Winter camping

Well, I just spent last night out on a local pond. Actually, next to it. But, I went out to try several different things; a 0* bag, my stove, to see how cold it could get before it didnt work, and a set of Bivvy Wear tops & bottoms. Also, I wanted to try lighting a fire using flint & steel. I did tape alot of the afternoon, until my camera actually froze, and no longer worked. So, on to my story.
It got a record low of -10* with the wind last night. Pretty damned cold! My first experiment was to light a fire using the flint & steel. I grabbed a bunch of dried grass along the edge of the pond, and attempted to light it. With the constant wind, I soon gave up without a fire. There really wasnt a convenient place to hide from the wind, and, as it was bitter cold, I gave up fairly quick. however, I went into my survival kit, and took out a vaseline soaked cotton ball, to give that a whirl. With just to strike of the flint, I got flame. So, needless to say, I will NOT be going out without this!
Next, my stove. I have an MSR pocketrocket. This, unfortunately, did not work at all in the bitter cold. I ended up putting it into my jacket, and laying in my sleeping bag, to get it warm enough to work. I boiled a cup of water, for cocoa, inside my tent. Not the best idea, but I needed something warm inside me. So, in extreme cold, the much vaunted isopro mix, good for sub freezing temps, didnt work. Good thing to know!
Next, I tried out my bivvy wear. Now, THIS stuff is amazing. With both the tops & bottoms on, I was fine, even with the wind. Good stuff. Packs small, is VERY warm, definitely a worthy purchase.
Inside my tent, I was alot warmer, without the wind. I had a candle lantern burning, and it was a relatively warm 20*. So, I thought I'd be fine with my sleeping bag. But, I found MANY cold spots throughout the night. I ended up putting on my military issue heavyweight longjohns. A little better. Ultimately, as the temps dropped considerably, I put the bivvy wear on too. This was relatively comfortable. I slept fitfully, mostly woke up when I rolled over. My toes were cold throughout the night. Had my stove worked, I wouldve heated water & put the bottle down near my feet. Ah well, again, lesson learned.
The final temp reading recorded on my digi thermometer was 9*, inside the tent. Then, it too died. I taped alot of the day, but, unfortunately, electronics & exteme cold weather dont mix. So, I got nothing of this morning. But, I made it out, toes & all!
The coolest thing was listening to the ice settle all noght. Huge BOOMs were heard all night long. The tent wall was constanlty compressed onto my face, due to the constant wind. But, I made it through fine. I actually got alot more sleep than expected. Thats all for now. As soon as I get my video loaded, I'll post that.