By Amanda Zeisset
Do you remember one time you’ve spent out in the mountains or woods in a wet sleeping bag or without enough layers? Sleep is crucial for recovering after a long day on the trail. To help you stay warm and cozy the whole night through, we want to share some of our best tips on how to stay warm in a tent.
5 Quick Tips Stay Warm in a Tent
Tip #1: Keep your sleeping clothes dry
When heading to sleep in your tent, have a dry set of clothes to change into. You’ll want a warm pair of socks, a comfortable set of base layers that don’t cut off blood circulation and a warm hat. Skip the cotton here, synthetics and wool wick and insulate best. Cotton pulls heat away from your body.
Tip #2: Have a high fat dinner or snack
To keep your metabolic furnace burning as long as you can, eat a good dinner or snack before bed. Something high in protein and fat. The slower digestion process will create some heat for you and keep you asleep longer.
Tip #3: Stay hydrated (but not too much)
To keep everything running smoothly like digestion you need to stay hydrated. It’s harder to notice thirst in the cold weather. Draining bottles of water before bed will lead to bathroom breaks in the night though. Experiment to see how much you can drink within an hour of bed without having to get up again.
Tip #4: Get a warm sleeping bag
A warm sleeping bag is the key to staying toasty in your tent. Sleeping bag temperature ratings are getting more accurate but how that feels still varies from person to person.
To ensure you’ll be warm, I recommend getting one that’s rated for 10 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than the nightly low, 20 degrees cooler if you get cold sleeping. You can also look at getting a thermal sleeping bag liner to boost the warm of your bag.
Tip #5: Use a high R-Value Sleeping Pad
Sleeping on the ground with a good sleeping bag just won’t be as warm as on a well-insulated sleeping mat. There are a variety of sleeping mats to choose from these days. They aren’t limited to stiff closed cell foam and thin therm-a-rests any more.
Every sleeping mat has an R-value which is it’s ability to retain heat. The higher the R-value the less heat you’ll lose laying on top. Look for a pad or combo that has an R-value of 5 or more for the cold nights.
