Well...since the Tent Camping section of the forum has been generally quiet lately, I thought I would post up a quick update and picture of my latest camp out. I refuse to give up my camping and decided to give my gear and preparations a "real" cold weather test. I set-up the tent in the backyard (this was after all, only a test - I figured I could always run inside if I was miserable) and gave it a go. I asked if anyone in the family wanted to join me and they looked at me like I was nuts so I had no takers, but hey, I was bored and thought what the heck.
I hunkered down in the tent as a total of 4+" of snow fell during the evening. Temps were 30 degrees when I went inside. To stay occupied I basically played on the laptop and later watched my Colts get manhandled and run over by the Patriots. :(
By this morning, the temps had dropped to 16 degrees with a 3 degree wind chill. Overall, not too bad of an experience, but I was dressed to the max. My face/nose was pretty cold even though I was wearing a balaclava. Ok in the sleeping bag and on the sleep pad, but getting out of a warm bag and into the cold is still a tough thing. Burrrrr! lol. I've put a Mr. Heater Buddy heater on my Christmas wishlist just for this purpose. Think it will help take the chill off while I am awake (but I'll turn it off while I'm sleeping).
I also had a small amount of frozen condensation on the inner tent walls. Perhaps I should have left more than one interior vent open and/or maybe because all of my fly vents down low were blocked by snow? Not sure...maybe just the way it is. Other than that, the tent held up well under the snow load and the wind. Rock solid. I really do love this tent.
Anyhow, the next opportunity for an "official" trip will come later this winter with my son as he transitions from a Webelo II to a Boy Scout (they have a winter camp out coming up in 2015). This was simply a practice run to test my setup, gear, and techniques. A little more refinement, maybe another piece of gear or two, and we should be good to go. Better to learn in the backyard than in the field.
A picture of the tent before I take it down and hang it in the garage to dry/air out. Take care fellow campers-thanks for lookin!
I hunkered down in the tent as a total of 4+" of snow fell during the evening. Temps were 30 degrees when I went inside. To stay occupied I basically played on the laptop and later watched my Colts get manhandled and run over by the Patriots. :(
By this morning, the temps had dropped to 16 degrees with a 3 degree wind chill. Overall, not too bad of an experience, but I was dressed to the max. My face/nose was pretty cold even though I was wearing a balaclava. Ok in the sleeping bag and on the sleep pad, but getting out of a warm bag and into the cold is still a tough thing. Burrrrr! lol. I've put a Mr. Heater Buddy heater on my Christmas wishlist just for this purpose. Think it will help take the chill off while I am awake (but I'll turn it off while I'm sleeping).
I also had a small amount of frozen condensation on the inner tent walls. Perhaps I should have left more than one interior vent open and/or maybe because all of my fly vents down low were blocked by snow? Not sure...maybe just the way it is. Other than that, the tent held up well under the snow load and the wind. Rock solid. I really do love this tent.
Anyhow, the next opportunity for an "official" trip will come later this winter with my son as he transitions from a Webelo II to a Boy Scout (they have a winter camp out coming up in 2015). This was simply a practice run to test my setup, gear, and techniques. A little more refinement, maybe another piece of gear or two, and we should be good to go. Better to learn in the backyard than in the field.
A picture of the tent before I take it down and hang it in the garage to dry/air out. Take care fellow campers-thanks for lookin!
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