A cold tent floor can really cause a rough night’s sleep when the outside temperature is already cool. Keeping it closer to your body temperature will help. While it’s almost impossible to keep the tent floor very warm during winter months, there are ways to manage the cold nights that keep you and your campers more comfortable. The big component to comfort is tent floor insulation. Often I have been asked, “can you insulate the ground?” The answer is yes, and it’s encouraged on cool and cold winter nights.
What to Do
The first thing I look for when setting up a tent is a flat surface, and unfortunately, that normally results in an area that is covered with soil or grass. In those areas the cold will creep thru the tent floor fairly easily. I look at a few ways to combat this. The first thing to do is to block the temps from the ground. I normally try to bring a semi-flexible ground block. In the coldest months I will use a few layers on the ground and a few layers inside the tent on the floor.
What to Use
A good material to use is something that isn’t necessarily designed for camping. Foil-lined radiant barrier insulation. It’s thin, flexible, light, easy to use, easy to transport, and relatively cheap for the benefits. There are a ton of uses for this stuff, ground insulation is just one, find out more here and here. I place the ground tarp under this insulation then place the tent over this insulation.
Even colder
When the colder months bring the much lower temps I will go further with insulting. Putting two layers of insulation on the ground and insulation inside the tent on the tent floor can help tremendously. Other factors are at play when dealing with cool temps and other measures can be taken to help increase your comfort. Read on to find more ways to keep your tent warm in the coldest seasons.
More Layers
As mentioned, more layers of insulation can improve comfort in a big way, but what if it’s not enough, and the cold is still biting through the thin insulation? More layers on the ground and tent floor can be a big help but layers in other areas can help too. Insulating your tent is one of the most important and significant methods of increasing comfort.
Another Way
Some campers will place the insulation inside the tent only. While this may help with the cold temps of the ground, there are reasons I normally don’t place the insulation on the inside, at least not as a first resort. In the past, I have ruined the insulation by ripping, tearing, and puncturing it when placing it on the inside of the tent. When I have used it as a second measure when it’s very cold, I have placed a blanket over the insulation to help protect it a little more from punctures from feet and other items in the tent. This is an easy fix to increase the insulation inside your tent without ruining the insulation.
Warnings
Because the insulation I have suggested is plastic and foil-based there are precautions at certain times that should be taken. If you are wanting to use a propane heater inside the tent to keep it warm, be certain to understand the precautions needed. The insulation normally will work well with a heater, but like anything that can burn, do not allow it to get too close to the heater and become too hot. This insulation, if subjected to direct high temps, will burn. I can assure you; this is not what you want while camping, or almost any other time you are using a heater.
Other Materials to Insulate
There are numerous other methods to insulate the floor of your tent. For years I used blankets and extra sleeping bags. They insulate well and didn’t cost me anything extra when I wanted to camp in cold weather. Anytime I can save money on camping, is a win for me. But after one specific camping trip and packing out a campsite deep in the hills and woods of Tennessee, I realized I needed to focus on weight. I have never put the blankets and foil-backed insulation on a scale to compare but the difference is sizable, not to mention the space savings you get with this insulation.