changed limit ?'s

[HandGunner]

my area wen from intensive down to managed, does it mean both me and my father can take 2 deer each or 2 combined?

also I camp outside no cabins and been freezing my a$$ off the past few years and now wondering if I shuld get a mummybag that is rated for 0 degree temp?

the High Speak Summit Mummy Bag 0 degree is cheap but will it actually keep me warm? also the tent is a hassle and for 2 nights and a total of 10 hours of sleep and use can I just ditch the tent and bring a cot and just sleep outside with the mummybag? i feel as if the tent does not actually keep me somewhat warm it feels the same in the tent and outside the tent

[jay83196]

2 each

[Cheetah]

Sleeping bags are tough, 0 degree rating usually doesn't mean squat. Go for a -20 if you can, and plan to sleep in some long underwear or fleece or something. I personally use an older Slumberjack -20 mummy bag, and it is good to maybe +20F with long underwear on, anything below and I need multiple layers. Also consider one of those silk bag liners, they help a bit. If you go high dollar and buy a really nice down bag from Marmot or something, those are supposed to be better, but I have a hard time justifying the price since I don't do any real winter camping.

A 4-season tent will be a big help as well. If you have a 2-3 season tent it probably has a lot of mesh for airflow, which will just be cold as heck at night. I bought a Sierra Designs tent from REI a few years back for fall camping which has a zip-in upper that blocks all of the mesh along the ceiling. It helps trap in a bit of heat. Big difference from my Marmot 3-season tent which has walls that are all mostly mesh.

[Steve Foss]

If you're camping out of the truck where weight is not much of a consideration, add a second sleeping bag to the one you've already got, and make sure the pad between bag and cot is nice and thick. Should do you fine. I've got a 0 degree mummy bag I put inside a standard 4-lb goose-down bag when needed. Got them both second hand on the cheap, and that is a WARM combo.

[picksbigwagon]

great advice, I have camped out in the winter time (went from5 degree's the night before to -25 by morning) an air pad/matress and two sleeping bags are a must. In fact I had two mummy bags and then the guy I was camping with and I threw a third bag opened up over the top of the two of us. We were warm that night.....

[Powerstroke]

If you haven't the cash or justification for the heavy duty winter bag, then two bags is the way to go. I will argue that a high quality bag is worth it, especially if you're going to use it. A quality bag with a rating from 0-20 degrees can be had for under $200. A quality bag should also be true to its rating. I prefer down because it packs small and I do backpacking, however it is more sensitive to moisture. It is lighter and requires less down to keep the warmth up, but it usually more expensive. Synthetic bags are less sensitive to moisture and less expensive, but they require more insulation to get the same warmth rating so they weigh more and are bigger. There are lots of other design features than help keep insulation where you need it.

The next concern is a quality sleeping pad. If you're sleeping on the ground, get a quality sleeping pad with a high R-value. CLosed cell foam is the best, but alot of the new air-mattresses have insulation in them. A regular air mattress is filled with just air and that is a poor insulator by itself. Sleeping on a cot like Steve said still requires a pad for the same reason. That cold air will circulate underneath you and you will get cold fast. When winter camping I stack my Thermarest 4season air mattress on top of a closed cell foam pad and never feel a chill from the ground.

Final concern is your clothing at bed time. You should be able to sleep in your sleeping bag with just some long johns, light socks and a hat if you don't like tucking you're head into a mummybag. This combo will provide a little insulation near the skin, but allow your body to breath away any sweat. If you wear too heavy of clothes, you may be warm at bedtime, but as you sleep you get cold because you sweat and your clothes aren't breathing. This is where most people make a mistake. Also clean clothes make a difference. I usually keep one set of long johns just for sleeping in. If I can't then I wear clean ones to bed and then wear those the next day, changing clothes again before bedtime.

I have an REI 20degree down mummybag, a 0degree synthetic bag and a fleece bag liner that adds 5-10 degrees of warmth. I use them in the combination needed to stay warm. Obviously everyone's body is different and some people are warmer and some people tend to be colder, especially with fingers and toes.

I would say that the sleeping pad is the cheapest part of the equation, the easiest to overlook, but the most important. Get a comfortable sleeping pad that will insulate you and you worry less about your sleeping bag. Its much easier to warm the top of you than the bottom.