Hey Matti, thanks for the video. Here is some of my tricks. I also prepare hot water for the next morning coffee before I go to sleep. Thermos Ultimate Insulation 900 ml keeps water hot for the coffee and my oats with honey. I keep thermos in neoprene telephoto pouch. This way I can have my coffee and breakfast still in my sleeping bag without messing up with a stove... I also keep 0.5 litter Nalgene bottle with very warm water(not hot) inside dry bag and in my sleeping bag in case I need to drink at night. Winter air is very dry and drinking ice cold water at night is not a good thing. If I need to pee, the last thing I want is to go out, particularly if there is snow storm outside. Pee bottle like Nalgene Wide Mouth Cantene is the weapon :) of my choice. I put Vaseline on the cap thread so it doesn't freeze. I keep spare dry middle top layer and socks inside my sleeping bag during the night. This way I can be half dressed in the morning without shock of putting on ice cold clothes. I am like you prefer to have slow time in the morning. One of the things I do before I take off is to prepare hot lunch/dinner for the evening in my 0.5l Thermos food jar. Winter days are short and in 5-6 hours it is night again. It is so much nicer to eat hot mashed potatoes mixed with sardines(one of my favorites) instead of munching on nuts or other snacks. Be well. Stay safe.
That's the first time I have heard someone say that when you are in your sleeping bag, if you need to pee and don't, you will be cold. This has been clear to me for many years, it is always best to pee straight away then you will be much warmer. So much good information, thank you Matti.
Learn from the Master 😎 I remember being out in the cold with Matti and he really built what felt like a cathedral from a tunnel tent and the underlying snow - with a seating area for several people near the entrance and he himself would sit elevated on the 'altar side' of the cathedral, like a happy Buddha surrounded by coloured lighting 😉, preparing delicious food 🤗
If you have to leave the tent in the night, try to enjoy the night, probably there are stars or the moon, hear the silence, see the darkness, feel the cold. Of course it takes some overcoming to leave the warmth but it is such a powerful experience alone in a cold winter night. And getting back in the still warm sleeping bag is also a great pleasure. So, I am sometimes a bit sad, if I weak up in the morning realizing I wasn't out at night...
That’s right. In this area we got the northern lights… suddenly I standing outside dressed only in my underwear and photographing the sky… That’s so beautiful and cold. 😀 /Matti
I also really love the morning routine from the sleeping bag. it’s always my best time of day. Hadn’t thought of keeping the headlamp around my neck at night. good way to preserve the battery too with body heat. great tips!!
Very good Matti! Thank you. Interesting to me to see you are not the only Swede with Western Mountaineering sleeping bag(s). I have two. Bags that is, not Swedes, the best ever! Well maybe two Swedes would also be best ever😅. Been to your country a couple of times. Fantastic, but never until recently recognized the natural connection between your country and, at least, the high country of the Rocky Mountains where I live 😊😊!
@Matti & Stena: One dish/meal I can recommend for winter/cool conditions' camping... is Oats... to be cooked slowly in water, with a tiny bit of salt added to the water, plus graded cinemon upon personal preference. Cook until it starts thickening.. close to the point it would get slightly stuck to the pan... then stir it up well, and add little butter or thick sweet cream, and a bit of date-syrup.... this is delicious with a good mug of Matti's coffee.... 😊
Oat is great! It contains a lot of good stuff. It’s also very good food for the money you pay and it’s really good energy and so per gram you have to carry! Do you make it like porridge? /Matti
Oat is also very good with maple syrup or maple granules (I'm from Québec... the land of maple syrup 😋!), I often add dry fruits like cranberries and/or blueberries, little bits of crystalized ginger... why oat should be dull? Thank you for your good idea of adding a bit of butter in it, I will try it next time, in winter we need more energy.
Two boys from my High School went camping with their Father. A stand alone propane heater provided warmth in their camper. After they went to bed, their Dad forgot to turn the heater off. The camper was not ventilated properly and all three of them died in their sleep.
That’s really sad… 😢 I have friends who have been close to die. It has been people with experience… and still… Ventilation and stoves inside the tent. It’s really serious stuff! Maybe I should make a dedicated video only about that subject? Thanks for pushing little bit extra hard on this. /Matti
That is extremely sad. I am homeless living in the woods. Even when it's cold at night ...I extinguish my fire before bed... I get warm get in my blankets and sleep. I'm so afraid the woods will catch fire in the night
Glad to hear that the first thing you do after sledding is tend to the dogs. Out there the last thing you need is a mutiny! Lol...but on a serious note.... Your tips help alot in less extreme conditions here in the up northeastern United States. Not quite as cold or severe winds...but still great tips for just incase.
As someone has already mentioned, a Pee Bottle is a must for me. I use a 2 or 3 litre wide necked plastic bottle that previously contained Washing Machine liquid and then I also have something to extinguish my camp fire with next morning. Secondly, I swear by a simple rubber Hot Water bottle or two even, one for the feet another for wherever needed but usually on the body's core area. Do you not use a Carbon Monoxide detector inside your tent?
My takeaway - to put my headlamp around my neck when I crawl into my sleeping bag so I KNOW where it is when I want/need it. Up til now I've wasted huge amounts of time groping around trying to find it. Up til now, sometimes I put it in a pocket on my tent's interior & then forget which pocket. Sometimes I've put it inside my sleeping bag & then have to waste time/energy feeling around for wherever it's hiding. I do keep my fuel canister inside a thick wool sock & inside my sleeping bag to keep it warm. Warm Regards from Reno, Nevada U.S.A.
So many interesting things in this video. The belt shown is interesting for example and the led lights string in a tent is very nice. Not seen that before. Love details like on the width of mats. I often feel that some thin isolation mats are a bit too narrow. As for the air mat, I still only have hand pumps... perhaps time for an electrical. Just a bit worried that an electical will not work when I need it most and add weight for no good reason. Have a new four season air mat of same brand, but believe it is a more narrow and shorter model. This far, it does the job, but would have been nice with 5 cm extra width on the center mass. If one is a big tall person, it gets harder to find find sleeping systems that have even the slightest margin on size. For solo travels, I am currently restricted on weight as I carry everything on my person and is not 25 years any longer. Also, getting harder for me to set camp in darkness, If I can plan for it, I tend to plan to avoid setting camp in the evening. Of course, in some places there is litle day light anyways.and of course visibility can change quickly due to changing weather. Many things gets slower in very poor visibility and I feel there are more risks involved. Like loosing gear, stepping onto or into something bad on the ground or gettick a branch in your face. In some military situations, back in the days I could not have any lights and then I learned about the risk of going off too long from my shelter and then having trouble finding it. Not putting small gear and items all over on the ground is also a matter of keeping good order. Keeping good order in camp goes hand in hand with safety and security.
Very helpful, thanks! I could immediately relate to two things from living in a coal-heated flat for 30 years that got freezingly cold at night when the heater went out: one, if you need to pee in the night and are reluctant to go, you'll get cold. Best to go right away. Two, you need something to look forward to for getting up in the morning. It makes getting up and bracing against the cold so much easier.
Thanks so much for this! I don't know if I'll ever get to do this style of hotcamping (how I'd love too), but watching this was fascinating. I hope to snowshoe camp with my backpacking set up (Hilleberg) and can transfer so many of your tips and advice to that I am sure! 👍
Awesome video. Matti, do you have any guidance on using a vapour barrier liner in your sleep system? Thank you. Also, I'm really looking forward to your Nortent Gamme 6 review. Best regards :)
Really enjoy your videos and seeing how you set up and organise your camp. Winter in the UK is different to where you are but there are lots of good ideas I can use. I’m a light sleeper so always take some podcasts and videos to watch. Yes, it’s extra weight and it uses battery power but if I have trouble to get to sleep or get back to sleep, I have something to distract me. Important when the nights are so long. Also, always take a pee bottle with me, so I can avoid going out into cold rain and wind. That can chill you very quick and take a lot of moisture back into the tent. Slightly different note- I was wondering what temperatures your dogs can take outside overnight?
That’s a great input about podcasts, music etc. I very often listen to podcasts. I really enjoy to zip my coffee and listen to some stories etc. 😀 /Matti in Jokkmokk
This wool sweater is great. Sadly… super difficult to buy. We get them from a guy who imports them from Nepal. We meet this guy once a year. The first Thursday in February we got the winter festival in Jokkmokk and then this brothers, Himalayan Wool Brothers, selling this amazing piece of clothing. You have to come to Jokkmokk! :-) /Matti
I learned so much! You went to a lot of detail and tips from the cooking tips to the restroom. I hope my family and I can start camping soon. You provided a lot of education.
Thats great! Start easy! Start in the garden. It’s in one way harder to camp in the garden because it’s so easy to give up. But it’s a good way to just try a little bit. It’s also good if you makes it without your family. Then you have get more experience before bringing them out. :-) Aim for the Small steps. You know… if you want to reach next floor in a house you never jump directly up there. You have to take a lot of steps in the stairs. ;-) /Matti
I was thinking the backyard! Thank you for confirming! I will definitely take note of those tips. So kind of you to take the time to share! I’ve enjoyed watching you both. Happy and safe travels 😊👍🏼
Thanks so much for the feature of our SilverAnt Titanium French Press - the woodstove is roaring! Loved the information and ingenuity of the gear choices
Pee at night - use a pee bottle in the tent (there is equipment for women), empty in the morning. You only need to half get out of sleeping bag. I have a rectangular pee bottle - not good to confuse it in the dark with my Nalgene water bottle :-)
I have a lot of friends who use that. I think it is a great idea… but… there is something in my brain that tells me to not do that… 🤣 I think your tactic with very specific bottle for toilet is a super idea… Thanks for your input. /Matti
I with you on this one. I have a round 16oz Nalgene bottle that I can pee into while still partially in my Western Mountaineering Antelope (5ºF) sleeping bag. Warm Regards from Reno, Nevada U.S.A.
hello to Reno. I lived there (actually Sparks) for part of a year in 1973, before going to northern BC near the Yukon for 6 years. Kitimat had 22 feet of snow a year - that's when I started using pee bottles.@@azclaimjumper
Of course the pee bottle does double duty - you can put it in your sleeping bag (in a ziplock for safety) and it helps keep you warm - urine is 98°F. @@JOKKMOKKGUIDERNA
I have the same exped sleeping mat. Perfectly happy using the pump bag that comes with it. Takes all of one minute to fully inflate it. Why buy yet another gadget, carry it with you (10x the weight of the pump bag), and still have to bring the pump bag because you can't depend on a battery in the winter?
You are totally correct! You anyway need the pump bag because you don’t get enough with pressure from the pumps. All this extra gear like electric pumps etc is not good for the environment. All this unnecessary equipment is just destroying our planet. /Matti
Peeing, anywhere for us guys, the trick is taking care of #2 when out in the boonies. The "trick" is to put a rock under the heel of each boot, dig a small hole between the rocks, step up onto the rocks, drop your drawers, squat, & let go. No need to lean up against anything or hold onto anything to keep from falling over. Cody Lundin taught me this "rocks & squat" method. Warm Regards from Reno, Nevada U.S.A.
Great video, thanks. Would love your tips on a cold tent camping trip, which is what I use. Esp. regarding cooking and ventilation, condensation management etc.
That’s a great subject!!! It’s also very difficult to avoid condensation. Have you seen our video about condensation? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-V5BdfL684n0.htmlsi=WS4CFvHqWvi_i6F7 /Matti
I have two cameras I’m using. Sony A7iii and Sony A7iv. Almost everything in this video has been shot with the older Sony A7iii and 20mm/1.8. The Sony A7iv has more pixels so that’s less good for lowlights. Now I’m looking at the Sony ZV-E1 because it is even better for lowlights… /Matti
I'd imagine in Sweden your water is cleaner than here in America. I'm looking for practical information on how to best purify water in freezing conditions. I have a MSR mini with a ceramic filter - freezing isn't good for it. I've heated water over a fire, put it in a 4 liter dry bag, then purified that, but I still have to make sure the unit doesn't freeze. Any thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you
I think lots of people looking at the video with me to have chance of some underwear scenes with me… 🤣 Stina doesn’t agree with me, but know I can show her this positive comment! 😎 /Matti
I forgot to add some b-rolls of her sleeping on a sleeping pad with her jacket inside the tent. She had a warm and cosy spot. After the diarrhoea I didn’t want her in my sleeping bag… as normal… 😃 /Matti
great, I will soon be up in Lappland as well with my Border Collie Toni, he is used to the cold, but not that cold. I am trying to protect him and got some gear from non-stop, I hope he will be alright. Would like to go on a dog-sled trip - half a day with you guys and bring Toni - do you think this is possible? He did that before in Norway when he was very young. Will be in Jokkmokk around the wintermarket, hope to see you again.
Interesting… Why does you think like that? In the modern world we usually avoid fat as an energy resource. Most of the people can’t burn fat without having a part of the energy from carbohydrates. Back in the old days, people were much more likely to eat a lot of fat. /Matti
This is interesting, but anyone eating with their mouth open means I'm out, especially into a microphone. Sound advice otherwise though, thanks for posting.
