Tidbits forWinter
Camping
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Tidbit # 02
- The Sleeping Bag
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Sleeping bag - make sure it's
suitable for your style of camping and well suited to the possible
temperature outdoors.
I'm not into pushing one style over another and I can't say that
one is better than the other, you have to decide. Some folks say
you need the -30C bag and it has to made from Down ( feathers from a
goose or duck or swan or pigeon , I dunno!)
I can say that I have slept sound in -15C weather in a standard 3
season tent using my Summer sleeping bags. I did because i wasn't sure
that Winter camping was for me, so looking at the price of a decent
winter bag ( $ 300.00 or more!), you make do and try it out. I took my
gear out to a nearby Provincial park and slept the weekend as snug as a
bug in a rug! I was 3 meters from the car door and if I didn't like it,
poof!, I was leaving....but that didn't happen, even though I forgot my
snowpants at home!!
There are a couple things you really want to look at in getting a good
bag. The one I use is good to -15C and is considered a Winter
sleeping bag; yes, I used the summer bags to find if camping cool was
for me and when I decided it was, I went ahead and made the purchase. I
also chose a Mummy style bag so that my shoulders would be covered by
the bag when sleeping ( speaking of the uncomfortable cold
shoulders in the morning....). The bag also encloses the head portion to
keep the ears toasty and stop the loss of heat through the head ( which
is the an important thing!) and there's a "yolk" and "draft tube"
inside the bag to shut out any wild drafts through the bag. The Draft
tube is along side the zipper portion of the bag and the "yolk" is
across the chest portion to creat a dead space in the lower body
portion of the bag. I almost forgot!? the foot section of the bag is
also built so that there's no zipper ( which means no draft) down there
and the box is made with slightly more fabric to keep those toes toasty!
The addition of a sleeping bag liner ( I use a fleece liner ) can also
give you added warmth ( remembering layering is key for Dress) instead
of buying the Almighty Down (!) winter bag ( upwards to the tune of $
700.00 and more!), you can purchase, or make, a fleece liner for under
$30.00. It is generally assumed that a fleece liner will allow you an
extra 10 degrees of warmth.The liner can be used in Summer activity's
alone if you just want some sort of covering, so you end up with a good
Winter mix and a portion you can use for the Summer, maybe even the bag
alone in Fall?!
Again, Remember this is what I have done and found to work for me. I do
NOT sleep cold! I am hot pretty well all of the time and this setup for
me has been proven in temperatures down to -40C ! So don't accept that
this will work for you, you have to be willing to try it out or borrow
someone's winter bag, knowing the in's and out's of what you want to
buy. There are Pro's and Con's to each type of bag made out there, you
need to find what is best for you.
