Sleep System / Sleeping Bag

[Scythe13]

Personally, I am trying to keep my BOB ultra-lite, so please do not read this as a recommendation.

Also, please consider that while testing sleeping gear I have gone as far as used a 4 season in summer, and even then I still manage to pop a shiver that woke me up around 2am...I think it's just me though, not the bags. But at 2am, I wake up from a shiver....yes I'm odd.

I use a flimsy 2 season (as long as those seasons are both mid summer) and just layer up inside. This has worked well for me so far, down to -5 according to my thermometer. Had the 2am shiver, but back to sleep minutes later, waking up as normal in the morning. So please consider that kind of behaviour normal for me and camping.

If I'm looking at maximum cold, this is my layering system, from the outside going in:

Bivvy plastic mummy style wrap.
Space blanket mummy bag (not recommended to pull all the way up, as you'll melt/sweat too much! Waist is normal height, lower chest at most!!!
Flimsy 2 season (flimsy is the adjective, not the make/brand)
Sea2Summit Reactor Extreme (doubles up as a good bag in summer, all on it's own) Hoping to get 2 of these to go to even colder temps).
Micro-Fibre mummy sleeping bag liner.
Clothing - not a fan of anything but boxers and a hat (maybe a pair of short and tshirt if it's a SHTF situation) because I like the feel of the micro-fibre liner on my skin haha.

This system doesn't weigh much at all, and it has worked well for ME. Because it works for me, I am not recommending it to anyone. I wear shorts in the snow, so please don't take my use as being recommendation of the system.

Will be getting another Reactor Extreme, just because I was so impressed with the first. Also, the wife will probably try to steal my one haha.

One thing I highly recommend, spacing yourself off the floor. Best things to use, in my experience (man made equipment, not including plants and logs etc) Vango Self Inflating full body floor matt. The one I use is the bright red one...subtle haha. Prefer to have this INSIDE my Bivvy, because it keeps it dry if it rains, so I don't carry as much weight around the next day. I'm going to be getting a Thermarest matt soon. Yes it's bright reflective metal coloured, but it seems to be very effective.

One interesting word of note, if you build a debris shelter, make the walls 6 feet thick, and you can sleep pretty comfortably (as long as you're insulated from the floor well enough) in minus 10 degrees. Building a shelter with walls that thick will also warm you up enough before you get in there haha.

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To answer the in house one, my mum used to tell me when she was a child they used to get in sleeping bags before getting into bed, to stay extra warm. Sounds too hot for me, but the wife did it last winter (defence against me more than the cold, I think haha) and she gets super cold super quick. I'm happy in boxers sleeping under an open window.