripping wet, will soak your sleeping bag and detract from its insulation capacity.

Another thing to watch for on very cold nights is that the dew point can move inwards – and can reach a point where it’s inside your sleeping bag. That means your perspiration will start to condense inside your sleeping bag, making it damp. Consider a Vapour Barrier Liner if you think you’re going to be in this situation.

e.g. http://www.phdesigns.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=57

At events, for the pee, use a pint beer mug and place it outside the tent when finished. Try to get a good head on it.

Guaranteed to be empty next morning.

🙂

I’ve had condensation inside the bag a few times now. V unpleasant.

Condensation or ‘condensation’?

What a thoroughly nasty thing to do.

Why? It’s only wee don’t be so nesh about it ffs! S’not as if I’ve advocated the throwing of faeces about the place, is it? 🙄

Although poo-flinging can be fun and really rather rewarding! 😀

Not the best activity if inside a tent though could get quite messy.

cynic-al – Member

Your body wastes loads of good energy by warming all that pee!

Really?

It’s inside your body, cold, and then your body warms it up?

I think the principle is that urine is kept at a relatively stable temperature by your body. So if it’s cold outside and you’ve got a bladder full of dark ale induced wee-wee, then your body will waste energy keeping all that liquid warm.

As for the urinating inside a bottle without leaving the tent/bag…..absolutely essential in bad weather. It’s not so much to avoid the cold (getting out of the tent and jumping around is often a good way to get some heat flowing and help me back to sleep if I wake up), but as someone said above, if it’s snowing or raining it can be a nightmare both for your clothes and bag, which might stuggle to dry at all for the rest of the trip (rule number 1 of wildcamping in winter…don’t get your dry kit wet).

My bottle regularly ends up at the bottom of my sleeping bag once it’s been topped up 🙂

It seems bizarre to me that keeping pee warm in the bladder will take much energy – especially for most folk on here who seem to have plenty pf insulation 😀

Not getting up to pee of course makes a big difference – for the obvious reasons.

anotherdeadhero – Member
I’ve had condensation inside the bag a few times now. V unpleasant.

Like they say, try to pee before you get in the bag 😛