Staying warm in a glamping tent in the winter is a challenge. At least it has been for me.
I’ve tried everything I can to make any glamping tent I stay in nice, warm and cosy. Glamping is an experience to be enjoyed to the fullest. The last thing you want is an uncomfortable cold night.
As a general rule, a heater and plenty of layers are the best ways to keep a glamping tent warm in cold weather. A hot water bottle and sleeping bag will also keep you warm. The temperature inside a glamping tent is 5 degrees or more warmer compared with the outside temperature.
It is far easier to maintain your body heat in the cold than trying to warm your body when cold. So, preparation before night fall will really help you keep warm inside your glamping tent at night.
Let us go through some great tips to help you keep your glamping tent warm, as well as your body.
Best ways to Keep Warm in a Glamping Tent
Here are some of the very best ways of keeping your glamping tent warm, as well as your body warm, in the coldest of nights:
- Use a Portable Heater
- Stay Dry
- Extra layers of bedding
- High quality sleeping bag
- Water Bottle
- Hand Warmers
- Don’t come into the glamping tent cold
- Wear thick thermal socks
- Hot drinks
- Calorie dense and ‘fatty’ foods
Use a Portable Heater
A portable heater will the first option that springs to mind.
You have to be aware though that a glamping tent large and big, with a wide open space. Portable heaters are great, but they are limited in their power.
Although a heater is a great option and will definitely help warm you if you are close to it, you should use in combination with other options from the list.
You Need to Stay Dry to Stay Warm
If you’ve been caught out in a thunderstorm while camping, you’ll know how wet clothes not only cling to your skin and feel really uncomfortable, but they bring your body temperature down too.
One of the best ways of keeping warm whilst camping is to stay dry.
If you do get caught out in the rain, get out of your cold damp clothes as quickly as you can, dry yourself thoroughly with a towel, and change into new clothes.
Don’t stay in wet clothes. Not only can you catch a chill or even a cold, but it’s a fast way to feeling colder for the night ahead.
Extra Layers of Bedding
Take your own bedding with you. Layers and layers are the secret here.
Check to see if your glamping tent comes with bedding (most do, but some don’t) but take extra with you.
Put the thinnest bedding layers on first, and then the thickest layers and build up insulation.
Your body with thank you for it!
Snuggle into a High Quality Sleeping Bag
When It’s particularly cold, and extra layers of bedding are just not up to the task, you will find slipping into a high quality high comfort rating sleeping bag can make the difference between a cold restless night, and a comfortable warm one.
The ‘Comfort’ rating is the thing to look out for. This rating shows the coldest temperature the sleeping bag will keep you comfortable in.
A Water Bottle can be your best friend on a glamping trip
I used to love my hot water bottle as a kid!
You will need to make sure you can gain access to hot water, so a travel kettle may be something you need to take with you, but a hot water bottle inside your bed layers or sleeping bag can be just the thing to keep you nice and toasty in the cold.
Hand Warmers
Whoever designed and invented hand warmers have my thanks and appreciation.
They work by holding the heat given to it through boiling before you leave the home, and ‘activating’ it when you need it.
Once ‘activated’ the hand warmers keep warm for around 30mins or so. They are relatively cheap and can be a great way to give you some extra warmth to help send you to sleep.
Don’t come into the glamping tent cold
It’s easier to keep your body warm than it is to try and warm up your body, especially in the cold.
Before you come into a glamping tent at night, you need to find a way of getting your body warmed up.
This could be through exercise, perhaps a brisk walk, or it could be by sitting around a campfire with a hot cup of chocolate.
Once you are warm, you can then enter the tent and use the other tips mentioned here to keep your body at a regulated temperature.
Wear Thick Thermal Socks
Have you noticed that your feet are more susceptible to the cold than any other part of your body?
This is often a result of poor circulation. As the temperature drops, your body works hard to keep it’s core as warm as possible – which means your body restricts blood flow to certain places, in a bid to keep the core warm.
The main three places blood supply is reduced from is the feet, ears, and nose.
That’s why your feet, ears and nose always feel the cold first.
A good pair of thick thermal socks can help keep one of the coldest parts of the body warm.
Hot Drinks
British people rarely need an excuse for a cup of tea but a cup of caffeine free tea, or hot chocolate, can be a great way to warm up the body as the night and cold draws in.
Try to avoid coffee, as the caffeine will keep you awake.
Calorie Dense and ‘Fatty’ Foods
This tip is used by hardcore winter campers, who go out into the American wilderness in -30F (-34C) snow with nothing more than a tent and winter surviving essentials.
It’s an amazing experience to watch.
They keep warm by eating calorie rich ‘fatty’ foods to help them keep warm from the cold. Blocks of cheese are one of the staple foods used by winter campers to keep warm.
Is it Warmer Inside a Glamping Tent: Comparison Between the Temperature Inside vs Outside
A tent’s main purpose is to shelter you from the outside elements, like rain, wind, and snow.
Unlike a standard canvas tent, a glamping tent is usually made from thicker material, which will help keep the heat in and the cold out.
It will be at least 5 degrees warmer inside a tent, than the outside temperature.
This may not sound a lot, but this can make a huge difference in sub-freezing temperatures.
The 5 degree calculation comes from a standard canvas tent, so inside a glamping tent it will feel even warmer – closer to 7-8 degrees or more, depending on how well the glamping tent is insulated.
Get Warm Before the Cold Hits
As I’ve already mentioned in this post, it’s easier to stay warm than it is to get warm.
If you were hiking on Mount Everest, and cold set in, the first thing you would be told is to ‘keep moving!’.
We’re not climbing Everest, but if this works for Everest climbers in freezing conditions at high altitudes, then it can work under a glamping tent.
A glamping tent, unlike a regular tent, has height.
You can stand up and move around. Walk around, move your fingers and limbs. Get moving and you’ll feel the warmth come back as your circulation steps up a notch.
Layers, Layers and Even More Layers
Fighting the cold is done best with an army or layers!
Each layer acts as insulation for the next layer, and then the next.
You should aim to have five or more layers in your bedding. You should have two layers underneath your body and three or more on top, including a thicker duvet at the very top.
Try to tuck the layers under the mattress, to seal off any vents and prevent the cold from seeping in.
Placing a hot water bottle within the layers is a sure way to help keep your body at a nice comfortable temperature to give you a comfortable night sleep.
Is it Safe to put a Heater inside a Glamping Tent?
It is safe to put a heater inside a glamping tent. An electric hook up is required as tent heaters require mains power. A good heater will have an auto tip-over switch-off feature for added security. You should not leave a glamping tent heater on whilst asleep.
Read our post for a comparison chart between the best electric and propane tent heaters to help you choose a great heater.
Can you go Glamping in the Winter?
Glamping is a new cottage industry that’s quickly becoming popular with people who want to experience the glitz and luxury of a live-in holiday – but be surrounded by the outdoors.
Glamping is a concept that has been popular in Britain for some time, but the popularity of glamping has grown in America over recent years and quickly spreading across the world.
For example, it’s also very popular in India and Australia too.
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Although glamping is considered a posh camping experience, rivalling that of a hotel room, one of the biggest challenges is to keep warm at night in the colder weather.
As we’ve discovered in this post so far, it is as important to keep yourself warm as it is keeping the glamping tent warm.
Why would you want to go glamping in the winter?
Is the thought of glamping to you a blazing hot summer day, with a nice BBQ, sitting outside your large tent with a glass of prosecco?
If it is, you are really missing out on so much!
Here are just some of the reasons why glamping in the winter is an experience not to be missed:
- Winter glamping means there are no bugs or mosquito
- Winter glamping is a great way to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, and also find the small number of open glamping sites quiet and peaceful
- Winter camping is also a great way to see and experience the snow and enjoy a bit of winter nature delights
There are plenty of places to go winter camping in the USA, Canada, UK and Australia, to name a few.
Best Glamping Sleeping Bags to Keep Warm
Here’s a handy chart showing a comparison of the best glamping sleeping bags:
| Glamping Sleeping Bag | Minimum Comfortable Temp | Price GBP | Price US$ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hyke and Byke Snowmass | -15C (5F) | £159.97-£338.76 | $212.76-$450.50 |
| Teton Sports LEEF | -18C (0F) | £92.04 | $122.41 |
| Venture Backpacking | -1C (30F) | £45.78 | $60.88 |
| Active Era Sleeping Bag | 10c (50F) | £16.99 | $22.59 |
Hyke and Byke Snowmass Sleeping Bag
This is better suited to a snow based winter camping trip, than keeping warm on a cold night inside a glamping tent.
This sleeping bag is shown as an example, and comparison, against the other more suitable glamping sleeping bags.
If you do camp often, and will be regular camping in cold conditions, this could be a good investment for then and also suitable for now. Inside a glamping tent, with this sleeping bag, you couldn’t fail but be warm.
Teton Sports LEEF Sleeping Bag
This is certainly a good contender.
It’s lightweight and will keep your body warm even in temperatures down to -18c (0F). It’s a much cheaper option that the premium Hyke and Byke Snowmass.
Venture Backpacking Sleeping Bag
This is the sleeping bag we would recommend.
This is going to be the sweet spot of glamping sleeping bag tents for the majority of people.
At just half the price of the Teton Sports LEEF, it’s lightweight too, and will keep you comfortable down to a temperature of -1C (30F).
It will serve you well on your glamping trip to stay warm and cosy on cold nights, and will be a great addition to any camping trip in the future due to the lightweight build.
Active Era Sleeping Bag
The Active Era is in the budget range from the sleeping bags featured.
It is probably best suited for a one time use, or for glamping tents only.
It will keep your warm for temperatures down to 10C (50F) but any colder than that and you may need to add extra layers inside the sleeping bag to keep it warm. It is incredibly light, and therefore not as insulated as the other sleeping bags in the range.
At less than £20 ($30) it is a great budget option for a single use.