The Low-Tech Trick To Stay Warm And Cozy While Camping In The Cold

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Cold-weather camping is a unique experience, and if you've never done it, take this as your sign to start planning a trip. You can trade things like swarming summer bugs and overcrowded campsites for pristine, snowy landscapes and the coziest campfires. However, you do need to do some extra planning to keep yourself comfy and warm. You can take steps like finding a warm sleeping bag for your winter camping adventures and stuffing extra clothing inside it to help keep you toasty. While these tips are great for getting some shuteye, enjoying hot beverages is another low-tech trick to help you stay warm during the day or before bed. Imagine sitting around a campfire, watching the sunrise, holding a mug of hot chocolate, a nice hot coffee, or a spiced apple cider. It's also really helpful to warm up right before you turn in for the evening. 

You can heat up your drinks over a campfire. A portable camping stove is another option. A few pieces of camping gear recommended by reviewers that aren't hard to pack can make you feel like you're having a dream après-ski experience and make your trip that much better.  

While drinking hot beverages in cold-weather camping situations seems like a no-brainer, it may require a bit of specialized equipment. If you're using instant coffee/hot chocolate mix, a tea bag, or instant soup mix, you may want a kettle to heat up your water. If you have one, try using a grate over the fire, but off the flames, to avoid damaging the surface. A titanium, aluminum, or stainless steel kettle is best. One option is the Fire-Maple Feast T3 0.7L Camping Kettle on Amazon, which can be used on a portable camping stove. (Don't forget a potholder to grab the handle!) You can also try the Jetboil Flash 1.0L Fast Boil Stove on Amazon, which comes with a cooking cup and a propane/isobutane burner. If you want to heat up a drink and bring it into your tent with you, an insulated mug like the Elemental Summit 16oz Insulated Coffee Mug is a good idea as well.

While you certainly can add alcohol to drinks like coffee, hot chocolate, and hot cider, you may want to skip it in cold weather. It can trick you into thinking your body is warmer, but it's actually moving blood away from your core and organs to your skin, which can make you colder. It also dehydrates you, making it harder for your body to maintain its temperature. 

In addition to the warm beverages, make sure you've got warm pajamas, a mat for under your sleeping bag, something to start a campfire, and a tent suitable for winter conditions. (It's also worth packing portable hand warmers for when you don't have a drink in your hand.) Finally, if you're planning your next tent adventure, pack extras of these five camping essentials and thank us later.