I Tested a Sleeping Bag, Quilt & Wool Blanket at 20°F — A Clear Winner!

Comments · 119

• JA

  @jaytowne8016 · 6 days ago

  The pad is absolutely vital!! The cold ground will suck the heat out of you to a level one can barely comprehend.

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• JO

  @johnbeattyphotos · 8 days ago

  I used a wool blanket my entire time in the military and it always kept me warm down to over a thousand feet... but, I was in a submarine, and the temp was always 72 degrees. :) &nbsp;<br>for real, I have used a sleeping bag and have tried a quilt. &nbsp;I keep my quilt for summer camping. &nbsp;I use a sleeping bag for all other times. &nbsp;I sleep like a rotisserie chicken, tossing and turning. &nbsp;I can not use a quilt to keep warm.

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• KA

  @kathleensanderson3082 · 3 days ago

  Here&apos;s a tip, though it does add something to your pack that not everyone is going to want to carry. Well worth it, though, if you are camping in cold weather (or live in a cabin in the Interior of Alaska which frequently gets down close to freezing indoors in the winter, like we used to). Take a rubber hot water bottle along with you. Just before you go to bed, heat some water as hot as you can stand to have it against your skin, and fill that hot water bottle, and take it to bed with you. It makes a world of difference in staying comfortable in cold conditions. (Two hot water bottles, one for your feet and one to put against your belly, is luxury.)

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• SN

  @Snuffy03 · 5 days ago

  Wool blanket in a canvas shell is top notch set up. That&apos;s &nbsp;why the old time cowboys used it as a bedroll.

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• LY

  @lyellclare9365 · 9 days ago

  A &quot;Sea to Summit &quot; sleeping bag liner used with any of the three treated products makes a huge difference.

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• RA

  @ramjetrth · 1 day ago

  The boy scouts taught me in winter camping to cut pine boughs and put them under the tent for insulation. Works great!

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• GE

  @georgewalruff6811 · 9 days ago

  Used the Army layered sleep system on just the issued closed cell foam pad in a snow trench with a poncho roof. Below 20 degrees and slept like a baby. Fleece cap, silk weight first layer and socks.<br><br>Also, in milder weather, you’ll need a pad on a cot as wind passing below will siphon off heat. If you use a fleece blanket, you’ll need a windproof top layer as that air passing over you will pass thru fleece and siphon off the heat as well.<br><br>In TX summer, doesn’t matter what you use. Too damn hot to sleep outside, unless you go up in elevation or drive to a cooler state.

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• JU

  @JustMeNobodyElse7755 · 9 days ago

  Agree with 100% of this video. An authentic Austrian military wool sweater and down pants are the”bonus” layer that get me (a cold sleeper) through the toughest sleeping conditions.

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• PA

  @paulc5333 · 3 days ago

  A useful and light weight option is to carry a rolled up pad of the thin twosided silver foil backed closed cell insulation like what the make car sunshades out of. It weighs almost nothing it reflects the cold from the ground back down and your body heat back up. For car campers carry a larger roll that fits the whole bottom of the tent and a carpet to go on top. Just a thought.

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• RO

  @royasandoval · 7 days ago

  I do quite a bit of multi-day backpacking. I&apos;m always looking for a way to lighten the load without compromising some degree of comfort. Sleep is incredibly high on the priority list because in terms of recovery, Sleep is King! I use an ultra light insulated sleeping pad, a 20-30 degree down quilt that I zipper up and close the bottom to like a mummy and I carry another light down quilt that I throw over the top. I&apos;m carrying an extra 18-20 oz of weight. However, cold nights of little or no sleep are off the table. &nbsp;I make up the 18 oz in investing in other low weight gear and being mindful of what NOT to take on a hike.

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• TI

  @timothyhines7845 · 4 days ago

  I have used a military wool blanket with a poncho serving as a shell sleeping on leaves in a &quot;ranger grave&quot; with either a shelter half or my second poncho staked over the hole in temps in the low single digits. Wasn&apos;t 5* accommodation, but I wasn&apos;t shivering all night. <br>Next morning, you leave the leaves, refill the hole, and replace the sod while your coffee heats in the canteen cup and your breakfast heats in its pouch. Then you pack up and roll out. <br>The hole works in hot weather as well. You just raise your cover tarp, poncho, shelter half whatever up a few inches to allow a breeze to flow.

• VI

  @virginia_the_elder · 3 days ago

  What I learned from camping in below 32 degrees. A Sears very cheap sleeping bag kept me more comfortable than my partners mummy bag. With a tarp under us. The only other thing I learned from the experienced camper was to keep my morning clothes in the bag with me. I learned later to take a sheet along because that kept me even warmer in colder temps.