Waking up in the middle of the night, or unable to fall asleep for that matter due to cold feet can be quite a dissatisfying experience especially when you are camping due to the fact that you typically have limited resources. You can’t simply hop up out of bed and grab another sleeping bag… Well Unless you have a spare with you…
Any way if you struggle with cold feet inside you sleeping bag, or just in general, I can totally relate. As I have struggled with cold feet since I can remember… So bad that even during an average nights sleep I have to preheat my bed before I get in it. Otherwise I’ll Be cold from the Knees down through the entire duration of the night…
But I Struggle the most with cold feet when I Camp, as I don’t really have access to a heated mattress pad as I do at home. For this reason, Something needs to be done. Not only for myself but also for you as well. This Camping Cold Feet Sleeper Syndrom Needs To Be Curred!
How To Keep your Feet Warm As You Sleep On your Camping Trip
The best, and simplest way I have found for keeping my feet warm as I Sleep Is by simply wearing socks! I Know, Super Basic, but Highly effective. You see, After talking with others about this, and just the overall idea of wearing socks to bed. I have come to realize that not many people do wear socks to bed.
Many say it is because it’s “Uncomfortable”, or “It’s Weird” And I used to think the same. But I realized I used to think it was strange because when I was a kid, and I wore socks to bed, I would always wake up the next morning with 1 or both of those socks missing… This was because they would always fall off at some point during the night…
However, I started wearing socks to bed again as I got older, and I haven’t had a problem with losing my socks throughout the night Since… Socks must have been to big for me when I was a youngster???
Anyway, The great thing about wearing socks to bed is that fact that they act basically like little personal Sleeping bags for each foot. Haha… I know kind of a weird way to put it, but the analogy works right?
Nonetheless, Socks come in so many different styles and Uses. Like, For example, If you are going out hiking in the snow for the day in your snow boots, Odds are you aren’t going to wear a pair of thin, lightweight ankle socks… Rather you would opt for a pair of long wool socks right. As wool socks are going to keep you much warmer than a Pair of small ankle socks.
So, when it comes time for you to hit the tent for bed wearing the right pair of socks to bed can mean the difference between comfortable warm feet and not. Now, That’s not to say that thicker warmer socks are always the answer. As thinker ones could result in sweaty, overheating feet… Which is definitely not comfy either. We all have a personal preference, choose the socks you wear to bed based on it.
If Wearing socks to bed aren’t quite your thing, That’s totally Cool with me. Because below is a list of many other options that can be used, I’m sure there is an idea below that will help you!
Causes For Cold Feet When Sleeping
As many people will likely experience cold feet at some point in their lives. Typically the cause is harmless and temporary. However, some could indicate a much worse health condition.
Here We are going to be focusing on the Harmless and Temporary conditions. However if you feel that you May have a more health condition? I suggest you request the help of a professional on the topic.
Typically the cause for cold feet is simply a lack of warmth or clothing covering your feet. Which is pretty obvious to cure. Simply cover up your feet, or provide your feet with an external heat source. Below we will mainly be going over ideas that will apply directly to this symptom. However, there are a couple of other reasons for cold feet that you may want to know about.
Check out “This” article to learn more about the health conditions related to cold feet.
Tips For Warming Your Feet Inside Your Sleeping Bag or Sleep System
- Wear Warm, Dry Socks
- Wrap Your Feet In A Blanket
- Fill Empty Space
- Warm Rocks By The Fire Prior
- Warm Water In A Water Bottle
- Chemical Heat Packets
1) Wear Warm, Dry Socks
Like I said above, simply wearing a pair of socks to bed with you can drastically affect how warm your feet stay. And with all the different options available when it comes to socks I’m sure you will be able to find a pair that will work great for you and still be comfortable.
As I know many people dislike the feeling of wearing socks as they sleep… But I definitely think it’s worth getting over if this is you? As you will like we see a drastic change.
Anyway, when it comes to socks that are ideal for sleeping in while you are camping, I suggest you pick up a pair of wool socks. Me personally, I like These Ones, As they are more of an Ankle Sock. Mid Calf Socks just always make my legs itch badly…
Or if you’re really looking to go all out, You could pick yourself up a pair of These Down Insulated Booties Socks, or something similar. However, I’ve got to be honest, I have never personally tried a pair of these, But they seem like a viable option.
But one major thing to keep in mind when it comes to selecting socks to sleep in is, Don’t use a pair that are too loose. Because if you toss and turn a lot as you sleep you are likely to end up kicking them off your feet at some point during the night. Now, That doesn’t mean get a pair that are skin tight, as doing this could result in loss of circulation in your feet… Simply find A Pair that fit you well.
As well, Make sure the socks you wear to bed are completely dry. By wearing a pair of wet socks to bed obviously, they won’t help you in terms of warmth retention. Because the Moisture will suck the warmth out of your feet…
Preferably wear a pair of clean, fresh socks to bed. As by wearing the socks that have been on your feet all day they are likely to be slightly moist, yet unnoticeable if you don’t feel your socks by hand. Not to mention they likely are quite dirty as well…
2) Wrap Your Feet In A Blanket
This idea is, simple, yet quite effective. Simply wrap your feet in a spare blanket. Then slip down into your sleeping bag.
The blanket will act as extra insulation inside your sleeping bag and provide you with a tighter section in the base of your sleeping bag that will require less body heat to heat.
Which in turn will keep your feet warmer, and if done right comfier.
3) Fill Empty Space
This goes along fairly close to the previous idea. However, for this idea, you will simply be using extra clothing, blankets, a spare sleeping bag… Really whatever you can think of that you have readily available to stuff inside the base of your sleeping bag.
It’s quite simple, so you’re struggling to warm your feet, and you have no extra blankets or a spare sleeping bag. Ideally, you can take your clothes from your pack and stuff them into the base of your sleeping bag.
This will fill all the empty space, well at least theoretically it will. That is if you have enough clothes to fill that space. Anyway, the concept is to fill all of the empty space in the base of your sleeping bag in order to allow for both greater insulation, as well as, require less heat from your feet in order to heat the space.
Making it much easier for your feet to heat the space and warm themselves.
4) Warm Rocks By The Fire
Personally, this is my favorite idea as it doesn’t require much more than just a pair of old socks, or a towel. The concept here is to warm a few rocks by the fire before bed.
Specifically probably about 30 to 40 minutes before going to bed place a few rocks near the rim of the firepit. Preferably outside of the firepit. Close enough to where they will be in a warm spot.
Obviously, be sure to monitor the rocks, as they can begin to get quite hot quickly. However, if you have placed them correctly this shouldn’t be too much of a problem. The idea is to not place the rocks in the fire pit, but rather near.
Now the rock size you choose depends completely on you and your preferences. I typically like rocks that are about the size of baseballs, has this that well inside of a couple pairs of socks, And they don’t take up too much space inside my sleeping bag.
Anyway, once you have a couple of rocks warmed, move them away from the firepit and let them get cool if need be to a warm manageable temperature.
Wednesday already go ahead and place them inside of an old pair of socks, or wrap them in a towel or something alike. By doing this you will give yourself a more comfortable area for your feet during the night. As the socks, or towel will provide you with a barrier between the bear rocks and your skin.
Once you have wrapped the warm rocks inside of a towel, or place them in a sock. Place the rocks, wrapped in a garment in the bottom of your sleeping bag.
You can even do this 10 minutes or so before heading to bed, as this will basically preheat the bottom of your sleeping bag and give you a warm space to place your feet into immediately.
The cool thing about rocks is they typically tend to hold heat for a fairly long period of time.
Obviously take caution when it comes to heating rocks as they can get very hot quickly.
5) Warm Water In A Water Bottle
Basically the same concept as the “heating rocks idea”, however, this is done by using a water bottle filled with warm water. Then you can choose how you warm the water as there are a few different ways to do so.
You can either do like above and place the water bottle filled with water next to your firepit before bed. Or you can simply warm some water using a small camp stove.
However, one major caution to be aware of is that how many water bottles will release toxic chemicals into the water that is inside the water bottle when the water bottle is heated, or filled with hot water.
For this reason, you need to make sure that the water bottle you are using will not do so if you plan to use the water bottle to carry water later that you will drink.
Typically aluminum and plastic water bottles will leech toxic chemicals into the water when heated. Stainless steel I’ve heard is a good option that will not do so.
Anyway, once you have your water bottle filled with warm water you can either do like with the rocks and wrap it in a garment then place at the base of your sleeping bag or simply just place it raw in the bottom of your sleeping bag.
One thing to note is that when doing this technique you could potentially have a water bottle that leaks throughout the duration of the night which will then cause a lot of other problems for you… A wet sleeping bag won’t keep you warm. Not to mention the embarrassment you might feel if your friends notice your sleeping bag is wet the next morning… They might start assuming things…
In order to protect yourself from a leaking water bottle. Try placing your water bottle in a seal-able plastic bag. Such as a Ziploc bag or something similar before placing it in your sleeping bag. Just in case it leaks during the night.
6) Chemical Heat Packets
This is probably my favorite idea, as it is simple and requires very little work in order to implement. Chemical heat pack, if probably seen these at the stores as they’re typically all over the place during winter time, at least in the US.
These small heat packets go inside your gloves or inside your boots or even can be adhered somewhere on your clothing in order to warm your body.
However, the idea here is to place them at the bottom of your sleeping bag. The great part about this is that there’s not much pre-bed preparation. Meaning there isn’t really anything you have to do prior to going to bed. You can simply hop into your sleeping bag, open up one of these heat packets, and throw it in the base of your sleeping bag.
Over the course of about 20 to 30 minutes, it will begin to heat up, and some of these are made to last upwards of 18 hours! Which is definitely enough to keep your feet warm throughout the duration of the night.
I honestly think this is the best external heat Source you can get, as they last so long, and there’s no required preparation other than a short 20 to 30-minute wait has the heat up.
Me personally I prefer the “hot hands” body warmers. As the body warmers are typically larger. However, they also make hand warmers, Toe Warmers, and Insole warmers
Not to mention these also work great when you’re outside the tent going about your day, they’re so small and compact that they fit inside your gloves or inside your boots. But it obviously depends on the heat pack you buy as each is designed for a different use.
Effects Different Sleep Systems Have
Obviously, your sleep system will have a large impact on how warm you feet will be, as well as your overall body. However, focusing directly on how your sleep system will effect how warm you feet stay. by using the proper sleep system you can get better coverage over your feet. Hence, better warmth retention so your feet stay warm.
For example: Have you noticed when you climb into bed for the first time, just after you made it. That the base of you bed (Where your feet are) Likely will have lot of empty space around. Due to the fact that your blankets are stretched over you bed.
This makes it very difficult for you to wrap you feet in the blankets, as they are stretched so tight over your bed. Well all that empty space at the from of your bed will cause your feet to get cold due to lack of coverage.
This is probably the biggest reason as to why I personally experience cold feet on a daily basis…
Anyway, By using the wrong sleep system during the colder season you could be leaving your feet exposed. Now this isn’t to say you won’t get cold feet inside a sleeping bag either. Because I do there to…
The biggest Impact you can have on solving your cold feet symptoms is by using a sleep system that allows for little empty space around your feet as tolerable. This means if you’re getting cold feet inside your sleeping bag. Try filling the empty space in the bottom of your sleeping bag as suggested above.
If that doesn’t quite do it. Add an external heat source to the base of your sleeping bag, or sleep system. Such as a warm water bottle…
The whole Concept here is to use a sleep system that will cover your feet well. That’s probably the best thing you can do to start. If you still experience cold feet, try some of the ideas above.
Conclusion
Cold feet can be a major discomfort especially in the context of trying to sleep after a day of playing in the open backcountry… Probably the best piece of advice I can give you at this time is to prep before you go. If you know you will likely experience cold feet prep accordingly. Take Warm Socks with you, use a sleep system that will cover your feet well, Use an external warmer to help your feet stay warm…
With a little creativity, you could probably come up with a way to warm, and keep your feet warm the entire duration of the night!
I hope this article helped you in one way or another. If you’ve got any questions or comments be sure to leave them below! Also, Check out some of the other resources below on the topic of staying warm when your camping.