I never get tired of listening to these tips you give. I’m 70, a woman plus ill health and I still enjoy camping. I go when the kids are back at school in September. I love it. I did get cold this year and listening to you I realised why. Nothing between my air bed and the floor. Thank you.
That was pretty awesome. Thanks. In the 1970s when I was a child we camped for 8 months. In a tent. In the woods on the side of a small mountain. We owned the property. To date it is the happiest and most treasured time me and my two little brothers remember. Its like we were born to be outside or something. We still talk very fondly of it. We hated when we left. No exaggeration. We thrived there. We are in our 50s and STILL dream of living that way! Its gotta be the way we're meant to live. Some of us anyway. It really is as if supposed normal life is drudgery by comparison. This was in Eastern Oklahoma for reference. Google shows me its still heavily wooded. 😁
So refreshing to hear from someone who isn't obsessed about gear, and licking the arse of manufacturers. You have done it and are doing it, rather than doing a ludicrous video from your lounge floor about gear you have never used. Outstanding video. Thank you.
I've been living (off/on) out of a tent for about a year and a half now. Going back to the city has very few incentives now - family that I'd stay with are... difficult. I'm grateful for their generosity, but my mental health usually nudges me to the door. I'm winter camping right now! In Yuma, AZ. 😆 With 35-40 mph winds, I'd say the wind chill is about 55-60 F. I invested in good gear about 45 years ago, and one of the few things I have left is my down bag. I didn't use it much (none) when I was a working stiff, but it's sure coming in handy now. Good video!
Fifteen minutes in? He nails it. Don't try to fight the weather. If it is 25-35 no wind no snow? Then go. But if it is 15 degrees and snowing? Don't go. He is absolutely right. You can go from a winter wonderland, fantastic camping experience... to a harrowing survival situation... when weather changes winter. Best advice I have heard in years.
"Don't go to work...ever." Ahhh, life goals. I plan to sell my house and camp out on a friend's property until I find my own land. Then I plan to camp there for a good while as I build a small cabin from trees on my land. Some chickens and goats and a big garden should help provide plenty of cheap food. Rice and beans should fill the gaps. Somewhere in there I'm going to quit my full-time govt. job and rely on my side hustle, pressure washing, to provide the needed Babylonian magic rectangles I'll need to pay for taxes and such. Working from home during this "crisis" has made me realize how much wasted space I'm paying for and how much useless stuff I've accumulated over the years. Time for this guy to clean out the clutter and start a life that's a little more streamlined. I've been buying tents and other camping gear I'll need get started. I can't wait to be living in a tent with my wood stove and my 2 dogs and building things with my hands. 16 years in front of a computer screen at work has deprived me of the happiness obtained by creating things with my own hands. Along with other youtubers you have helped me get mentally and physically prepared for the life I've been longing for. Watching other people do it has made it all the more attractive. I might even start a channel to document it all. I doubt I'll come up with a name nearly as good as "Surviving Ringworm" though.
Do it! I admittedly haven't spent as much time at work as most people have but I never really got any joy from it. If you can train yourself to look at every purchase as time you have to sit at a desk doing something that drains the life out of you, it's a lot easier to skip spending the money. If you don't spend, you don't really have to work!
I’m fourteen and I’ve been obsessed with wanting to leave society and camping ever since I can remember. I’d like to live a sustainable life on my own one day in the wilderness.
@@survivingringworm2202 Hello, SR! Though I very much like your idea, it would be really useful to us, mere aspiring bushcrafters, if you made a video showing or talking about ALL the downsides of that lifestyle, just so people know that it's not all "sunshine and rainbows".... Many thanks, in advance!
Thanks I really enjoyed that. By the way, I find the most dangerous camping to be in the 30-34f degree range. As you know, if there is a chance of rain/slush-rain/hail it’s best to avoid that temp range especially if there is wind too. I far more enjoy 28f degrees and lower and know that even if it is snowing heavy I can still manage to stay dry and warm. 30-34f is just a recipe for dangerous discomfort. Give me warmer, or give me colder. Either one.
I am truly grateful for you sharing your information as I take my last steps into permanent tent living. I'm from Jackson Michigan, but plan to explore as I become more skilled in this way of life. This was my first time watching your content and loom forward to seeing what other helpful tips and tricks you have to living free in nature. Thank you. 🙏🏿
I work outside year round, and also thrive wearing cotton. Proponents of high tech fabrics may want to think about the environmental impact of the production process for synthetics. Sensible management is the key to success with cotton. Thanks for being brave enough to broach the subject!
Great tutorial with great advice! I love your low-key approach without the whole “I’m right and anybody that doesn’t agree is an idiot!” attitude. “If the weather is going to be bad, don’t go.” “Bring 4 times as much fuel as you think your stove is going to need if you’re going to melt snow.” Advice like that will save misery, and maybe lives! I’ve always loved camping, and I’ve lived out in the woods since 2005. In a small house, but out in the woods.It’s a little like camping, but with reliable water and electricity...well, semi-reliable.
Thanks so much. You answered some critical questions for me re cotton, camping at 30 and not 20, uusin a tarp, avoiding storms, hand warmers, and 4x on fuel. A tip few tips of my own. Make sure your car battery is heavy duty and not old, use snow tires, consider camp sites with electricity and use a low power heater like the desk heater from Honeywell, buy a marine grade extension cord. Algonquin park here I come!
First time watching. Don't live in Michigan, but I would have loved it when I was younger. Even tho I'm in my 60's now, I plan on going camping again come spring. I used to love to camp and fish. My advice to anyone, don't let life get in your way. Enjoy the experience and like he said check the weather.
I live in Ontario Canada right across the river from the state of Michigan and have been winter camping a few times and some of the times I enjoyed it and there was twice I did not but it was because of where we were at and what we had when I was winter camping. I have even slept in a ice hut on the great lakes Erie, Huron and St Clair while Ice fishing
I've done a fair amount of winter mountaineering and backpacking. I started out quite interested in optimum equipment and even have a custom mountaineering tent but I agree with your advice not to obsess or overspend on clothing and equipment. Everyone seems to go through a gear head phase before they accumulate enough experience to understand what works.
I love winter time. I live in southern West Virginia I’m going to start winter camping this year and I’m very excited about it. I’m going to start in the 30° range and work my way down just like you said. I’m going to try it beside my cabin and if it goes to hell in a handbasket I’ll just go in my cabin and turn on the heat.
Love your approach and attitude. We did our very first winter camping along Pictured Rocks shoreline about 5 years ago. Being our first time, we froze! Mainly because we were not prepared for zero degrees combined with high winds. But I LOVED It! So much so that it has become our annual February snowshoe trip. Next month will be our 5th trip. Now with better gear, we no longer get cold while sleeping. And we only use a summer tent. Much prefer the ventilation of a summer tent vs. a winter tent. Much cheaper too. Regarding wearing cotton though, I do want to caution anyone: although wearing cotton around camp is fine, and comfortable, I would never recommend wearing it while snowshoeing into a camp, because you WILL sweat while snowshoeing, no matter how many layers you remove. Any cotton will just ABSORB the sweat and STAY wet. Whereas a synthetic or merino wool base will dry MUCH FASTER. So if you are car camping in the winter, or just hanging out at the camp once you set up camp, sure, wearing cotton can be very comfortable. But while actual hiking or snowshoeing, it can make an otherwise fun trip miserable.
I’ve been homeless for the past three months now living out of a tent after losing my job, I’m getting ready now for 50/30 degrees next week, it’s getting cold fast. I’m just thankful I was able to get some work for a couple of weeks last month and made enough money to buy a nicer tent with an air mattress and two 20 degree rated sleeping bags and quite a bit of other stuff. Thankfully the coldest it gets here is around 15 degrees for about two days and stays around the 30s-50s most of the winter in Washington. Your videos have been very helpful.
My dad and uncle took me out winter camping the first time when I was 8 and it ended being almost -40 Celsius for the whole weekend. It was pretty painful but that was the coldest I've camped in since and it made every other trip of my life seem like a tropical getaway. I'd recommend starting out with a pretty minimalist approach, that way every little comfort you add along the way will feel like a game changer. Great video, hopefully it gets some people to break the ice...literally 👍
I love that attitude. I froze my nuts off on my last trip. Hot rocks saved my ass. Next weekend I’m camping in my first hot tent and I’m thinking it’s going to feel like being in a hotel
Great video, I was born and raised here in Michigan. My dream is to have property up north one day. I love camping also, that's about mostly what I think of every day. I haven't been winter camping in over 20 years, a buddy and I camped out for a weekend in northern Michigan, it was 17 below. I still had a great time, didn't have a hot tent then. I was just using a Coleman tent. but I can't wait to go again. I recently bought a hot tent and stove. Great to see a fellow Michigander on TH-cam. Thanks for the video.🏕👍
I love to be on the outside. I stay 10 -12 hrs at a time the whole day and more . Don’t use any heat . But stay s few days at time it’s challenging because I love the hot coffee on the morning . God protect you . I keep watching your videos .
Just an idea, I have seen military surplus clothing and equipment for cold-weather be very good and robust at his job keeping you warm. The Polartec fleece EWCS level 1, base layer longjohns and going all the way to Level 7 parka and bottoms that are rated for pretty much anywhere on earth, as cold as it gets. As far as cold-weather and your sleeping bag set up, military surplus has some good answers there also for great prices. You can get a Gore-Tex bivy, as the first part of the 3 piece military sleep system, add your sleeping bag and a pad and be pretty good. You can add layers the colder it gets by incorporating extra layers wrapped around you with a wool blanket, and even space blankets, layered into your sleeping system.
Great to hear someone else say it. I've been wearing cotton in the mountains of Idaho (-20f and 3-5 meters of snow) since the 70's. Usually a cotton teeshirt, old school cotton blend waffle style longjohns and usually a wool shirt. Then layers and a wool stocking cap. Never died.
Well not YET. I'm sure cotton will get the better of us one day. We will probably be sitting on the couch and develop a sudden allergy to it and drop dead. The tech fabric folk will have the last laugh then!
Good tips. I've been camping for most of my life now. Gave up on living in a house and totally agree with your statement of don't work ever. Continue to live free my friend there's not many of us that do
Just curious, how do you not work, and still pay property taxes? I like the idea of living off the land, but wonder how it's even possible, given the fact that everyone is forced to pay "property taxes".
@@Jonnyvids14 it's called you fight for what's yours. The government doesn't send a whole army to reclaim land just a few irs agents which are light work for us freedom fighters
thank you! I have always wanted to camp in the snow because it is magical. This gave a lot of great tips for getting started. I am going to try it. I love backpacking and camping, and this is a great extension of that.
Me and some buddies used to get together years ago and go off-roading during the winter months and camp for the weekend. Some nights kissed the 20* to 10* temps and we survived. Always enjoyed the luck of scheduling a weekend and we ended up with snow. This was in Pennsylvania and/or Western Virginia. Always enjoy your videos.
And even if you end up shivering all night those are probably still some of your cherished memories, right? Does anyone ever remember a year later the night that they were comfortable at home in their bed?
I was in the Boy Scouts in the 1960's/'70s and our scout master (my dad) planned camping trips once a month year round. No foam pads or air mattresses to sleep on. Just a cold weather mummy bag inside my summer bag. The kids loved it... well, most of them. The grownups on the other hand usually ended up sleeping in the back of their vehicles.
Just was camping in Idaho mountains and winds blew in. Tent was staked but still trying to leave. Went searching around the site and found several large rounded rocks and placed them in the corners of the tent and it really helped. It was also snowing at the time.
This is my first video from this channel, it just popped up for me. I am so excited to see the others. WOW. I enjoy camping and am against overlanders and glamping (except where someone would not have the opportunity otherwise, like my mom or something).. and this is some great technical knowledge. Thank you for sharing this and I look forward to seeing more.
Great videos I just started winter camping this year in New Hampshire. I started at 35 deg now I’m down to like 0 or so it’s great. Thanks for the tips
Me too! Started in October been going every weekend since only gripe is alot of access points to campgrounds are off roads that are closed in wintertime little larry road in the white mountains are by far my favorite spot. Right now I'm using hancock campgrounds on the kancamagus till I can find something more remote
I bought my clothes and sleeping bag from Northern Outfitters and never looked back. It was great at -50 degrees in the Arctic muskox hunting and the sleeping bag has saved me many times. The bibs have also made some cold-weather deer stands very comfortable. Or, just laying on the ground in the snow for geese.
Great explanation of winter camping! Thank you, this was Very insightful and informative. Down to earth, realistic, and good for everyone. I especially like how you explained that a person doesn't need to be rich to winter camp, can use what you have to get started. Your experience is invaluable, you've got a new subscriber for life.
Winter camping is great! I have camped all year round in the northern part of the Manistee National Forest in Michigan. The only time I have ever gotten cold and froze my butt off up there was in August. Yes, in August! I forgot to take warm stuff to sleep in. It was in the high 90's during the day, but at night, it got down in the mid and upper 50's.
Fantastic! I really liked that splitting kindling trick (laying blade on wood, wrapping hand around handle/wood together, and dropping both on stump). I'll definitely remember that trick! The making curls too... Thanks 😊
Great video and very solid advice. I'm in my 50's and I sleep outside in snow tent or no tent and wear cotton clothing. Just bring dry under clothing to change into.
Glad to hear there is someone else out there that is just outside because he loves it. Doesn't take hundreds of dollars of fancy gear to sleep in the woods!
I live in the tropics... and we don;t have winter... lol. I haven't used a scarf or gloves for eighteen years - and don't miss them... But I love watching all your videos... so thanks for creating this channel.
I just found this channel and I love it! Way to live the "simple" life, really inspiring. We make things so complicated in this material world, where only economic growth count.
Lol! The removable liners tip would have came in handy 25 years ago when my boots and socks froze solid overnight in Marquette while sleeping on a bluff over looking Lake Superior. A lesson was learned that morning and a long cold snowshoe back to my car.
The first time I was winter camping, it was around -3C at night, I was alone and I was around 3 km to the nearest village by forest road/trail. I used really crappy gear as I had little understanding of what is needed to sleep warm at winter - single layer tent, 2cm thick summer inflatable pad, old sleeping bag rated to 0C comfort limit. My Walmart-grade sleeping pad was very thin, and to add to this fact, it has flattened at night breaking in multiple places. As I was feeling very sleepy and it was still around 4 hours to the first train to bring me home, I've decided to stay. I've put all my clothes on me, my backpack I've put under the flattened sleeping pad. It was still pretty cold, but I managed to sleep couple hours turning from one side to another every few minutes. So, I would say my first winter night in the woods I've got the point of "extreme" rating of sleeping bag - the sleep you wouldn't want to have, still you can survive it. I've woken up at around 5am, quickly has packed all my gear and have rushed to the first train in all the clothes which was on me. I was very quickly sweating like crazy. I was lucky to get to the train in the last minute. I was feeling super thirsty and sleepy, same time I was still sweating like hell. Fortunately, there were no health issues as the result of my first winter camping. Was it the last time I've camped overnight at winter? No, not at all - in two weeks I've spent my first time under the clear sky full of stars at -5C. I had two foam sleeping pads and a very thick and heavy sleeping bag. Now I have super advanced gear to which I've came to by spending numerous nights in the woods in freezing temperatures down to -20C. My go-to gear for winter overnights in the woods now is: Therm-a-rest Xtherm Wide (+ very thin foam mat to protect it from the ground), TheNorthFace Inferno -29C sleeping bag, tarp (I rarely use tents outside of mosquito season). It is a pleasure to sleep in underpants only when it's -15C outside (not as much of a pleasure to "go outside" at night though :D). P.S. The tent would benefit from having guylines attachment points in the middle of the sdes for them to hold snow a bit better. I have the same issue with my tent - it doesn't hold snow (especially wet snow) well.
😢😢😢❤❤😢😢😢 that's always good to have a good sleeping bag keep your head warm and your feet warm and you'll be fine. No matter the weather. Although some people can do amazing things
Great video. I have my first December solo camp coming up and you’ve made my mind up for me; I’ll be sleeping under the stars, tent will now be set up as backup only. 10x more excited now, cheers!
Good to see I'm not alone. Been living in a tent going on 4 yrs now! I have great memories of frozen boots, the ever sinking fire pit. Winter is the best time for a small wood stove. I have a Marmot ul 2, thermarest neo air and thermarest closed cell pad. No sleeping bag! I'm in the Florida keys!
@@survivingringworm2202 been through a few tents. Loved tents my whole life! Haven't slept in doors in years, weird! The warm place is called migration, going where the weather suits my clothes! I will go north again someday. Live it like you mean it!
I use a four season tent because we only camp in the winter. A down sleeping bag rated to 10 degrees. Thermal Rest pad like yours. I always take a tarp.....it keeps the cold wind out. And you gotta have a good cook stove. Warms the tent in just a few minutes. 👍👍😎
I went camping with my friends when I was so sick with a flu it was -30 abd I think the fresh air and the shooters helped because I was much healthier after a few days.
Did it last winter in Canada at - 29c during the Polar Vortex. It was absolutely incredible!! Not super warm but didn't deter me.... going back out this winter. Thanks for the info
I live right beside you in Port Huron and have never considered camping in the winter. However after seeing this very informative channel I will except the challenge. I've always wanted to try and have most of the gear but the sleeping bag I didn't know the proper bag to get. guess I am going shopping today. Love the content keep it coming.
So glad to hear that you are going to try it! Get the warmest down bag that you can reasonably afford (or double up sleeping bags) and you are sure to love it!
We bought 30 acres in the Northwoods of Wisconsin and next year I want to do a teepee for the winter. We bought a saw mill and are building our cabin but I've always wanted to have a tee pee
I need to learn more about winter camping. The lowest temp I went camping in was in April and it was 5 degrees C. I shivered so much and I even had a hot water bottle with me and I filled it up with my jet boil before sleeping. I woke up so cold. It's my sleeping bag. It sucks and I can't find any winter ones here. I'm going to keep watching your vids and I'll learn more.
Not a lot to learn honestly. Warm dry clothes, waterproof gear. Keep your gead/feet/hands dry and warm. You can bring heat patches they have them on Amazon.
You've got a great attitude, brother. Up where I live, it is currently -4F, but I would still consider camping, so long as I was out of the wind. When the temp is equal for Fehrenheit and Celcius, I draw the line, but that's minus 40. The cotton thing is overblown, but can, obviously be a serious issue. The great thing about cotton that synthetics can not match is that they are fairly durable around fire. I can snuggle right up to a blazing fire, warming my femoral arteries and large muscles with jeans over my long johns in a way that nobody can with synthetics, which melt, or get spark burn holes really fast, and don't those fancy North Face or Arcteryx pants look great with holes in them! In the case of clothes though, I do always have base layers, and sometimes secondary layers, of wool. light sweaters are what I use as upper base layers, and are generally obtainable at a reasonable cost at thrift stores. Lower wool long johns are less common to find used but are a worthy investment, same goes with hats; Wool is almost always best, for me, and sometimes it takes numerous thrift store visits to find a good wool hat, but it's worth looking through all the piles and/or heaps or racks of synthetics to find them, everytime.
You may have finally convinced me to winter camp with you. For ONE night. Preferably slightly above freezing. Also there is one thing that is conspicuously absent from all of your videos that I demand you rectify immediately 🐶🐕🦮🐕🦺
First, it’s not winter camping if it’s above freezing. Second, the short furry thing that looks like a cute, orange squirrel that has appeared in several videos is YOUR DOG.
The coldest ive camped is -8. My cousin and I at one time. Used to camp at least one night out of a weekend if not more. We used hammocks ( ol tickets to the moon) with a good rain fly or a heavy duty 10 x 15 tarp draped over a ridge line above us. Rain or shine. Cold or hot. Even had to hunker down till the hail storm passed. Tornado warnings blowing our phones up! Some of our favorite memories!!
One Michigander to another, love your content, I'm staying and learning, hope to head to UP week after next for a nice snowshoe get away...Thanks for the tips :)
Growing up in WI. the closet I ever came to winter camping was having an underground fort, (hole) with a cover & soil with a small fireplace w/chimney. Do you think you'll love it when you're 70 ? Have a ball !!
Excellent video, excellent presentation. Greatly appreciate the absence of cutesy, unfunny, YT-style humor. I prefer to think of myself as an adult. Tons of information, often backed up by your own experiences. Overall, very glad I found this channel. More, please.
You do a very good job giving great information in my opinion. The bag stuffs important to know understanding how a bad actually works saves lives.that old down I forgot leaving Naples again I was in a hurry.wish I still had it we have go to Washington.
Never done winter camping, but in the spring before there were bugs and it would still get into the 20'sF at night, I slept under the stars with a tarp & thermarest. Good time sleeping under the stars.
hello, eish think you are some special dude to be so cool with winter camping. But i see you have all your ducks in a row. You must be a very patient person to endure all the frozen situations that come with the winter. Like your channel and the projects you do.
Thanks Gray. I guess I am a fairly patient person. But it helps to be doing exactly what I’d like to be and where I’d like to do it. No sense ever getting bent out of shape over anything out here when every moment is by my choosing!
In Canada, we don't call it winter camping; we call it eviction. Thanks for another great video.
If I lived in Canada I might consider camping like this all winter a punishment rather than a freedom.
What you call winter camping is spring camping in 🇨🇦. Fun!
Lmbo
Basically what it's coming down to for montrealers
In LA they don't call it eviction, they call it paradise
I never get tired of listening to these tips you give. I’m 70, a woman plus ill health and I still enjoy camping. I go when the kids are back at school in September. I love it. I did get cold this year and listening to you I realised why. Nothing between my air bed and the floor. Thank you.
That was pretty awesome. Thanks. In the 1970s when I was a child we camped for 8 months. In a tent. In the woods on the side of a small mountain. We owned the property. To date it is the happiest and most treasured time me and my two little brothers remember. Its like we were born to be outside or something. We still talk very fondly of it. We hated when we left. No exaggeration. We thrived there. We are in our 50s and STILL dream of living that way! Its gotta be the way we're meant to live. Some of us anyway. It really is as if supposed normal life is drudgery by comparison. This was in Eastern Oklahoma for reference. Google shows me its still heavily wooded. 😁
So refreshing to hear from someone who isn't obsessed about gear, and licking the arse of manufacturers. You have done it and are doing it, rather than doing a ludicrous video from your lounge floor about gear you have never used. Outstanding video. Thank you.
I've been living (off/on) out of a tent for about a year and a half now. Going back to the city has very few incentives now - family that I'd stay with are... difficult. I'm grateful for their generosity, but my mental health usually nudges me to the door.
I'm winter camping right now! In Yuma, AZ. 😆 With 35-40 mph winds, I'd say the wind chill is about 55-60 F.
I invested in good gear about 45 years ago, and one of the few things I have left is my down bag. I didn't use it much (none) when I was a working stiff, but it's sure coming in handy now.
Good video!
People in Michigan break out the shorts and t-shirts in the 50’s when spring comes. 😂.
I think I'm about to join you...... For all the same reasons.
Fifteen minutes in? He nails it. Don't try to fight the weather. If it is 25-35 no wind no snow? Then go. But if it is 15 degrees and snowing? Don't go. He is absolutely right. You can go from a winter wonderland, fantastic camping experience... to a harrowing survival situation... when weather changes winter. Best advice I have heard in years.
This was a fantastic video. Simple, honest and straight to the point.
"Don't go to work...ever."
Ahhh, life goals.
I plan to sell my house and camp out on a friend's property until I find my own land. Then I plan to camp there for a good while as I build a small cabin from trees on my land. Some chickens and goats and a big garden should help provide plenty of cheap food. Rice and beans should fill the gaps. Somewhere in there I'm going to quit my full-time govt. job and rely on my side hustle, pressure washing, to provide the needed Babylonian magic rectangles I'll need to pay for taxes and such. Working from home during this "crisis" has made me realize how much wasted space I'm paying for and how much useless stuff I've accumulated over the years. Time for this guy to clean out the clutter and start a life that's a little more streamlined. I've been buying tents and other camping gear I'll need get started. I can't wait to be living in a tent with my wood stove and my 2 dogs and building things with my hands. 16 years in front of a computer screen at work has deprived me of the happiness obtained by creating things with my own hands. Along with other youtubers you have helped me get mentally and physically prepared for the life I've been longing for. Watching other people do it has made it all the more attractive. I might even start a channel to document it all. I doubt I'll come up with a name nearly as good as "Surviving Ringworm" though.
Do it! I admittedly haven't spent as much time at work as most people have but I never really got any joy from it. If you can train yourself to look at every purchase as time you have to sit at a desk doing something that drains the life out of you, it's a lot easier to skip spending the money. If you don't spend, you don't really have to work!
Babylonian sigil magick accurately describes money
I’m fourteen and I’ve been obsessed with wanting to leave society and camping ever since I can remember. I’d like to live a sustainable life on my own one day in the wilderness.
I'm definitely on the right channel and with like minded People.
Wonder Full. Thank You
@@survivingringworm2202 Hello, SR!
Though I very much like your idea, it would be really useful to us, mere aspiring bushcrafters, if you made a video showing or talking about ALL the downsides of that lifestyle, just so people know that it's not all "sunshine and rainbows".... Many thanks, in advance!
Thanks I really enjoyed that. By the way, I find the most dangerous camping to be in the 30-34f degree range. As you know, if there is a chance of rain/slush-rain/hail it’s best to avoid that temp range especially if there is wind too. I far more enjoy 28f degrees and lower and know that even if it is snowing heavy I can still manage to stay dry and warm. 30-34f is just a recipe for dangerous discomfort. Give me warmer, or give me colder. Either one.
🤣🤣 There is literally nothing in this video that would entice most people to winter camp. I love it 😀
It’s fun because you are with the elements one with nature
I am truly grateful for you sharing your information as I take my last steps into permanent tent living. I'm from Jackson Michigan, but plan to explore as I become more skilled in this way of life.
This was my first time watching your content and loom forward to seeing what other helpful tips and tricks you have to living free in nature. Thank you. 🙏🏿
Great video!!! Love summer camping and can’t wait to do some winter camping! Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
I work outside year round, and also thrive wearing cotton. Proponents of high tech fabrics may want to think about the environmental impact of the production process for synthetics. Sensible management is the key to success with cotton. Thanks for being brave enough to broach the subject!
Great tutorial with great advice! I love your low-key approach without the whole “I’m right and anybody that doesn’t agree is an idiot!” attitude. “If the weather is going to be bad, don’t go.” “Bring 4 times as much fuel as you think your stove is going to need if you’re going to melt snow.” Advice like that will save misery, and maybe lives!
I’ve always loved camping, and I’ve lived out in the woods since 2005. In a small house, but out in the woods.It’s a little like camping, but with reliable water and electricity...well, semi-reliable.
Thanks so much. You answered some critical questions for me re cotton, camping at 30 and not 20, uusin a tarp, avoiding storms, hand warmers, and 4x on fuel.
A tip few tips of my own. Make sure your car battery is heavy duty and not old, use snow tires, consider camp sites with electricity and use a low power heater like the desk heater from Honeywell, buy a marine grade extension cord. Algonquin park here I come!
Seems like a real down to earth great guy, not caught up in the pissing contest of expensive gear. Thanks for the video 🤠
First time watching. Don't live in Michigan, but I would have loved it when I was younger. Even tho I'm in my 60's now, I plan on going camping again come spring. I used to love to camp and fish. My advice to anyone, don't let life get in your way. Enjoy the experience and like he said check the weather.
Well said!
“Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans.”
I live in Ontario Canada right across the river from the state of Michigan and have been winter camping a few times and some of the times I enjoyed it and there was twice I did not but it was because of where we were at and what we had when I was winter camping. I have even slept in a ice hut on the great lakes Erie, Huron and St Clair while Ice fishing
I've done a fair amount of winter mountaineering and backpacking. I started out quite interested in optimum equipment and even have a custom mountaineering tent but I agree with your advice not to obsess or overspend on clothing and equipment. Everyone seems to go through a gear head phase before they accumulate enough experience to understand what works.
The gear phase can go years too. It's fun to shop it, collect it, give some of it to fam. Just a lil experience is priceless.
Im going through gearhead right now, getting the best gear possible but, I expect them to last a long lifetime
So sad, but very true.
I love winter time. I live in southern West Virginia I’m going to start winter camping this year and I’m very excited about it. I’m going to start in the 30° range and work my way down just like you said. I’m going to try it beside my cabin and if it goes to hell in a handbasket I’ll just go in my cabin and turn on the heat.
Love your approach and attitude.
We did our very first winter camping along Pictured Rocks shoreline about 5 years ago. Being our first time, we froze! Mainly because we were not prepared for zero degrees combined with high winds. But I LOVED It! So much so that it has become our annual February snowshoe trip. Next month will be our 5th trip.
Now with better gear, we no longer get cold while sleeping. And we only use a summer tent. Much prefer the ventilation of a summer tent vs. a winter tent. Much cheaper too.
Regarding wearing cotton though, I do want to caution anyone: although wearing cotton around camp is fine, and comfortable, I would never recommend wearing it while snowshoeing into a camp, because you WILL sweat while snowshoeing, no matter how many layers you remove. Any cotton will just ABSORB the sweat and STAY wet. Whereas a synthetic or merino wool base will dry MUCH FASTER. So if you are car camping in the winter, or just hanging out at the camp once you set up camp, sure, wearing cotton can be very comfortable. But while actual hiking or snowshoeing, it can make an otherwise fun trip miserable.
I've been in Michigan for 63 years. You go right ahead and injoy yourself.
I’ve been homeless for the past three months now living out of a tent after losing my job, I’m getting ready now for 50/30 degrees next week, it’s getting cold fast. I’m just thankful I was able to get some work for a couple of weeks last month and made enough money to buy a nicer tent with an air mattress and two 20 degree rated sleeping bags and quite a bit of other stuff. Thankfully the coldest it gets here is around 15 degrees for about two days and stays around the 30s-50s most of the winter in Washington. Your videos have been very helpful.
Good info, when younger my dad showed me how to make a shelter with limbs and a log laying, love watching your videos
My dad and uncle took me out winter camping the first time when I was 8 and it ended being almost -40 Celsius for the whole weekend. It was pretty painful but that was the coldest I've camped in since and it made every other trip of my life seem like a tropical getaway. I'd recommend starting out with a pretty minimalist approach, that way every little comfort you add along the way will feel like a game changer. Great video, hopefully it gets some people to break the ice...literally 👍
I love that attitude. I froze my nuts off on my last trip. Hot rocks saved my ass. Next weekend I’m camping in my first hot tent and I’m thinking it’s going to feel like being in a hotel
@@steveb6444 I'm really tempted to try a hot tent out, it'd definitely be a whole different experience. Hope you have a good time 👍
Thank you! A video with real information without trying to sell me this and that. Much appreciated!!
Great video, I was born and raised here in Michigan. My dream is to have property up north one day. I love camping also, that's about mostly what I think of every day. I haven't been winter camping in over 20 years, a buddy and I camped out for a weekend in northern Michigan, it was 17 below. I still had a great time, didn't have a hot tent then. I was just using a Coleman tent. but I can't wait to go again. I recently bought a hot tent and stove. Great to see a fellow Michigander on TH-cam. Thanks for the video.🏕👍
One of the best youtubers !
Fellow Michigander here. Great video. Thank you.
I love to be on the outside.
I stay 10 -12 hrs at a time the whole day and more . Don’t use any heat . But stay s few days at time it’s challenging because I love the hot coffee on the morning . God protect you .
I keep watching your videos .
Super down to earth guy, he kept it very simple.
It's also great for anyone who doesn't like dealing with the bugs when warm weather camping. I am a big fan of winter camping. Nice video
I love winter camping. It is so peaceful and quiet.
Good to see you are doing well and thriving doing what you love, Ryan! Best wishes and see ya in the next video! Love your channel!
Just an idea, I have seen military surplus clothing and equipment for cold-weather be very good and robust at his job keeping you warm. The Polartec fleece EWCS level 1, base layer longjohns and going all the way to Level 7 parka and bottoms that are rated for pretty much anywhere on earth, as cold as it gets. As far as cold-weather and your sleeping bag set up, military surplus has some good answers there also for great prices. You can get a Gore-Tex bivy, as the first part of the 3 piece military sleep system, add your sleeping bag and a pad and be pretty good. You can add layers the colder it gets by incorporating extra layers wrapped around you with a wool blanket, and even space blankets, layered into your sleeping system.
Heading out soon to live the life as a nomad. Thanks for sharing your way of life. Way cool!
Great to hear someone else say it. I've been wearing cotton in the mountains of Idaho (-20f and 3-5 meters of snow) since the 70's. Usually a cotton teeshirt, old school cotton blend waffle style longjohns and usually a wool shirt. Then layers and a wool stocking cap. Never died.
Well not YET. I'm sure cotton will get the better of us one day. We will probably be sitting on the couch and develop a sudden allergy to it and drop dead. The tech fabric folk will have the last laugh then!
Good tips. I've been camping for most of my life now. Gave up on living in a house and totally agree with your statement of don't work ever. Continue to live free my friend there's not many of us that do
Just curious, how do you not work, and still pay property taxes?
I like the idea of living off the land, but wonder how it's even possible, given the fact that everyone is forced to pay "property taxes".
@@Jonnyvids14 it's called you fight for what's yours. The government doesn't send a whole army to reclaim land just a few irs agents which are light work for us freedom fighters
thank you! I have always wanted to camp in the snow because it is magical. This gave a lot of great tips for getting started. I am going to try it. I love backpacking and camping, and this is a great extension of that.
Me and some buddies used to get together years ago and go off-roading during the winter months and camp for the weekend. Some nights kissed the 20* to 10* temps and we survived. Always enjoyed the luck of scheduling a weekend and we ended up with snow. This was in Pennsylvania and/or Western Virginia.
Always enjoy your videos.
And even if you end up shivering all night those are probably still some of your cherished memories, right?
Does anyone ever remember a year later the night that they were comfortable at home in their bed?
@@survivingringworm2202 Yep. Still remember the details.
Finally a non-vlog style video with the info I need
When I was in my late teens we only had a tarp and sleeping bags. Slept by the fire all night in 30-40 Fahrenheit at night. Best times ever!
Thank you for solidifying why I hate snow. Liked and subscribed.
I was in the Boy Scouts in the 1960's/'70s and our scout master (my dad) planned camping trips once a month year round. No foam pads or air mattresses to sleep on. Just a cold weather mummy bag inside my summer bag. The kids loved it... well, most of them. The grownups on the other hand usually ended up sleeping in the back of their vehicles.
Why is it that kids can find the pleasure in just about any outdoor activity but adults crumble at the smallest change from their normal routine?
We did the same thing in Scouts in 80’s we did use straw but we used canvas gi pup tents
And I bet you had a great time too! Doesn't take a lot of $ or fancy gear to have a great time in the outdoors.
Thank you sir. Stay safe.
Glad u are thriving thru winter Mr Ringworm.
Man wish had that winter north face tent when I was in Sweden!😃😄thanks
Just was camping in Idaho mountains and winds blew in. Tent was staked but still trying to leave. Went searching around the site and found several large rounded rocks and placed them in the corners of the tent and it really helped. It was also snowing at the time.
Not much fun at the time I assume but I bet you still enjoy the memory of it!
This is my first video from this channel, it just popped up for me. I am so excited to see the others. WOW. I enjoy camping and am against overlanders and glamping (except where someone would not have the opportunity otherwise, like my mom or something).. and this is some great technical knowledge. Thank you for sharing this and I look forward to seeing more.
Great videos I just started winter camping this year in New Hampshire. I started at 35 deg now I’m down to like 0 or so it’s great. Thanks for the tips
Awesome! Glad you are enjoying it.
Me too! Started in October been going every weekend since only gripe is alot of access points to campgrounds are off roads that are closed in wintertime little larry road in the white mountains are by far my favorite spot. Right now I'm using hancock campgrounds on the kancamagus till I can find something more remote
Im from Hampton Beach. I have camped in Iceland, Canada, NH and Idaho. I don't like slush
I bought my clothes and sleeping bag from Northern Outfitters and never looked back. It was great at -50 degrees in the Arctic muskox hunting and the sleeping bag has saved me many times. The bibs have also made some cold-weather deer stands very comfortable. Or, just laying on the ground in the snow for geese.
Gear makes all the difference!
This guy knows what's up.
Great explanation of winter camping! Thank you, this was Very insightful and informative. Down to earth, realistic, and good for everyone. I especially like how you explained that a person doesn't need to be rich to winter camp, can use what you have to get started. Your experience is invaluable, you've got a new subscriber for life.
Winter camping is great! I have camped all year round in the northern part of the Manistee National Forest in Michigan. The only time I have ever gotten cold and froze my butt off up there was in August. Yes, in August! I forgot to take warm stuff to sleep in. It was in the high 90's during the day, but at night, it got down in the mid and upper 50's.
Man, am I glad your channel popped up on my suggested videos today. I grew up in the U.P.
I'm from California, but my mom was born and raised in Michigan..
This guy reminds me of my all my relatives
YAH, MICHIGAN!!!
Fantastic! I really liked that splitting kindling trick (laying blade on wood, wrapping hand around handle/wood together, and dropping both on stump). I'll definitely remember that trick! The making curls too... Thanks 😊
subbed for very honest yet pertinent information. love the straight forward no b.s!
Great video and very solid advice. I'm in my 50's and I sleep outside in snow tent or no tent and wear cotton clothing. Just bring dry under clothing to change into.
Glad to hear there is someone else out there that is just outside because he loves it. Doesn't take hundreds of dollars of fancy gear to sleep in the woods!
I live in the tropics... and we don;t have winter... lol.
I haven't used a scarf or gloves for eighteen years - and don't miss them...
But I love watching all your videos... so thanks for creating this channel.
I just found this channel and I love it!
Way to live the "simple" life, really inspiring. We make things so complicated in this material world, where only economic growth count.
You said it! We are all obsessed with collecting $ and garbage while at the same time knowing full well that it won't fulfill us.
Lol!
The removable liners tip would have came in handy 25 years ago when my boots and socks froze solid overnight in Marquette while sleeping on a bluff over looking Lake Superior. A lesson was learned that morning and a long cold snowshoe back to my car.
I can appreciate this….Illinois here and ready for some winter SUV camping! Thanks for the video.
The first time I was winter camping, it was around -3C at night, I was alone and I was around 3 km to the nearest village by forest road/trail. I used really crappy gear as I had little understanding of what is needed to sleep warm at winter - single layer tent, 2cm thick summer inflatable pad, old sleeping bag rated to 0C comfort limit.
My Walmart-grade sleeping pad was very thin, and to add to this fact, it has flattened at night breaking in multiple places. As I was feeling very sleepy and it was still around 4 hours to the first train to bring me home, I've decided to stay. I've put all my clothes on me, my backpack I've put under the flattened sleeping pad. It was still pretty cold, but I managed to sleep couple hours turning from one side to another every few minutes. So, I would say my first winter night in the woods I've got the point of "extreme" rating of sleeping bag - the sleep you wouldn't want to have, still you can survive it.
I've woken up at around 5am, quickly has packed all my gear and have rushed to the first train in all the clothes which was on me. I was very quickly sweating like crazy. I was lucky to get to the train in the last minute. I was feeling super thirsty and sleepy, same time I was still sweating like hell.
Fortunately, there were no health issues as the result of my first winter camping.
Was it the last time I've camped overnight at winter? No, not at all - in two weeks I've spent my first time under the clear sky full of stars at -5C. I had two foam sleeping pads and a very thick and heavy sleeping bag.
Now I have super advanced gear to which I've came to by spending numerous nights in the woods in freezing temperatures down to -20C.
My go-to gear for winter overnights in the woods now is: Therm-a-rest Xtherm Wide (+ very thin foam mat to protect it from the ground), TheNorthFace Inferno -29C sleeping bag, tarp (I rarely use tents outside of mosquito season). It is a pleasure to sleep in underpants only when it's -15C outside (not as much of a pleasure to "go outside" at night though :D).
P.S. The tent would benefit from having guylines attachment points in the middle of the sdes for them to hold snow a bit better. I have the same issue with my tent - it doesn't hold snow (especially wet snow) well.
Nothing better than wild camping
🤍
This is some of the smartest most common sense stuff that your sharing here ,thanks
My favorite camping trips were with my best friend at North Higgin's Lake near Grayling, Mich. In February in a tent without a heater.
I love watching your blogs. I actually learn from you. Thanks
😢😢😢❤❤😢😢😢 that's always good to have a good sleeping bag keep your head warm and your feet warm and you'll be fine. No matter the weather. Although some people can do amazing things
Great video. I have my first December solo camp coming up and you’ve made my mind up for me; I’ll be sleeping under the stars, tent will now be set up as backup only. 10x more excited now, cheers!
I love love love winter camping.
I just like watching these videos while sitting in Florida in 55 F weather thinking you guys are nuts.
Good to see I'm not alone. Been living in a tent going on 4 yrs now! I have great memories of frozen boots, the ever sinking fire pit. Winter is the best time for a small wood stove. I have a Marmot ul 2, thermarest neo air and thermarest closed cell pad. No sleeping bag! I'm in the Florida keys!
4 years? Nice work! Wait, isn't it cheating if you are in a warm place?
@@survivingringworm2202 been through a few tents. Loved tents my whole life! Haven't slept in doors in years, weird! The warm place is called migration, going where the weather suits my clothes! I will go north again someday. Live it like you mean it!
I use a four season tent because we only camp in the winter. A down sleeping bag rated to 10 degrees. Thermal Rest pad like yours. I always take a tarp.....it keeps the cold wind out. And you gotta have a good cook stove. Warms the tent in just a few minutes. 👍👍😎
I've always wanted to winter camp. I ride the UP all winter on my snowmobile. Would be awesome to camp while up there
I love the outdoors as well and love to winter camp. I'm also from SE Michigan.
I went camping with my friends when I was so sick with a flu it was -30 abd I think the fresh air and the shooters helped because I was much healthier after a few days.
Did it last winter in Canada at - 29c during the Polar Vortex. It was absolutely incredible!! Not super warm but didn't deter me.... going back out this winter. Thanks for the info
I live right beside you in Port Huron and have never considered camping in the winter. However after seeing this very informative channel I will except the challenge. I've always wanted to try and have most of the gear but the sleeping bag I didn't know the proper bag to get. guess I am going shopping today. Love the content keep it coming.
So glad to hear that you are going to try it!
Get the warmest down bag that you can reasonably afford (or double up sleeping bags) and you are sure to love it!
I love the the idea of the sinking fire. I'm going try that if Utah get's a bit more snow this winter.
I've lived out of a mountaineering pack in a tent for eleven and a half yrs now in northwestern Montana. That weather looks nice
Thank you for ur video it allows me to live through you while im working and dream of my next camping/backpacking trip.
We bought 30 acres in the Northwoods of Wisconsin and next year I want to do a teepee for the winter. We bought a saw mill and are building our cabin but I've always wanted to have a tee pee
I need to learn more about winter camping. The lowest temp I went camping in was in April and it was 5 degrees C. I shivered so much and I even had a hot water bottle with me and I filled it up with my jet boil before sleeping. I woke up so cold. It's my sleeping bag. It sucks and I can't find any winter ones here. I'm going to keep watching your vids and I'll learn more.
Not a lot to learn honestly. Warm dry clothes, waterproof gear. Keep your gead/feet/hands dry and warm. You can bring heat patches they have them on Amazon.
@@redactedzero2622 Do you get used to the cold? Would I feel warmer if I was out for several days in a row, instead of going out one night a week?
You've got a great attitude, brother. Up where I live, it is currently -4F, but I would still consider camping, so long as I was out of the wind. When the temp is equal for Fehrenheit and Celcius, I draw the line, but that's minus 40. The cotton thing is overblown, but can, obviously be a serious issue. The great thing about cotton that synthetics can not match is that they are fairly durable around fire. I can snuggle right up to a blazing fire, warming my femoral arteries and large muscles with jeans over my long johns in a way that nobody can with synthetics, which melt, or get spark burn holes really fast, and don't those fancy North Face or Arcteryx pants look great with holes in them! In the case of clothes though, I do always have base layers, and sometimes secondary layers, of wool. light sweaters are what I use as upper base layers, and are generally obtainable at a reasonable cost at thrift stores. Lower wool long johns are less common to find used but are a worthy investment, same goes with hats; Wool is almost always best, for me, and sometimes it takes numerous thrift store visits to find a good wool hat, but it's worth looking through all the piles and/or heaps or racks of synthetics to find them, everytime.
Great video can't beat winter camping
Yeah I chuckle at some of the gear snob videos. My son and I camped in 18" of snow in 25 degree weather in a cheap summer tent...lol
Seems that most outdoor channels are ONLY there to promote gear snobbery, no?
@@survivingringworm2202 Seems that way 😄
What a great video from a cool guy in a cold place. Lots of wisdom about camping--and living--here.
You may have finally convinced me to winter camp with you. For ONE night. Preferably slightly above freezing. Also there is one thing that is conspicuously absent from all of your videos that I demand you rectify immediately 🐶🐕🦮🐕🦺
First, it’s not winter camping if it’s above freezing.
Second, the short furry thing that looks like a cute, orange squirrel that has appeared in several videos is YOUR DOG.
Awww...i agree, a dog is a must for this channel.
The coldest ive camped is -8. My cousin and I at one time. Used to camp at least one night out of a weekend if not more. We used hammocks ( ol tickets to the moon) with a good rain fly or a heavy duty 10 x 15 tarp draped over a ridge line above us. Rain or shine. Cold or hot. Even had to hunker down till the hail storm passed. Tornado warnings blowing our phones up! Some of our favorite memories!!
Pulled it off for almost 2 years straight.
Man, winter camping in a hammock must be chilly! Did you still have a good bed pad in it for insulation?
Yes. And usually a nalgene water bottle full of hot water by my feet. Or a hot hands pack.
One Michigander to another, love your content, I'm staying and learning, hope to head to UP week after next for a nice snowshoe get away...Thanks for the tips :)
Seems as though you might have needed those snowshoes!
Growing up in WI. the closet I ever came to winter camping was having an underground fort, (hole) with a cover & soil with a small fireplace w/chimney. Do you think you'll love it when you're 70 ? Have a ball !!
I love camping in the winter
We put mylar bubble wrap on the floor and the sides of the tent. It raised it 20° without any heat source.
It's been a minute since you posted anything I was thinking maybe you gave up but I'm glad you didn't, you doing exactly what I'd like to do!
The videos have slowed down now that it's cold because I now have to leave RW to do the editing. The winter makes my laptop unusable!
Excellent video, excellent presentation. Greatly appreciate the absence of cutesy, unfunny, YT-style humor. I prefer to think of myself as an adult. Tons of information, often backed up by your own experiences. Overall, very glad I found this channel. More, please.
You do a very good job giving great information in my opinion.
The bag stuffs important to know understanding how a bad actually works saves lives.that old down I forgot leaving Naples again I was in a hurry.wish I still had it we have go to Washington.
Never done winter camping, but in the spring before there were bugs and it would still get into the 20'sF at night, I slept under the stars with a tarp & thermarest. Good time sleeping under the stars.
Thank you for your very useful and practical information based on your experience. Very much appreciated from Scotland 🏴
Glad you found it useful!
Was just in Scotland a few years ago. Seemed like a soggy place to camp!
hello, eish think you are some special dude to be so cool with winter camping. But i see you have all your ducks in a row. You must be a very patient person to endure all the frozen situations that come with the winter. Like your channel and the projects you do.
Thanks Gray. I guess I am a fairly patient person. But it helps to be doing exactly what I’d like to be and where I’d like to do it. No sense ever getting bent out of shape over anything out here when every moment is by my choosing!