Tips for sleeping warm with no external heat sources......

Sweat is your enemy in cold weather .
In cold weather and having to work hard like shoveling snow, I strip down to my boots pants and T shirt and work , then after when my body is cooled off I redress that way I haven't soaked/steamed my clothes with moisture.
Same goes for the bag. If your clothes are vapor soaked from sweat and enter the bag you brought all that moisture with you.

 

I would rather sleep with a wolverine.

 

Hang you bag so the freezing temperatures dry it out while not in use.
change into dry silk long johns when you hit the sack.
l . Another thing I did is using bubble plastic with a sheet between, only on one side top or bottom, but not both .

 

drying out bag is VERY GOOD
bubble wrap.......why one side only?
bottom would keep you insulated from the ground temps
top would keep you insulated from the air temps

 

On both top and bottom I cook.

 

The coldest nights that I ever spent were in Franklin, Tennessee. We were re-enacting the Battle of Franklin and I had 2 wool blankets and 2 gum blankets. The temps. were in the mid-to-low 20s...low enough that all sources of water were frozen. To make things worse both times fires weren't allowed at night because of high winds, which caused low wind-chills. Frost covered blankets and frozen canteens...those were good times.

 

Have a large furry dog lay on your feet, preferably on the out side of your sleeping bag.

 

Female body temperatures tend o be lower than male, so that would not work.
First time my wife put her cold feet on me I almost jumped out of bed. and that was summer time .

 

I'll bet that experience gave you a little more respect for what those men had to endure back in those days . And I don't mean that in a way saying you don't respect them , just that those conditions just added to the experience .

 

That is exactly why we do it. It is the curse of every man, that he is forced to judge himself against his forefathers. To ask, "Could I shoulder their burdens and hardships? Could I stand shoulder-to-shoulder in line with them?" We only do this for a few days at a time, but we read a lot of books and learn by doing. The more we learn to more we respect them.

 

Well said Wildbilly . I think of my grandfathers stories often , and wonder your same thoughts . Could I stand beside them along with their struggles ? I'd like to think so as he taught me so much . I know I could far exceed the ones we have around today , their major struggles is their cell phone losing data .

 

Once at an event some smart-ass asked a re-enactor, "How many people would show up if we were using real bullets?" The re-enactor said, "Quite a few but they would all be wearing Confederate Grey!".

 

Where the heck did you find wool blankets that thick??

 

Seller on uk ebay. This is the med weight one
SALE !!! Merino Wool Camel Blanket 250x200cm SUPER KING BROWN THROW IDEAL GIFT 5902565612375 | eBay

 

Well of course.... it gets cold in the desert at night


But think its just the colour.. the seller also has other colours and the thicker ones also.

 

Thank you for the info.

I just ordered one.

 

I bought a silk bag liner. It's a little slice of heaven when you slip inside. None of that freezing cold nylon bag material up against your skin.