I've always enjoyed camping and sleeping outdoors most of my life, learning wilderness survival in Boy Scouts, minimalist camping with friends, and Historical trekking. I never thought it was all too difficult to stay comfortable and stay authentic. I've gotten to the point where I've adjusted my kit, and adjusted my trekking habits, so that I've reached a pretty good comfort level. ...

I take a lot for granted, but there are many habits one should practice to minimize discomfort and make any sleeping conditions seem more like a walk in the park.

1. Dry clothes. For those who aren't Boy Scouts, you need to have dry clothes in cold weather. Often times, it can be hot during the day, and you build up sweat. The sweat or wetness in your shirt CAN kill you. Without deodarant, it isn't always easy to keep your clothes dry. However, there are habits that can improve your chances of always having a dry set of clothes.
   • Always keep a shirt in reserve that is dry. There is ample evidence that soldiers have been able to find shirts that were not issued. Having a spare is not inauthentic. The shirt is most important because it covers a wide area, and the wetness draws a lot of energy from your body (i.e. warmth). Cotton is a horrible thing to wear, because it will find wetness and preserve it, even if you aren't sweating much. Therefore, the more authentic linen, is actually more survivalist friendly, too.

   • Head covering - Studies show that most of the heat lost to outside air, comes from your head. Which means, wear a cap of some kind. For the British in Northern campaigns, I suggest a Canadian Cap, as it is an issued item. For British in the South, I suggest a fatigue cap. For civilians or rebel units, there are knitted caps or civilian workman caps. The highly skilled Cathleen Mannike makes great period knitted caps.

   • I always used to carry a spare pair of breeches, but have never used them, so have decided not to carry the extra weight. The breeches aren't always a necessity to keeping dry, because the nether region is protected by the nice dry shirt you have tucked in. Make your shirts long. They were used as underwear.

   • Feet - I used to sleep with my shoes on, but found out instantly, how much warmer it is without them. Dry socks are a necessity. Always carry a spare pair of socks in the pack, that are not taken out until you go to sleep. For those wearing leggings, I can recommend something I learned from Dana Bogdanski, which is pulling your leggings down over your feet, and tying them in place. Any other piece of kit, that you can devise to protect your feet can work wonders.

   • ALWAYS MAINTAIN DRY SOCKS AND A SHIRT. This means, you have one pair of socks, and one shirt, that serve no other purpose than to sleep at night. You don't use them for spares, or anything else. Stash them away, and put them on before you go to bed, and stow them away again when you wake up in the morning.

   • Sleeved waistcoat. There is the famous Cuthbertson, used sleeved waistcoat. If you can document it, I've found carrying a sleeved waistcoat for the purpose of nighttime, and sleeping, is well worth the added weight. Tying it, or your regimental around your waist is great for keeping your lower body warm.

2. The night-time is the most dangerous time for getting sick or cold. Since you can't carry a whole bundle of clothes, you have to maintain the few articles you are carrying. Here are a few suggestions to maintain your set of dry clothes:
   • During the day, you are moving about. So if I'm on trek, and we're marching through rain, chopping fire-wood, or anything that requires exercise, I put on my wet clothes. Yes, I put on my clothes that were wet from the previous day, rather than wet the clothes that are preserved for nighttime.

   • Regimental - the coat is the best thing for warmth. Unfortunately, a lot of period coats do not have the ability to button across. By the Revolution, the British government was getting cheap, and just stitched down lapels, rather than making them functional. Anyway, keeping your regimental dry is essential. If you can dry it out in the sun before nighttime, DO IT! If you can't, it's better to wear a dry waistcoat and shirt, and tie the regimental around your waist, so as to keep your upper body warm.

   • Drying over the fire. Very rarely does this work, but we all try it anyway. If you're going to sit about for a long time, you might as well try. Forget drying your regimental, but if you can dry your waistcoat, it's worth it, because it is close to your body. Sometimes, you can even wear a wet regimental over your waistcoat to sleep, as long as the waistcoat is dry. You can flip it inside out, and wear it around the fire. Another thing to do, is dry your stockings over the fire.

   • NEVER dry your shoes close to the fire. It ruins the leather. It's better to take them off, and put on a dry pair of moccasins to sleep, and walk around the immediate camping area. If it's going to be wet, put on your wet shoes. You'll thank yourself for keeping a dry pair of mocs. Wish I had done that, but I have noted its complete success among fellow trekkers. Put on your wet shoes the following morning. They get wet anyway. Might as well use the mocs for comfort, and shoes for work.

   • Goatskin packs, a British issued item, are great for keeping everything in your pack dry. Unfortunately, painted canvases and oil clothes have their level of saturation, before they become a sieve. If you're stuck with one of those packs, pack your valuable shirt and dry socks towards the inside, where it stands the best chance of staying dry. Could even put it inside your blanket. Try periodically oiling the canvas with linseed oil, in order to waterproof them better.

   • Smocks - Smocks are the best period invention. If you are a trekker, they are great. While you march, you break a sweat (especially if you don't wear deodorant for authenticity reasons). If you're on the move, wear the smock rather than the heavy regimental, even in cold weather. Wear the regimental when you are settling down or cozy, but wear a smock whenever you are hard at labor. When you are about to do more work, or start a long march, put on your wet smock again, and you will break a sweat still. Regimentals were not always worn. One always thinks soldiers were in uniform. Smocks are much more common than one thinks.

3. There are many habits to keeping comfortable. Many are sleeping arrangements or otherwise. Here's a few suggestions.
   • Pine boughs. Pine boughs are a great way to make a comfortable bed. It's an age-old habit, but I have to check if it's period. You basically cut little branches from pine trees. You pick the diseased or sickly trees, or trees that can spare some, in order to preserve nature. Just don't cut down the forest. Ask the site, or Conservation ranger, before doing so. Anyway, if you lay them face down, they're kinda springy. It creates a barrier between your body, and the heat-sink in the ground.

   • If you don't have the luxury of pine boughs, you can try the oil-cloth rain jacket as a substitute. If you can document oilskin jackets for your persona, I highly suggest them. Keeping your underside dry and a barrier between you and the ground is important.

   • For those who consider themselves above oil-cloth, sleeping next to the fire is a big option. It was very period, although the fires at the time were huge! For scouting parties, they were quite small, so sleeping in the area next to the fire is good, because the ground around it is warm and dry. Occasionally, someone might wake up to throw a few more logs on the fire, to keep it going all night. I usually sleep like a rock, and wake up after the fire is extinguished, so I have to rely on other people.

   • Preserve mutual body warmth! That's right. Call it spooning, snuggling, or whatever. Snuggling is the overall, most effective way to keep warm. In emergencies, it is a necessity. If you are not ashamed, it's the best thing you can do. If there are camp-followers or married couples, fine! It's just stupid to sit huddled alone, cold and lonely, when you can preserve warmth through snuggling. I'm positive soldiers must have done it, and am doing a bit of research on all the accounts talking about "drawing close" during the night.

   • Fire - Usually, the coldest time of night is around 4-6 am. This is when soldiers often woke up and started moving around, eating, getting the fire going. Unfortunately, we have a different time-table in reenacting. For trekkers, you should wake up at the crack of dawn. You'll be warmer marching than you would be lying with a single blanket. For this very reason, one member of our company usually wakes up early and starts the fire and water boiling. It's the hardest time of the night to sleep, but the best time to do work. Early to bed, early to rise. Militia didn't always follow this example, but it is well documented to rise early in disciplined units. The New York 1780's raids come to mind.

   • Wind shield. Building a wind shield will greatly reduce the cold. The fire and warmth of your bodies may even warm the general area, as the wind blowing above the area acts as a wall to the air immediately within your vicinity. Well worth the effort, if you have the energy. Course, using that extra energy will keep you warm, and also ensure you sleep well.

   • Eat well. When you can, eat! Historically, there is much talk about how soldiers often went deprived, but there is also a lot of evidence of how much they are actually being issued. When they do get issued, it's a lot!

   • Use common sense. If you're suffering, suck up your dignity, and find someone to conserve warmth with. It's a lot better than being miserable.

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