How to Sleep Warm While Camping || REI 

Most definitely agree on the hot water bottle. I'll never use Nalgene bottles in the summer because they are too heavy and bulky, but in the winter I always take one for exactly this reason. And I can confirm that they will stay warm til morning if your sleeping bag and pad are properly rated for the nightly low temp. It's also a great hack because it takes MUCH less time to boil water for coffee and breakfast in the morning when you're not starting with water that's been out all night and is near freezing or frozen.

Came here to get some tips to be warmer while camping. Saw the shortbread cookies on the worktop. Left to get shortbread cookies. Still cold while camping.

Super informative, ty. I rather like the unleashed Miranda. This pro, straight-laced style is cool. But unleashed Miranda is so much more human and relatable.

The hot water Nalgene is clutch!!!

Cut a piece of Reflectex to the shape of your body and place it inside your bag on top of you. Reflects body heat back to you and keeps me warmer than a liner and is multi purpose. Can be used as a sit pad, wind screen when cooking, rain cover, door mat for tent, and many other purposes. Weighs approx 4 oz and is lighter than bag liner at 8oz. Reflectex can be purchased at home improvement stores. This kept me toasty in windy 25 degrees temps.

If you happen to have a dog it makes an excellent heat source in a sleeping bag, especially the short haired variety.

I put my clothing for tomorrow, clean one of course, in the bag too. This way when I get changed in the morning, it's warm. Love your work.

Hammock crew report in. I can sleep on a 45 degree slope as long as there's trees to hang my hammock. Never worry about vacant campsites again. Make sure you have a good under-quilt though.

I love that REI has been making there own brand and it’s been generally lower prices than other big outdoor brands, but now it’s been getting to be the same price as all the other ones!

I like to add jello to the hot nalgine. It is light and when it cools down in the morning you can just eat the jello or drink it warm. It tastes just like cool aid!

Good video, thanks! I like how Miranda delivered the whole video almost without excess edits/cuts. Good production.

The hot water bottle is the best! I hate being cold and I camp year round. These are all great tips.

I would like to add to the list. If you have to go, go. If not, your body use a lot of energy to warm up your P. That is energy your body could have used to keep you nice and warm instead. Greetings from Norway.😊🏕

THIS IS MY SHOW GOSH DARN!

never been camping. idk why im watching this but i like going to rei just to look at shit

If your sleeping bag doesn’t keep your feet warm enough (either because the temp rating is higher than the conditions or it’s old insulation has gotten compressed), you can use a sweatshirt or other insulated pull-over to cover your feet and add some insulation. I tie the sleeves in an overhand knot snugly over my calves to keep it in place. I used this trick regularly while in the Marines using old issued sleeping equipment. The 1/4 l-zip fleece pull-over worked best.

i live in texas and i have never been camping idk why i was recommended this but i watched the whole thing and i feel like i learned so much

Several hand warmers in my bag work nicely for me.

The buff is such a great add on. Keeping the neck warm is clutch.

REI is a great retailer with a good reputation; I’m UK based but my limited experience has been good. Thanks for the video.

As a tip from boy scouts we get told on winter camping trips to not even use a inflatable pad, your body will use its heat to try and heat it up vs heating you up

Miranda is a fantastic addition, friendly, funny and super easy to follow and understand and very approachable. Kudos REI

Beautifully presented and edited, excellent basic knowledge. Thank you!

Oh wow watching this now in comparison to your new videos, you really got confident and brought more personality over time!

I went camping for the first time in Scotland last summer with no experience whatsoever. Im from a tropical country so i only had a thin sleeping bag. The outdoor shop i rented my tent from gave me the sleeping pad (the foam type) mainly because I said i only have my sleeping bag with me. It works although at night what really helped was the Nalgene hot water bottle. Allowed me to go to sleep for a good few hours before i got woken up because it was freezing and the hot water has cooled down. But those few hours of toasty feet was the best!!

Great tips! We've used warm rocks from around our fire pit to help keep our feet warm, just want to make sure they're clean and not too hot. The sit ups are a good tip, as is shortbread... how delicious!

I always use the 2ft by 6ft inflatable pool floats as a great sleeping pad alternative. You can take a couple of them. They're lightweight and super cheap and they're about 6 or 8 inches thick. They make awesome sleeping pads👍

Bath before going to sleeping bag; never sleep in anything you had on during the day. save sleeping cloths for this purpose. Include - fresh toboggan, undies, socks, gloves and balaclava with nose cover. think of it this way. the salt you got from sweating will cause discomfort if not washed off. just a few baby wipes will do the job...UNSCENTED! Do not attract bears - they really do have powerful noses that can smell odors miles away. Use a sleeping bag rated for the temperatures you expect. if backpacking: a fleece blanket on your mat will help keep you warm. if you really have to pee in the night - use a wide-mouth jug with seal lid for a urinal. try not to leave your tent as it will reduce the temperature that you worked hard to get. for really cold night use a (flameless) hand warmer. if your tent fly only comes down a small bit you may want to consider adding to your fly so that wind does not become a heat drain. connecting fly additions can be done with a few products - velcro is a example. As always, try out all methods in your backyard before you go.

Get that liner. I bought the Reactor almost 4 years ago, use it all the time. It's great in a dodgy hostel or hotel 'cause it makes everything but your head bug proof. Also being in the bag is actually more reliable than any blanket/quilt etc on any bed. Once you use the liner, you'll realize that drafts you've never noticed, and still don't have actually been a problem for years. I even use it in the summer in my sleeping bag. If it's warm I'll leave the sleeping bag unzipped, even warmer-- just the liner on top. These liners say 100% polyester, but they don't have that syn-stink (I checked to find the fabric and what I was pretty sure was the right material would've cost me about $45 just for the fabric. The liner cost me $55-65 (got a bit of a discount)-- so no percentage sewing your own, especially if you sew like I do). The fabric, like wool, doesn't seem to pick up body odor, so they keep you fresher, and keep your sleeping bag-- harder to launder than the liner--fresher. Can't say enough about them. Also, you know how the temperature rating of a sleeping bag never seems to actually match actual temperatures? With the Reactor liner those numbers actually mean something. I think the benefits of a liner is it's a layer, it's a pocket-- no drafts. There are also some super cheap fleece liners, they're much heavier, seem pretty nice-- bought one, haven't tried it yet. (The cheap ones have big square ends. If you have a mummy bag, I'd suggest sewing a big round end and trimming those corners-- but not too tight. You can always sew a tighter radius and trim more later. A set of sleep clothes, especially socks-- that's your reward at the end of the day. I've got bad circulation in my hands and feet. I noticed that if I wore two layers of smart wool socks and got my feet wet, they still got cold. It would take an hour in the sleeping bag for one foot and then the other to warm up. When I started wearing Sealskinz socks, I noticed that my feet didn't have that nice smart wool warmth-- but at the end of the day, when I crawled into my sleeping bag-- my feet were not numb and cold. They warmed up almost immediately. I'd recommend a cold weather multi-day. Day one smart wool, day two Sealskinz. Still love my smartwool, and a couple of layers dry will be warmer than the Sealskinz, but as soon as water is an issue I think the Sealkskinz will be better.

I needed this i took my $10 50f sleeping bag from walmart camping and it got down to 42 f the first night it wasnt fun. I thought i was prepared i wore sweat pants, a small blanket, and a sleeping pad and thought it would be more than enough, it wasn't. i learned from that mistake.

1- Save 2.4 oz with old school nalgene hdpe 32 oz bottle. 2- use puffy in bag/quilt as a blanket over torso, not wearing as coat is less restrictive, & more efficient use of puffy like a mini- quiltin bag/quilt.

Put the nalgene in a sock to control the heat

Yes the hot water bottle idea is just ❣️. I use to do it😍.

Pro tip: if you are still cold, resist throwing on every piece of clothing you brought with you. The goal is to warm the air inside your bag. If you put a rain jacket or big puffy on, you will likely be colder. Instead toss the puffy down by your toes to reduce the air volume.

my issue is once I wrap too much around I get kinda claustrophobic like I’m being tied down. Any sleep bags that aren’t cocoon like and I can have a quick escape if I need it.

Use puffy jacket around the outside of your sleeping bag or quilt’s footbox.

The snack tip is so funny to me because I have the opposite experience! When I eat I get cold, I think because blood is drawn from the extremities into the digestive system (and also I have Raynaud's, so that doesn't help).

I don't like liners, maybe due to how I sleep(moving a lot), I have a sea to summit toaster fleece, I'm all wrapped up in it (in a bad way) after a cpl of hrs. I have finally found the perfect replacement, down Booties, pants, jacket and if need be mittens,all light and comfortable. 0 deg down bag, thermarest solar and xtherm. The bottle would drive me nuts.hand warmers, much better.

The idea of a having a snack and a warm drink before sleeping makes sense but I brush my teeth before sleeping. So I would definitely have to be out of my tent to brush and rinse and then get back in, which is doable. One thing you might have mentioned is peeing, and specifically for gals and guys. Guys can deal with that with a designated pee bottle. Women can go in the tent too, as I understand it, but the process is more complicated. I bring this up because it's super important to deal with this so the urge to go doesn't keep you awake unnecessarily.

We want to see those pads and liner opened up!

Along with their tips I went camping and temperatures of 11 degrees and at night it was 7°. What helps me tremendously was taking a hot rock from the fire pit obviously let it cool down to touch and put that in your sleeping bag. I spent most of the night with the bag unzipped because it did so well. Another tip is down booties.

As usual a lot of people like to hear your suggestions Miranda. These were spot on too, excellent advise. I saw that someone suggested my favorite already, snuggling.

I use camp fire rocks wrap it in aluminium foil to avoid soot. rocks have thermal mass and last all night slowly releasing heat.

I know that you know this, but don't breath inside of your sleeping bag. Or rather don't exhale inside of the sleeping bag. It will ad moisture to the air inside the bag, and make you colder.

that's more than I expected.. I'm very new to all this and I very much appreciate these videos!

Yes adding closed cell foam works, but reflectix is at least as effective when used as a layer under your pad, and is a small fraction of the weight and packing space used by a foam pad. The down side is that it will be a bit noisy if you move around much in your sleep.

I take a 50x60 inch fleece blanket to fold and place between my pad and sleeping bag. It absorbs my body heat, adds cushion, and is light weight. Walmart sells the blankets for around $8.

yes i know what ive said on here is true , ive bought and sold and used all of these bags and military ones , over a 45 year span of time . in all temp ranges from -35f to 50f . ive camped in hammocks now for over 14 years , only added product i use is an underquilt under the hammock suspended , with a tarp covering my hammock .

Thanks so much. Just went camping and couldn't get warm. I'm gonna try these tips next time!

Snickers bar for bedtime snack is yummy.. Agree on hand warmers in very end of bag; with socks on never have any problems. Seems like I always needed a bag that is rated for 20 degrees cooler than the overnight low temp. Also keep bathroom bottle in tent.

When bikepacking or backpacking, I always try to remember hat and gloves. I was getting awakened from drafts from turning on my side in my super-light down mummy bag on a cold, fall evening in Colorado in the mountains. My hands were triggered by the drafts, so I I put on my glove liners and I slept through the night.

Hand warmers in the foot part of bag before I get in. Blue foam pad under my inflated pad. Worse case, I use a motel.

The Nalgene bottle is hopefully a really good tip. I'm a bit worried about my sleepingbag getting old and not going to keep me warm this summer. Hopefully bringing a Nalgene will give me some extra security!

Zip two bags together and snuggle with a friend. The best way to stay warm.

Do y’all have any informational videos about hammock camping? If not y’all might want to look into it. Since it’s becoming very popular these days. Something else to eat instead of shortbread cookies is beef sticks. It not only kicks your metabolism up but you’re also getting the added benefit of protein, which is important.

It hasn't happened to me for a long time because we have had a long run of very mild winters in the UK, but I once got up to find that my water bottle had frozen. No hot drink at breakfast until I had melted some of it down. I have never been anywhere as cold as the Antarctic. A mate of mine had a friend who used to work for the British Antarctic Survey. When camping on the ice he would have five roll mats under him and the cold would still seep through.

A fleece blanket works wonders.

Hot water bottle is a trick I learned a long time ago. Good stuff.

There are pocket warmers are great for heating the bags and they arent costly… you get them at sporting good stores nation wide

Try throwing a no-bake cheesecake mix in that hot water Nalgene bottle. Warm up with it all night and wake up in the morning to some cheesecake and coffee!🍰☕👍😎

Boy Scout tip : If your feet are cold. Wash them in cold water or with snow. Dry them thoroughly. They will react by warming up quickly in the sleeping bag as the circulation bounces back to compensate.

You can use hand warmers with long lasting ratings and just put a few inside your sleeping bag n that will keep you pretty warm too

I was looking forward to you doing the whole review in the thumbnail sleeping bag 😂

Pro tip put your pants and boots for the next day in the bottom of your bag 👌🏻

Thank you for the tips!

I put hand warmers in my bag. They last 18 hours

Tip for making sure your phone doesn't die from the cold is to keep it in your sleeping bag with you!

Always wonder why a band chose “three dog night” for their name. Found out in appalachia, people would use dogs to help keep them warm on exceptionally cold nights, the cold indicated by number of dogs- 2 dog night, 3 dog night being really cold. So bring your pooch!

I've been wanting to try winter camping and am in N IL, still a bit hesitant. It would basically be car camping so I should just give it a go

Toss a few hand warmers in your bag before you get in. Sleeping bags are nylon and nylon is always cold against your skin, so a liner made of plush material is cozier.

Very helpful!

Feathered friends bag with a base camp thermorest pad it could be 30 below and warm as toast .

Thank you!!

My sleep snack is peanut butter! Never leave home without it.

Weird, if I sleep dressed I FREEZE at night. If I sleep nekkid or nearly so I stay MUCH warmer. Even just losing the socks helps.

Put a kids sleep over bag inside your bag, then wrap the whole thing up in a space blanket. You will never be cold again. And our scout master use to have us eat a chocolate bar before bed.

She is too. Cute. REI needs to keep her on their videos .She does a Amazing job on the videos. Moving to Portland in a few months and the first place to visit is the REI store .Kinda. My dream place I would love to work at.

we need rei in switzerland.....

Hand warmers in the sleeping bag

Just bought a new pad! Didn't realize my old pad had such a low r value

True.

Zippo Hand Warmer - runs on gasoline, without a flame and adds a lot of warmth for several hours

We need a “how to sleep cool while keeping mosquitoes off” for us southern state campers. 😂

This is really great.

I usually tosh a few hot hand packets into my sleeping bag. 😊

Just perfect!

Well that was fun!

for frozen fingers, put under arm pits for 2 mins... Very sensible and informative video... keep it to 3 mins or less for 100x more viewing... talk fast, flick open the items, put some costs.

The more of these videos I watch the more I realize I’m going to die while backpacking.

i know the 'Benefits' of wool....But i'm allergic to WOOL! What alternative 'materials' does REI 'suggest'? Cheers!

HotHands body warmers are clutch

30% here for the content, 70% here for "this is my show, gosh darn"

...Cool....

Hand warmers at the bottom of the bag.

Great...now we're going to see 'Nalgene Wookies'...stuffed critters that you put your Nalgene inside of to 'snuggle with'. And why not mention MYLAR?! If you have a bedroll / sleeping pad, and lay mylar on top of it before putting your sleeping bag down, you'll get a LOT OF ADDED WARMTH from the mylar reflectivity of heat back into the bag! I've slept at -12F on an old military rubber pad, with a therma-rest on top of it, and mylar above that...and nearly broke a sweat in a 0F bag before! Total 'sleeping system weight'? Around 10-lbs (plus 4 for the tent...not bad, for excellent comfort at -12F!)

Can anyone tell me why ppl don’t use hot water bottles. I use em at home when fighting a fever/cold helps a lot

hahahah the thumbnail image

Also one needs to go to the toilet if needed that will add heating

Turn the heat up in your camper trailer.

Can we get some videos on tent set up? Like The REI kingdom 6 with a. MUDROOM. No videos anywhere on the mudroom