How to Stay Warm in A Tent
Many campers have trouble staying warm at night. Even during summer camping trips, many environments (like deserts) experience rapidly-shifting weather that can leave you shivering in your tent if you’re not prepared. In most cases, cold weather is annoying and uncomfortable, but you can face hypothermia if you’re camped in a particularly rough area.
To keep yourself safe and comfortable during the night, you’ll need the right equipment, good food and warm clothes. Here’s a simple checklist:
- Prepare before you head out
- Pack warm clothes
- Pick the right campsite
- Prepare your campsite
- Insulate your tent
- Eat the right foods
- Bring the right gear
- Bundle up before you feel cold
- Change before you go to bed
- Keep your head covered
- Prepare tomorrow’s clothing
1. PREPARE BEFORE YOU HEAD OUT
Nobody wants to do homework, but reading up on the weather and the terrain before you go is always a good idea. You don’t want to show up underdressed, or head down the trail and realize too late that there aren’t any good places to set up camp nearby. A little research can go a long way towards keeping you comfortable. Besides, knowing where you’re going ahead of time helps you share an itinerary with a friend who isn’t going. That won’t keep you warm in a tent, but it is an important safety tip, regardless.
2. PACK WARM CLOTHES
Flannels and long johns take up a lot of pack space, for sure. But they’re worth it. Pack for cold weather anytime it looks like nighttime temperatures might dip below 60 degrees. Wool clothes, long underwear, and heavy socks are all good ideas. There’s not much point in going out if you wind up miserable the whole time. Make sure that you bring enough clothes that you can stay bundled and dry for the duration of the trip.
3. PICK THE RIGHT CAMPSITE
There are a few things to bear in mind when picking a campsite. Remember that warm air rises, and cool air sinks. So if you can avoid being down in a valley, you absolutely should. At the same time, you want to be sheltered from the wind. So camping out on a mountaintop isn’t a good idea, either. Some place at a moderate elevation, shielded from wind, is ideal. Place your tent on a slight incline, if possible. Place a tarp underneath it as well, to help cold moisture on the ground away from you while you sleep.
4. PREPARE YOUR CAMPSITE
Flatten out any snow before putting your tent down. Ideally, you can clear the snow away entirely, but at least make a level surface. If needed, you can further clear the snow away from your sleeping area by smoothing out the floor of the tent. Just be sure to do this right away. If you wait, the snow may melt and reform under you as ice.
5. INSULATE YOUR TENT
Knowing how to stay warm in a tent means knowing how to keep a tent insulated. Start by having an appropriately-sized, weather-appropriate tent. A 3- or 4-season tent, depending on the weather, is going to be essential for keeping warm.
A well-insulated tent is basically a tent that’s full. So if you can help it, don’t camp solo in a 3-person tent when it’s cold. That empty space in your tent isn’t actually empty. It’s filled with cold air. Replace that cold air by filling empty space in your tent with as much of your gear (or with other people) as possible.
Find the right tent for your activity, season, and size with this tent finder.
6. EAT THE RIGHT FOODS
Your body is actually pretty good at regulating its own temperature. You just have to give it the fuel that it needs to perform. Always pack foods with a ton of protein and healthy fat, and eat snacks every few hours during colder camping trips.
Before you go to bed, eat a calorie-rich meal to give your body the energy that it needs to heat itself. Peanut butter and trail mix are excellent choices. Soup is also great and easy to cook in a camp stove.
7. BRING THE RIGHT GEAR
Choosing the right sleeping bag is an important part of keeping warm at night. Still, you should never go camping with just a sleeping bag–you’ll regret it when the temperature drops and the ground gets cold. Put an insulated sleeping pad under your sleeping bag. Depending on the temperature, you may even want a couple of pads. Avoid pads made from poor insulators like cotton.
Another smart thing to pack is a hot water bottle. You can quickly heat water for it in your camp stove, and tuck it away in your sleeping bag to help keep you toasty. You may also want to bring a few chemical heating packs.
Feel like you might be missing the right gear? Check out our ultimate gear and camping checklist!
8. BUNDLE UP BEFORE YOU FEEL COLD
You may have heard that by the time you feel thirsty, you're already dehydrated. (Which is true, by the way.) Similarly, it’s smart to start putting on layers before the cold is getting to you. You want to trap your body heat in and keep it there from the start, not try and pull yourself back up to comfortable. Sure, you don’t want to make yourself sweat all over your bottom layers. But it’s easy to take a layer off if you start to feel too warm.
9. CHANGE BEFORE YOU GO TO BED
When you’re camping, it might be tempting to just fall into your sleeping bag and conk out. But by the end of a long hiking day, odds are you’ve gotten pretty sweaty. All of that moisture from the sweat is only going to make you chilly. Put on a nice, fresh set of clothes before bed and see what a difference it can make.
10. KEEP YOUR HEAD COVERED
Most heat escapes through your head. If you’re using a mummy-style sleeping bag, make sure that just the bare minimum of your face is outside of the bag. If you don’t need it for breathing, don’t expose it to the open air. If a mummy bag isn’t your style, then consider sleeping in a nice warm hat. Another spot heat escapes is through the feet. So again, make sure that you have a clean, dry pair of socks for sleeping.
Whatever you do, don’t breathe into your sleeping bag. The moisture from your breath will give the cold an opportunity to take hold.
11. PREP TOMORROW’S CLOTHING
Get your outfit for the next day gathered up, and then shove it into your sleeping bag with you. It can help keep you insulated, and you can help it stay nice and warm for you the next day’s adventure.
SNUG AS A BUG IN A RUG
A cozy night’s rest can leave you feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the day. Keeping warm is such an important part of having a good winter camping trip, and that doesn’t stop being a factor just because you’re holed up in your tent.
Incorporating these tips can go a long way towards keeping you toasty.