brrrrrr

“Hi everyone. I was just wondering how many of you do any winter camping. I was in the Arctic Infantry for 11 years and did a LOT of winter camping. We had huge tents, sleds to pull our gear and great Yukon stoves that would heat up a ten man tent in about 5 minutes. I enjoyed the winter activities much more than summer or spring - the bugs, I hate the bugs!! I've been out of the Army for about 7 years and I'm going to start backpacking again, this time alone or with one of my sons - the wife wants nothing to do with it. :(

I've got no gear right now and am just starting to look for some. Any ideas on what the newest trends are and where the best places to look for good deals are would be greatly appreciated.

Funniest thing I ever saw: I was in the Army Reserves in Waterloo, Iowa, we had made a long movement during the day and it had been sleeting and raining all day. Obviously quite slick and dangerous. Our platoon leader (a young 2nd Lt. - I was the platoon sgt. E6) decided to make his way up the side of a steep hill. He decided about halfway up to try to walk on a footpath, slipped and fell. He caught himself on a small piece of shrubbery and as he was trying to right himself fell again, but this time slipped over sideways and began to slide down the slope right towards us. All the guys were laughing their asses off when he finally came to rest at our feet. He could have been seriously injured or even killed. He stood up and rather than laugh about the whole thing tried to make everyone stop laughing at him. It was pathetic, he was not our platoon leader after that scene. Too funny. Thanks in advance for any help you may have to offer.”

“Icepak - I'm a loyal customer to Campmor (www.campmor.com), as they have great prices and customer service. A lot of people here also seem to like REI.

I just saw in the new Cabella's catalog a combo stove, lantern, tent heater. Different attachments for each function. The tent heater had two metallic, aluminum foil-like tubes running off some gadget attached to the canister. In the catalog, they say the heated air is without fumes. It looked intriguing enough that's for sure!

Best of luck!”

“I go with Campmor myself. Look on this site at the reviews of different gear.”

“Backpacker magazine puts out a gear guide about this time of year. Chucked full of ads and info about hiking products. Check your local newsrack for this and other hiking oriented mag's.”

“Well I assume you know the trend these days is lightweight gear. Like good 0 degree down bags that weigh 3 pounds or less. And lightweight white gas stoves, and capeline underwear, and winter tents under 4 lbs. and so forth and so on.

Just stick around here and you'll get some good ideas real soon. Campmore and REI are probably the best retailers.”

“Rei
Sierra Tradeing post
Campmor
Killer Deals.”

“Don't forget www.rei-outlet.com.

A lot of good info here: Outdoor Action Guide to Winter Camping”

“Welcome to the board. I'm pretty new here also; there are some strange and wonderful people here.

Down south, (Alabama), winter camping is not much different from high altitude summer camping in the west. Panic sets in if the temps drop below 32.

All of the gear links offered by other posters are good; I would add www.backcountrygear.com

They tend to be more expensive than Campmor or REI, but they carry a good line of premium lightweight gear.”

“I do lots of winter camping and kayaking too. The temperature is supposed to get all the way down to 78 degrees this afternoon...

Tomorrow it's supposed to get all the way down to 74, and this weekend it might get all the way down into the sixties...brrrrrr”

“Anyone have experience with the North Face Snowshoe sleeping bag (Polarguard 3D, rated to 0 or +5?? Contemplating a winter bag, without going Arctic level. Snowshoe listed as 3#8oz.”

“For sleeping bags check out Wiggy’s. They are an alternative to all the “hype” gear. You may have used some of their stuff in the military. I love my wiggy bag in cold weather.

http://www.wiggys.com/index.html”

“Anybody with experiences with microfleece bag liners? Do they give the added warmth they boast of, so your 20-degree bag can handle a longer season? Do they constrict?”

“Thanks everyone for responding to my post! I've picked up a few things and am ready to roll. My son and I are taking a day-hike tomorrow on the north bike trail at the Lake MacBride State Park (Near Iowa City, Iowa). We'll be trying some of the new gear out and getting our feet wet. :)

The forecast is for clear skies, mid 40s to lower 50's. Perfect weather! It should be fun.

Thanks again everyone!

ip”

“Have fun!”