For so many reasons, the camping season is always the best. For a start, it has been observed by health practitioners that camping usually improves mental health. Also, if you are looking to get a night of high-quality sleep and a much-deserved peace of mind, then you should consider camping since campgrounds are mostly secluded places with little or no human interactions. The beautiful scenery, shimmering fall colors, etc are something your body and mind truly need.
The good thing, however, is that the camping season doesn’t always end. While many people consider the fall season to be the best season to camp, the winter season is also a very good time to camp. Although the weather might be extremely unpredictable during the winter season, you shouldn’t allow that to discourage you from camping. All you have to do is prepare yourself for the cold and unpredictable weather.
Camping in the cold is extremely different from summer camping. Typically, camping in the cold will require you to have more gear than in the summer. For example, you will need a bigger or thicker coat, Cold-Weather Sleeping Bag, Headlamp, Stove and Fuel, a rooftop tent, etc.
Tips For Cold Weather Camping
- Choose Your Campsite Carefully: This is something you need to put into consideration even before you embark on your camping expedition. Choosing a good campsite during the cold weather is in no way an easy task because you will have to take a lot of things into consideration. For example, you have to ensure that the campground is less sloppy and there is not too much snow there.
- Endeavor To Check Current Weather Before You Embark on Your Camping Trip: Another important tip is to check the current weather of your camp location. The shoulder weather as we all know can be unpredictable at times, hence it is important to know what the weather forecast says so that you can brace yourself for anything Mother Nature throws your way.
- Ensure That You Dress in Layers to Stay Warm: In the shoulder seasons, temperatures are sometimes warm in the daytime, but at night, the weather becomes chilly. And this is why you need to pack a wide variety of clothes and sweaters as you will definitely need them to combat the cold. While the excessive cold is bad for your health, overheating is equally bad. Therefore, this is where layering comes in, when you understand how to wear your clothes in the right layers, you will be able to easily regulate your body temperature.
- Vent Your Tent: This may not sound ideal, but cutting a hole on the side of your tent or unzipping your tent will keep you warmer, and most importantly, it won’t allow your tent to get wet. The science behind this is simple: when your tent is shut tightly, and the heat gets too much, condensation will occur. The condensation that occurs is the reason why you get those little droplets of water in the tent. And when this gets too much, your tent might become damp.
- Ensure That Your Sleeping Bag Can Function Well in a Cold Temperature: Sleeping bags typically have two ratings: they include a comfort rating and a lower-limit rating. The former will indicate the temperature at which a cold sleeper should feel comfortable while the latter will indicate the temperature at which a warm sleeper would feel comfortable.
However, bag temperature ratings are only estimates, they are not always correct! There are so many factors that can influence the temperature, they include gender, body weight & height, what you’re wearing, and your sleeping bag type. In order to be safe though, try to go to your campsite with a sleeping bag that is rated 10 to 15 degrees cooler than the coldest temperatures you expect to encounter.
- Take Something Warm Before You Go to Bed: When camping in cold weather, it is always advisable to take something warm before you withdraw back to your bed. And if you are not interested in taking a warm beverage or food, you can try to stand beside a campfire or go for a walk to get yourself warm.
- Try To Warm Your Sleeping Bag With a Warm Water Bottle: A bottle of warm can do a lot of wonders. One of them is that it can be used to warm your sleeping bag whenever you are camping in cold weather. The process is fairly easy, all you have to do is fill up a non-insulated stainless-steel bottle with warm water and place it in your sleeping bag before you sleep on it.
- Keep all your gadgets warm: You may not know this, but extreme cold can cause some of your devices not to function properly, and the last thing you need is to get stuck in a campground without a working phone or other devices. Therefore you have to find any means possible to keep your devices warm and functioning.
- Try To Cover Your Head, Nose, Finger, And Some Other Vulnerable Parts of You At All Time: Whenever you are camping in a cold environment, always cover your head, fingers, toes, etc with heated gloves and socks, a face mask, balaclava, etc.
- Heat Your Car Before You Go to Bed: Every day before you to bed, try to start and warm your car for a few minutes before you go to bed. Failure to do this may cause the car to be dead for days until you seek professional help. And getting a car mechanic while camping is another tedious task on its own since the main purpose of camping is to be far away from the outside world.
- Always Play It Safe: Always remember to play it safe whenever you are out camping in the cold. For instance, don’t wander off too much because you can easily lose the trail to your tent if it snows. Also, try to bring along with you extra blankets, hand warmers, etc. As the saying goes, it’s better to be safe than sorry!
Conclusion
Camping in cold weather is very possible and it is actually fun as long as you don’t have any medical issues that mandate that you don’t spend too much time in the cold. Therefore, in order to make your camping a very enjoyable experience, you should prioritize having a Roof Top Tent that will give you all the freedom you ever need while camping and traveling – In short, a Roof Top Tent will make camping easier for you.
