Article Contributed By
Sally Writes
Camping isn’t all sunshine and happiness – sometimes you will find yourself in a cold location struggling to keep warm. Winter camping can be great fun. You just need to take some extra steps to minimize heat loss and enable maximum enjoyment!
When you have your RV set up for winter camping, you may still find that you lose body heat. If the air around your body is a different temperature to you, you will lose heat until you and the air are at the same temperature. CentraCare.com lists some interesting cold weather facts to keep in mind:
1.If your clothing is wet, you can experience up to 5 times the rate of heat loss as you would if you were dry.
2.If you get immersed in water, heat loss will be up to 25 times faster.
3.If you over-protect yourself causing your body to sweat, this sweat can remain on your skin and freeze!
Fear not! There are some really simple things that you can do to minimize heat loss while camping.
Here are a few suggestions:
1.When buying a sleeping bag, look for one that has a thick and dense filling to reduce heat seeping out. Other useful features are overlapping layers at the seams and insulated neck baffles. Sleeping bags are often marked with a specific temperature rating. For comfort, look for one that is rated 20-25 degrees cooler than the air temperature you expect to be sleeping in.
2.Sleep on a sleeping mat as without one the ground beneath you will suck your heat until you are the same temperature. The sleeping mat puts a barrier between you and your sleeping surface to prevent the transfer of heat. Sleeping mats should have an R-value that rates the level of insulation so get the highest level you can afford. The same can happen if you are using a sleeping pad or air mattress – these will take the temperature of the air around you so if you are using these, a sleeping mat or another barrier between you and the mattress is still advisable.
3.Don’t be tempted to put on your thickest items of clothing. Instead, multiple thin layers will enable you to better regulate your temperature. Stay away from cotton as it holds moisture and will lose insulating properties when wet. Wool and synthetics will draw moisture away from your skin so are much more suitable.
The most important thing is to be prepared – don’t wait until you are cold to think about getting the right gear and protection!
