Try sleeping with a beanie hat on and just your underwear in the bag..if you sweat in the bag you will get cold..makes all the difference. We use a mister buddy heater when the wife come along. We have slept all night with the heater running but we have a tent with an open top..the mister buddy has a low oxygen shut off but I think that it will shut off long after you are dead...mainly use it to take the chill out of getting up in the morning..I've found that a 1lb bottle will last about 6 hours on the high setting.

 

I use my Heater Buddy in the tent and at the telescope all winter. Works great, you will need two bottles for one night on high. No problems, it will shut off if knocked over and will shut down at low oxygen levels so it does not work at elevations over 7000 feet.

 

I use a Kelty 4 season tent, foam pad, and really good mummy bag for winter camping. I stay so warm I only wear a beanie while sleeping.

However, if you do not have these things, go with the Heater Buddy.

 

ive spent many nights well below zero,, -40 too many times,, try heating a few nice rocks in the fire, wrap them in a towel and stuff em in your bag , its not always the most comfortable but those rocks will still be warm in the morning,

 

thanks for all the replies everyone!! for future trips I will definitely take in some of the great advice.

I have used mummy bags before but the store could not get the xtra large in time for my trip.

i ended up sleeping in a 30 deg rectangle bag and used my ripped 20 deg mummy bag to cover up with and slept with the long underwear and a beanie. we hit 27 deg F. but I have to say, my tent helped out a lot (mountain hardware). stayed very warm. had ice on the outside of tent and no problems.

i decided not to do the heater idea, just too risky for my taste.

hopefully the new xtra large mummy bad will be in this week, have another trip after thanksgiving. again thanks everyone!!

 

Sounds like you had a good time. Reminds me of the time I was a kid and slept outside in a mummy bag. I had a military canvas cover over the bag. I woke up with an inch of snow on top of me and I was warm and snug as a bug....

 

I use the Grabber Mycoal 24 Hour Ultra Warmer , put them in the socks I will wear the next day to keep from getting burnt, throw them to the bottom of the sleeping bag an hour before I go to bed , in the morning I put them in my coat pocket to keep me warm all day. I've spent many below zero nights like this in the mountains.