got out friday night in the clwyds, had some excellent weather considering it was oct. trouble is my sleeping bag (mountain hardwear lamina 45) is only a 3 season bag and to be honest even though i was sleeping with a couple of layers on i just about managed to last the night without getting uncomfortably cold.

i don't think i could manage any more nights in my current setup if the temperatures drop too much, having a young family means i'm going to struggle on spending £200 on a winter sleeping bag. any ideas on how i can carry on bivi'ing other than mtfu ?

cheers

Stu has a top quilt for less than £140 iirc thats -18c. Try one of those.

A couple of options spring to mind.

Maybe a thermal bag liner, they do work but don't believe the rating claims - http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/35060955 ... adtype=pla

Or a slightly more expensive option. A RAB Module and use it as an inner bag, this would also give you a very light summer bag too.
http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/ ... liner.html

A third cheeky option is to buy either my Golite RS3 Quilt or my Nanok -5 bag

You are using a mat/pad?

I find my MH to be true to temp so 5c limit is a little on the high side for UK use. Thermal liners as suggested by Stu are ok, but im not sure they are worth the £30-£50 they go for. I would say they add 1-2c most of the time. I would buy a 3 season bag (in summer to save £££).

g

How cold is your bag rated to?

If it cant cope with getting down to zero it might just be worth thining about a new bag, everything else will just improve it by a few degrees.

Where you pitch can make a lot of difference, and will cost you nothing.
Watching the stars is great, but no cloud cover means its going to be a cold night. Getting out of the wind and extra cover trees, making sure you're on the sunny side of the valley morning.

Other than that, try things like walm socks, big hat for a bit more walmth.

... and gloves. Sounds a bit obvious but they really do add warmth .
Though it's more on 'winter' sleeping, a few good tips here too: http://www.chiff.com/a/camping-sleep-warm.htm

If I've got cold feet I can't sleep. So when conditions dictate I pack a spare pair of merino socks. This works for me* so far*. On ONe did loads ages ago, they were crap in terms of durability wearing through in no time but they're the toasties thing I've put my tootsies in for ages. I'm saving the remaining ones like some old fart as bed / bivi socks

Me* - might not for you.
Far* - you might be out somewhere colder.