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  • Camping in 50 degree weather

    I planned on camping this weekend here in south florida and knew it would be cool but not in the low 50's.. I was just curious of how others here camp in 50 degree weather such as how you keep warm. I know to some of you are use to the cold but ive lived in florida all my life and have thin skin.

    I just dont think blankets on a airbed will keep us warm enough.. any suggestions??
    Proud owner of the Kodiak canvas 10 x 14 deluxe flex bow tent..

  • #2
    Re: Camping in 50 degree weather

    I use a good blanket on an air matress with no trouble - despite other's theories. Just need a good closed cell pad underneath it. 50's is ideal camping temps here in north Florida - and I have lived here all my life. I sleep warm and comfy.
    When it gets to the 30's and forties, I switch to a good sleeping bag, and keep the air matress. Not a problem.
    Longtime Motorcycle Camper. Getting away from it all on two wheels! :cool:

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    • #3
      Re: Camping in 50 degree weather

      You can comfortably camp with lows in the '50s with anything - cot, pad, hammock, even the tubular air matterss - without nary a Mr. Buddy or electric blanket. Come to think of it, in a strange way, medical science makes part of its living off of people who don't know the difference between law and theory. Don't tell them that, because we have bills to pay...And we laugh all the way to the bank. :cool:
      Last edited by tplife; 10-31-2012, 09:00 PM.
      “People have such a love for the truth that when they happen to love something else, they want it to be the truth; and because they do not wish to be proven wrong, they refuse to be shown their mistake. And so, they end up hating the truth for the sake of the object which they have come to love instead of the truth.”
      ―Augustine of Hippo, Fifth Century A.D.

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      • #4
        Re: Camping in 50 degree weather

        Originally posted by HogSnapper
        I'm not sure y'all are relating to what the OP said. If you live in south florida long enough, you reach a point where 60 degrees is like 40 degrees to most other people. 50 degrees is like 20 degrees and 40 degrees might as well be zero F. I grew up down there and it's just the way your body chemistry adapts over time. Same thing happens to people in Alaska but it's the reverse. So when the OP says 50 degrees, think 20 degrees for the rest of us.
        Thats just what i was getting at Hogsnapper.. Low 40's and low 50's down here is freezing to us..
        Proud owner of the Kodiak canvas 10 x 14 deluxe flex bow tent..

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        • #5
          Re: Camping in 50 degree weather

          Originally posted by swebob View Post
          I planned on camping this weekend here in south florida and knew it would be cool but not in the low 50's.. I was just curious of how others here camp in 50 degree weather such as how you keep warm. I know to some of you are use to the cold but ive lived in florida all my life and have thin skin.

          I just dont think blankets on a airbed will keep us warm enough.. any suggestions??
          We go camping here on the central coast of Cal. all the time in 50 degrees or less. We have an air bed and frame from Cabella's and a big buddy heater. We keep the propane tank outside and run the hose through the power cord slot in the tent. We have been very comfortable (in shirt sleeves) in as low as 18 degrees outside.
          http://i960.photobucket.com/albums/ae81/golf1here/1.jpg
          Last edited by golf1here; 11-01-2012, 12:37 PM.

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          • #6
            Re: Camping in 50 degree weather

            Well, if 50's for you = 20's for me... I use a Thermarest Luxury Map pad and 0f degree sleeping bag. If pad is on the ground, the sleeping bag is a mummy. If pad is on a cot, the sleeping bag is a large, comfortable, rectangle. If there is a good chance that cold will become cold and wet, Mr. Heater is a welcome addition. Coldest camp so far this season was a 38f morning, I covered up but didn't zip-up the rectangle bag. (Teton Sports Celsius XXL -18 Degree C / 0 Degree F Flannel Lined Sleeping Bag (90"x 39"), no additional heat in tent.)

            Game Carts (think hunting) are great for transporting camp kit from vehicle to camp site... Sometimes you just can't get the 4x4 as close as you would like.
            Phil
            Group: Canvas
            Kodiak 6010 Flex-Bow canvas
            Springbar Outfitter 3 canvas

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            • #7
              Re: Camping in 50 degree weather

              And if it's 20F for Phil, it's colder for us! Our coldest camp was -20F with bags rated to -30 and our Big Buddy kept our Kodiak Canvas tent warm enough for tee-shirt living! Just saying....+50F is also summer weather for some of us. Dress in layers and camp that way too. We use to live in sunny Las Vegas but camping on the desert in the winter, nights have often gotten down into the 20F easily. Hogsnapper says it's best, one needs the best sleeping bag one can afford! If you don't have a warm comfortable sleep, even in a house, you won't enjoy your camping experience, that's just the way it is, at least for us.
              Get campin', Renodesertfox A canvas campateer
              Campin' Here Between Campouts! Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult

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              • #8
                Re: Camping in 50 degree weather

                take extra blakets and clothes if you are worried about being cold. Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.
                Nights camped in 2019: 24
                Nights camped in 2018: 24

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                • #9
                  Re: Camping in 50 degree weather

                  I have always heard its not wise to use propane heaters in tents.
                  Proud owner of the Kodiak canvas 10 x 14 deluxe flex bow tent..

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                  • #10
                    Re: Camping in 50 degree weather

                    I've heard the same thing, but I get cold fairly easily and last winter used my heater in the tent. I did take precautionary measures though... set it up on its own little stand I made of an overturned aluminum pan to keep it off the tent floor and also made sure there was plenty of ventilation. Course, neither of my current tents have full coverage rain flys. The bigger tent is an 8 man tent and the smaller is a 4 man tent. Have not had any problems in either one with the heater.
                    "It's better to have that and not need it than it is to need it and not have it" - Captain Woodrow F. Call

                    Nights spent out in 2014: 1

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                    • #11
                      Re: Camping in 50 degree weather

                      They warn you away from using anything that can burn inside your tent - we safely have used lanterns/heaters/etc. insidt. That said, we use more precautions now than in the past. I recommend a CO detector ($40) as a cheap insurance policy, and you can use it at home when it's not doing "camping duty"!
                      BTW, golf1here knows the secret: keep you inside air temperature at RT (room temp) and sleepwell! Your cot/hammock/air mattress won't let you down as long as the outside air is slightly warmed over the outside cold. Phil_R, that FLHR looks suspiciously similar to mine!
                      Last edited by tplife; 11-01-2012, 10:31 PM.
                      “People have such a love for the truth that when they happen to love something else, they want it to be the truth; and because they do not wish to be proven wrong, they refuse to be shown their mistake. And so, they end up hating the truth for the sake of the object which they have come to love instead of the truth.”
                      ―Augustine of Hippo, Fifth Century A.D.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Camping in 50 degree weather

                        The Buddy heaters have tip-over cutoff and a Low O2 sensor to shut it off, IIRC. Keep it a foot or so from anything that might not like heat, and you are fine - tents have sufficient ventilation, especially the larger family tents.
                        Longtime Motorcycle Camper. Getting away from it all on two wheels! :cool:

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                        • #13
                          Re: Camping in 50 degree weather

                          I also put my buddy heater on a piece of wood to keep it off the floor of my tent.
                          Nights camped in 2019: 24
                          Nights camped in 2018: 24

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                          • #14
                            Re: Camping in 50 degree weather

                            swebob I feel your pain my brother!! I grew up in Illinois and now live in North Carolina for almost 20 years. I have lost that tolerance to cold weather. I bicycle so going out for at least an hours ride at
                            25 deg was not a problem before. Now if it isn't at least 50 deg I won't ride...my wife calls me a wimp....and I agree! :D:D

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                            • #15
                              Re: Camping in 50 degree weather

                              The cheapest and most effective thing you can do to keep warm in your sleeping bags is to fill canteens with hot water and put them inside your sleeping bag just before you get into them. Of course, you have to be absolutely sure that the canteens don't leak under pressure or you can have a real disaster. I use the plastic military canteens with success under extreem conditions now for 30+ years.

                              Hot rocks are pretty versitile too. wrap them in cloth and put them in your pockets, hold them in your hands, etc. The safest way to get rocks hot without them exploding or without them getting too hot is to boil them in hot water. They will dry off immediately after you take them out of the pot.

                              BTW, the hot rocks in a thick socks is a safer substitute for the hot water bottle in the sleeping bag trick.
                              Last edited by Mike; 11-05-2012, 08:10 PM.

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