Camping can be enjoyable, but the real challenge is adapting to the weather’s unpredictability all the time. Yes, you might feel ready knowing the expected temperature at night, but sudden weather changes can make staring at a colder night than what was expected. So, it is essential to prepare with a sleeping bag that can make you survive the unexpected coldness and make you warm overnight.
But how to make a sleeping bag warmer? The ideal sleeping bag should have the comfort of at least 10°F higher than what was your expected temperature during the night. However, this type of sleeping bag tends to be more expensive. If you currently own a regular sleeping bag, you can still make it warmer during the night by simply following some changes that you can do to your old sleeping bag o make it warmer at night.
Doing Minor Changes Can Make a Sleeping Bag Warmer
Make some changes in your sleeping bag can work wonders in increasing its effectivity particularly in making you warm at night. You can simply add accessories that can help improve the temperature or change the warmer location compared to the original place. Please check on our complete list below:
Choosing the Right Ground for your Campsite
The correct location of the campsite can contribute to the temperature during the night. For example, sleeping in the rock may sound like an excellent idea, but it will suck your body heat, making you colder at night. Meanwhile, a leafy or grassy ground can be a perfect location to make your sleeping bag warmer. But make sure to avoid those grounds with too many high grasses since wild animals might be lurking on you during the night.
If the temperature is too cold, piling up dead leaves or pine needles while raising the tent on top of them can somehow reduce the coldness. You are actually creating a layer that prevents the ground from swallowing the heat in you while helping you sleep comfortably. It may sound challenging to do, but I tell you, you can only allocate about 15 minutes of your time in exchange for sleeping comfortably during the night.
Putting the Sleeping Pad in the Bag
Many campers use to roll off their sleeping pad then suddenly woke up feeling cold because the ground has already swallowed their body heat. The simple solution that many campers do is putting the sleeping pad inside the sleeping bag. The pad will also fill the empty space in the bag, which results in trapping more heat. This situation will somehow improve and eliminate some coldness.
Putting an Emergency Blanket Under the Sleeping Pad
Emergency blankets help you get warmer at night by reflecting the heat back to you, which means lesser heat is lost. It might not give you the warmest feeling, but an emergency blanket weighs less than adding another sleeping pad. Another upside of having an emergency blanket is it can also help save your life during emergencies.
Adding a Thermal Liner to your Sleeping Bag
A thermal liner is an excellent option rather than buying an additional sleeping bag to make you warmer at night. Many different thermal liners are found in the market today, and most of them can help eliminate or control the cold during the night. My suggestion is to use cotton, silk, or fleece liner, which are the most well-known thermal liners in the market.
By adding a thermal liner into your bag, you can have the flexibility you need in dealing with different weather conditions. You can use it in the winter season or still use the sleeping bag on its own in other conditions and the liner only during the summer. Having a removable thermal liner will also keep the sleeping bag cleaner, giving you a better condition.
Adding a Hot Water Bottle
Another way to deal with colds at night at your campsite is to bring a hot water bottle and use it to make you warmer. All you have to do is heat your cooking pot with water, then pour it into the hot water bottle. Then, you can tuck it into your sleeping bag for you to snuggle and bring some warmth during the night. Another way is to prepare before you sleep to pre-heat your bed before going into sleep. For sure, it will help increase the temperature of your body that will help you sleep comfortably.
What You Can Do to Yourself to Make the Sleeping Bag Warmer
Apart from making some changes to your sleeping bag, there are also things that you can do to yourself to make the sleeping bag warmer. Please check on the list below:
Try to Wear Thermal Clothing
Wearing thermal underwear can be the warmest set of clothing that you can wear in dealing with cold nights. This clothing is the base layer where it will trap the warmth against your skin which can help in controlling the cold at night. You can also layer your clothes atop your thermal base layer to ensure that the air will be trap in the fabric and keep you warmer at night. Doing this action is much better than adding a single thick layer of clothes.
Putting Those Socks and Beanies
Did you know that we can lose some body heat through our head by about 30%? This fact is the reason why wearing a beanie when going to bed can help you keep warmer at night. You can also tighten the hood of your sleeping bag to corner more warmth. All you have to do is keep your nose free, so you are not breathing into your sleeping bag, which might create moisture during the night.
Feeling too cold at night will take some blood away from your hand and feet, which is integral to all your vital organs. But using gloves on your hands and socks to your feet can keep both of them warm and keeping the blood continue flowing to give your comfort and better sleep at night.
Conclusion
Learning how to make a sleeping bag warmer can help if your bag is not built to withstand the expected coldness at night. You can do many things to the sleeping bag and to yourself to at least make it warm during the night. No matter how old or the lack of quality of the bag, those tips above can help you keep warm at night.