Late January Tent Camping

brazzledazzler · Jul 28, 2015

DH & I just booked 2 nights of tent-camping at FW at the end of January 2016. Has anyone tent camped at FW in January/February before? If so, what was the weather like? We are Floridians, but live a bit south of Orlando, and are not sure what to expect in January. If anyone has insight, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! :earsgirl:

bigdisneydaddy · Jul 28, 2015

Last year we had some bipolar weather (North and South) during that time.

jeeptruck · Jul 28, 2015

I did valentines day at FW. It was definitely chilly but we had a great time! Looking at pictures I can see that during the day I am in jeans and a jacket. If you have an appropriately rated sleeping bag you should be fine but I think that depends on what your level of comfort is. I have backpacked through the snow so it is all about being properly equipped! Request to be near a comfort station so your run to the bathroom isn't too long! We brought bikes so we didn't have to sit around waiting for busses or if our commute to the CS was long.

Here is a tip I learned backpacking - IF you have an appropriately rated sleeping bag for the temperature, just sleeping in thermals (long johns) can be warmer. If you wear too many layers you will compress the insulation so it can't insulate properly. Also you need an air gap inside your bag, as your body gives off heat the air inside your sleeping bag will warm up and keep you warm!

Also make sure you are raised off the ground with some sort of cot or a pad that hopefully has a decent R-Value (for reference above 5.0 and you are able to do some serious winter camping).

ilovedisneymm · Jul 28, 2015

We have done late January/early February the past three years at FW and the last trip in a tent for three weeks.

Jan 2015 was great. We packed for three seasons and light/medium jackets were needed on about 60% of the evenings. Shorts/light-weight pants/t-shirts for the days and pants/long sleeve/jacket for the evenings.

Pool weather by day, jacket weather by evening pretty much every day.

We brought space heaters and electric blankets and used them most evenings. Some nights just the electric blankets and some nights just the heaters. I would say I turned either one or both off sometime during the night. I don't recall it ever being chilly in the mornings.

I'm sure heavy sleeping bags would work just fine but we like to be extra comfy!!! Plus with the little kids, we wanted to make sure they stayed comfortable.

Now Jan 2014 was crazy cold on several days. We brought our RV done and did lots of looping and noticed several campsites abandoned due to cold temps. But it was a rare winter in 2014! We ended up buying gloves to stay warm while in the parks.

I am crossing my fingers we have good weather for our Jan 2016 trip.

themojosupreme · Jul 29, 2015

Something of a weird tip but ... wear a stocking cap at night. just like in the night before Christmas tale "mama in her kerchief and I in my cap had just settled down for a long winter's night". Learned the value of the knit hat when we lost electricity in below zero weather in New England. Along with a pair of mittens/gloves and a nice pair of heavy socks, and we appreciatively felt warmer.

sweet maxine · Jul 29, 2015

jeeptruck said:
Here is a tip I learned backpacking - IF you have an appropriately rated sleeping bag for the temperature, just sleeping in thermals (long johns) can be warmer. If you wear too many layers you will compress the insulation so it can't insulate properly. Also you need an air gap inside your bag, as your body gives off heat the air inside your sleeping bag will warm up and keep you warm!

Also make sure you are raised off the ground with some sort of cot or a pad that hopefully has a decent R-Value (for reference above 5.0 and you are able to do some serious winter camping).

One thing I use which sleeps warmer than most anything else is a long-sleeved silk shirt and pants, found at the thrift store for a couple of dollars. I wear these over my fleece tights and thermal top. This keeps me warm on cold nights backpacking. The most valuable thing I took recently on a backpacking trip in the far north was a long piece of soft fleece, such as you would buy at a fabric store. I use this inside my sleeping bag, and it is great! For some reason, it is softer than most fleece blankets sold in the stores. I also wear thick cheap wool socks from Wally World, and a fleece hat.

One last thing I use backpacking, is a long piece of Insul-Fleece, bought by the yard at Walmart for ~ $3 a yard. I put this on top of my mattress, and it really does warm. Oh, and as previously posted, don't forget a fleece or other insulated cap. If the temps drop down in the 30's and 40's, you should be fine like this.

jeeptruck · Jul 29, 2015

sweet maxine said:
One thing I use which sleeps warmer than most anything else is a long-sleeved silk shirt and pants, found at the thrift store for a couple of dollars. I wear these over my fleece tights and thermal top. This keeps me warm on cold nights backpacking. The most valuable thing I took recently on a backpacking trip in the far north was a long piece of soft fleece, such as you would buy at a fabric store. I use this inside my sleeping bag, and it is great! For some reason, it is softer than most fleece blankets sold in the stores. I also wear thick cheap wool socks from Wally World, and a fleece hat.

One last thing I use backpacking, is a long piece of Insul-Fleece, bought by the yard at Walmart for ~ $3 a yard. I put this on top of my mattress, and it really does warm. Oh, and as previously posted, don't forget a fleece or other insulated cap. If the temps drop down in the 30's and 40's, you should be fine like this.

Yes definitely to all of this! I have the less DIY solution. I have a fleece liner bag that fits inside my sleeping bag and a fleece type fitted sheet thing that goes over my sleeping pad that my sleeping bag clips too. That keeps you from slipping off it in the middle of the night. I use capilene for my thermals and that stuff is awesome! I wear the pants under my uniform when it's really cold since our pants do NOT stop wind.

But really you don't need hardcore camping supplies to have a good time. As long as you can tolerate the walk to the comfort station in the morning you'll be fine. :groom:

peg110 · Jul 30, 2015

And keep DRY. All of the advice above is useless unless you are DRY! (well, ok, the electric blanket and heater are good if you are wet, but other than that...

)

sweet maxine · Jul 31, 2015

peg110 said:
And keep DRY. All of the advice above is useless unless you are DRY! (well, ok, the electric blanket and heater are good if you are wet, but other than that... )

Yep, true that!

I sealed my tent with Permatex Flowable Silicone for windshields from the automotive store. It's about $5 a tube or so, and is worth every penny. The hard part is taking the time to paint it on every seam, but the time invested in applying the sealant is well appreciated during a rainstorm. I also spray my tent with a waterproofing spray a couple of times (Atsko Silicone Water Guard).

I spent about an hour/hour and a half painting all the seams on my really cheap tent. That time served me well recently during continuous rains at Denali National Park for 3 days. My tent was dry, while others I camped with had soppy tents. It pays to spend the time to seal your tent properly. Believe me, you will appreciate it later!

Trixie15 · Sep 3, 2015

Do you put the seam sealant on the inside or the outside of the tent? (Sorry if that's a dumb question - I'm learning!)

peg110 · Sep 9, 2015

Trixie15 said:
Do you put the seam sealant on the inside or the outside of the tent? (Sorry if that's a dumb question - I'm learning!)

Both if you can. Otherwise, preference would be on the outside.

Think of the sealant as a "Layer" of material. If you put it on the "Inside" and it rains, the rain can get past the seam to the sealant layer and sit there with the "Upper" layer (the seam) holding moisture in. It still protects but will wear out sooner. If you put the layer on the OUTSIDE, the water is likely to shed off before hitting the seam.

Putting it on both inside and outside protects in both ways. The first outside layer as the primary defense. Of course the "Seam" itself (for what little defense it has) and the "Inside" layer as the last defense.

Hope this helps.

Late January Tent Camping

brazzledazzler

DIS Veteran

bigdisneydaddy

Fan of all things Fort wilderness

jeeptruck

Mouseketeer

ilovedisneymm

DIS Veteran

themojosupreme

No wifi, but a great connection!

sweet maxine

DIS Veteran

jeeptruck

Mouseketeer

peg110

DIS Veteran

sweet maxine

DIS Veteran

Trixie15

DIS Veteran

peg110

DIS Veteran

Share this page

DIS NEWS & UPDATES

New DISboards Threads

Latest posts