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8 Secrets to Keep Warm in Your Tent when Camping and Not Freeze!

Campfire Travel • Jan 20, 2020

For many people, camping season gets into full swing in the spring and summer. Everything is waking up; the birds are coming back, the trees are blooming, the bees are buzzing about. The world is reborn! We can open our windows and dust off our tents to get ready for that first camping trip of the season. These warmer days, however, will often forget to tell their evening counterparts that it’s time to heat up! Imagine: You’ve just spent a wonderfully warm day in the great outdoors, sat around a toasty fire and now it’s time to climb into your tent for a good night’s rest. But it’s freezing!! Hopefully, you’ve come prepared, and this article will give you a great head start on how to stay warm in a tent.


#1 - The Obvious: Buy/Use a Tent-Safe Heater

Tent heaters are one of the most obvious ways to keep your tent warm. These heaters are made for use right inside of your tent. We don’t recommend running the heater all night, however. Instead, we suggest running the heater for a bit before you go to sleep and then shutting it off before shutting yourself off for the night.

#2 Fun to Try: Mylar Blankets

Mylar blankets , sometimes known as space blankets , are a great way to keep your tent warm. Not just for emergencies, they are usually inexpensive and available at most sports and camping stores. You can use the mylar blanket around yourself to keep warm, place it on your sleeping mat or mattress, or even use it to reflect heat back on to you .

To reflect heat back down at you with the mylar blanket, simply attach it to the ceiling of your tent with duct tape. It will reflect much of the heat in the tent from either your own body heat or from your recently used tent heater. Kind of like a baked potato!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ZWJTCA?tag=davenico-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1

#3 Essential: Use a Temperature Rated Sleeping Bag
Be sure you have a good quality temperature rated sleeping bag . For maximum toastiness, your sleeping bag should be rated for zero degrees. You may also want to invest in a fleece lined sleeping bag liner. Similar to when Luke Skywalker was placed in the tauntaun for warmth on the ice planet Hoth , these will help to increase the rating of your current or new sleeping bag by about 10 degrees.

#4 Pro Tip: Keep your Tent Ventilated

Most people don’t realize that you need to keep your tent ventilated at night . This may sound a little strange at first but there’s a good reason for it! Heat from your body and your breath inside your tent at night can cause condensation to build up and make everything in your tent slightly damp.

By keeping your tent ventilated, you can reduce the dampness and condensation thereby keeping you and the inside of your tent dryer – which keeps you warmer throughout the night.

It is equally important that you try to keep yourself from sweating . If you wake up and notice that you are sweating, remove some layers to keep dry. You don’t want to get too hot inside your tent. In the immortal words of Survivorman Les Stroud, you sweat, you die! Ok, so you probably won’t die on your weekend outing, but you will definitely become chilly if you sweat on a cold night!


#5 Smart Locations: Choose a Protected Campsite

Choosing the perfect camp spot is essential. When the evening weather calls for cold temperatures, you’ll be happy you chose a protected campsite.

You’ll want to avoid low lying areas where cold air settles. A site that is 50 feet above the valley floor should be sufficient to keep you warmer. Look for a campsite that is also protected from too much wind. A chilly wind on cold night can cool you to the bones.

#6 Dry It Out: Roll Out your Sleeping Bag

After you’ve slept snugly all night in your temperature rated sleeping bag, it’s a good idea to roll out any moisture from the night.

Remember, dampness equals chilliness and the last thing you want to do after your first night of sleeping warm is to crawl into a chilly, damp bag.

Simply lay out your sleeping bag and roll up, from feet to head. Extra points if you are able to lay or hang your sleeping bag to dry completely.

#7 FAIL: Air Mattresses are a HUGE No-no!

Many people like to bring a few creature comforts from home to make their camping trip as comfortable as possible. Air mattresses are one of those comforts often brought along, but it is not the best option if you are trying to keep warm.

Air mattresses hold on to whatever the current air temperature is, so if it’s below your comfort level of temperature, you will have the cold air hitting you from above and below. If you do bring an air mattress with you, remember to insulate! Use sleeping pads, mylar blankets, tarps, a foam yoga mat, or even a bed of pine needles under your tent where the mattress will be placed.

Investing in a quality sleeping mat can not only save you room, but it can help keep you warmer in your tent.

#8 Toasty Toes: Keep your Feet Dry & Warm

Like mom always said, don’t go to bed with wet socks . Actually, not many moms probably ever said this, but it’s a good piece of advice anyway! Make sure your socks are completely dry before you climb into your sleeping bag for the night. Even slightly damp socks can cause you to lose a lot of heat through your feet (remember, dampness equals coldness!!). We recommend having a pair of socks just for sleeping, and putting them on right before you climb into bed for the night.

It is important to remember not to bundle up too much to prevent any sweating. If you get too warm at night and start sweating, you can be sure to wake up damp and cold! Dress in layers that you can easily remove from in your bag.

Some campers may want to look into purchasing an elephant bag for camping. Elephant bags, or half bags, are like little sleeping bags for your feet. You simply slide your tootsies in and you’re done!

https://tentcamping.org/how-to-keep-your-tent-warm-and-not-freeze-when-camping/

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