I was recently excited to see this new concept for outdoor cold weather sleeping, that of the “heated ground cloth”. This concept is not really new, we have all seen it put into play in movies such as Jeremiah Johnson, that 1980’s era movie which depicted our hero Jeremiah digging a hole and filling it full of ember from the fire to sleep on; however, if any of you survivalists out there have ever tried to dig a hole to sleep on, then you know what kind of misery it is to have such a task after a day spent hunting, camping, or surviving in the wilderness.

Now, I have spent many nights camping out in the elements, shivering and experiencing cold sleep which usually involves sleeping thirty minutes and then getting up to put more wood on the ash pit that I had somehow managed to waller into seeking the remaining warmth of the dying campfire. Luckily, this new product might offer some relief into future excursions.

The design is fairly simple, basically it is a minute water heating system that is designed to circulate your heated water through channels built into the fabric of the ground cloth. I am deeply impressed with this concept because I’m all about being comfortable even when I’m out in the bush. This device is fueled by a can of sterno; however, there has to be a way to bring this concept into bearing in the wilderness. The plus to this scenario is the fact that the hot water you are using to keep you warm all night will be utilized when not sleeping on it to make coffee, grits, oatmeal, and whatnot.

So now I have to go out into the shed and see what I can work out to accommodate this concept in the wilderness; however, these items are available on the online marketplaces. Just look up heated camping mat and you will soon be sleeping quite comfortably out under the stars.

In the meantime I will be conducting scientific experiments out in my garage…