How cold is too cold?

[Western Traveler1]

It’s a dry cold...

 

[ImBillT]

I spent a night in the low teens or high single digits last year in a thirty degree bag, BUT I was fully clothed in every piece of clothing I could get on, and it was still very uncomfortable.

 

[44hunter45]

How did it go? I guess we may not find out until Monday?

 

[blaire458]

Nice tip on breathing outside the bag.

 

[The Hedgehog]

I slept 8.5 hours and I hear it was -22 nearby weather station. Got out once to pee that sucked but otherwise toasty warm. Condensation was an issue but didn’t get wet, it was like ice that I could shake out in the AM.

 

[Big Sky Guy]

How did it go? I guess we may not find out until Monday?

When I started this thread it was forecast to be in the single digits or teens. The forecast kept getting colder to the point I realized this wasn’t going to be something I was comfortable trying. Good thing too because ice is forming on that river now. Saturday was a legit winter storm, one of the bigger ones I’ve experienced. No regrets.

 

[JLS]

I slept 8.5 hours and I hear it was -22 nearby weather station. Got out once to pee that sucked but otherwise toasty warm. Condensation was an issue but didn’t get wet, it was like ice that I could shake out in the AM.

What brand/rating of bag?

 

[The Hedgehog]

What brand/rating of bag?

I bought it used in 1994. I believe it’s rated at 0. It’s shell is gore-tex.

 

[44hunter45]

When I started this thread it was forecast to be in the single digits or teens. The forecast kept getting colder to the point I realized this wasn’t going to be something I was comfortable trying. Good thing too because ice is forming on that river now. Saturday was a legit winter storm, one of the bigger ones I’ve experienced. No regrets.

Yes it was.

 

[Irrelevant]

I bought it used in 1994. I believe it’s rated at 0. It’s shell is gore-tex.
View attachment 159671

What kind of clothing were you using up there? There's no way of have survived. I'm more tropical blooded

 

[diamond hitch]

Camped in the Blacktail
(Out of Dillon) in the early 90s. A beany and wool longjohns can make a cold nite possible but not pleasant. That night my pillow froze to the tent wall. It's amazing how long you can hold your water until someone else has to get up and lite the fire.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

I was out Sunday night, -10 or so was the forecast, some wind but it quieted down around midnight. It was good hunting, sorta...elk everywhere but couldn't pin down a bull. I did watch a heavy 180-ish muley for a bit and had a lot of big country to myself. It was fine, condensation was a pain but it goes with the territory.

 

[EYJONAS!]

You guys just need to think outside the box. -35 degree bag, canvas bed roll. Wood Stove and you can wake up and piss right on the floor if your to whiskied up to make it to the door. (Though I prefer my guest make it to the door) I slept in a backcountry banana hammock and was sweating my ass off. Woke up, snapped the radish and went hunting...... what's the issue.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

That's a camp fit for Donald Jr. himself.

 

[EYJONAS!]

That's a camp fit for Donald Jr. himself.

I'm pretty much a mobile Hilton Garden Inn, complete with a continental breakfast.

 

[jbseamus83]

Closed cell foam pad under your regular pad, a blanket over top, and a stocking hat and you'll be fine.

Think about how you'll keep you boots from freezing solid at night

I've found with my boots that if I drop hand warmers in them when going to bed, and set them just inside my tent, they aren't frozen in the morning. Laces are a different issue. Although you could probably just drop them inside the boot. I think I may have heard this from Steve Rinella on one of his podcasts. Honestly can't remember for sure, but it worked this last weekend in WY in 0 degree temps.

 

[NvWarren]

I’ve lived in tents for months on end in very cold temps. I’ve seen some very bad advice on this thread. First, a good 4 season tent will keep you much warmer than a 3 season tent. Ventilation is one of the ways good 4 season tents protect you. It will literally rain in many 3 season tents because condensation builds up on the fly. If it is really cold it will ice up and you can get ice falling on you. 3 season tents also usually have big gaps at the bottom of the fly. This leaks a lot of cold air in and can allow snow drifts into the tent.

If you plan on layering a blanket on top of your sleeping bag it will compress the sleeping bag insulation limiting efficiency. I like a synthetic quilt on top of a lighter bag in some scenarios.

wearing puffy clothes in a sleeping bag can help as long as they aren’t being compressed by the sleeping bag. I like wearing my synthetic base layers in my synthetic bag. You dry out from the inside out. Any down layer treated or not will trap water vapor limiting the effectiveness.

 

[Dakotakid]

I drove past a 1/2 dozen wall tents that first cold night down in the breaks, most were gone before Sunday evening. It dropped to -15. It looked cold, cold.

 

[thatsjet]

snapped the radish

I don't even want to know.

 

[EYJONAS!]

I don't even want to know.

It's a reliable Kickstart program if your still a little whiskied in the wee hours of dawn.