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My goal this winter was to successfully camp out in a tent with temps of -20F or colder in relative comfort.
I was near Lake Placid, NY which is only 10 miles from Saranac Lake which recorded a record low of -36F that night! I had a -20F rated bag along with a liner and a 3 1/2 inch inflatable which did the job pretty well.
I was plenty warm below my neck but my head got occasionally cold from the moisture coming out my mouth which soon froze, but all in all it was very tolerable. No worse than when sleeping indoors in the winter when you are slightly chilly and bump the thermostat up 2 degrees.
It was so cold outside that every 5 seconds I could hear the spruce trees crackling all night. I later learned it was the water that was freezing inside of them!
I spent my first night in North Korea at -20 degrees sleeping on a couple of wooden slates on the snow covered ground inside a tent that was put up earlier that day. Only had the clothes on my back...no winter gear...just a officers field coat...no sleeping bag. That is called roughing it in any language. Try that for a change and you won't be bragging.
My goal this winter was to successfully camp out in a tent with temps of -20F or colder in relative comfort.
I was near Lake Placid, NY which is only 10 miles from Saranac Lake which recorded a record low of -36F that night! I had a -20F rated bag along with a liner and a 3 1/2 inch inflatable which did the job pretty well.
I was plenty warm below my neck but my head got occasionally cold from the moisture coming out my mouth which soon froze, but all in all it was very tolerable. No worse than when sleeping indoors in the winter when you are slightly chilly and bump the thermostat up 2 degrees.
It was so cold outside that every 5 seconds I could hear the spruce trees crackling all night. I later learned it was the water that was freezing inside of them!
Pretty crazy what I did but fun too!
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I did winter camping in boyscouts as a kid. Dropped down to 5 F/-15 C on the coldest morning. This was before I was particularly-sensitive to the cold... perhaps this trip triggered it? So many periods during that weekend it felt like I had a large kitchen knife going right through my boots at the toes. I didn't know about "chemical hot packs" then, but I would never want to try that again without a huge box of them.
I will have to just "take your word for it," slightly-chilly and bumping the stat up 2 degrees.
For me, that would be like an indoor temp of 68 F going up to 70 F.
Water inside spruce trees cracking?
I never knew.
Did you sleep with the clothes you wanted the next day,
like sitting beside you so your body-heat kept the clothes warm?
That helped when I was winter-camping.
I can see you had an extreme-cold coat.
I don't own one just because they aren't usually made water-resistant.
Snow can melt if it's not very cold, or we can get periods of cold rain in Toronto winters.
I'm surprised that you were still shaving on your trip.
Wow, I'm impressed, would never try it, but bravo! I keep the thermostat down to sleep, quite cool as in 58 or so, never 60 but sleeping outdoors in the winter, nope, not even when I was younger.
I will have to just "take your word for it," slightly-chilly and bumping the stat up 2 degrees.
That's the best way I can describe it. I was much colder in a Motel room last fall with a temp of 55 under the covers (heat was broken) than I was that night.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ColdCanadian
Did you sleep with the clothes you wanted the next day,
like sitting beside you so your body-heat kept the clothes warm?
That helped when I was winter-camping.
Yes I did. I wore to sleep a wool base layer with a polyester base layer on top of that. For my legs I had on a polyester base layer and also poly sweat pants. All I had to add each morning when I woke up was a fleece and outerwear.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ColdCanadian
I can see you had an extreme-cold coat.
I don't own one just because they aren't usually made water-resistant.
Snow can melt if it's not very cold, or we can get periods of cold rain in Toronto winters.
Living in Toronto, I'm sure you know all about Canada Goose. I was wearing their Snow Mantra Parka--one of the warmest parkas ever made! It's water resistant but not water proof since water is certainly in a solid form at the temps that the parka is designed to thrive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ColdCanadian
I'm surprised that you were still shaving on your trip.
Actually in that pic, I had not shaved in 72 hrs! I guess it didn't really show!
That's the best way I can describe it. I was much colder in a Motel room last fall with a temp of 55 under the covers (heat was broken) than I was that night.
Yes I did. I wore to sleep a wool base layer with a polyester base layer on top of that. For my legs I had on a polyester base layer and also poly sweat pants. All I had to add each morning when I woke up was a fleece and outerwear.
Living in Toronto, I'm sure you know all about Canada Goose. I was wearing their Snow Mantra Parka--one of the warmest parkas ever made! It's water resistant but not water proof since water is certainly in a solid form at the temps that the parka is designed to thrive.
Actually in that pic, I had not shaved in 72 hrs! I guess it didn't really show!
I can believe it. Big difference when you're wearing clothes meant for extreme cold.
*Except -100 F boots made my toes FREEZE in a 68 F store; firm pressure from insulation cut off what little circulation I do have.
(needless to say I didn't buy them )
That makes sense why you were comfy.
Though you don't get a daily change of undergarments that way.
(wouldn't want to spend a week like that )
Yes I know Canada Goose.
I think I never invested because our cold isn't usually that extreme, and we get a lot of mixed precip days.
I use a 3-in-1 where the outer shell is basically a raincoat with a zip-in full length liner makes it pretty comfy over a t-shirt to maybe -5 C/23 F.
Yeah, can't tell you haven't shaved. Looks like 1 days growth?
If I was planning a trip like that I'd probably want a full beard,
though if you were comfy anyways, great.
That's what a lot of people told me! It actually wasn't any worse than a 10 or 12 hr non-stop flight in economy class--and this is coming from someone who loves temps in the 90's with high humidity. I'd put it on par with that in terms of overall "wear and tear" on me
Having done both, camping in those temps was far EASIER than flying from Singapore to NYC (via Tokyo and Washington, DC) in coach class last summer which was 20 or 21 hrs in the air and 25 hrs total.
I mentally recovered from the camping probably a week or two later but didn't psychologically recover from that flight from hell until 4 MONTHS later!
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So many periods during that weekend it felt like I had a large kitchen knife going right through my boots at the toes. 
I didn't know about "chemical hot packs" then, but I would never want to try that again without a huge box of them. 
I keep the thermostat down to sleep, quite cool as in 58 or so, never 60 but sleeping outdoors in the winter, nope, not even when I was younger.
