How to Sleep Warmer While Camping and Backpacking
Don't let colder temperatures get in the way of your ultralight hiking or backpacking trip
Liz Thomas staying warm in a sleeping bag in the Sierra. Photo by Liz Thomas.
August 29th, 2024
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It's getting darker earlier and nights are getting colder, especially on backpacking trips at altitude.
As someone who gets cold easily, I've spent hundreds of nights on backpacking trips looking for the perfect tricks to stay warm in camp.
Staying warm at night time is the most challenging part of backpacking and camping this time of year. This is especially true for southbound thru-hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), Arizona Trail, or Continental Divide Trail (CDT) in the desert and northbound thru-hikers finishing the PCT, CDT, or Appalachian Trail.
Luckily, you can sleep warmer while camping without adding a lot of extra weight or costs to your ultralight backpacking kit. We partnered with Garage Grown Gear to highlight some skills and gear hacks to get the most out of the gear you've already got.
Here are some simple tricks on how to sleep warmer while camping at the end of summer, fall, early spring, or at altitude any time of year.
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One of the easiest ways to sleep warmer is to add extra insulation or a liner to your already existing summer backpacking kit.
Hack Your Sleep System
You don't need to buy a warmer sleeping bag to sleep warmer while camping and backpacking! An easy hack is to switch to a warmer sleeping pad, which is less expensive and less bulky than a new bag.
Add a thin sleeping pad
The lightest weight (and least expensive) way to increase the insulation under your sleeping bag is using the Gossamer Gear Thinlight foam pad under whatever pad you're already using.
This 1/8th-inch foam pad weighs 2.7 oz and is compact, so won't add bulk to your backpacking gear. Plus, it protects your inflatable sleeping pad from thorns or other things that can make it pop. The Thinlight is so popular, it's often out of stock. But you can get it now — and we recommend you pick one up while you can!
Swap out your sleeping pad
If replacing your whole sleeping pad is a better option, there's a few great options for high-insulation lightweight backpacking pads.
I've spent the summer testing the new Nemo Tensor Extreme and could not be more enthusiastic about it.
The Nemo Tensor Extreme sleeping pad has a high R-value of 8.5–even higher than its rival the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm and weighing only 1 oz more. What makes that extra weight worth it? The comfort of the baffle design is better suited for side-sleepers. At 3.5" tall, you won't bottom-out in this pad!
Add a sleeping bag liner
Sometimes, adding an extra sleeping pad isn't enough warmth. Instead of buying a new sleeping bag, a great trick for sleeping warm is to add a sleeping bag liner!
The new Alpha Direct Magnet Designs sleeping bag liner is the lightest for its warmth at 6.7 oz. It's made with Alpha Direct, the same material as Alpha Designs prized hoodies, which weigh as light as 3.4 oz and have an unbeatable warmth-to-weight ratio.
Bonus: it's made in the USA, works with quilts or sleeping bags, and can be used as a standalone ultralight bag in hot weather.
Gloves keep your hands warm and also make it easier to take care of camp chores, whether you're backpacking or camping.
Target Your Extremities
Extremities — feet, fingers, and your head — are the spot where most backpackers feel cold first. These body parts have high surface area-to-volume ratios, meaning they have more exposure to colder temperatures than other body parts. I've found that often, just warming up those key areas can improve my overall feeling of warmth.
Bonus: solutions for extremities can be multi-purpose, as I often also use these items while hiking on colder days or while moving in bad weather.
Try down booties
Treeline writer Sarah Kruglinski recommends down booties for keeping feet warm in a sleeping quilt at night. Goose Feet Down Booties are as good as getting down overfill on your sleeping quilt's footbox, but allows you the versatility to add or subtract warmth depending on the temperature.
Treeline editor Liz Thomas wearing a synthetic insulated hood during a backpacking trip on the PCT during foul weather in a colder month.
Add a synthetic insulated hood
Most backpacking quilts don't come with hoods like you'd find on a mummy bag. In summer, backpackers can get away with a fleece hat. As temperatures drop, though, nothing beats an insulated hood specifically made for quilts. I use the Enlightened Equipment Torrid Hood made of extremely warm synthetic Apex insulation, so it stays warm even if my head brushes against condensation on my shelter's wall.
You can get the same benefit by wearing a synthetic insulated jacket while in your backpacking quilt. It won't be as a comfortable and is more of a hassle to remove if you get too hot, but it gets the job done.
Get some soft gloves
I have over 10,000 miles of backpacking in my Zpacks Conductive Brushtail Possum down gloves. They're soft enough to sleep in, weigh less than an ounce, and affordable, though they are not durable for hiking if you're using them with trekking poles.
Eat High-Calorie Meals Before Dinner
No matter what your sleep system, an easy trick for staying warm while camping is to eat a high calorie dinner before going to sleep. During colder temperatures, it's especially important to pay attention to foods with excellent calorie-to-weight ratios.
Choose calorie-dense dinners
After we published our Best Freeze-Dried Backpacking Meals guide, Treeline Readers wrote in to tell us about Pinnacle Foods, which makes backpacking meals of 160/calories per ounce.
They've quickly become one of the most popular backpacking meal brands for their great flavor.
Add olive oil to everything
Whatever you've having for dinner, add olive oil to boost the calorie content. Fat burns slowly, keeping you warm throughout the night. Single-use packets are less messy than bottles and can easily be portioned for however many days you are out.
Want even more fat? Finish the night with chocolate.
Carry an ultralight stove
When I took my wilderness first aid training, as someone who gets cold easily, I especially paid attention to what to do about hypothermia.
One major takeaway was it's important to have a way to heat up water. A hot water bottle in a sleeping bag at night feels great on a cold night and can be a lifesaving tactic in worst-case scenarios. Hot beverages not only increase core temperature — they increase morale.
As an ultralighter who went stoveless on the PCT, I'm always looking for a lighter stove solution. Here's what I've found.
The new Toaks Titanium 450mL Cup (Ultralight Version) cookpot is the lightest on the market, weighing 1.75 oz. It's the lightweight version of our winner for Best Backpacking Cookware Pots, just with a smaller volume. This new ultralight version is 1 oz lighter than Toaks other 450 mL pot, yet sturdy and it even comes with a lid with a handle.
For the stove itself, the BRS 3000 T Ultra Light burner is the lightest backpacking canister stove out there, weighing less than 0.88 oz and less than $20. We reviewed it in our Best Backpacking Stoves guide.
Paired with the Toaks 450ml Ultralight cookpot, the entire stove system is less than 3 oz.
If you're backpacking somewhere where alcohol stoves are safe and not banned, you can go even lighter by skipping the fuel canister.
The Toaks Titanium Alcohol stove weighs 0.7 oz. I carried this stove on my October thru-hike of the Superior Hiking Trail and was impressed by its speed and efficiency. Don't forget the pot stand!
Finally, you can use your CNOC VectoX or Vesica as a hot water bottle in your sleeping bag, as it can withstand temperatures up to 212 F.
Be careful and use your potholder (aka, sock or gloves) to handle it. It will be hot!
Knowledge is the lightest gear
Do not let cold winter nights deter from the enjoyment of backpacking! You can stay ultralight AND sleep warmer while camping and backpacking. Remember: knowledge is the lightest piece of gear you can carry. For more information on other ways to stay warm while hiking and camping during the fall, see our gear list and strategy for Hiking and Backpacking Gear for the Fall.
Liz Thomas backpacking a section of the PCT in February.
Why you should trust us
Liz Thomas is editor-in-chief at Treeline Review. A former Fastest Known Time (FKT) record holder on the Appalachian Trail, she has also hiked the PCT and CDT and is a Triple Crowner. She’s co-founder and editor in chief of Treeline Review.
Liz has hiked thousands of miles at the end of summer / beginning of fall and has developed tricks to sleep warmer—all while carrying an ultralight backpacking kit. Fall is her favorite time of year to be backpacking and camping. The air is crisp, bugs are gone, and nights are cool.
You can read all her gear articles here and on her personal website, as well as on Wikipedia.
