camping in winter?

[Xander]

I

1. If the temps are going to be below zero for all the time I'll use some down clothing, but never if it may be above, its useless in moments in a damp place on a sweaty guy like me.

!

this is a much more elegant way to describe overheating!!!

[Phoenix]

Simon and I have done several winter camps, the coldest Ive camped in is -30 in the artic circle. All the comments about down gear and double mats is absolutely correct and stay dry. As soon as you get wet you lose tons of heat. If youre getting a sleeping bag for winter go for the dearest you can afford and if you think you will only ever be in 0 to -5 get a -10 -15 rated bag.Always better having kit that will cope all eventualities rather than what you think may happen.

And if in doubt seek advise or stay at home

Phoenix

[Sharribee]

Xander, the grid for Llyn yr fan fach is SN 833 213. Not sure what your navigation is like but you will need to be able to. Not sure about the legalities but to be honest they are going to have to walk a fair old tab to get to you to tell you your not allowed to camp there.

The mid Wales campsite is at Tyllwyd farm SN 823 752

THis is a lovely campsite and is quite remote.

[cbrpaddy]

Great thread. I do love the oul winter camping but unfortunately it's mostly wet and damp here, with very few of the nice bright frosty days let alone snow
I'm currently trying to figure out which is the best stove for my tent, a proper wood burning one that's portable on the bike, plus some genetically engineered hamsters for the wheel to power the lantern. I have my eye on some of those new-fangled mice but ain't so sure they'd make as good eating.
The Elephant rally is a definite must-do for me sometime in the future.

[Jenna]

Xander, if you get a chance to do a winter camping trip, I wonder if you wouldn't mind giving us some feedback on your experience, i.e. how your sleeping bag, tent etc stood up to the temperatures, advice on what you would/wouldn't do again and so on, I've always found the reports from people on this forum a lot more useful than the "experts" !

now that i couldn't agree more with, i looked at a few companies to supply us a complete 'package' of gear to sell with the bikes for africa and could not believe the bo@~ocks some came up with, whats worse a few actually contradicted themselves and got there own figures wrong!!!... at the end of the day i dont trust marketing men over people who dont have a wage packet to fill from my purchase............. top thread, keep the ideas coming guys.

also be interested in anyones views on the colman 'exponent' range who is hands on with camping gear ( lol i'm not into cold and wet!!!).....

[Xander]

Xander, the grid for Llyn yr fan fach is SN 833 213. Not sure what your navigation is like but you will need to be able to. Not sure about the legalities but to be honest they are going to have to walk a fair old tab to get to you to tell you your not allowed to camp there.

The mid Wales campsite is at Tyllwyd farm SN 823 752

Cheers love.. My navigation is pretty good.. (we like doing it to geocashing included).
Thanks again..

now that i couldn't agree more with, i looked at a few companies to supply us a complete 'package' of gear to sell with the bikes for africa and could not believe the bo@~ocks some came up with, whats worse a few actually contradicted themselves and got there own figures wrong!!!... at the end of the day i dont trust marketing men over people who dont have a wage packet to fill from my purchase............. top thread, keep the ideas coming guys.

also be interested in anyones views on the colman 'exponent' range who is hands on with camping gear ( lol i'm not into cold and wet!!!).....

A complete kit for Africa would be very hard.. as there is too many climates to deal with.. hot during day bloody cold at night and the water issue is the opposite.. (Snow camping I dont carry water.. just have a melt every morning for that days water.) Desert (hot or cold.. ) you need to carry all your water (min 5lt per day plus 50% days extra) ... so that adds a significant weight. In aus the bivi sac is the desert sleeper of choice (but this to keep bugs/night beasties at bay. I personally use my slick rock.. with no fly and bundle up..

As for suggestions ... (I always preach this..) Tents.. I dont like non-free standing tents.. it is a pain in the ass to get a pegged tent to stay up in bull dust.. or in rocky shale.. you cant get the pegs in.. i would go free-standing.. the "extra" weight you carry is worth it (and were can be talking grams difference here.. then you add back in the "sand pegs" and free standing wins by a lot)..

I dont have any experience with Colman 'exponent' range.. but Colman in general i have had nothing but issues with it. One field trip I was on (work) the uni suppled the students with colman gear it lasted until the first wind came up. I did not want to share a tent with students (the liability is too high) so i was using my own tent (slickrock).. i was the only one with a tent on the 4th day.. the lamps and stuff are okay but in my business are considered one week disposable. The stoves are very good. but i dont like gas. Gas is fastest cleanest ect.. but you have to carry the canisters in and OUT ... so on a long trip you start to have dead space.. and this jsut bugs me... I use either msr or primus. Primus is my new toy and new favorite, runs on everything.. from wine to gas, avigas to petrol. i ran it on skunked red wine, a few weeks back... just cus i could.

Mats in the desert this you can use any thing.. In alot of ways the blue foam mat is easiest.. no punctures...

Problem with camping gear is that it is very subjective and what will work in one situation will not in an other..

I think i would source different bits from different places..I love this stuff so would be happy to discuss thing further...

[Krtek]

A complete kit for Africa would be very hard.. as there is too many climates to deal with.. hot during day bloody cold at night

I keep hearing that, the bit about the nights being very cold, and I've actually never experienced it. It greatly depends on the season. The nights I spent in the desert were all above 20 or even 30 degrees C.

Some people have a hard time believing that, because they've watched the Paris Dakar (which is ridden in winter!), and keep insisting that it always freezes in any desert at night... well I'm pretty sure I would have noticed as I was wearing very little except for a silk sheet!
Oh well, some folks can't handle it if reality gets in the way of all the wisdom they've gathered from watching the telly...

[Jenna]

don't wanta pull this thread off its purpose of winter camping and onto africa so could a mod (kymmy get your big arse in gear) please move/copy? the last few posts to a new thread????

[Xander]

Oh well, some folks can't handle it if reality gets in the way of all the wisdom they've gathered from watching the telly...

I TAKE REAL OFFENSE TO THAT>>
AS i said "A complete kit for Africa would be very hard.. as there is too many climates to deal wit" .. I have experienced both. hot nights and bloody cold nights in deserts too.. but when things are the same.. (e.g. hot days/nights or cold days/nights) it is far easier to only pack one kit...

you even quoted me on this.. (okay the grammar was poor but not that poor that you could not understand it... )

[Krtek]

I TAKE REAL OFFENSE TO THAT>>

I wish you wouldn't, since I'm not talking about you at all.

AS i said "A complete kit for Africa would be very hard.. as there is too many climates to deal wit" .. I have experienced both. hot nights and bloody cold nights in deserts too.. but when things are the same.. (e.g. hot days/nights or cold days/nights) it is far easier to only pack one kit...

you even quoted me on this.. (okay the grammar was poor but not that poor that you could not understand it... )

I'm not disagreeing with you in any way.
I think you're misunderstanding me here.

I'm disagreeing with people who keep insisting that nights in the desert are always cold. I don't believe you're one of those people.

I'm sorry that I offended you. I didn't mean to and I don't understand how it happened. It's not always easy being on a foreign language forum.