I have spent much time on making the plan of winter camping. I read many articles about what should we take when camping in winter. They told me something as followed: 1. Sleeping bag. It should be a well-insulated, cold weather sleeping bag. 2. Winter camping tent.choose a four-season tent which can withdraw snow, ice and wind. 3.Plenty of fresh food and water. 4.a sleeping mat. 5. dress in layers so that I can easily adjust my clothes to regulate body moisture and temperature. 6.Communication. Are they complete? Or what else? I know many of OM have the experience of winter camping, so I hope you can offer some advice. Thank you very very much.
Hi Jane, from your post i'd guess your experience of winter camping is minimal to say the least, therefore i'd recommend you do a trial run in your garden first, or maybe on a campsite where you have the refuge of your car.
One night in your garden is worth more than all the advice you'll get on here, imo.
You have missed one very important piece of equipment out. I am not referring to a head torch (infinitely more practical than any other type of torch) but a hip flask.
A nice tot of whisky, brandy or rum elevates the entire camping experience!
Even more than summer, double check the weather forecast before you go.
Your sleeping mat should be a 'winter weight' one, or use 2 'summer' ones. The un-insulated inflatable 'lilo' type ones will probably not be warm enough.
Cooking and stoves - probably can find many threads dedicated to this subject.
Water supply issues are often slightly different in winter - it can be readily avaliable in the form of snow, but its suprisingly time wasting to convert this to a cup of tea etc. A thermos or similar insulated bottle is really useful! In fact, without insulation, any water based liquid could potentially freeze in your pack, rendering it pretty useless.
I find that the main problem with winter camping is moisture management. Dampness degrades any insulation so you may well find a -6C to be far more enjoyable than say +2C with rain. Even without rain, at colder temperatures condensation will build up over time, though this is usually not an issue for a one or two nights trip.
As I've said on here before, my first winter wildcamp was my first solo wildcamp. And my 3rd wildcamp in total. As long as you're sensible, there's nothing wrong with launching solo in winter! I would suggest making the first one not too ambitious, not too far from the car, so you can bail out if necessary - mine was an hour's walk away along a route I know very well.
You got some good advice on here when you asked a similar question a few weeks ago, I should just go for it! The winter's being pretty mild at the moment, you could easily find a late spring or early autumn day / night as 'cold' or 'warm' as some of the weather we're experiencing at the moment. Ok, it's frequently damp and very windy, but pick a calm night when there's no snow or serious frost forecast and get out there!!
4 season tent is handy but not mandatory. Just snow you can check regurlay by going out of your bed. Your only real enemy is severe winds, there is the big enemy for any tent and comfort. 4 season tents should cope better with severe wind. By checking weather forecasts and choosing mild weather you als can use your normal tent. Enough people who do wintercamping with their TN laser or Go-lite shangrila. Not tipical your 4 season tents, mind you.
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