5 essential tips for keeping warm when sleeping outdoors

5 essential tips for keeping warm when sleeping outdoors

by GearX.com contributor James Menta of BestAirMattressguide.com

Sleeping under the stars can be one of the most beautiful experiences you’ll ever have. Enjoying the sounds of nature, away fro m an ything remotely urban can be truly refreshing. It can also be a hell that you’ll never want to repeat if you end up frozen in the morning. So let's learn a few essentials and make sure the latter doesn't happen. I’ve made this mini-guide both as comprehensive and as simple as possible, so you’ll have no trouble understanding what I’m saying and applying it later on.

Preparation is everything

Let’s see what this section has in store for us:

• Change head to toe before hitting the sack. Generally, dry sleep is the warmest sleep. This calls for some planning and usually 2-3 sets of clothes (essentials like underwear or t-shirts will suffice, depending on the trip)

Pay Attention to Details

• Carefully choose your campsite. You don’t want rocks or ice under you, nor some hard-packed ground or wet areas. These grounds are quick heat conductors, and our entire point is to keep the heat for ourselves. Grasses, pine needles, snow or sand, make for one warm outside bed
• A bottle filled with boiling water between your legs will warm the blood in the major arteries, that will carry on to warm the entire body
• Take your time choosing the best sleeping bag and sleeping pad for you. Any free space is the space your metabolism must try and heat up during the night. We don’t want any wasted energy. If there’s any dead space fill it with your clothes
• A pee bottle is a super idea. You don’t have to get out of your sleeping bag, and you are done with a bare minimum of movements
• Sleep close to another person or a dog. The funny story about sharing body heat is funny cause it’s true

I think that’s enough to get you through the night. Make these tips into your reality, and all you’ll be thinking about is how magnificent Mother Nature is, not how cold your feet are. Stay safe and happy camping. James Menta runs and edits BestAirMattressguide.com where he shares his camping and hiking experience focusing on the sleeping gear.