Cold weather camping

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Thanks, RR, I've got some neoprene gumboots rated to -40 which I got last year for a wet and cold trip to Tuena. We had a bit of a scratch, but as the creek was up spent a lot of time sitting in the Tuena Hilton around Bazza's fire keg!
 
Sounds Good, there is noting worse than being wet and cold, I came over here with nothing more than my Drizabone in the start of their summer but that soon changed and I froze, Lol.

John.
 
Well the report on the Kmart mat is!!!! Do your self a favour and get one. I bought 2 and taped them together and slept toasty warm at Oallen where as me mate froze and used his as a pillow for the first night. Second night he used it as a sleeping mat and was nice and warm. Both nights were in the minus, not sure how cold but the esky was a solid slab of ice and all the bottled water froze inside the car. Cheap but it does the job of insulating really well.
 
Gday all
years ago I all I used was the good old therma rest mat , remember when they were 25 mm thick and self inflating my bag was a german made goosedown bag , very warm in winter and used like a dooner in summer. Now the bones are a bit older, I have upgraded to a collapsable stretcher , I find that you gotta kept of the ground , I weight 110kg and I the better made one is excellent , getting it level is smile , whole in the ground under the high points, I can sit up, swing out to put booties on, and have used a good feather down doona , now seriously looking at the Aldi woollen doona, the sleeping bags are good but somehow seem to get wrapped around me and I gotta fight my way out , not good when your busting for a xxxiss
In my old old caravenette box trailer , I use a layer of air conditioning wrap foil side down, then a layer of those lock together foam matts , the thick ones then a 4" foam mattress with the dooner over , if its really cold a sheet of canvas , an old sun blind over that all bought from swap meets or the local flea markets, all warm and comfortable , I found air beds are ok but you tend to float areond a bit and if the go down no fun at all.

so my basic survival rules are, keep off the ground, a sturdy bed and a good doona , I do use the self inflating air mattress on the stretcher as a under warmer.
the topic is an interesting one , with a lot of knowledge gained from experience happy camping
 
I'm a bit late to this thread but never mind.

I'm amazed no one has mentioned Darche sleeping bags:
https://darche.com.au/products/sleeping-gear/

I have both their 0C Cold Mountain Lite in 1100mm wide:
https://darche.com.au/product/cold-mountain-0c-lite-1100-rightzip/

and the -12C Cold Mountain:
https://darche.com.au/product/cold-mountain-12c-900-dual-zip/

Both the above bags are available in other widths but I like a wide
bag that I can turn over in without taking the bag with me. The more
narrow bags will be a little warmer.

Darche are an Australian firm based in Melbourne.

The -12C Cold Mountain is an excellent bag. I have used it in -7C
occasionally and regularly in -5C, I sleep naked but have never
needed additional coverings. It's also good for temperatures up to
about +5C if the bottom (foot end) zip is partially or fully opened;
it's too hot in anything over +5C which is when I switch to the Lite
version.

There is no Australian Standard for the assessment of sleeping bag
temperatures so manufacturers can give them any temperature rating
they like without fear of contradiction. The good manufacturers don't
do that but nevertheless, like any seller, they "maximise" their
features. I have found that subtracting 5C from the advertised
temperature is about right so a bag advertised as -5C is really a 0C
bag in my opinion.

Body warmth is best maintained by layers of clothing so two thin
jumpers are warmer than one thick one and the same applies to
blankets and the like, the air trapped between any two layers also
acts as an insulator.

Mattress wise: I have found the 100mm self inflating mats to be
excellent for both comfort and providing insulation from the ground
although they are quite large.
 
You should always try to buy the right sleeping bag for the temps your going to be in, because wearing layers in your sleeping bag is a bad Idea because when you get up and put on your normal clothing you will be missing the extra layer that the sleeping bag provides,

One of my sleeping bags is rated at 5 seasons which is good for about to -40/50*c*c and my Antarctica 2c Sleeping bag is rated from -20*c to -50*c and I also have fleece liners so I can boost their temperature rating even more if I have to. Which adds about another -10*c to their rating,

I always try to buy sleeping bags with Neck and Zip Baffles to stop any unwanted draughts and quick release Zips are a must have Item as well in an emergency or be it the call of Nature.

J.
 
I put 1 of these in the van and I don't care how cold it gets outside ]:D

1510985161_warmda-heater-25_2.jpg
 
It's a diesel heater Mackka.
I got one for my van too, run the bastard on setting 1 and it keeps the whole van warm on a Victorian winters night and uses about 100ml of diesel to do it.
Banana benders wouldn't need to worry about that though.
Now I have a van with 240v, diesel heater, tv, micro,gas oven/stovetop bla bla, the wife likes to come, bonus is I get to head out more often now :Y: :Y: :Y: .
 
That's great OP. I have never seen anything like that before. Do you have to vent it out the door for fumes?
How does it work and can you put it in a shed with flamables, I.e. Paint fumes.
Mackka
 
Mackka said:
That's great OP. I have never seen anything like that before. Do you have to vent it out the door for fumes?
How does it work and can you put it in a shed with flamables, I.e. Paint fumes.
Mackka

Just a bit like any diesel engine , they have an air intake for combustion and an exhaust outlet that must be vented to the outside. The start up is by glow plug which pulls about 12 amps to start the burn but as soon as it's running the glow plug turns of and it uses around .75 amps to keep it running with the fan going. On the highest setting it will use around .3 of a litre an hour and on low about .1 On average I get about 45 hours running from a 10 litre tank.
I wouldn't put the unit in a shed with flammable fumes but you could mount it outside the shed and put a duct from the hot air outlet into the shed.
When I fitted mine into the van I just stuck an ordinary plastic vent on the hot air outlet side, that was a der mistake, it melted, I took a reading with a digital heat gun thing and it was reading 140c at the vent .
Best $550-00 I've ever spent :Y: :Y:
 

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