Last updated on September 8th, 2023 at 07:08 am
Recently updated on September 8th, 2023 at 07:08 am
Summer or winter, every season has its own unique colors. One cannot wait for the right weather to set out for camping and enjoy the beauty of meadows, valleys, woods, and mountains. What you can do is prepare yourself for the expected challenges. In summer, you can have good ventilation by opening windows, but how to stay warm in a tent needs proper planning.
It often becomes very challenging to spend nights in deserts where weather conditions change unexpectedly as the sun sets. You’d start shivering in an hour or two due to the freezing cold atmosphere. Despite choosing the best winter camp, things could get nasty!
Keeping in view all the possible remedies without causing you any extra effort, we have compiled 15 actionable tips on how to stay warm in a tent in winter. After reading this article, you will know how easy it is to enjoy camping no matter how cold the weather outside is.
Let’s take a look at the tips we have prepared for you.
How to stay warm in a tent while camping – 15 actionable tips
Catching a cold while you’re out camping is a nightmare. But luckily, the given methods are effortless and effective in telling you how to stay warm in a tent and have a peaceful campsite sleep. These will make it feel like a home away from home.
- Choose the best quality winter tent
- Choose your campsite wisely
- Bring a thick floor mat
- Leakproof your tent floor
- Dress in layers – The best way to keep warm in a tent
- Cover your head and feet
- Eat a dinner rich in fat
- Bring rugs and blankets – The Conventional way to avoid Cold
- Get yourself a good sleeping bag
- Do not drink water before sleeping
- Do some exercise before sleeping
- Get yourself warmed up before sleeping
- Do not use an oversized tent
- Use a tent heater – The easiest way to stay warm in a tent
- Keep a hot water bottle with you
1. Choose the best quality winter tent
Whenever someone talks about camping, the first thing that comes to mind is a tent—and undoubtedly, selecting a good quality tent according to possible weather conditions is the prerequisite for memorable camping. Especially for winter camping, it is best to choose those tents listed as winter tents.
Some of the most crucial features of a winter tent are thick fiber with good insulation, minimal air vents, a streamlined shape, a sturdy structure, a waterproof base, and a full rainfly. In winter, wind speeds of 35 mph are average, so make sure you have a robust tent with strong guy lines.
Additionally, go for a condensation-free tent; otherwise, the tents inside will be damp as soon as you all get in. Therefore, choose your tent wisely.
2. Choose your campsite wisely
Choosing the right campground is a crucial element of any camping trip. While you’re out in adverse weather, it’s vital to exercise caution when pitching a tent. If you’d like to avoid the chilly air, we recommend finding a site surrounded by trees, shrubs, slopes, or plains. Ensure that the tent’s door faces the opposite direction of the wind.
Ensure your tent faces the sun throughout the day to generate enough heat for you.
3. Bring a thick floor mat
The floor mat is the surface with which we make the most contact. Campsites often have cooler ground than the surrounding area because they are either already damp or have a low specific heat capacity. Therefore, they may be the primary cause of your body’s chill. Thus, a thick, insulated mat on the floor may protect you from the cold.
Air has a more effective heat flow rate than solids, so it’s better to sleep on the ground than on an air mattress. You may also use straw as a filler before laying the tent’s floor on the ground. You’ll have better thermal protection and a more restful night’s sleep as a result.
4. Leakproof your tent floor
On a cold night, no one would like to experience water seeping in through the tent’s base while they are asleep. Therefore, while considering how to stay warm in a tent, it is essential to ensure there is no leakage at the bottom. To avoid any discomfort, buy a bathtub base for your tent. And even if you don’t have one, spraying a good quality leakproof spray would do.
A good-quality waterproof tent material is a wise choice for a campsite where rain is expected. Moreover, by utilizing the rainfly effectively, you can avoid the downpouring effects on your sleep.
5. Dress in layers – The best way to keep warm in a tent
People often put clothes on one another without bothering to find effective ways to avoid getting cold. However, the best way to shield yourself from the cold is to dress in layers. For instance, the first layer of clothing you wear must have a fabric that retains more heat and absorbs less moisture, and for that, wool and silk are better than cotton.
The second layer should be made of fabric that provides maximum insulation—for that, use a conventional cloth like fleece, merino wool, or hemp. Lastly, the outer layer must be made of water- and air-resistant material to avoid any cold.
Dressing in such a way will keep you warm, no matter how harsh the weather.
Read our Guide on heating a tent with candles
6. Cover your head and feet
The head is especially susceptible to the cold when considering how to stay warm in a tent during winter camping. The best way to keep warm is to wear a hat or scarf over your head and cover your ears. The most effective strategy is to use woolen caps for protection and a friendly muffler to enclose the bottom part of the head.
Your feet, therefore, need further safeguards. When it comes to colds, they are the second most sensitive organ. If you don’t warm your feet, the rest of you will remain chilly. It’s recommended that you go out wearing wool socks and shoes. When you’re done for the day, it’s essential to change into dry socks since damp ones can hurt your feet and make it difficult to warm up your body.
7. Eat a dinner rich in fat
As heating your body starts from within, it is vital to intake enough fat with our food. A dinner full of fat will take more time to digest. And during digestion, your body will generate adequate heat energy to keep you warm in harsh weather.
You can also eat high-calorie nibbles like hotdogs, cakes, and French fries at night.
8. Bring Rugs and Blankets – The Conventional Way to Avoid Cold
In addition to sleeping bags, always bring heavy blankets when camping in the cold. Mostly, the weather is unpredictable, so it’s a good idea to prepare yourself for the worst. But this does not imply that you should overload your system. Having a lot of excess baggage makes camping less enjoyable.
The weather patterns and predictions of your campground might help you prepare for such a situation.
9. Get yourself a good sleeping bag
The selection of a suitable sleeping bag affects the most when figuring out how to stay warm in a tent. No rugs or blankets can compensate for a suitable sleeping bag, as it creates a very confined environment for your body to preserve heat. With a sleeping bag, there are meager chances of heat loss from your body to the camp environment. The best sleeping bags are those which have low weight, adequate breathability, good insulation against heat, and are wind and waterproof.
In the daytime, if the sun appears, let your blankets and sleeping bags dry under it. Also, you must check them thoroughly before using them to ensure there is no bug.
10. Do not drink water before sleeping
Your tent’s environment takes time to use your body’s heat and increase the inside temperature. Opening the door of your tent can ruin this effort. Therefore, most people empty their bladders before going to bed to avoid waking up in the middle of the night to urinate. Getting up and walking outdoors is a significant source of heat loss compared to the modest amount lost when body volume changes. Drinking water at least two hours before going to bed is suggested to alleviate the pain of frequent urination caused by insufficient sweat due to the cool weather.
11. Do some exercise before sleeping
If you’re going to sleep in a cold place, it’s best to work out before bed to stay warm. Instead of waiting for your body to warm up while lying in bed, you can do it with just 15 minutes of exercise. As we work out, 20% of our body’s energy goes into moving our muscles, and the rest comes out as heat. Moreover, working out releases endorphins, which send positive signals to your body and help you fall asleep faster.
So, you can save a lot of time and effort and get a good night’s sleep.
12. Get yourself warmed before sleeping
You can also get warm before bed by doing things around the campsite, like making a fire, cooking food, helping your friends set up their beds, and checking the tent. It will make you feel both happy and proud of yourself. An old saying goes, “Chop your own wood; it will warm you twice.”
These things will raise your body temperature, making it less likely to feel cold.
13. Do not use an oversized tent
When asked “how to stay warm in a tent,” people often ignore the size of their tent. A tent that is too big will make the space inside the tent bigger. So, when you go to sleep, your tent will take longer to warm up, and you will probably spend the whole night shivering.
So, make a good guess and choose a tent based on how many people are in your group and how much gear you have. You can also sleep close together to stay warm and get a good night’s rest.
14. Use A Tent Heater – The Easiest Way to Stay Warm in A Tent
With a tent heater for camping, you can warm up your tent right away. But don’t forget to open a few air vents. Because if you don’t, the heater will use up all the air in the tent, making breathing hard. If you have a way to get power, it’s best to bring an electric heater with you.
Also, the best thing to do is turn off the heater before sleeping and open at least one or two of the small air vents. Most people don’t know that closing all the air vents in a tent can cause condensation, which would make the environment damp and make everything feel wet. It sounds strange, but it’s true. It could only make things worse!
15. Keep a hot water bottle with you
If you are in a freezing location, you can keep warm by using a hot water bottle with a secure cover. A hot water bottle might be a source of solace when you feel unwell and notice that a particular portion of your body is chilly.
These bottles are unlike other bottles since they are constructed of a unique plastic that is flexible and transfers heat. As a result, hugging these hot water bottles will help to warm your body.
Frequently asked questions
Conclusion
This article on how to stay warm in a tent goes over all the quick and easy things you can do to keep from getting cold. If you use our tips, you will start to think of winter as a time to go camping and do what you love. You must be using one of the tips listed. Tell us about it in the comments.
