Staying Warm Over Night (without a camp fire)

[mjplewak]

Another Random Question...What does everyone do to stay warm when hunting overnight with a group? We want to just sleep overnight in our trucks (no campers, or tents), but making a fire the night before hunting can get stinky with smoke if you want scent control the next day.

Looking to be able to hang out and drink beer, but stay respectably warm.


Thanks!

[allan]

Ha ha ha! Drinking beer, and trying to stay scent free in my opinion is worse then having a fire.
But if you are just sitting around and too lazy to build a fire why not buy one of those propane fire pits?

[wideopenthrottle]

right or wrong, I have often used campfire smoke to hide my human scent....as far as staying warm, layer up and wear a touque.....park on a steep hill to tilt seats back better if you cant tilt them all the way back...try keeping a few heat packs handy to use if you wake up in the middle of the night with the chills...

sorry to derail but why do you not want to set up a proper camp?
cheers and good luck

[Moe.JKU]

if your by a vehicle just bring a spare set of clothes for in camp, and put your hunting clothes.

[mjplewak]

Wideopenthrottle, It a matter of free time and nailing a weekend where everyone can make it out. Setting a camp up take time and we want to keep it simple. Just show up, Sleep, wake up early to hunt the day and head home after last light to make it home to say good night to the kids. It is a power hunt...lol

[northernbc]

As above. Extra clothes and you should be able to make a fire in mind Jutes. Crazy not to. Keep the wind in your face.

[DarekG]

Wool!

But the propane fire pit is a good option that doesn't leave a lot of scent.

[JLsteel]

Puffy pants and jacket

[MichelD]

No canopy?

I sleep in mine even in November. Long under wear, tuque, down bag and a thick home-made fleece blanket on top too.

[Gateholio]

Hunters have been sitting around fires since time began. Just light a campfire and sit around it. Practice scent control by noting wind direction.

[Ferenc]

Good food ..... and pack lots of it .... when the temp drops big time.

[warnniklz]

I make sure I put on dry clothes for sleeping in. And when I'm changing, I even towel off. I may have been freezing my ass off all day, but I still make sure I'm bone dry before putting on sleeping clothes. I also make sure I wear a toque and socks to bed. Crack a window slightly so your warm breath doesn't create damp condensation inside the vehicle.

[warnniklz]

Hot water bottles in the sleeping bag also helps big time

[quadrakid]

If you don,t sit around a fire you are not hunting.

[ducktoller]

I make sure I put on dry clothes for sleeping in. And when I'm changing, I even towel off. I may have been freezing my ass off all day, but I still make sure I'm bone dry before putting on sleeping clothes. I also make sure I wear a toque and socks to bed. Crack a window slightly so your warm breath doesn't create damp condensation inside the vehicle.

Yupp forgot that last weekend when drunk and spent twenty minutes cold in the dark drying out my car before hunting

[S.W.A.T.]

Another Random Question...What does everyone do to stay warm when hunting overnight with a group? We want to just sleep overnight in our trucks (no campers, or tents), but making a fire the night before hunting can get stinky with smoke if you want scent control the next day.

Looking to be able to hang out and drink beer, but stay respectably warm.


Thanks!

Bring some ladies

[northof49]

Bring some ladies

much better idea than hot water bottles

[S.W.A.T.]

much better idea than hot water bottles

Skin to skin they say

[scoutlt1]

much better idea than hot water bottles

Not always.......

[caddisguy]

I don't think there is much a human can do to avoid getting winded no matter what they change regarding scent profile. There have been studies which demonstrated even the best scent control methods (ozone I think) only bought the hunter an extra couple of seconds before the dog busted him. Wind / thermals are everything and not dropping scent between feeding and bedding spots is best practice.

For staying warm, it all comes down to a good sleeping bag. I sleep in the jeep with a soft top and have done so below -20. I have a crappy sleeping bag, so I supplement with extra blankets. I keep my beer in my bag with me to prevent it from freezing and sometimes I'll bust out a hand warmer or too. Those late season nights (dark from 4pm until 8:30am) get a little long, so sometimes I load up a few movies on the tablet. I make tea and soup as well so I can keep sipping at something without getting carried away with the beer.

[Surrey Boy]

Hot soup, many layers, woolen underwear.

[ducktoller]

yeah until they steal all the covers.


Bring some ladies

[ducktoller]

Hot soup, many layers, woolen underwear. Hot soup and hot coffee

Don't bring potato and cheese dehydrated meals that you grabbed instead of egg and cheese, then added too little water too thinking it was eggs.

Dry pasty potatoes don't keep you warm

[ACB]

I don't think there is much a human can do to avoid getting winded no matter what they change regarding scent profile. There have been studies which demonstrated even the best scent control methods (ozone I think) only bought the hunter an extra couple of seconds before the dog busted him. Wind / thermals are everything and not dropping scent between feeding and bedding spots is best practice.

For staying warm, it all comes down to a good sleeping bag. I sleep in the jeep with a soft top and have done so below -20. I have a crappy sleeping bag, so I supplement with extra blankets. I keep my beer in my bag with me to prevent it from freezing and sometimes I'll bust out a hand warmer or too. Those late season nights (dark from 4pm until 8:30am) get a little long, so sometimes I load up a few movies on the tablet. I make tea and soup as well so I can keep sipping at something without getting carried away with the beer.
Put you beer in a cooler with no ice it won't freeze, it doesn't need to be a big cooler, number on thing to staying warm with out a fire is a good sleeping bag.

[gamehunter6o]

Keep your belt on the outside of your jacket, then put a bottle (glass with aluminium screw cap) of real hot water down front in the nearest layer closest you can stand to your flesh.
A warm belly keeps you warm.

[j270wsm]

I just tilt the seat back and throw a sleeping bag over myself. If I actually get cold......I start the truck! After all, your sleeping in your vehicle.

[keoke]

Milwaukee m12 heated hoodie with the m18 usb adapter so you can use the 18v 5 amp/hr batteries all night.

[HarryToolips]

Hunters have been sitting around fires since time began. Just light a campfire and sit around it. Practice scent control by noting wind direction.
Yup.....and as others have said, layer up, and if you have a good sleeping bag you should be fine..I've slept in my -20 C bag in about -18 I think was the coldest, wasn't the most comfortable sleep but I wore my hunting clothes and a belleclava with a touque..helped a lot..

[howa1500]

Scent control clothing, sprays, etc.. are all a sales scan, gimmicks to take hunters money. Research the studies, critters have incredible sense of smell. The only sure fire way to control scent is wind knowledge.

Have a fire, drink your beer, and eat some good food, then go out, and watch the wind.

[caddisguy]

Put you beer in a cooler with no ice it won't freeze, it doesn't need to be a big cooler, number on thing to staying warm with out a fire is a good sleeping bag.

I usually don't bring a cooler late season. If I do, its just a cheap soft one so any beer or water just goes in the sleeping bag by my feet.

Sleeping with a lot of layers of clothes as others mentioned helps too. I always make sure I have a dry set to sleep in.

Always think conduction. If any part of you is touching anything external it will just suck the heat right out of you.

Keeping my face warm has always been tricky. Often I will wake up with a numb face and put a blanket over it. The result is usually peeling a frozen blanket off my face first thing in the morning... crappy way to wake up. Ski mask or something that covers your face but has an opening for the mouth and nostrils is best.

[tadpole]

Big Agnes down sleeping bag with self inflating mattress is my savior. It is good up to -12*C. I fold down back seats in my 4Runner and sleep like a king. No hot water bottles or extra layers are needed.

[Squamch]

A good quality sleeping bag, and NOT a bunch of clothes. I hate sleeping all layered up. Underwear and a t-shirt. The sleeping bag gets warmer faster, and then sleep the night away.

[Crackshot007]

I find it interesting that a lot of people are concerned over the smell of camp fire on their hunting clothes. I don't as my theory is most of the deer I hunt are in big BURNED cut blocks that smell like fire....I have had many deer come withing meters of me and just walk on by. White Tail, different story at least for me.

[VFX_man]

As others have said, the key is to get out of your clothing at night. The moisture from perspiration will keep you damp and cold that night and the next day.


I built a platform in the back of my 4Runner that created a elevated flat surface that got above the rear tire wells. Threw a camp mattress on it (with 2 sleeping bags) and my gear under it, rigged up a "privacy" curtain around the inside rear compartment and magnetic screen over the front windows to keep bugs out if I needed to vent.


If it would have been colder, might have used the tea candles in a coffee can to heat up the vehicle or used a few heat packs. OH, love the foor warmer heat packs while outside -- if your feet are warm . . . so is the reast of you.
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.consumeraffairs.com/amp/news/stuck-in-a-blizzard-heres-an-inexpensive-emergency-heating-system-012914.html


As it was, we stayed cozy down to -1 inside. And just turned the engine on in the am to heat up.


I'd rig a hanging line in the front seat to "dry" out the clothing over night.

-VFX

https://i.imgur.com/W7vKb1M.jpg

[VLD43]

As far as your concern goes regarding smoke, it's a non-issue. Cold in your case though, is a result of making bad choices. Sleeping in a vehicle is definitely colder than sleeping outside in the same weather. Take a Siltarp and a ground sheet, and your set. The other factor affecting you is the beer. Any alcoholic beverages will actually lower your body temperature. Here's a link. http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/mythbusters-database/alcohol-warms-up/

[Rob Chipman]

Good sleeping pad (not air mattress); good bag; merino wool undies (I noticed an improvement, anyway); toque for balding head (makes a huge diff and better than the ball cap); nalgene bottles filled with hot water and slid into your dirty stinky moist socks (they'll be dry and good to go in the morning and the water from the stream is boiled, safe, and cooled down for drinking that day); lots of food (fuel the machine).

I'm good to -15 under a tarp that way, so you should be great in a truck.

[caddisguy]

Our sleeping bags are pretty lousy. They say they are rated to -20C but I think that just means you might not die in optimal circumstances. Not ready to fork out a bunch of money on new sleeping bags so we just make sure we have a spare set of dry clothes and lots of extra blankets. Being in Region 2, we only see a few 10-20C trips every year. Sleeping in cars is a great. Less time spent setting up / tearing down or drying out tents especially for us weekend warriors pulling 2-4 night trips. This is how we roll for a lot of the spring and fall.

https://i.imgur.com/5bqA2RB.jpg

Sadly the top on this jeep is hosed so I was out of comission last weekend. Got the new top yesterday, but I think installing it in the cooler weather is going to be very difficult. I will try tomorrow but failing that I need to look for a heated garage we might miss another weekend.

[HiredGoon]

Get down to your underwear/naked in your bag, and if you have to take a piss/#2 over night- do it!
Your body heats your waste and holding it in just saps energy that could be going towards keeping you warm.

[Drillbit]

Get down to your underwear/naked in your bag, and if you have to take a piss/#2 over night- do it!
Your body heats your waste and holding it in just saps energy that could be going towards keeping you warm.

Pro tip.

If you have to pee in the middle of the night, Pee in a jug and throw it in the bottom of your sleeping bag to warm your feet up!

[Goose]

Pro tip - ask a bear to be big-spoon, for a change

[srupp]

I have 2 of the heaters that use rosingnol lighter fluid..stainless steel body in pouch..stays warm for 12 hours on full fill..
Heats body core when sitting in whitetail stand..
Steven

[Nimrod]

Scent control clothing, sprays, etc.. are all a sales scan, gimmicks to take hunters money. Research the studies, critters have incredible sense of smell. The only sure fire way to control scent is wind knowledge.

Have a fire, drink your beer, and eat some good food, then go out, and watch the wind.
couldn't agree more
Your never going to control your scent to where they cant smell you, play the wind and understanding air movement.
Nights are too long to go to bed with a chill, bring your saw, get a ripping fire going and enjoy, if you don't have a good bag cook up some smooth rocks wrap in a towel and snuggle that till morning.

[simonvancouver]

A good quality sleeping bag, and NOT a bunch of clothes. I hate sleeping all layered up. Underwear and a t-shirt. The sleeping bag gets warmer faster, and then sleep the night away.

Have to agree with this, also a hot nalgene bottle in the sleeping bag before getting in it heats up the bag quickly.. and gives you water to drink come morning

[Kami]

25 years ago I bought the best down mummy bag that I could afford at MEC. -40C rated I think. That damn bag was the best money I think I ever spent in my life. Year round comfort. I have unzipped it and used it as a flat comforter in the summer. Warm nite camping it works well too. It's so comfortable. I have slept in -20C in comfort. Some folks don't like being zipped up and restricted in a mummy bag. Best ever comfort! I mean ever, when camping. Sleeping in a vehicle? No problem. It rolls up to about the size of a rugby ball, when I use a compression sack. I free hang it at home in a closet to breathe when not in use. Was it expensive? Yes. It truly is worth 10X what I paid, for the comfort and warmth is brings. I still own it today and will for life I suspect. Great, investment. Best piece of camping/hunting gear I own.

This will do the average camper for many many years: https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5025-642/Thor-2-Windstopper-Sleeping-Bag--30C

[mike_69]

if your sleeping bag isn't the greatest get a inexpensive thermal sheet and fold it in half length wise. Sew the edge together from the bottom half way up the side and slide it into the bag.... Makes a huge difference in colder weather... As far as scent from a fire affecting my hunt, I have never noticed a difference. Have had deer and moose walk up to me and as long as I didn't move they continued by without notice..
Enjoy some good times by the fire, it's all part of the hunt.

[tinbird]

I'm guessing with the odd fire in BC this past season, smoke isn't a completely foreign odor to wildlife :)

[nitro hunter]

Or the green leafy substance that gets smoked.

[1/2 slam]

A good quality sleeping bag, and NOT a bunch of clothes. I hate sleeping all layered up. Underwear and a t-shirt. The sleeping bag gets warmer faster, and then sleep the night away.

I couldn't agree more. If you have a quality bag strip down. They reflect your body heat back and you will be be warm and toasty. If you have to layer up you most likely have a shitty bag. Layering up in a good bag defeats the purpose.