E-Mail 'Cold Weather Considerations - Part 4, by JM' To A Friend

18 Comments

1. Just a thought on power bars or Clif bars or any type of snack bars that many people carry in their packs or coat pockets for a treat, if you notice these all seem to have a very shinny surface on the inside of the package which could come in very handy as a signaling device in an emergency if lost. Trekker Out

2. On a four wheeler, ATV, I always carry several fussee railroad flares for signalling or starting a fire. Saved my life one winter at 9000 feet; hypothermic and confused, but I could start a good fire with limited intelligence and little dexterity.

3. This is certainly a fun series. Thank you for writing it.

   In our region with evergreen trees and heavy wet snows, people often build their fire right next to the trunk. The limbs do dissipate smoke, but oftentimes the snow drops right off the limbs in big sloppy chunks right onto the fire….. or your tent, if it is under the trees. Amusing to observe it happen to others, but not so much when you fire goes out and it is your meal and gear that gets sloppy wet. Observe and thrive, friends.

   Heavy snow this week closed off one of the few winter highways through the mountains. Snow-loaded trees keep breaking off powerlines so people in those remote areas lost power for several days to a week so far.

   It has amused all prepper types to see the resident interviewed on TV saying : ‘This is hell. No power means no telephone, no internet, no news. On a scale of one to 10 this is a 10. The governor should do something.” This, as the guy was sitting in his nice warm pickup truck with his wife.

   Buddy, it horrifies ME to see you saying this and confirming there are very many dangerous people out there with your mindset, which is a very short distance from looting and pillaging others.

4. Back in the 70s on winter exercise in Alaska, the Army used an Artic overbag over the standard Mountain bag, That way you could use one or both depending on the temps, plus an insulated air mattress. Plus a gasoline burning stove to keep the air temp in the squad tent just below freezing.

   One night in the woods at Ft Wainwright as we were all tucking into our bags, there was a “whoosh” and all the air came out of a Sergeant’s mattress. That four or five inches of air was sorely missed, even with two sleeping bags and several cardboard C-Rat boxes under him.

5. If Bic lighters is kept close to the body, they are reliable in cold weather, but I’ve never used one to light a fire in extreme cold weather, such as -20F. If kept warm in the hand while lighting tinder, I suspect it would be fine. Mine gets hung around the neck under the shirt. It is wrapped in duct tape that can be used as tinder.

   There are also high power butane lighters that produce a very hot flame. These can heat up very cold tinder to produce a flame. Yet I have to agree that a an old fashioned zippo lighter would be best. I have also used alcohol stoves for months at a time as a primary way of cooking. European armies have used alcohol stoves for decades. They work good. Use a 90 percent concentration or higher of any kind of alchol. A home made stove is easy to make and can be made with a variety of materials. One of the simplest and smartest is the Hobo Stove. Use a 1/2 pint stain or paint can. Roll up toilet paper and fill the inside. Cover the toilet paper wick with alcohol and light. To extinguish, simply place the lid over the can. Let cool, then reseal the lid on the can for a leak proof container for transport. Unused alcohol will not be wasted. A clean burning small alcohol stove can be a life saver and heat cold hands and be used under a tarp etc. Wax stoves also work.

   BTW, a hammock with 2 closed foam pads is good enough most of the time, if the temperature is higher than 10 degrees F. Hammocks can be used in steep terrain and other usual places. To further insulate a hammock set up close to the ground, pile pine boughs under and around it.

   There are many ways for getting it done. Eat a very greasy or fatty meal before bed time to give the body hours of fuel to increase it’s temperature. Extra lard and olive oil in the meal will do. I like the MSS (military sleep system) because of the good quality and versatility for the money. It is in my price range. The gortex bivy bag may not be best if used in dry cold conditions as it retains moisture in some cases. Experiment with and with out the bivy. It is good, but certainly mediocre compared to the best bages out there. Get the best if you can. The gortex bivy can be used with any bag and allows one to stay dry even if hidden deep in the bushes. The bivy is great for BOB. I prefer a tarp, yet would compromise to stay well hidden.

   1. I used a Bic lighter last week when camping out during a heavy wet snowstorm to try to light my campfire. I lit it, got a flame, and reached down to light my tinder. It lit the tinder which, died out immediately. On the second try, a huge wet snowflake fell onto it, and extinguished the flame and doused the strike area with water. After that the lighter wouldn’t wouldn’t work. I wasn’t in an emergency situation, but that got my heart beating quickly, as my mind raced and thought, “What if that had been my only fire source?” Thankfully, it wasn’t, I had water proof matches that lit my fire after using two of them. Always have multiple ways with you to start a fire.

      Lily

      1. That is a valuable story. Gotta have fire. I may start carrying a short chunk of road flare, and a zippo lighter. A good test of fire starting skills is to run out right after a rain storm, and start a fire with only a knife and lighter. It was a realty check for myself, and good motivation to carry an excess of ways to create spark and flame located in several places on the person and in the pack. 3 Bic lighters is not excessive to carry, ferro rod, butane blow torch, char cloth, cotton balls/petroleum jelly, small candle, dryer lint, duct tape, ranger bands, alcohol wipes, fuel tabs, storm matches, fat wood, alcohol stove etc.

      2. Forgot to mention that a fire can be started under a tarp in rainy or snowy weather. And if the tarp is high enough and at a very steep angle, a tiny fire can be maintained. The problem with synthetic materials is that sparks can put a hole in them, and they can catch fire. Good old Army duct that is treated with fire retardant, makes for indestructible tarps. Reproduction heavy canvas are not treated with fire retardant, but are far more durable than the light weight sil-nylon stuff. If car camping, or using other for conveyance, the heavy canvas is unbeatable, unless of course you gotta put on your back. Another option is a 1000 denier nylon tarp. I had one custom made. These are much more puncher proof, and a little more resistant to sparks, and can be made to be versatile with all kinds of tie outs, and will not rot like canvas, or duct. However, a 9×12′ weighs 9 pounds.

      3. Avalanche Lily – as much as I dislike the idea of relying on technology too much, I’ve actually pretty much switched to one of those electronic plasma lighters I referenced above as my primary fire starter. I’ve been using it for more than a year in all kinds of weather conditions, including -10F temperatures, and it’s always come through. I still carry a bic lighter and ferro rod for backup, but I really like the plasma’s ease of use, reliability and the fact it’s easily recharged from a USB battery or a small solar panel.

6. Just got home from the second hand store, don’t over look these places. Bought one short sleeve and two long sleeve tee’s 100% silk in excellent condition for just a little over 12 dollars total. getting ready to put them in the washer. Love these stores, never know what kinda bargain your gonna find. Trekker Out

7. A bad idea to wrap sleeping bag with mylar ‘Space Blanket’. While it does reflect heat back, it also prevents water vapor from leaving, causing the bag to become soggy over time and reduces the bag’s rating. So be sure to zip open bag and air out during day to remove as much moisture as possible. Socks and a head cover will help you sleep warm.

   Thank you for writing this – some good thoughts and feedback read.

8. Not sure the concept of putting things inside sleeping bag in back pack to keep from freezing. It it does not produce heat, or have heat, it can not store heat within an insulated area. In other words, it’s a cold environment, equal to the outside temps, over time.

   1. Anonymous – the logic behind wrapping things in your sleeping bag is to provide enough insulation to keep what you wrap from losing whatever heat it already has and hopefully reducing the chances of it freezing. How well it works is going to depend a lot on conditions. That’s actually one of the things the US military recommends in their cold-weather manuals for protecting MREs.

9. Thanks for the tip about the affordable Coleman sleeping bag. I’ve been looking for a cold weather bag as mine is a summer-weight “car-camping” type of bag. This one I can actually afford! It may not be as good as some of the higher-quality expensive ones but it’s got to be better in colder weather than my present bag!

10. Be careful using wax based products (sawdust logs, paraffin stoves) in an enclosed environment. Inhaling a lot of it can be fatal, the wax coats the inside of the lungs. OTOH, good old cheap waxed paper is some of the best tinder out there.

11. Yep, setting your glove on fire is for real. One -20 campfire by the river, I noticed something odd. Then, I jammed my flaming mitten into the snow. The leather shell was now a withered mess. I never felt the heat through the layers of wool liners. A friend helped me find some leather to make a new one, that was never as good as the original. Sigh.

    Carry on

12. While in the Guard, we did a winter overnight training in -20 cold. For sleeping, we first laid down visqueen as a vapor barrier. Over that we had our sleeping mat and both wool blankets folded to fit the mat. Next, we fluffed the crap out of the Extreme Cold Weather sleeping bags. Slept in long underwear and socks. Stayed warm all night, and only had a 6″ melted spot (deer bed) on the frozen ground under my hips. Other guys tried their Therm-a-rest pads and other gear, and wound up cold all night, with torso sized deer beds under them. I’ve learned the lesson of having 7 times the amount of insulation below you than above. Wish they would have taught that back in Boy Scouts.

    For in the car, I keep a 1″ neoprene pad, wool blanket, and either my military mountain bag or a 15 degree bag. The mountain bag (50 degree) can go to about 20 degrees before it gets cold.

13. Colemans Surplus has very good thermos bottles on sale. Solid fuel bars are very good but the foil pouches puncture easily and degrade Fast. Try a mylar sheet inside the bottom of a bivy bag-no heat loss to ground,no wet spot to give up opsec(we know how many by the camp site),no excess condensation inside bag(only on bottom).

Comments are closed.