If one went the primitive winter camping route…
I haven’t winter camped in a while but I ended up getting a bivy sack which seemed to work very well. It might also add a few degrees to the bag temp rating. I would typically run two ground pads. A closed cell foam pad on the bottom (like a ridge rest) with a thermarest over the top. That allowed a little wiggle room in the inflation of the thermarest for comfort while still allowing the insulation provided by the closed cell foam pad. I would throw the whole kit (pads and bag) inside the bivy. The bivy adds protection to the bag from snow, ice, dirt, etc. I would think that setup would work well on a cot. I believe the bag I have is rated to -25 deg. Spent a couple nights right on the rivets at -20 to -25 deg. Survived it but it wasn’t comfortable. Sometimes the cure to waking up chilled is to take a healthy swig of water. It can be easy to get a little dehydrated in winter conditions.
One word of advice for winter camping is to NOT bury your head inside the sleeping bag. When you sleep in cold conditions your nose will feel it, however, you will exhale water vapor. Big mistake to get that condensation inside your bag. I have a simple neoprene face masks that will cover your nose which seems to add comfort to your exposed face.
You call always go with the hot water bottle trick. Heat up some water via jet boil or camp stove. Make sure you don’t have a leaky bottle and keep it with you inside the bag. When it gets cool you’ll want to jettison the bottle or heat it back up if needed.
Down side of course is more specialized gear unless you’re game about committing to the winter camp out. It’s not for everyone.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Huntindave wrote:</div>
I use the foam mats on the floor of my hunting boat. The mats I use are a closed cell foam and will not soak up or hold moisture.
As far as the heat issue, Don’t. Don’t use any heat while sleeping. Use a good insulating pad under you and a GOOD sleeping bag.
This ^^
Once upon a time I tried winter camping outdoors north of Grand Rapids, a couple nights. Wasn’t a lot of fun, but I wasn’t ice fishing either. Cold nights, around 0 degrees.
Point being, no heater required that could kill you. A good quality “winter sleeping bag” with the foam pad underneath…never got cold at all. Just was a hard lumpy ground to sleep on.
Like Dave says, and I’ve done the same thing…no heater needed with the right sleeping bag and they don’t cost a fortune either.
I could sell you mine?
