The Simple Trick To Warm Up Your Sleeping Bag Without Electricity
Camping, especially in the cool fresh mountain air, is an amazing way to enjoy nature. However, the one problem with camping in cool comfortable daytime temperatures is that it means the temperatures at night will get pretty low. While a warm fire will keep you nice and toasty for most of the evening, you will still have to endure that chilly moment when you first leave the fire and get into your cold sleeping bag. Of course, the sleeping bag will slowly warm up with your body heat, but that doesn't make those first few minutes any less shiver-inducing. Luckily, there's an easy way to solve this problem and you don't even need electricity to do it. All you need is a fire and a few stones.
This method works so well because it doesn't require you to bring anything extra with you, which is super important if you are thru-hiking or if your car is already packed full for the weekend. Also, in cold climates, having a warm sleeping bag can help you fall asleep quickly and increase your overall sleep quality. In fact, according to the Sleep Foundation, the perfect sleeping temperature for most people is between 60 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit. So, if you know the nighttime temperatures will dip below 60 degrees, it's a good idea to use a few hot rocks in your sleeping bag to get it warmed up before bed.
How to use stones to heat your sleeping bag
The first step in using stones to preheat your sleeping bag is to find the right rocks. You can choose either one large stone or multiple smaller stones but, either way, you are looking for rocks with smooth surfaces and edges. This is important because smooth rocks are less likely to damage your sleeping bag. It's also a good idea to use a rock that is relatively clean and not too heavy. Once you have your rock, go ahead and set it next to the fire to start heating it. You don't want to put it in the fire because it will get too warm, but it should be hot to the touch while not burning you.
Once your rock is sufficiently warm, you can wrap it in a towel or thick clothing and then place it in the bottom of your sleeping bag around 30 minutes before you want to go to bed. The advantage of using a stone is that, while it may take longer to warm up, it also holds heat for a long time and large stones may even stay warm for up to seven hours.
Other ways to warm up a sleeping bag
Although stones are the most long-lasting way to heat a sleeping bag, if you don't want to put rocks inside your bag or don't plan on making a campfire there are also a few other ways you can heat your bag up without electricity. The first is to use a water bottle filled with hot water. If you don't want to make a campfire but have a propane camping stove you can easily boil a pot of water. Once the water is nice and hot, go ahead and transfer it into a metal water bottle then wrap the bottle in clothes and put it in the bottom of your sleeping bag.
If you don't mind packing a little extra weight, a few lightweight hand warmers will also do the trick. The crack and warm hand-warming packets are a great way to warm up your sleeping back without electricity. You can also buy battery-powered hand warmers that use electricity but can be charged up beforehand so that they don't require electricity while you are camping.