This video applies only to base camping canoeists in cold weather, but has some good info for the less experienced about heat flow, condensation, bag and mat insulation ratings, and safety.
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Happy Nobel Prize to my physics prof, Leon Lederman (1988)! ⚛️
Sleeping in tent vs. car vs. pickup bed in 10° F
- Thread starter Glenn MacGrady
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Just a few random thoughts: In his final analysis, he solved the icing problem in the car by cracking 2 windows but didn't unzip anything on the tent to increase ventilation & mitigate the moisture so I'll disagree with his final rankings.
I also wonder how much testing he actually performed himself as much of the footage was from other sources (I recognized 2 YouTubers and a few promotional stills). Perhaps he's using other people's intellectual property with their permission but you'd think that he'd credit them if that were true.
Personally, I think the info is worth thinking about and some of the points are valid but the guy's got enough subs to be making money on the videos and, although I'll admit that I over-think things, I won't be subscribing or sharing this video until I'm certain that he's doing his own work.
(Note: If anyone on here can say definitively that he's legit, I'll happily rescind the last 2 paragraphs and perform penance by watching more of his videos)
Regardless of enclosures, I'll agree 100% with the ideas that keeping your bag moisture free and making sure that you have adequate insulation under you are the most important factors.
Oh, one more: the mispronunciation of the word "read" at the 20:21 mark makes me suspect this is completely AI but, by the time I reached that point, I was already predisposed to dismissal.
Any way, just my 2 cents (do we round that to the nearest nickel now?... I guess that'd be "nothing"... carry on)
I also wonder how much testing he actually performed himself as much of the footage was from other sources (I recognized 2 YouTubers and a few promotional stills). Perhaps he's using other people's intellectual property with their permission but you'd think that he'd credit them if that were true.
Personally, I think the info is worth thinking about and some of the points are valid but the guy's got enough subs to be making money on the videos and, although I'll admit that I over-think things, I won't be subscribing or sharing this video until I'm certain that he's doing his own work.
(Note: If anyone on here can say definitively that he's legit, I'll happily rescind the last 2 paragraphs and perform penance by watching more of his videos)
Regardless of enclosures, I'll agree 100% with the ideas that keeping your bag moisture free and making sure that you have adequate insulation under you are the most important factors.
Oh, one more: the mispronunciation of the word "read" at the 20:21 mark makes me suspect this is completely AI but, by the time I reached that point, I was already predisposed to dismissal.
Any way, just my 2 cents (do we round that to the nearest nickel now?... I guess that'd be "nothing"... carry on)
That was a strange video, like it was an info-mercial for who knows what. All I know is that I'd rather sleep in a capped truck bed, a car, or a tent than sleeping within an open-faced snow berm with spruce/fir bows for a roof and floor. At -20F. 
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I have been sleeping in tents since the 1950s and have spent a lot of time sleeping in the open. In the last 20 years I have mostly slept in the back of pickup with a canopy on it except for river trips in a tent. It helps to bring plenty of pads to sleep on and insulate your body from the cold steel of the truck bed. The sides of the truck body are noticeably cold around 20 degrees F. They seem to radiate cold. I have often thought of a carpet kit or spray on insulation to make it warmer for shoulder season trips. In the eastern Sierra we often camp at 6,000 to 9000 feet. I got tired of truck camping at 76.
This year I have used a little rPod trailer which is very comfortable. I have used it a lot in spring and fall. It makes life easy. Warm, out of the wind, it has lights, furniture, a head, and a furnace if required. It is a real refuge in the fall when the light fades at 1700. I like to sit by a fire for awhile and then retire to the trailer. In the morning the head is right there. I swing my legs over the bed and stand up. Making coffee warms up the rig. No more lying around in the dark waiting for the sun to come up. My dog loves it.
This year I have used a little rPod trailer which is very comfortable. I have used it a lot in spring and fall. It makes life easy. Warm, out of the wind, it has lights, furniture, a head, and a furnace if required. It is a real refuge in the fall when the light fades at 1700. I like to sit by a fire for awhile and then retire to the trailer. In the morning the head is right there. I swing my legs over the bed and stand up. Making coffee warms up the rig. No more lying around in the dark waiting for the sun to come up. My dog loves it.
My local club does a winter overnight camping trip each year the last weekend of December or the first weekend in January. Temps are usually high 30’s/low 40’s during the day, and low 20’s/high teens at night. Last year we had temps in the teen’s during the day and single digits at night. The trip got cancelled not because of the cold, but because the river froze and we weren’t able to paddle to the campsite. Several years ago we had rain and temps in the 40’s – mud every where. I’ll take the cold over the mud.
I have a four season tent – an old Eureka Expedition Sentinel. When there is snow I put a plastic ground sheet under the tent and inside the tent. I have a 1/2-inch closed cell foam pad (R-value 1), and insulated Klymit Static V pad (R-value 4.4) and a zero-degree sleeping bag with synthetic fill. I sleep in long-johns, a fleece union suit, wool socks and a hat. Bundled up in that sleeping bag I’ve been plenty warm. Coldest I’ve been out in is the middle teens.
Several members of the club have gone to hot tents with the stove. Nice and warm, but it is a lot to lug around. I’m OK in my unheated tent.
I have a four season tent – an old Eureka Expedition Sentinel. When there is snow I put a plastic ground sheet under the tent and inside the tent. I have a 1/2-inch closed cell foam pad (R-value 1), and insulated Klymit Static V pad (R-value 4.4) and a zero-degree sleeping bag with synthetic fill. I sleep in long-johns, a fleece union suit, wool socks and a hat. Bundled up in that sleeping bag I’ve been plenty warm. Coldest I’ve been out in is the middle teens.
Several members of the club have gone to hot tents with the stove. Nice and warm, but it is a lot to lug around. I’m OK in my unheated tent.
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In the 60's as a pre-teen I did a lot of car camping with my mother, we had an Econoline van with the rear seats removed and covered the floor with 3/4" plywood which definitely helped take the chill off. In the 70's we had a new Econoline and recycled the plywood floor. In 1980 my mother switched/downsized to a Toyoto pickup, the plywood floor was cut down to fit. In 1988 the floor moved to a new Toyota pickup and then in 2001 the same floor was moved to a new Tacoma. I inherited the Tacoma in the mid 00's when my mother could no longer drive. I'm still driving (and sleeping) in that 2002 model with the now 60+ year old floor.
Those 2 sheets of plywood probably cost less than $25 (about 40 cents per year!)
This video is AI slop
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