Camping is often associated with summer times, but for a lot of people, winter camping is as appealing as summer.
It is enthralling to sleep on a bed of snow, face snow-covered peaks, and enjoy snowfall while sitting in your camp.
The only downside to this is facing the nerve-wracking cold in your tent. Nothing is more disturbing than not being able to sleep after a tiring day due to a shivering cold.
But we can winterize our tent.
You can insulate your tent for winter camping by covering the inner walls of the tent with reflective thermal foam. To keep the tent warmer, you can also use tarps and snow walls to break the cold breeze, select an enclosed camping ground, and wear warm clothes to insulate yourself.
In this article, we are going to discuss ways of insulating a tent for winter camping.
How does tent insulation work?
The primary purpose of insulating anything is to keep the heat from flowing freely in and out of any closed compartment, be it your tent, room, or office.
To insulate our tent, we take care of two basic things;
- Keep the heat generated inside from leaving the tent.
- Keep cold air from outside mixing with warmer air inside.
If you ensure these two basics, your tent will be warm and comfy during the freezing night in the wilderness.
Heat is transferred in three ways;
- Conduction(flowing through solids)
- Convection (flowing through a fluid medium like air)
- Radiation (in the infrared band)
Keeping the heat inside: To keep the heat generated by the source inside the tent (human bodies, space heater, etc.) inside, we must stop or minimize conduction, convection, and radiation.
Keeping the cold outside: To keep the cold out, we must stop cold air from getting into our warm tent space. Extra energy/heat is required to heat the incoming cold air to the tent temperature, reducing the overall tent temperature.
With this basic theory of keeping the tent warmer, let’s explore how to winterize a tent and keep it warm during cold camping.
6 Ways to Winterize Tent
Winterizing your tent is not a difficult task. With a few basic things taken care of, you can easily set your tent up for cold camping nights.
Follow the below 6 ways to insulate your tent for camping.
1. Get a small tent
We all know that maintaining temperature in a small area is way easier than in wider spaces. If your tent size is small, less energy is required to heat the enclosed space.
For those who have camped throughout the year, the broad airy tent in summer becomes an icicle in winter because it is next to impossible to keep such a huge space warm with limited energy available inside.
So, getting two types of camps is best: a little bigger for hot days and a compact one for colder days.
If you cannot invest in two, it is always safe to get a small-sized one as it is easy to regulate the temperature in these.
2. Choose your camping ground carefully
Your camping ground plays a significant role in determining your comfort within the tent. There are some points to consider when selecting a camping site for camping in the winter season.
- Select a camping ground well within the trees or surrounded by rocks. Trees and rocks act as natural windbreakers and help you keep the tent warm during the night.
- Clear the ground. If the ground is covered with snow, remove all the snow before pitching the camp. If you don’t, the heat from the inside will melt the snow and lower the tent’s temperature.
- Insulate the ground. You can do this by placing a thermal floor mat, rug, or blanket. This will act as a floor insulation sheet and help you maintain a comfortable inside temperature.
3. Use a camping tarp as a windbreaker
High-speed chilling winds are often a common cause of wreaking havoc on campers during winter nights.
If your tent is in the direct way of the blowing wind, chances are more of that cold breeze will get in, mix with your warmer air and reduce the tent temperature.
Therefore, searching for practical ways to break wind currents is essential.
One such way is to pitch a camping tarp on your tent. The tarp should face the way the wind is blowing from. You can also install an A-shape tarp to protect yourself from both sides.
Like trees or big rocks, a tarp will protect you from a direct cold breeze if you are camping in an open area.
It will also help protect from rain showers and snow if the weather is not ideal during the night. Make sure your tarp is adequately sized according to your tent. Bigger is better.
4. Create windbreaks by using snow
If you don’t have a tarp and are camping in an open but snowy area, you can also use a snow wall as a windbreaker.
Eskimos in the Siberian region use snow huts called igloos to keep themselves warm against the freezing wind. Snow is an excellent insulator and windbreaker.
When camping in an area with snowy conditions, an excellent replacement for a tarp is a wall of snow surrounding your tent to act as a windbreak.
Compared to tents, snow walls are durable and efficient. They can also be used to prevent the piling up of drifting snow inside the tent at night.
Using the shovel, collect the snow and build a wall about 3 to 4 feet high surrounding the tent. However, if there is not enough snow, concentrate on covering the side facing the prevailing winds.
Once the wall has been built, you can sit back in your tent and enjoy a tranquil, wind-free night.
5. Insulate the tent walls
Once you are settled in a good, well-surrounded camping site and have installed a tarp or snow wall to break the wind, the next step is to insulate your tent inside to stop heat loss.
If you are not carrying a four-season insulated tent, you can efficiently insulate your regular tent yourself. DIY tent insulation can be as good if done correctly.
All you need is a reflective foam commonly available for home insulation (like this one on Amazon) for insulating a tent.
With the help of duct tape, cover the tent’s walls with reflective foam. Make sure you don’t leave any area exposed. The better you cover the inside, the warmer your camping night will be.
The reflective foam does two things. The foam has trapped air bubbles which stops conduction and convection from taking place effectively.
Secondly, the reflective surface reflects back all the radiation inside that would have been lost otherwise.
It effectively stops all three forms of heat loss, thus keeping your tent warm. So good tent insulation can significantly improve your capacity to retain heat inside your tent.
6. Wear warm clothes and thermals
Heat leaves the body through radiation in a cold environment, resulting in the body temperature dropping. Therefore, wearing clothes that trap your body heat inside and prevent it from escaping is essential.
Thermals can be a great choice, such as longer underclothing and thermal socks.
An essential aspect of the thermal layer which is to be used as the base is that it should be made from moisture-wicking fabric. If the thermal lining is not moisture-wicking, the perspiration will condense inside and make you feel sweaty all night.
Some great options for moisture-wicking fabric are natural merino wool, silk, and synthetic materials like nylon and polyester. However, cotton is not a suitable option.
You can read my detailed blog on how to dress for winter camping if you need more information.
Prevent cold injuries during winter camping
Frostbite, i.e., the freezing of tissues and hypothermia (body temperature falling below average), is a significant concern when camping in winter.
To avoid these, you need to take extra care. Below are some ways that might help you and make winter camping safe & fun.
Staying warm rather than getting warm
Dress appropriately so that a comfortable body temperature is maintained, which is comparatively easier than warming up after getting cold.
You can also use different methods to heat your tent, including a tent heater or electric blanket.
If you are camping away from an established campground and don’t have electricity, you can also try battery powered heaters. They are less effective compared to plug-in heaters, but they can do the job.
Do not try to overexert yourself.
If you feel that your toes or fingers are cold, stop immediately and warm them up. You can use hand and toe warmers, and continuous hand rubbing will also prove effective.
Frostbite during winter camping can be lethal, especially if you are away from immediate first aid. So, taking precautions is necessary.
Keep checking your partners.
Keep asking your friends if they are doing fine or not. If you see them getting pale or clumsy on the trail, stop immediately and cover them up.
The exposed skin should be covered immediately with the help of a warm layer of insulation.
Insulate your tent for winter camping – Conclusion
Winter camping is always a fun idea; however, it’s not as easy as we assume. I hope the tips regarding the insulation of tents and other guidelines proved informative to you.
Using these tips, you will be able to camp in any winter weather and will also be able to keep your tents warm.
No more worrying about waking up shivering in the morning with frozen toes or fingers.
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