I’m a Michigan cold weather steelhead fisherman. I can tell you that drying your feet and changing your socks is a massive game changer. I few years back, I slept in my hammock in the mid teens. I changed my socks after drying my feet at bed time and I was plenty warm. Moisture equals cold. Stay dry, stay warm.

Dude, I freaking love this guy. He's not constantly trying to beat you over the head with how cool and tough and hard-core he is. Instead, he's competent and practical, while never losing sight of the fact this is all supposed to be mostly something we do for fun adventures.

Speaking of fire...Native Americans use to say that "White men build a big fire, stand far away and burn lots of wood. Indians build a small fire, stand close and burn much less wood. " Lots of wood equals lots of work and vice versa. Makes sense to me. Smaller fire can be nearer the shelter making it easier to tend in the night even though it may be an extra time or two. Enjoy the videos. Thanks for sharing.

Growing up in Northern Wisconsin, it was common knowledge in my community to sleep with loose wool socks and a winter cap on cold winter nights. For me, it is a no brainer to apply this to when I actually sleep outside on cooler nights.

Thanks to my years in the Army, camping as a civilian is heaven. So many options, it's amazing. A watch cap and woobie (poncho liner) were common in the Army, a GP Medium tent was luxury. Getting off the ground is probably the biggest thing I've learned over the years, the thickest blanket doesn't mean much if all your body heat gets drained by the cold ground.

Your comment on “ we’re bushcrafters, we walk a couple hundred yards and set up camp” was awesome. Same with your woods equals home comfort

Great tips Dan! It's hard to convince beginning campers how important clean, dry socks are for a good night's sleep. Those socks you've been slogging around in all day are mildly damp due to perspiration and on cool to cold evenings they will leave your feet frozen if you sleep in them. You can turn them inside out and keep them under the blanket with you during the night to help draw off that moisture - just don't wear them. The same is true for t-shirts and underwear, if you sleep in those.

Good tips- He is 110% correct when mentioning the more insulation between you and the ground, the better. Ive camped out in sub-zero weather using the old school OD green army "mummy" bag with a wool blanket inside the bag and have always been fine. Usually just used a sleeping mat on top of the snow, but with more time, you would want some sort of insulation on the ground- i.e... pine boughs, leaves, ect... Cool vids- keep up the good work-

I have a dedicated pair of thick wool socks that I use solely for sleeping in. A buff and a beanie also help. When the weather is super-cold, I’ve got down booties and a down balaclava that make my 27 degree sleeping back keep me adequately warm down to about 10 degrees. Good points all around!

Let's see, you say location, we lay on snow and ice above the Arctic Circle. No forest around us. In permafrost region. Yes, only a small reflective Tarp. Yes, I use a wool blanket. I carry a 5" air mat. Of course we are usually hunting caribou. Because of this, I have 6 malimutes. These dogs love to sleep around me. Being surrounded by 6 extra large dogs. You'll stay very warm. Also, you made a comment about skills. I'll say this, many of you need to know how to build a simple all night fire.

In Norway we always wear wool outside. Wool under, wool over, wool socks and thin wool gloves, wool balaclava… makes a world of difference

Love it 😍 thank you... Camping I used to take my three little dogs along...one kept my knees warm under the covers, the other slept in my arms like a baby and the third one always laid above my head...having three little Portable heaters is always good to have, plus they are real fur...and real fur is always warmer then anything man-made... (of course you got to feed that fur)!🤣😂🤣

amazing how most bushcraft tips bring out a reaction like "Yeah, I knew that", because most of it is simple common sense and basic problem solving. The problem with that is that a lot of people think that watching a lot of these videos is a substitute for actual practice. There is a reason that all bushcraft channels keep telling us to go out in the woods and practice. So I really appreciate you for making that call to practice with the gear we have and get used to different situations. Great video. Your channel is one of the few I where I have clicked on the bell.

Wearing a warm hat while sleeping during a cold night

Camping with my Boy Scout troop in February in the 1980’s. We cowboy camped in the Chicago area , outside with a layer of hay. It was actually warmer than sleeping in a tent in the spring. The only problem was my boots frozen because I didn’t put them under my sleeping bag at night.

I’ve experimented with sewing a wool blanket into a piece of Tyvek. I stayed warm down to the mid 30’s with lightweight thermals. It’s cheap, light and helps keep blanket clean.

Great video, perfect timing. I'm going camping in a couple of weeks. Haven't cold camped in ages, so 5 good ideas for me to think about now, rather than later. Thanks!

I’ve been sleeping with a beanie on in the winter for years since I was a kid camping as well as in the house at night when the thermostat is lowered. It definitely makes a difference with the amount of body heat you lose from your head.

I started, and continue watching, your material because of how you present the information. I wish we had someone like you to teach in the Mojave Desert.

Great tips as always…it’s the little things and attention to detail that make ALL the difference in a little bit of comfort…goes a LONG WAY!

Thank you for this video. You make great points! Yes, insulation between you and the ground is critical. The ground can absorb far more heat than you can ever generate. Insulation from the ground, a stout, wool blanket, a tarp to block the breeze, and a Siberian Log Fire, and you have pretty much done all you can. I especially like the tip about gloves, socks, a gaiter, and a hat. I have found these to be very important to my own comfortable sleep. Again, many thanks for this video.

Great video which realistically addresses what is probably the number one camping issue. The debris bedding is certainly a key to warm sleeping but I worry about ticks and spiders crawling onto me out of the debris. The answer to this is to bring a couple of the super-large, heavy-duty garbage bags and stuff the debris into them, then sleep on top of these "mattresses". Or you can bring a large sheet of plastic and throw it over the debris pile.

Many thanks Dan, for sharing your wisdom with us. As always, a very useful video, particularly the reminder that sleeping on the trail will, in no way, ever, compare with the comforts of sleeping at home .. Cheers.

I recently started assembling what I need for a wool blanket and canvas tarp bed roll. These tips will come in handy. Thanks.

seriously Dan - no hype or BS, just a straight-up compliment to a UKpostsr who deserves it... this video, and almost all of the ones I have seen from you are WHY you are definitely in my top 3 subscriptions. The pragmatic wisdom you teach with just the right amount of humour and respect makes learning from you very pleasant. About two years ago I decided that I wanted to get into bushcrafting, which led my wife and I to start hiking. Since I am off work for four months a year (I drive dump truck and get the winter off) and I love to study (thank God for things like the internet and UKposts) and I have 24 hours a day to do what I want to do, I spend hours every day and night just watching these types of videos. You are one of my most favourite to watch. Thanks, and please keep up the good work :-)

Great advice Dan. keep warm, stay dry and live.

Wool blanket is great in the warm weather in the UK. Say May up to early November... Then it's airmat and sleeping bag, cause I'm a baby. 😂

I always enjoy your videos because of the well-presented information and your engaging style, a perfect balance between serious and not-so-serious. Thank you, Dan.

Great tips for some, and reminders for others. I appreciate what you present and that you do so in a fun way

Good stuff, right on brother! This old greybeard has tarp and blanket camped since I was a kid. Groundcover is key, as is setting the tarp to block the wind. It sure doesn’t help if your tarp is catching the cool night breeze. I like a nice bough or debris pile then a USGI shelter half tarp under me. One of the best night sleeps ever was in the rain, under a tarp on a bed of jackrabbit droppings mixed with leaves and duff. Was soft and warm. Another one was middle of Montana winter: well below zero and snowed a couple feet on us. In my bedroll and tarp under the fresh powder snow, I was comfortable warm!! The adventurous spirit is definitely imperative!! Without that: camping is a motel and roughing it is a Motel 6 lol. I refuse to use a tent because I want to be outside, not in a nylon hotel room.

GREAT REALISM and PRACTICAL advice here! For several years, I have used a 'Ninja Suit' of 2-piece knit wool and a Balaclava type of hood to supplement my sleeping bag in Fall and early Spring weather. My preferred wool blanket is a queen-sized waffle weave item that traps a lot of warm air. Generations of Classic Woodcraft 'Outers' have discovered that a looser weave works better as an insulator than thick, densely woven wool blankets.

Love the tip of sewing two twin blankets together. I use two blankets and pin them with exta extra large "safety" pins.

Yep I have all these kinds of techniques to stay warm in north of Minnesota especially during Hunting season! Keep all ideas coming for educate others who used these ideas. Carry on!

This guy is so casual, I love this guy! 😀

I love your enthusiasm

So much amazing information packed into 15 minutes. Thank you!

Well said. I did my first ever tarp camping last night in low 50F and wind up to 30 MPH. Standard early spring weather. The tarp took it to a whole new level! It was amazing to feel a soft breeze blow under the tarp or across your face while seeing a great view is almost indescribable. I could peek my head out and see the treetops swaying the wind...and the wind in the trees sounds almost like surf at the ocean. Really incredible! I used a cheap like $10 'fleece' blanket and a cheap walmart nysil type tarp 5ft X8ft. and a cheap yoga mat. Fantastic experience. My mistakes: A beanie would have kept me warmer, and so would some gloves- even dollar store gloves are better than nothing. And I didn't wear socks. Nice wool socks would have been nice. I had doubts going in, but the tarp experience won me over! You need to try it!

Fresh grass and branches have a lot of moisture, they are not good choice for making bed, as they will drain heat. The better choice: dry grass, plants, leaves. The best one: to make simple bed from dead wood and raise it above the ground. Dry wood isolates you from cold ground and prevents heat drain. With fire and heat reflector it’s a great combo to stay warm

Awesome tips on how to make it comfortable. Thanks for the tools for the toolbox Dan!! Take care and stay safe my friend!!

I just wanted to tell you that your pretty awesome. I read a post you wrote not long ago and it really touched my heart. I've been praying for you and praying that you keep gods favor and blessings on your life. You have an amazing personality and drive! Keep on keeping on! God bless! ❤️💪🕊️💯🙏

What an amazing day in the woods ❤

A hat, loose mittens, and fresh socks along with a simple tarp bivi including a wool blanket and inflatable sleep pad set up under the low branches of a cedar tree allowed me to sleep without a fire for several nights on an alpine predator hunt down to single digit temps. Great advice across in this video. I would add; don't be afraid to sleep in those cloths, wool base layers are like adding more wool blankets when you sleep so you can do yourself a lot of favors by dressing right too. I took off my outer layers of coveralls and used them as further insulation from the ground. It also helps keep your inner layers breathing, fresh, and the outer layers have some warmth for when you redress in the morning.

Excellent video Dan. Very good advice. These are the things that must be done and or considered for this type of camping. Thanks for the video and for sharing your thoughts, ideas and experience with us.

Thanks Dan! I love the larger wool blanket and wool socks w/gloves. I've used these for years.

Good afternoon from Syracuse NY USA brother and everyone else

Your Bushcraft channel is the best of the best that I have seen. I learn so much from watching your videos and practice when I can. My grandson is really got an interest in bushcrafting and I have put him on to your channel so that he can really learn something that is very useful. That means camping as well as survival. Thanks again for sharing all your knowledge with us it's very much appreciated!

An old man i met who sold everything to travel america in a wagon pulled by a mule , he was also on the johnny carson show about his life style , told me how you stay warm is to dig out a bed shape in the dirt and line it with coals and stones from your fire cover it back with dirt and make your bed on top and it will keep you warm all night .

As always, very motivating vid. Thanks brother, may you stay in the woods as long as you want!!!

THIS was very informative, and necessary - thanks so much, Dan! 😃 👍

Great video dude! I know it's a year old but it just came up on my feed (probobly because I've been looking st surplus blankets). I love the attitude "It's supposed to be an adventure, stop whining and do it better". At least that was what I got out of it. I'm a big guy (6'4") and I'm absolutely going to sew two blankets together as you suggested. I bought 6 old Swiss Army blankets years ago, real cheap, and two sewn together should do the trick.

Good and sound tips all the way in this video! I do a bit of camping in Norway and here it often gets quite cold. wearing clean socks, gloves, scarf and a beanie is the way to go! In addition I can highly recommend heating water on the fire and pouring it on a bottle you bring with you under the blanket or in the sleeping bag. it will really help you staying warm! (as long as you make sure the lid is firmly on. If you make your bedding wet you will have a very uncomfortable night. )

I know the vid has to be brief and you've covered it before. But, shelter factors like prevailing wind, size and configuration of shelter, and opening seem to matter a lot as well. Keep up the wonderful content Dan.

Awesome Dan!! Great info, love your teaching style and to-the-point videos.

Smart watch idea is great. Silent alarms are amazing

I like your channel, it is my favorite as far as bush craft is concerned. As I watch videos on UKposts, I think there is way too much focus on something to keep you warm through the night. In the case of car camping, it is diesel heaters. In the case of more primitive camping, it is fire. Why not just take a good sleeping system with you. It is not any harder than carrying a tarp and wool blanket. It is called sleeping pad and sleeping bag. You stay warm all night without having to get up, except to pee. I have camped in the mountains of northern New Mexico at over 11,000 ft in the dead of winter without the need to keep a fire going. The temperatures can get so low that digital thermometers can stop working. I like the ambiance of fire, I get it. But in a time of so much wild fire danger out west, It is bad form to be using camp fire in the first place.

Heading out this week up in the Delaware State Forrest! Weather is getting perfect! I’m stoked to be using your wool blanket! Thanks for the tips/reminders!

Excellent tips . Just had a tarp and wool blanket camp . 2 blankets for me . Nice one r👍🏕

Thank you for these tips and your videos, I love seeing them.

Great stuff as usual Dan, looking forward to this time a year to get into the woods, also want to say that I love my t6zero shelter... Excellent purchase!

Excellent tips, have used all of these many times!

That was awesome...greetings from the FLXNF. Basics covered. I didn't do this at home... Well your not at home. We're bush crafters, Build it. Teach the next generation.

Absolutely agree about bringing a sleeping pad. Honestly in chilly/cool weather, if I had to choose between my high R value mat or a blanket. I'd take the mat. I use the Ascend frog creek from Bass Pro. It was the best gift.

That was awesome, thanks! I really am going to get the socks gloves and beanie for this season! I was reminded of the importance of prepping additional wood for the fire ar night. All your points are really helpful. Cheers

I'm so glad you said that the first night outside after leaving your previous sleeping arrangement will be restless. It's true for most campers as well.

Thanks Dan, I will be out in my hammock tomorrow night. Love good wool socks. Take care.

Always loved your videos, Dan. And as always this one does not dissapoint.

Went last weekend down by Spuce knob lake in WV got down to 42 was awesome was comfy and loved the sound of the water fall and nature around me

Awesome video Dan!!! Some very solid tips that most of us look over.

First class tips that stink of common sense. Brilliant stuff. Great refresher course for the coming months. Off to the Scottish borders next week hiking and camping. Can't wait. Regards from the North East of England.

Super i.portant Info that folks should not forget! Great presentation! Gonna make a world of a difference this winter as we try to run a course house too!

Great throw back Dan. Thx

Mind set is everything 👍👍

Medical problems put me and my wife on the streets for some time and I promise what you said is true about the ground sucking your body heat out . We figured out quick you best have a good thick bed to lay on .

Nice tips. Thanks. I'll now be able to make sure my kid knows these for his adventures.

I’ve been tarp and wool camping about a year. Was glad to have a woobie when we had second winter here in late June (Northcentral PA)

Like always, great content. Dan is the man.

Yes, this video pumps me up Let’s GO! Can’t wait to take a class 👍

"At the end of the day, bushcraft is just a bunch of little problems we have to solve, in order to make life better" I'll tattoo this on my arm

The clean dry socks is a trick I didn’t learn until later in life. But that’s ok, I’ve done much more cold weather camping these days than when I was a kid. Good vid Dan.

Loved the show, thanks.

The best time to go camping is when the temperature is mild. The people that want to go camping in bad weather/seriously cold weather. That's another game best left to those who have some experience, are fit, and maybe a couple of zippo hand warmers. I seem to recall they can run for about 8 hrs. or more. I bought two pair of ultra thick wool socks. These are very warm. You can dry a pair and wear a pair. If you squeeze the water out of soaked wool socks they can still do a decent job of keeping you warm. A dab of lanoline worked into them will help them repeal water and is good for your skin. It works for sheep it will work for you. Wool mittens work well too.

I'm typing this while I'm watching... I was camping a couple of weeks ago (in February, southern Ontario). I have a tent and wood stove and a climate appropriate sleep system. The first night was not great, feeding the stove every hour and half and trying to manage my comfort between +15C and -5C. The second night my plan was to get a good layer of embers, and then put on a large compressed sawdust log in the stove. They normally burn for 5+ hours when the stove is choked up. This time the compressed log expanded when it lit, and pushed the baffle up to block off the chimney. The tent filled with smoke and I couldn't remove the stove from the tent. I dragged my sleep system out and slept outside. I slept better than I have in a long time. I'm now reconsidering my entire winter sleep setup.

Hello 👋 my outdoors friend, greetings from Northern California. Thank you for sharing this informative video. You always do a great job. The best to you and your Family 👪. Stayand and healthy out there. 🤗

😂❤fun video with your singing and great stuff, thanks.

Doin winter in a 12x14 wall tent in North panhandle Idaho again. Love my wool blankets.

Great refresher!...

I like the hat, wool socks, and gloves

I implement most of these tips “indoors” November through March-April. Granted I’m boondocking in an RV in Canada and routinely wake up in sub-freezing temperatures. Yes, good socks are going to set you back $30+, but so worth it.

Dan for the win!

I live in a small RV with no electric or running water; in an area with sub zero Winter temps. Often it gets well below freezing inside the RV. Here's a few more tips: 1) Layers ~ try clothing combinations you find comfortable even when layered. I have two soft hoodie shirts I alternate and sleep in & wear long underwear. I also wear a soft neck gator and knit beanie underneath the hoodie. If my winter socks aren't clean, I layer socks. I might even double up on winter socks. 2) Heat batteries ~ while your fire is going, set a few 1lb (+/-) rocks near enough to the fire that they get thoroughly warm (avoid extreme hot); when ready for bed, wrap rocks inside a hand towel and place inside the wool blanket you sleep in. You can also do this with certain metal water bottles, but beware that lid gaskets may not survive excess heat exposure. I have two suitable water bottles and slip each one inside a spare sock. Often these bottles are still warm by morning. 3) Mylar survival sheets ~ BUT learn how to use them. Do NOT place them in close layers to your body as they trap body moisture and can literally result in wetness which can accelerate hypothermia. With a little duct tape you can secure them on the inside of the tarp in a way to reflect ambient heat back towards you. 4) location location location ~ select a spot to bed down with maximum sun exposure; that day heat is stored in the earth material and lessens the cold draw from your body; when the sun rises you will gain warmth faster. Rig your tarp so you can lift open the sunny side and allow daylight to heat up the interior. It can give you an extra hour of peaceful sleep. Every degree you can save and gain adds up!

Great Tips thanks God Bless all

Great Vid,and full of brilliant info. Thanks. Over here in GB,I use the British Military Sleep System Medium bag,but recently acquired a Marino Wool blanket,which I have yet to try. Regarding fingers and toes,I use a fleece lined pair of socks and fingerless wool gloves. Never been cold yet. All the best.👍🏾🇬🇧

Really appreciate your info and the fun way you presented it!! Thank You!!

Thank you for all your tips 👍

Dan, one of your best videos!

Your awesome Dan. Thanks so much.

Years ago I bought two regular size wool blankets after checking the price of a Hudson's Bay blanket. This way I can just use one in warmer weather or two when it's getting colder. Cheers from Canada. You should try winter cycling it's a blast and I'm 72 still doing it.

Very good advice here on covering your head. I have always found that when I wear my wool jeep cap in cooler weather I can sleep comfy and actually use a lighter sleeping bag/blanket.

Great upload / lots of helpful information. Thanks Alan in 🇨🇱

Great tips and advice, as always!!!