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Why Camp in the Cold?
Living somewhere that gives us the gift of changing seasons allows for some wonderful outdoor experiences. Canada is home to some of the greatest spring, summer, and fall camping locations. Whether you want to hike through the trails of provincial parks like Killarney, travel by canoe along the postcard-like canals of Frontenac, or pull your car straight up to your waterfront campsite so that you can have your morning Aeropress with a view while lounging in your tent; the options are plentiful. While the warmer seasons have their list of advantages, making them the popular option for camping trips. There are also some fantastic pros to choosing to go cold weather camping.
Camping during the winter means you need to prepare a little differently, carry a couple of extra layers, and ensure you have the skills to experience the weather safely. But it also means you will experience the outdoors in a way many never will. With summer being a super crowded time to go camping: winter provides a backdrop of cold Canadian beauty and allows campers to experience outdoor settings with a sense of isolation. Winter camping is extremely peaceful as the addition of the snow creates a sound barrier to all of the outdoor noise. If you’ve ever camped in the summer you can attest to the fact that the nighttime brings a symphony of lovely, natural, but sometimes distracting noise. During the winter you will experience some special levels of outdoor silence and peace as if the world is resting with you.
A large part of the reason we go camping is to experience the elements and put our outdoor abilities to the test. Reminding us that even though we are evolved, we still possess the skills to live outdoors as our ancestors did. While we experience that in the warm months through the art of making fires, simple cooking, and setting up camp for sleeping; all of these tasks are heightened when winter camping. At the end of a winter camping trip, there is a great sense of satisfaction, accomplishment, and confidence.
How to Enjoy Winter Camping
The biggest thing to keep in mind when setting out on a winter camping journey is a mindset. If you go winter camping and think to yourself “I hope it isn’t cold” you will be gravely disappointed. But if you say “I am prepared to stay comfy in this cold” you will have a much nicer time. The easiest way to accomplish that is to be prepared by researching the area you plan on visiting so that you can be equipped with the essential gear for the trip. During the spring to fall months you can get away with throwing a few hotdogs in a cooler, a blanket, and a tent into your trunk, and you’ll most likely still have a great time. But during the winter you need to think a lot more about each item you are bringing along.
Winter Camping Must-Haves
Here is a list of some essential gear items that will make your winter camping both doable and enjoyable.
- A winter tent: these can range from cold camping tents that provide the minimal amount of insulation and durability to hot tents that are equipped with flame-retardant ports for portable wood stoves (if you ever get the chance to try this we highly recommend you do)
- Sleeping Pad: Typically when we think of sleeping pads the first thing that comes to mind is protection from the hard uneven surface under your tent. This is true for winter camping as well, but more importantly, sleeping pads in the winter provide specialized insulation from the cold, wet ground.
- Sleeping bag: Arguably the most important piece of gear you will take winter camping. Winter sleeping bags are your escape from the cold at the end of the night, or your mid-day nap to warm up after setting up camp. Either way, without a properly rated winter sleeping bag you will surely have less of a great time.
- Coat, sweater, hat, socks, mitts, boots: These items that make up our typical Canadian winter outfits may seem obvious, but for winter camping, are an essential ingredient to a good trip. Layers are your friend when exploring the snow-covered backcountry and with a carefully curated collection you can feel like you are unstoppable
- Polarized Sunglasses: The sky is bright, there’s no doubt about it, but during the winter months so is the ground. The constant glare of the bright white snow is enough to give you a trip-ruining headache
- Food: Though this isn’t exactly gear, this is what keeps us awake and strong enough to make use of the gear we bring. We always need nourishment, but during colder camping trips the caloric intake that we require to keep warm goes up a lot, make sure to meal prep accordingly
Our Picks for your 2022 Winter Camping Trip
It’s important to do your research and customize your gear itinerary based on the location and duration of your trip. But here are some of our favorite winter camping gear items for your awesome upcoming winter adventures.
The UCO Original Candle Lantern: Winter camping, although beautiful and rich in scenery can get dark and gloomy quickly. This lantern is a tiny, lightweight option to bring some natural light safely to your tent. It may not seem like much, but during a winter storm or a dark cold evening once you’re finished up at your fire there is nothing quite like retiring to a tent that is lit up with the warm light of one of these lanterns.
The Classic Legendary Bottle by Stanley: This may add a little bit of weight to your pack, or your sled, but there is nothing like a hot cup of tea or coffee at the end of a long hike or afternoon spent in the snow. This classic is a tried and true way to keep enough liquid warm for you and your whole crew to enjoy a hot drink while out in the cold.
The Merino Wool Buff: If you have winter camped before you know the importance of having a good back warmer as a part of your winter gear. This Buff product has kept many winter campers warm through their hikes and sleeps. Pro tip: using one of these as a nose warmer while sleeping allows your mouth to breathe freely to mitigate the accumulation of condensation while keeping your nose from freezing off. A good Buff and a wool toque make for an incredibly cozy sleep.
Marmot Never Summer Sleeping Bag: There are so many wonderful sleeping bags to choose from out there, but this bag represents everything that we find to be wonderful in a winter camping gear sleeping bag. This is a lightweight sleeping bag insulated with a down to make for a sleeping environment that uses your body heat to heat the down and ultimately to heat you. Sleeping in this is like hanging out in a toaster.
Geartop Four Season Tent: The options for Winter tents are endless and you can spend a lot of money to get yourself one. The reason we’ve included this tent in our list is that it represents what we think outdoor adventure should be: accessible to everyone. This tent provides the main requirement for a winter camping tent: a fly that meets the ground. As you can see the fly allows for the packing of snow around the tent, which supplies the largest form of insulation from the elements. Do your research when tent shopping and keep an eye on 4-season models as they will provide you with an option for any time of the year. If you’re able to spend a little more, we recommend MSR tents. If you are looking to camp in luxury, look into the world of hot tents and backpacking wood stoves.
Stoves: From MSR to Jetboil, to Woods, there are an array of great backcountry stoves out there that will serve as a great addition to your winter gear collection. The stove you need is entirely reliant on the type of camping you do. Some work in extremely cold conditions, but allow only for boiling, while others are more of an open flame style which can be difficult in the wind, but allows for frying pan and pot cooking. This is entirely up to you, but we do always recommend having something on hand to cook while winter camping.
Have fun out in the cold
We could go on and on, but we hope that this list provides you with some good starting points for your gear must-haves for winter camping this 2022 and 2023 seasons. For more information head online to do your research before heading out in the snow, or better yet go visit your local outfitting store. Nothing beats winter camping and winter gear advice from professionals or enthusiasts who do it all the time. From the winter lovers at GuidED we hope you have a great time outfitting your winter camping kit and have a blast getting outside this season!