Winter camping comfort at night

Boot tops left for the night wedged between the mattress and the bag may not cause you to sleep warmer, but it saves much foul language the next morning.

Boots == pillow in winter.

Also, VBL socks help keep boots dry from the inside. Must not be worn at night to allow skin to dry out.
 
How often does it get down to -22 degrees C where you live, especially this early in the winter when you're not acclimated to the cold yet? (It's not even winter yet!) Where I live I would consider that total victory at winter camping -- you endured extremely low temperature when you weren't even acclimated and you didn't freeze -- victory! You made it through the night and you may never feel as cold as that again! But that's in Massachusetts, where -22 degrees C is about as cold as it's ever likely to get. Maybe it's different where you are....

Also, I think you'd get better insulation if you put the foam pad on top of the Thermarest mat, rather than the other way around.

Acclimation makes a big difference. The last few days have been like summer here, and today it's suddenly back to normal for mid-November. I'm about to go for a walk and I know I'm going to feel that wind ... I'm going to bundle up.
 
-22C is cold... but not so cold for Canada. It gets downright chilly there. I saw a few -50C (with wind chill -70C) days when I was there.
 
Wow, thanks for all your advice. I did not expect such a responds, awesome!
Yes, it gets much colder here in Jan/Feb, -40 or more with wind is not unusual. Cougar Allen, thanks for your encouragement !! I agree, I am actually happy that I did it relatively comfortable and yes, I have to get used to this kind of stuff a bit more. Looking forward to explore all your guys suggestions !!
 
Vapor barriers were all the thing thirty years ago. Pleasure Packing for the 80's by Wood not only pushed VB's for day and night but denounced double-walled tents as a myth.

Yet here we are.

I don't like swamps, even when warm, and that was my VB experience. In contrast, the conventional approach works for me with only one downside - the wet (or frozen) outside of the sleeping bag(s) to be dealt with.

I have not used my beloved down bag since I moved to NW Ohio in 1973. It reproaches me every time I walk by where it hangs.
 
Most tents with a full coverage rainfly, some with included vestibule (storage area outside the door) are pretty good about keeping down condensation. My Mountainsmith Sanctuary has a mesh peak panel for this purpose, and front and rear closable vents. It's never been wet inside, even in foggy weather pitched a short distance from a river. I've had other tents which had pools of water gather near the sidewalls from dripping condensation.
 
A good thing to keep in mind for southern alberta, those dangerous temps are not only common, but can be very unpredictable. (also chinook warm-ups, I know folks who got flooded out in the middle of the night when the river doubled.) So obviously you have a couple things to dial in yet, but you are probably on the right track.
 
Oh... and headlamps and penlights go in the sleeping bag too. They don't work worth a flip when it is real cold.

Good advice. Lithium primaries like CR123, AA and AAA (Energizer L91/92) are very very very cold resistant and are another option. LSD NiMH IMO also seem to preform better than alkalines but not as well as the Lithium primaries.
 
Use to backpack and bivioak when I snowshoed in the Green Mountains and Adarondacks where it was-20 at night

Do "Cold' training
Get used to the shift in temps
Aclimate yourself
if you go out in to the intense cold without this training it is very hard


Eat a high calorey bar before you go to sleep
And eat again if you wake cold
 
Getting out of clothes, including underwear, worn during the day and into fresh, clean DRY underwear makes a real difference for me.
 
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