I have no idea how to winter camp. Is this a special tent for winter camping? It looks pretty thin. Is the snow piled up around the edges on purpose? Does that seal the tent better?
There are special tents for it! This is not one of them though, the coldest it got was around -15°C, so this three-season tent was just fine. The snow is piled to stop the air from going under the fly, so that the air trapped between the fly and the tent itself acts as an insulator.
Most of your warmth should come from a more insulated sleeping bag and pad. And/or doubling them up. Assume the tent is mostly just a wind break unless you’re going down the hot tent route with a stove or heater.
There are winter tents with less mesh (to keep blown snow out) and stronger flies and poles for snow and wind, but 3 season tents can do a lot if you don’t want to camp in a blizzard (I don’t).
I have no idea how to winter camp. Is this a special tent for winter camping? It looks pretty thin. Is the snow piled up around the edges on purpose? Does that seal the tent better?
There are special tents for it! This is not one of them though, the coldest it got was around -15°C, so this three-season tent was just fine. The snow is piled to stop the air from going under the fly, so that the air trapped between the fly and the tent itself acts as an insulator.
That’s a great idea.
Most of your warmth should come from a more insulated sleeping bag and pad. And/or doubling them up. Assume the tent is mostly just a wind break unless you’re going down the hot tent route with a stove or heater.
There are winter tents with less mesh (to keep blown snow out) and stronger flies and poles for snow and wind, but 3 season tents can do a lot if you don’t want to camp in a blizzard (I don’t).