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How to sleep warm when camping

The cold comes from below. A sleeping bag's filling is squashed flat underneath you, so it does little there, and the ground draws heat from your body all night. A good mat between you and the ground matters as much as the sleeping bag.

Plan for the coldest night

Inland, autumn and winter nights often drop to near or below 0 °C, even after warm days. On the Highveld, in the Karoo and in the mountains, frost is common from May to August. Plan for the coldest night, not the warmest day.

Insulate from the ground first

• Closed-cell foam mat: good insulation, cheap, and it cannot puncture. It is the best first buy.
• Self-inflating mat: good insulation and more comfort, but it can puncture.
• Air mattress: comfortable but cold. The air inside takes on the temperature of the ground.
• Stretcher: easier to get on and off, but cold air moves underneath it.

An air mattress on its own is one of the coldest ways to sleep. On a cold night, put a foam mat or a folded blanket on top of the mattress or stretcher, under your sleeping bag.

Choosing a sleeping bag

• Mummy bags taper to the feet and have a hood. They are the warmest for their weight.
• Rectangular bags are roomier but colder.
• Synthetic filling is cheaper and still insulates when damp.
• Down is lighter and warmer, but expensive and useless when wet.

Reading the temperature rating

• Comfort: the lowest temperature at which a typical adult sleeps comfortably. Choose by this figure.
• Limit: the lowest temperature at which you can sleep curled up without being cold.
• Extreme: a survival figure only. Never plan around it.

Choose a bag with a comfort rating at or below the coldest night you expect. If a bag shows only one figure with no explanation, be careful: it may be the extreme figure.

Making a bag warmer

• Add a fleece or cotton liner.
• Put a blanket over the bag, not under it.
• Wear a warm hat and dry socks.
• Close the hood around your shoulders.
• Eat something before bed, and go to the toilet before you get in.
• Put a hot-water bottle at your feet, with the cap tight. Never use a heated stone or anything from the fire.

Change into dry clothes

The clothes you wore all day are damp with sweat even if they feel dry, and damp clothes cool you all night. Sleep in a dry base layer, a fleece or jersey, a hat and socks. Avoid cotton next to the skin if you can.

Wet tent in the morning?

That is usually condensation, not a leak. Each person breathes out about half a litre of water a night, and it condenses on the cold flysheet.

• Keep the vents open.
• Keep the flysheet taut and clear of the inner tent.
• Do not cook or dry wet clothes inside the tent.
• Pitch away from water and low hollows.
• Keep sleeping bags off the tent walls.

Children and older people

Children lose heat faster than adults and do not always notice. Check them in the night, and give each child their own mat and bag. For older people, a stretcher with a mat on top is easier than the ground, with extra bedding and a hot-water bottle.

This guide is based on Chapter 4 of Camping for Beginners in South Africa.