How To Stay Safe With Winter Camping

Last Updated on: 16th February 2025, 03:09 am

Winter camping is getting more and more popular, especially with hotels becoming very expensive to stay in. And the sad reality of life is that many homeless people are living in tents all year round. They also need to look after themselves and need to take care when they go winter camping. Even if you have decided to live permanently on the road in a campervan or with a tent, this applies to you.

Firstly you need to buy a decent winter camping tent. You need a waterproof tent as well as water resistant. It needs to be suitable for 4 seasons so that it helps to keep you warm. 4 season tents are designed to last through heavy rain, strong winds and freezing temperatures. Although these are not normal tents for the UK, They are used if you are travelling to another country. And you never know if the weather is going to turn bad on your seemingly perfect camping trip. UK weather is so unpredictable.

Top Tips For Winter Camping And Staying Warm

1. Drink plenty of water to fight or avoid hypothermia because water effectively replaces all the moisture that was expelled from the body due to constant heavier breathing. Just drink water even
   when you feel you are not thirsty. The recommendation is to drink 8 bottles of water a day.
2. At signs of an approaching storm, immediately put your rain gear on. Should you get wet, change your clothes right away. Put on some warm and dry clothes, because wet clothes will quickly suck heat from your body. Causing you to become ill very quickly!
3. Remember to pace yourself.
4. Do more tasks than you would normally do. Because movement will generate body heat and you will feel so much warmer. Walking around and doing activities will get your blood pumping.
5. If you follow tips 1-4 and layer up your clothes it will help to prevent frostbite. Wearing insulated clothes can also help to keep you warm and prevent frostbite.
6. Always listen and take notice of your body‟s reactions. When you start to shiver, immediately do something to make yourself warm before uncontrollable shaking and numbness set in.
   Take note that hypothermia occurs mostly in windy and wet weather. And your body temperature drops below 35 degrees. Drink hot drinks and make sure you remove any wet clothes that are making you colder. Wrap up in warm clothes, or a sleeping bag – in fact, anything that will warm you up. Also, make sure that you keep your head covered as well. This will help you warm up.
7. Although you may think that keeping the ventilation windows closed will keep you warmer. The fact is that keeping the ventilation closed, will cause condensation. Then water droplets will drop onto your belongings and yourself. This will be very uncomfortable.