Winter Ice Camping

Travis wrote:

Everyone has an opinion, just like everyone has done some bonehead things we probably shouldn’t have done or continue to do.

My first three winter camping trips a full of bonehead stories, some really really stupid to the point of dangerous Couple tips to save some headache.

Heat – I’m firmly in the camp of not using propane while sleeping, too risky for me. It’s amazing what a treat that is in the morning to fire it up, make a hot drink, and some breakfast.

Sleeping pads: Tegg’s right and took me until my third trip to learn this one. Even if using a cot, you need this insulation underneath you for conduction cooling.

Sleeping bag(s): one really good one or two decent ones. Was at an outdoor expo where the advice was to use an outer synthetic bag and inner down. This way you could do better at managing moisture and not need to buy a -20 super specialty bag.

X2 with Tegg’s tips other tips. As for the bivy sac, it’s optional for me. Most of the time I leave mine at home.

Vented wood stove – super awesome but kills the idea of being mobile at all. You won’t move camp once this is setup. A hub portable you might pack it up if you want to go sit on different structure.

double post

Angler II wrote:

Running a buddy heater wouldn’t be a problem. If you’re worried. Buy a cheap carbon monoxide alarm and crack a window.

This is exactly what I do. I sleep in my portable at least 5 nights a season. I have vents open and zippered doors open a little at the top as well as the CO detector and a buddy heater. I also tend to keep it running on low or pilot and wake up a few times to turn it up to take the cold off. I also know of many other people who do the same.

wanted to revive an old thread. Every year i say im gonna try this but i haven’t yet. Any of the guys who were on this thread either try it for the first time recently or plan on doing it again this year?

Sure sounds like a good time.

I do it every year and will be doing it again. Early ice red we stay in our portables for 4 or 5 days. And this year will be the same

Bearcat89 wrote:

I do it every year and will be doing it again. Early ice red we stay in our portables for 4 or 5 days. And this year will be the same

post some pictures of your camp setup this year if you get a chance Ron. Would love to see them

Wear a stocking hat while in the bag. Keeps my bald head warm and keeps me from pulling the sleeping bag over my head.

Learned winter camping when my son was a Cub Scout. Kids all wanted the Zero Hero badge for sleeping outdoors with the temp dropping below 0 degrees F. Insulate with foam pads, sleep in your long johns, cover your head and hydrate. It ain’t sleeping in your bed at home but it is manageable.

Tried it last year, I didn’t allow enough time to setup and rushed through it. I had a big buddy heater and i still could not heat the tent. All i can say is if the weather sounds bad don’t be afraid to throw in the towel and Go home or in my case get a motel room. I said after last season i would never try it again but i might try a little closer to home this year. A floor would help a lot, had some interlocking mats but not enough to make a floor. There is a great thread about this on ice shanty as well. Also some YouTube videos by a guy whose channel is call Prospector. Really cool stuff, he is also a contributor to the iceshanty thread.

Got a buddy that messed with it last year. He bought one of the really big pop ups, big enough to fit two cots in it. He said his big buddy heater wasnt adequate but he also tried it on leech in February. I’m confident my 20 lb propane tank with a sunflower will be enough, especially earlier in the season. My biggest concern is the standing water on the floor of the shack after it sits in one spot for more than a day. Would packing snow help for a floor? Buy one of those ice rug things? Move the shack daily? I can about guarantee we will give it a few tries on early ice mille lacs this year. I’ll probably plan on not packing extra clothes and keeping all food in a plastic bin. Otherwise I see not much of a difference from planning for a summer camping trip.

I assume we will keep his pop up as a base camp then use my sled to move around and fish different locations in the area.

The ice fishing itch has officially hit. Cant wait!

Buddy heaters are pretty clean. We had to use one when our Ice Castle heater went down. We set it up next to the house CO monitor. Never set it off. However, I agree with the precautionary advice on this thread. We had a window open and I didnt sleep well checking things several times that night.

crappie55369 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Bearcat89 wrote:</div>
I do it every year and will be doing it again. Early ice red we stay in our portables for 4 or 5 days. And this year will be the same

post some pictures of your camp setup this year if you get a chance Ron. Would love to see them

Yes I will do that. We do it early and late ice. I use either my hub or if I’m in the sled shack I only keep 1 seat in it and then the cot goes half in the sled half on the ice. We do it in blizzards and cold weather. It really makes no difference. Just use a nice insulated shack. I 1 nice mountain hardware sleeping bag and thats about that. Keep organized or itll stuck

For those of you who have done it in a hub…..which hub out there is the best for winter camping? I have it narrowed down to eskimo fatfish9416i, otter monster lodge hub, or otter resort hub. Also I plan on doing a wood stove and venting it out the top with stove jack. I know this will make us not mobile but we just need a basecamp while the one mans keep us mobile. With winter camping becoming more and more popular in a hub do you think we will ever see hub manufacturers adding in stove jack options?

I winter camp in the bwca often. I sleep on the ground using an exped insulated mat. The mat is far more important than the bag. A cot is the coldest way to sleep even with a pad. The only reason to use a cot is with a heater. The ground is a constant temp while the air may be -20.
An 8×8 hub house will fit 2 cots and a buddy heater. I have never had a problem with a buddy heater. In my hub house banked in and Windows closed the heater will shut off on its own in minutes.

MnPat1 wrote:

I winter camp in the bwca often. I sleep on the ground using an exped insulated mat. The mat is far more important than the bag. A cot is the coldest way to sleep even with a pad. The only reason to use a cot is with a heater. The ground is a constant temp while the air may be -20.
An 8×8 hub house will fit 2 cots and a buddy heater. I have never had a problem with a buddy heater. In my hub house banked in and Windows closed the heater will shut off on its own in minutes.

I searched a few sites and it would seem that the consensus is cots work well for winter camping. People say its very important to put padding down on top of the cot to help with heat retention. Of course your experiences could have been different. I plan on using a cot with 2 pads underneath me on the cot so ill see if that keeps me warm

“Cots are one of the better choices for winter camping. It raises you off the ground, so you’re not going to lose body heat through contact with it. That makes it safer than lying on the ground. However, cots aren’t warm in and of themselves. You must have a winter-rated sleeping bag on the cot, and that is the minimum you need.

A better choice is putting an air mattress on the cot to help trap body heat. This will also make the average cot more comfortable. Putting a soft pad on the cot can improve its heat retention and comfort, as well.”

source – https://globalbackpackers.com/cots-good-for-winter-camping/

I run the cheapest cot you can get from Walmart that is about a ft off the ground. So the front legs can be in the sled and the bottoms are on the ice. That way I have a spot to stand and 2 rods always in the water.
I run a buddy heater, my shack holds heat. I dont run it while sleeping but im sure with a alarm it would be more then safe.

I would never run a wood stove unless I had a big tent and planned on camping for weeks. Way over kill. I also bring a small table and camp stove. Usually on my early and late ice camps there is 5 to 7 of us each in alour own shacks. We all do the same. And cook big meals and have a blast.

Shack wise it doesn’t matter. I use my lodge hub, or resort sled house, other guy has a cabelas shack and 1 has a eskimo and so one. You can make what ever work

man that sounds like a blast Ron! let me know when you guys go up there. I plan on going to red a few times this year maybe if im up there around the same time ill stop over for a beer

crappie55369 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>MnPat1 wrote:</div>
I winter camp in the bwca often. I sleep on the ground using an exped insulated mat. The mat is far more important than the bag. A cot is the coldest way to sleep even with a pad. The only reason to use a cot is with a heater. The ground is a constant temp while the air may be -20.
An 8×8 hub house will fit 2 cots and a buddy heater. I have never had a problem with a buddy heater. In my hub house banked in and Windows closed the heater will shut off on its own in minutes.

I searched a few sites and it would seem that the consensus is cots work well for winter camping. People say its very important to put padding down on top of the cot to help with heat retention. Of course your experiences could have been different. I plan on using a cot with 2 pads underneath me on the cot so ill see if that keeps me warm

“Cots are one of the better choices for winter camping. It raises you off the ground, so you’re not going to lose body heat through contact with it. That makes it safer than lying on the ground. However, cots aren’t warm in and of themselves. You must have a winter-rated sleeping bag on the cot, and that is the minimum you need.

A better choice is putting an air mattress on the cot to help trap body heat. This will also make the average cot more comfortable. Putting a soft pad on the cot can improve its heat retention and comfort, as well.”

source – https://globalbackpackers.com/cots-good-for-winter-camping/

For camping in a cold tent you couldn’t be more wrong. I’ve winter camped 100’s of nights in the bwca in the winter. To many -40 nights to count. This is not something I read how to do on a forum. A hammock with under quilt is a good system. An exped downmat On the ground with a good bag Is a good system. A cot is not a good system with anything except a heater.

I’ll take your word for it mnpat. Sounds like you have a lot of experience. Ill be sleeping in my pop up at deer camp this year so that should be a good test for my setup.

Do u have an exped mat you recommend? They look pretty spendy

crappie55369 wrote:

I’ll take your word for it mnpat. Sounds like you have a lot of experience. Ill be sleeping in my pop up at deer camp this year so that should be a good test for my setup.

Do u have an exped mat you recommend? They look pretty spendy

The idea is snow being frozen water and a good insulator essentially makes it so that you’re sleeping on 32 degrees. Whereas sleeping on a cot you will have much much colder air beneath you, possibly below zero. Either way you need insulation beneath you, and with a cot you need a lot more than sleeping on snow.

Exped Downmat is the one you want for winter camping. Thermarest Xtherm is another super warm pad. Basically you’re looking for something with an R-value of like 6 or higher.

You could also stack a couple CCF pads to save money but those aren’t exactly comfortable and also super bulky.

Mats – That Exped looks really awesome. If I was still winter camping on a regular basis think it would be worth the cash.

patk wrote:

You could also stack a couple CCF pads to save money but those aren’t exactly comfortable and also super bulky.

This is close to what I do, Closed cell foam as the bottom layer. Then quality inflatable on top.
ex. https://www.thermarest.com/sleeping-pads/trek-and-travel/ridgerest-classic/ridgerest-classic.html

Just like having a waterproof jacket the closed cell won’t absorb moisture from below. Combined you’ll get the R value you need, cheaper, and a couple added bonuses. Closed cell is great under your boots to keep your feet warm, put between butt and chair, etc. Can’t puncture it so never have that problem in the field. I use the 3/4 ccf length most of the time

I guess I would lay in the sled long before I lay down on the ice. But thats just me.
Never had a issue sleeping on a cot in my shack done it in below temps many times. But I guess when its -40 I’m not out either. The one guy I camp with sleep in his sled with blankets but im to tall to make that work.

Don’t shy away from the cot crappie I have never had a single issue. Remember we do have heaters in these things. Its not exactly roughing it

Any pad system you would be using to sleep on the ground should work on a cot. It’s not a simple matter of only looking at the temperature. You also have to look at the heat conductivity rates of the medium you’re sleeping on. Air has the lowest conductivity rate of anything you would encounter be it ice, ground, packed snow, snow, etc. You’d be inside a fish house so you shouldn’t have wind issues and the amount of convection you’d experience should be lower than the conduction of sleeping on the ground. I would steer clear of an inflatable air mattress and look for pads that have insulating value. A common occurrence for air pads is they tend to deflate in cold temps. When I was winter camping I placed a thermarest on top of a closed cell foam pad. If I had a cot I would use the same pad system. There are however a lot more pad options today.

I’d consider the Otter Resort if you plan on having two adults and two cots in there. The Lodge will be a little tight.

I ice camp in my Resort, and I run a Buddy continuously with the door and one vent cracked. I use a cot with a 0 degree sleeping bag with a camping pad in it. I also keep a NOCO 1000 amp charger in there for keeping the phone topped off, and for keeping the iPad charged for watching downloaded Netflix or Amazon Prime movies or shows.

I’d give Mille Lacs a shot. You’ll get the rattle reels yanked about every 30-60 minutes overnight, at the very least.

Personally I have a polar bird fish house with comes with an insulated floor, a cot, a sleeping bag rated for -15, a few mats including an old therm-a-rest that inflates and a big buddy. Should be good. Cant wait

crappie55369 wrote:

Personally I have a polar bird fish house with comes with an insulated floor, a cot, a sleeping bag rated for -15, a few mats including an old therm-a-rest that inflates and a big buddy. Should be good. Cant wait

You will be way good.
The floor im pretty jealous of. I’ve never heard of that shack, I’d like to see it.

I also have a polarbird and the floor is awesome. Warmest shelter I have ever been in. It would be a great ice camping option, possibly the best shelter for the job.

Its been 5 years since I’ve winter camped or camped in the boat. I’ll bet I’ve spent 30 weekends ice camping if not more.

It’s all pretty simple.

Started using a zero gravity chair when my hub house wasn’t big enough for a cot.
Then got a bigger house (clam 4000T), and also a cot.

Tank mounted sunflower heater is all I’ve used on every occasion. Eliminates ice melt.

A fan in a door or window to continuously blow in fresh air is a MUST!!

A fan in ceiling blowing down is a plus.

Never brought a blanket or sleeping bag.

Never used a floor.
Always slept in striker climate suit.

Sunflower was also cooking source.

Worst night was 10″ snowfall on mille lacs, 40 wind gusts 50. Was a cold night as I has to keep a window open to inflate the hub house or the wind was going to crush its poles. That was an old eskimo quickfish 3.

I recall many nights just pulling up rattle reels so sleep can happen.

I am seeing lots of hostility over the issue of heat and also early ice fishing. Not so much here but on my local pages. One side is taking the attitude that people who fish early ice or sleep with heaters have suicide wishes and deserve to be culled from humanity as if they are taking absolutele zero precuations.

Nothing ever is completely safe but free people will manage risk to acceptable levels and we all accept different levels.

Sure, a minority exists that will drive a full size truck onto the lake in early November but I cannot see how that justifies saying all these nasty things about all early ice people and such. I ran a heater in my canvas tent last week. Early ice I watch depth, wear float suit, ice picks, and use a spud bar. And know what not to do when a break through happens. The last thing I would ever do is tell somebody to die and assume they take zero precautions.

Nodak wrote:

I am seeing lots of hostility over the issue of heat and also early ice fishing. Not so much here but on my local pages. One side is taking the attitude that people who fish early ice or sleep with heaters have suicide wishes and deserve to be culled from humanity as if they are taking absolutele zero precuations.

Nothing ever is completely safe but free people will manage risk to acceptable levels and we all accept different levels.

Sure, a minority exists that will drive a full size truck onto the lake in early November but I cannot see how that justifies saying all these nasty things about all early ice people and such. I ran a heater in my canvas tent last week. Early ice I watch depth, wear float suit, ice picks, and use a spud bar. And know what not to do when a break through happens. The last thing I would ever do is tell somebody to die and assume they take zero precautions.

Pretty sure that’s been happening since the beginning of time. You got two guys standing on shore looking at a lake, one guy says he’s gonna send it the other guy calls him a moron.

crappie55369 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>outlander wrote:</div>
I am seeing lots of hostility over the issue of heat and also early ice fishing. Not so much here but on my local pages. One side is taking the attitude that people who fish early ice or sleep with heaters have suicide wishes and deserve to be culled from humanity as if they are taking absolutele zero precuations.

Nothing ever is completely safe but free people will manage risk to acceptable levels and we all accept different levels.

Sure, a minority exists that will drive a full size truck onto the lake in early November but I cannot see how that justifies saying all these nasty things about all early ice people and such. I ran a heater in my canvas tent last week. Early ice I watch depth, wear float suit, ice picks, and use a spud bar. And know what not to do when a break through happens. The last thing I would ever do is tell somebody to die and assume they take zero precautions.

Pretty sure that’s been happening since the beginning of time. You got two guys standing on shore looking at a lake, one guy says he’s gonna send it the other guy calls him a moron.

Haha, thats a great summation. Dont be that guy.