I tried putting my head under the sleeping bag but then I cant breathe from all the carbon dioxide how do winter campers keep their face warm. Even if you wear a ski mask your eyes and mouth are uncovered cant you get frostbite on those areas?
It’s not usually a problem, but for very cold temps, wear a ski mask and only expose the mouth and nose portion outside your sleeping bag.
Try not to breathe inside your sleeping bag, and air out your sleeping bag as often as possible, for moisture inside the bag will reduce it’s efficiency.
As long as the rest of your body is warm you wont have a problem. If your bag is insulated enough you will need to shed heat and the head is good for that.
I usually just wear a hat and tuck my head partly into the bag. That keeps me good down to -20 F or so. If I’m feeling particularly cold I will wear my neck gaiter to bed. Eating and hydrating properly before you go to bed will go a long way towards keeping you warm through the night.
throw a light piece of clothing loosely over your head while you sleep, along with ski mask. this will provide a warm air tent around your face, allow air exchange and not put moisture in your sleeping bag.
Ski mask or wrap a scarf around your face.
I always use a towel for a face covering in winter.
I have bivouacked in temps below -35C (-31F?). A good winter sleeping bag, overbag or bivy sac, and a well insulated sleeping pad will keep you warm. With the sleeping bag drawn tight you should just have your nose and mouth exposed. Close fitting headgear like an open face balaclava or head sock is necessary, but I have found that full three hole balaclavas just get wet, frosty and yech. As it is the outside of the bag around your face will get frosty and damp, and there doesn’t seem to be much you can do about that.
As Glazer said if the rest of your sleep system is warm enough you should be good.
Same. No matter how warm the rest of my body is, I can’t sleep if I am breathing in ice cold air. A towel over my face warms up the air enough that it doesn’t bother me.
For the people saying you dont wear a ski mask dosent your nose and skin on your face get frost bite?
Two important factors here are the temperature and the design of the sleeping bag.
First off, we assume that you have a good insulating ground pad. Self-inflating (Thermarest style) and closed-cell foam pads are effective insulators, and open-cell foam is okay if it’s thick enough; air matresses usually transfer too much heat and I wouldn’t recommend them.
Secondly, we assume that the sleeping bag has adequate insulation for the temperature, in other words a winter-rated bag. The bag can be comfortable in “colder than rated” temps if some clothing is worn, ideally something not bulky or restrictive. I suggest long underwear.
I have experience camping with overnight temps around 20ºF (-7ºC), and keeping the face warm hasn’t been an issue. Keeping the head and neck warm are what’s important. I don’t know how cold it has to be for exposure of the face to be a concern, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you’d be okay to around 0ºF (-18ºC). On preview I see that FluffyBob has experience with colder temps than that. While exposed ears may be vulnerable to frostbite, that doesn’t seem to be a problem for the rest of the face.
A mummy design (or similar) bag with a hood and drawstring allow you to have only the face exposed with no drafts. Even so, a knit cap and/or a scarf may be desirable or perhaps necessary to sleep warm.
A semi-rectangular bag with a drawstring can be closed around the neck. Here a knit cap and a scarf (or a turtleneck) would be necessary.
I would definitely not recommend a bag without a drawstring, and would avoid a rectangular bag to minimize heat loss.
Camped quite a bit in temps in the teens most with a 18F rated bag (AT thru hike). Some things have have helped is to be warm when you go to bed and wear enough to stay warm. Eat plenty that evening. Put boiling water in a Nalgene bottle right before bed, place in a sock and keep that in your bag as a hot water bottle. Spoon with a member of your preferred gender - or back to back sleep. Sleep in a small tent instead of a large tent or shelter, that I feel gives you a extra 10F warmth (IMHO) and allows a area of still (warm’er’) air where you breath out. I have never used a 4 season tent however so that may be better. Get the bag to seal up around you as much as its designed to. Use a proper inflatable sleeping mat.
For a short time if cold, I have breathed in the bag. yes this adds moisture and also is a bit O2 deprived, but sometimes you just have to to help warm the airway up.
Lighting a isobutane camp stove is not recommended for many reasons but can quickly heat the air in a small space. Also can be used in privi’s on cold mornings placed on the floor between and in front of your shoes to help warm the hands a bit.
This won’t help the issue you state but may help make cold weather camping better, Select your camp site where you will be traveling uphill first thing in the AM, this way you will warm up faster. Eat cold food in the morning unless someone else cooks for you, eat a hot breakfast after you warm up from hiking.
If car camping and have electric use a electric blanket inside the sleeping bag. If you don’t have electric but are car camping use a 12V jump start battery pack and a 12V to 110V inverter to a electric blanket (or a 12V electric blanket), and just use it when you wake up in the middle of the night cold, run it for 2-5 minutes then turn it off, this will take the chill off and help one get back to sleep faster, but you will not have the power to run it all night.
Isometrics or pushups could help in a critical situation.
Getting a warmer bag or bag liner may be required.
Get a buff to cover the lower half of your face.
Bivouacked…Bivy Sac… Balaclava… Headgear…Sleep System…
Okay, civilians don’t talk like that. Were you stationed in Alaska? Fairbanks perhaps?
I have camped in the -45 range and we have sleeping hoods. We affectionately refer to them as “smurf hoods”.
OP seems to have been a sock for a previously banned poster by the name of Matt357. He was in the habit of asking questions like this.
Feline unit, vacate the vicinity of my sleep system.
Cat, get off my bed.
That would be:“Unass the AO”.
In my book, the words “winter” and “camping” should never appear in the same sentence.
I use to take off the down hood on my coat and sleep in that. A down vest, or similar to use as a pillow and help cover your head is helpful. I don’t like to ‘mummify’ the bag. At least not completely.
You must have a thermorest or simalar for insulation from the ground. The down in your bag will not protect you from the cold when it gets compressed.
I also liked to keep down booties handy for when nature calls. These can also help as a pillow and keep your head warm.
Always keep your boots/shoes in the tent. It’s not much but they will stay a little warmer. Putting on frozen boots in the morning sucks.
You mean, like that?