Super cold places. What sleep/shelter system or complete no-go?

[ChocoVonBismarck]

Basically title. For very cold places (-40º-5ºC, or 40º- -40º F) what is your sleep and shelter system? Is it even possible to do safely? Thinking mainly for Canada and the Nordic countries. If you don't/can't sleep outside, what do you do if you still want to visit these places?

Personally, I was thinking a sturdy sleeping bag and bivy system with a nice sleeping pad (maybe 2), like the MSS, but it seems like so much stuff to carry around.

 

[texastraveler]

I'd consider good condition surplus ECWS, and a purpose built tent with a backpacking cot to get off the ground entirely

i don't have that much experience with extreme cold that being said

 

[Ynwdwndrr]

Yikes yeh may be helpful to test out your system before committed time in similar/cold-ish weather conditions. Can get s feel for what you need/what works for you. Might help work out some kinks. If you don't already know <3

I get cold 🥶 coldest stayed in -8 f
It worked out okay for me w a tent; insulated sleeping pad; many ffuckin layers & hot hands. Still, that's significantly colder 🙏 I'm sure you have your own preferences &body needs

May also help to look into what thru hikers do/use in cold climates if want. Feel some of em may be in cold places often.

gl

 

[TheDesertMouse]

Oh it can be done, mountaineers have been doing it for decades.

Your going to need:
a -40 bag, or a -20 and wear your warm clothes inside of it.

A sleeping pad is also mandatory, possibly two. One closed cell foam and an air mat on top of it.

A serious 4 season tent. Not some cheap walmart piece of shit. Something that will vent moisture well is absolutley fucking mandatory. Your shit getting wetter and wetter over a period of a few days is going to fuck you. It should also be able to put up with a proper blizzard. So good materials, proper additional guy lines midway up the tent. Could you do a bivy? yeah, for a little bit, but thats really only a backup shelter in those conditions, the condensation problem is going to be unavoidable in a bivy. It takes careful disciplines management to not fuck up with a bivy in those extremes, and its not something that was ever really intended for long periods of time.

And of coarse all the other little things, hats, face coverings, gloves/mitts, multiple layers, thick jackets ect. ect. Quality heavy duty boots. You might also find things like a snowshovel indispensible for snow camping.

Now the problem with all of this is you can go two ways with the type of gear

1: Cheaper, HEAVY, BULKY, possible not very durable. Synthetic sleeping bags, older cheaper tents. Heavy thick ass wool layers. Your pack will probably weigh 70lbs MINIMUM.

2: EXPENSIVE, difficult to find, light, packable, durable.
By expensive I mean thousands of dollars to equip yourself. This is light, packable downbags, high quality 4 season lightweight mountaineering tents. If you spent a year prowling every thrift store, outdoor consignment shop, and online deal you could maybe pull off 1400$.


This is absolutley possible, I’ve done it, I’ve met others who’ve done it. It’s just going to take resources, effort, and knowledge. If you make too many mistakes in summer in 40 degrees you’ll probably just have a bad time. In -40 you’ll be dead.

 

[Down and Out]

Id try to dig a snow cave or break into a shelter a -40 bag or not and negative 40 weather would suck major ass such major ass in fact why the hell you camping in Antarctica on top of a mountain? you don't need to make yourself suffer or possibly die get frostbite. I've spent a lot of homeless winters in -10 to -20 fare height I really cant recommend not doing that enough my one buddy got four toes amputated from frostbite. Il wrap the tent in blankets and space blankets and cardboard reinforce than burn candles with wooden sticks in them all night if you catch a Windchill at -40 at night your probably dead or missing extremities from frostbite come sunrise. Also snow caves keep easy temp if your doing winter mountaineering no one would tent camp much at that point unless maybe its all ice and your trying to summit k2 or Everest or something in which case good luck that sounds horrible.

In terms of how to visit those places go in the warmer months if your going to camp out dude.....

 

[sevedemanos]

coldest ive done was single digits, would just go grab some extra mummy from walmart to throw inside the standard mss, then throw a couple more layers of cardboard on the ground. some people swear by heated water bottles to preheat the bag once youve got it layed out.

keep in mind temp ratings on sleeping bags are relatively hypothetical and normally tested in conjunction with tents. mss is rated -20, for instance.. but youre going to freeze to death somewhere in the ballpark of 0

 

[Joey Garbanzo]

In all honesty cracking a squat would be a better option or in a perfect world an actual hot tent setup. Try to stay out of the wind, sleep with thermals, clothes and insulated bibs and jacket in your bag with layers between you and the ground.

 

[Rummy0809]

Basically title. For very cold places (-40º-5ºC, or 40º- -40º F) what is your sleep and shelter system? Is it even possible to do safely? Thinking mainly for Canada and the Nordic countries. If you don't/can't sleep outside, what do you do if you still want to visit these places?

Personally, I was thinking a sturdy sleeping bag and bivy system with a nice sleeping pad (maybe 2), like the MSS, but it seems like so much stuff to carry around.

I can’t imagine wanting to visit a place that reaches -40 during a season that it would actually reach -40… but that aside, as @Hobo Corncob said your best bet would be a hot tent or some sort of shack with a fireplace. If you have a larger tent you may be able to safely light some candles. Look into candle lanterns for warming up smaller tents with less risk of fire. A couple of candles can definitely help take the edge off. I would also recommend further insulating the tent with blankets, tarps, rolled insulation, cardboard or whatever else you can find to further add to the heat retention if you know a particularly cold night is coming. Layers and hot water bottles/hand warmers would probably serve you well too.

On a budget, you may be able to do a “super shelter” style shelter as seen here :

Or alternatively you could try one of the many variations of a heated tarp shelter.

 

[lazerskull]

Negative 40° Fahrenheit?
That's insane. Sounds like another planet.
You could camp by someplace with an outlet on the side of a building and pirate an extension chord and run that into your tent and plug a little heater into that.
For sleeping bags you'll need at least a 20 degree bag plus another bag or blankets. And you'd have to have base layers on inside the bags.
I have camped out of my SUV in like -10°F

I had a 20° bag, inside of a 40° bag, and I had my base layers on, and I was quite toasty.

I also ran my heater full blast before parking so I had the cabin about 70°F before shutting it down.

 

[Otter]

I can’t imagine wanting to visit a place that reaches -40 during a season that it would actually reach -40… but that aside, as @Hobo Corncob said your best bet would be a hot tent or some sort of shack with a fireplace. If you have a larger tent you may be able to safely light some candles. Look into candle lanterns for warming up smaller tents with less risk of fire. A couple of candles can definitely help take the edge off. I would also recommend further insulating the tent with blankets, tarps, rolled insulation, cardboard or whatever else you can find to further add to the heat retention if you know a particularly cold night is coming. Layers and hot water bottles/hand warmers would probably serve you well too.

On a budget, you may be able to do a “super shelter” style shelter as seen here :

Or alternatively you could try one of the many variations of a heated tarp shelter.

Poly tarps don't tend to last long around campfires. You're better off using Cordura / canvas tarp, or a decent painters dropsheet.

If you do use poly, bring duck tape to fix the holes.

 

[Otter]

Man, it's hard to even think about sleeping in the snow, being in this Texas heat. But, When you're sleeping out in the cold, it may seem like a good idea to pull your head into the sleeping bag.

Don't do that. If you do, You'll wake up in the middle of the night, colder than you have ever been in your entire life.

What happens is that, humidity in your breath will condense inside of your sleeping bag and turn into ice.

You'll be better off if you cover your head and face with a balaclava and breath into a scarf, instead.