How cold is too cold?

[Islander]

The temperature is not related to the season of the tent. Four season just means it will handle snow. Unheated tents are not significantly warmer than the outside, regardless of season.

So...it all boils down to your clothing and sleep system, as well as what temps are you willing to deal with in camp (since you commit to whatever temps you are willing to hunt in whether you have a hot tent or not). A fire will help you hang around camp more comfortably.

On our trip last year to WY it was -13F one morning and -9 another. Both far too cold for us to camp because we didn't have bags worthy of those temps. But for hunting, not a problem, as it got up to about 10F each day. Remember that even with a stove you won't be running it all night. No matter what you need bags and clothing up to the task. Stove it for warming the tent in the morning and drying your stuff for an hour at night.

 

[TwoLugz]

I was hoping to have a hot tent from Springbar for the Montana rifle opener Oct. 24 but it looks like they won’t have any in stock. Planning on a 4ish night hunt Friday through Monday night.

How cold is too cold to stay in a 3-season tent (Kelty Salida 2) and a 20 degree bag? Looks like lows will be in the mid 20’s. I was thinking 30 would be about the lowest as my experience sleeping bag ratings are consistently about 10 degrees colder than what I consider comfortable. Will I be warm enough with a couple wool blankets on top of my sleeping bag?

Definitely some heavy wool blankets will help. Also make sure you have good insulation between you and the cold ground.

 

[dgc1963]

their is a thing you make with a large log n pipe (Finnish tent stove if you google it I think thats right)
maybe something to warm you up if needed the pipe isnt suposted to get hot so It can be used in a pinch with regular tent

 

[Big Sky Guy]

Just be ready for it to be a lot colder than what you expect. Last year's opening weekend was wicked cold. Lows in the mid-20's would be a heat wave in comparison.

O I remember. I didn’t even go out last year, it was brutally windy and near zero visibility.

 

[diamond hitch]

I like a good canvas wall tent, wood stove, canvas fly over the tent ( keeps the frost from forming on the roof). I put down 8-10 inches of straw on the ground covered with a tarp plus a pad and then get a good down bag.

The most critical component is a male hunting partner over fifty. He will be up numerous times during the night ti pee and will keep the stove stoked.

 

[Trigger50]

We just did an elk hunt with night temps a couple nights around 20 or so and no heat. It wasn't fun. We had 15 degree sleeping bags w liners and bivy sacks. I slept w 3 layers of clothes on. Its doable but not fun.

 

[406dn]

I use a slide in camper as the base camp. Normally, my younger brother sets up his bed in my horse trailer. No heat for either of us. Last fall with several -15 to -20 nights,,,,,we wimped out and came home.

I can handle a night or two that cold but it gets old,,, so no thanks to a long stretch.

Some years ago, I hunted the last day of the season with -15 temperatures. It was a mostly a horseback ride. My black horse was white with frost when we came back to the trailer. Thankfully for him, the sun was out and the wind was calm. I put him on the sunny side of the trailer until he dried out.

This year, I will cherry pick a few days to hunt. My brother is an essential worker, and doesn't want to potentially expose me to covid,,, so our normal 7-10 day hunt is not going to happen. I think I'll use my days to explore some areas that look good from google earth.

 

[DouglasR]

Winter Camping and Backpacking Tips | REI Co-op

Going winter camping? Get the tips you need about clothing, gear and shelter to make camping in the snow comfortable and enjoyable.

www.rei.com

Looks kinda fun to me.

 

[Western Traveler1]

I like a good canvas wall tent, wood stove, canvas fly over the tent ( keeps the frost from forming on the roof). I put down 8-10 inches of straw on the ground covered with a tarp plus a pad and then get a good down bag.

The most critical component is a male hunting partner over fifty. He will be up numerous times during the night ti pee and will keep the stove stoked.

Agree, hard to beat a wall tent if not in a cabin or camper of some sort. Two years ago in WY we had a solid sheet of ice under the ground tarp and below zero outside. With the wood stove going and coal added for the night burn, it was 100 degrees near the peak inside. T-shirt comfort..unspoken rule is if you crawl out of your bag, you stoke the fire...

The days of 3 season tents in the winter are behind me....

 

[BuckRut]

Not sure what part of the state you are in but just a heads up that the lows are looking to be below zero this weekend.

 

[Irrelevant]

I can't wait for the fallout thread between this one and the "CA's moving to MT thread"

 

[geewhiz]

From my experience, a sleeping bag is rated to the temp that it will keep you alive not warm. So a 20 degree bag wont keep you warm at 20 degrees but it will keep you alive. haha

 

[BackofBeyond]

Another thing to remember is your sleeping bag/pad are only insulation - they don't provide the heat, you're body does. The previously mentioned big meal right before crawling in and hot water filled Nalgene helps, but get your body heat up right before you crawl in. Do push-ups, jumping jacks, whatever until you're about to break a sweat (but don't break a sweat, then you're adding more moisture into the equation.) Do whatever you need to take as much heat into the bag with you at the start, and if you wake up and are cold at 3 a.m. do more push-ups to burn calories and add more heat back into the equation.

 

[406dn]

I do my exercise at the gym. In camp,,, I have a heavy bag and other bags available to throw on top. Also a stocking cap will help more than a little.

 

[The Hedgehog]

It's looking like minus 10 a couple nights in a row for me. Fun. I will drink an ice cold beer and crawl into my fart sack and enjoy my sleep.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

I swapped some days around to hit it when the snow quits and the cold comes, expecting good things to show up. Frozen off toes and fingers grow back, I read it on Facebook.

 

[Gunner46]

-20 with a shelter half and a candle, it was somewhat over the comfortable side of chilly. Artic survival training. Then it started snowing & the shelter packed a 3" blanket of heavy snow and it got down right Toasty !!!!!

 

[thusby]

I slept in a -30 degree sleeping bag when it was -27 last winter. I didn't sleep much because I got cold. Good luck out there.

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

One time I camped and it was -32 and I drank my own pee and I talked to myself in a British accent. Then I made a fire with a couple pieces of wood and some pocket lint, duct taped together a vehicle and built improvised weapons from some old car parts I found in an abandoned barn then took on a local warlord who had kidnapped a farmer's daughter. She may or may not have given me a smooch after rescuing her.

 

[Gunner46]

One time I camped and it was -32 and I drank my own pee and I talked to myself in a British accent. Then I made a fire with a couple pieces of wood and some pocket lint, duct taped together a vehicle and built improvised weapons from some old car parts I found in an abandoned barn then took on a local warlord who had kidnapped a farmer's daughter. She may or may not have given me a smooch after rescuing her.

You too !!!! Wait a sec, was there a goat somewhere in the vicinity ?