How to camp in -20F or below: Advice from a Minnesotan

[@erikgroves5814]

Good stuff! One trick I learned a while ago to keep your phone working in cold weather is to take one of those foot warmer pouches that has the peel-n-stick on one side and stick on to the back of your phone. The warmth from the foot warmer keeps the phone and battery operational most of the day.

[@gotimejessemaloney5999]

That’s a fantastic hack. I will give that a shot. Thanks Erik!

[@ericjakob]

Great work man. You've got a new sub. I'm sorry to hear that people were upset with you for switching from the OR mitt in extreme temps. That must have been a very difficult time for you. Just know that an entire nation (Canada) has your back any time you decide to switch to a man's mitt.

[@ericjakob]

Personally, I've had my best winter sleeps when I carry a thicker bag and ditch the tent and mattress for a hammock and canopy tarp. It should lighten the gear and get you off the ground about 10x higher than the mattress you carry. The cool wind under your bottom is nothing compared to the frozen ground and can be mitigated with the heavier bag. The obvious assumption here is that you are headed to a wooded area to string the hammock up.

[@outdoorgearrepair9187]

Some day, I will graduate from MN and head even further north to really test my grit.

[@outdoorgearrepair9187]

@@ericjakob I have tried some hammocking, dug outs, and snow caving in the winter. I found the snow caves to be the warmest. I'm kind of a face freeze baby and so I like the tents as opposed to open air. I could have made an hour video with tons more hacks but the best one I've used is to heat up some rocks in the fire, then set them on some pine bows under your vestibule as you get into your tent for sleep. It heats up your tent like you wouldn't believe. The pine stops the rock from going sauna on the snow. By the time the rocks run cold, you are sleeping like a baby.