Destinations
How to stay warm while camping in winter
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If hiring a van for a winter camping trip isn’t on your radar already, now’s the time to reassess your priorities. The summer may sound more appealing, but there’s so much to love about a winter road trip, especially when you know how to stay snug in a van through the colder months.
Below, we’ve taken the two coldest times of day – morning and evening – and provided a few hot tips on how to best beat the chill. These are things that you, as a traveller, can control when hiring a van, and bear in mind that van owners generally kit their vans out with insulation for the winter months. They may also have heaters, so be sure to check out all the vehicle’s features when you’re deciding which van to hire for a winter road trip.
Staying warm in the morning while camping in winter
Plan ahead and start the day right Before you go to bed, lay your warm clothes out beside you so they can be slipped on the moment you decide to get up. Once you’re rugged up in a fleece and beanie, you can duck into the front seat, switch the ignition and get the heater cranking. Run it for five or ten minutes to heat the interior and create a cosy cabin from which you can plan your next move.
Fuel up Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Get the kettle boiling, the AeroPress pressing or the percolator percolating; whatever your method, get moving before the madness hits. There’s nothing quite like the hit of a hot drink to heat you up in the morning, especially when you can crawl back into bed to enjoy it (with a view, preferably).
Winter also presents an opportunity to bring porridge, in all its gooey goodness, back into your life. Add a few berries, some cinnamon and a couple of squares of dark chocolate to the pot and let the warmth spread through your body.
Kickstart the heart There’s nothing like an early morning workout to warm you up and get the blood flowing. We get that it sounds counterintuitive to leave your home and embrace the cold, but there are few better ways to warm up than by hitting the trails, or road, for a short run or ride. If you’re hesitant to stray too far from home, you can improvise a workout in and around the van by doing squats, situps and pushups, and perhaps even pullups on the door frame (depending on the van’s design).
Staying warm in the evening while camping in winter
Make a hot water bottle Fancy a warm hug that’ll last through the night? Best be brewing some hot water before going to bed. You may not own a hot water bottle, but it’s possible to MacGyver a do-it-yourself version if you happen to have a Nalgene bottle or something similar. Simply pour boiling water in the bottle then wrap it in a sock, bandana or another light piece of clothing. You can keep it close to your body or pop it at the bottom of your sleeping bag to warm up the space; trust us, it’s surprisingly effective.
Sleep (correctly) in a sleeping bag A four-season sleeping bag is designed to keep you warm through cold winter nights, but there are ways to make it both more and less effective. One of the common mistakes inexperienced campers make is to wear too many layers at night. A down-filled sleeping bag works by trapping your body heat in the bag, but if you’re wearing too many layers, the heat can’t escape from the core in the first place. Woollen socks, gloves and a beanie will protect the extremities, but when it comes to the core, try to wear a thermal top or a dry t-shirt and see how you go. Remember you can always throw on another layer if you’re really cold, and a sleeping bag liner will work wonders too, providing extra warmth if your sleeping bag isn’t quite up to the job.
Cook up a storm If, at night, your body’s core is a furnace, consider your evening meal the fuel that keeps it going. Eating a big meal in the evening is crucial as it’ll keep the internal fire burning and ensure your body releases heat throughout the night. As if we needed to convince you to cook a big pot of pasta, right?
