Page 1 of 8 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 74
  1. #1
    New Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Black Creek, BC
    Hammock
    HH Expedition
    Posts
    20

    Warmth and damp hiking

    Planning the west coast trail in 10 months, been planning for a while. Last night I brought out the digital scale and started a spreadsheet only to come to a conclusion that my pack, even with a year of slowly acquiring gear, is going to be way too heavy. Right now I'm sitting at 47lbs total gear including worn, (34lbs if you don't count food+water), and I've already skimped on how much food I think I need... I eat a lot.

    rough gear list is here https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Byk...it?usp=sharing
    includes someone else's west coast trail gear list as a comparison, and a space where I was weighing extra gear to try pick something. (green gear in the packing list has actually been weighed)

    Now what bugs me the most is not that I'm carrying too much gear, but that my gear is too heavy. Particularly my sleeping system. I have a 4lb synthetic 15F bag, a CCF pad that has moisture on it in the morning (which makes me think it isn't the cause of getting cold), but I'm still cold at 45f to 50f unless I wrap my surplus poncho liner overtop (which adds another 2lbs), and that is with using a long sleeve base layer. I am a side sleeper. When my poncho liner doesn't cover part of my sleeping bag, I get cold there.

    Unfortunately a TQ+BQ combo isn't in the budget right now, nor is a nice down bag. Nor is buying everything lighter, it was bad enough splurging $40 to order a titanium cook set, though that shaved a whole pound off my pack list (and likely will be the cheapest pound reduction to come)

    I'm already planning on ordering a warbonnet superfly with the expectations of needing more than the stock HH asym tarp for windy wet misty camping. Will this help much for staying warmer with an enclosed pitch?

    Unfortunately I haven't slept in a tent in years so I don't know if it is the being in a hammock part or just me that I'm cold in that bag. I'm 6'3 and 165lbs, so I'm really not carrying any internal insulation.

    I'm really considering trying to make a hammock sock, in the hopes that everything I've read about microclimates will let me drop the 2lb poncho liner in favour of a 1lb or less sock. Downside is my sewing experience can be narrowed down to the 1 hour I slaved to make a crude cape for halloween one year. Just hoping increase in warmth is possible without too much condensation problems.
    Last edited by Lythe; 11-14-2013 at 02:30.

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    D-ville
    Posts
    131
    Try one of these under your pad, stacked evazote ccf pad:

    http://www.jacksrbetter.com/shop/torso-pad/

  3. #3
    New Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Black Creek, BC
    Hammock
    HH Expedition
    Posts
    20
    How would that be an improvement over my current?
    http://www.mec.ca/product/4003-969/z...10+50050+50130
    1cm(3/8"+) vs the 1/4" for the JRB, JRB is a little lighter but that doesn't address the primary issue of warmth

  4. #4
    Senior Member Mountnman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Miamisburg, Ohio
    Hammock
    DIY
    Tarp
    HG Winter Palace
    Insulation
    HG TQ,UQ, DIY
    Suspension
    Whoopies or rings
    Posts
    1,939
    There was a time when I carried a pack that heavy because of lack of funds and knowledge. I wish I could give you some advice other than to save up and slowly pick up what you can that is light weight. That is what I had too do as well as most of my hiking buddies.
    "I love not man the less, but Nature more."
    Byron

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Gonzales, LA
    Hammock
    DH Darien/DIY
    Tarp
    WL Big Daddy
    Insulation
    JrB, HG, WL
    Suspension
    Whoopies
    Posts
    2,388
    Think hard about the extra socks, underwear, thermal bottoms and tops. Also windshirt and rain jacket, use the rain jacket as wind shirt. You have a pot+pan and a bowl. Just eat out of pot.

    You could save the most weight with new pack and sleeping bag, but you already know that. Keep and eye out on the for sale section and also Whiteblaze.com if you haven't looked there.

    Do you need the superfly tarp or would the Hennessy stock tarp work?

  6. #6
    Senior Member Pipsissewa's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Yancey Co., NC - Home of Mt. Mitchell
    Hammock
    Too many to list
    Tarp
    Cuben with doors
    Insulation
    FlThrwr UQ+DIY TQ
    Suspension
    Whoopies + straps
    Posts
    1,741
    Images
    7
    What Nodust said and this: With limited funds and a serious need to lighten up, look at used gear. People (like you) are constantly upgrading their gear; but there is always someone at a different point in the process. So you can upgrade your equipment as others upgrade theirs; for far less than retail.

    Look at the Gear Swap section of backpackinglight.com CLICK HERE, GearTrade.com CLICK HERE and, of course, Hammock Forums' "For Sale" forum.

    Weigh EVERYTHING and be brutal with your gear selection! It ALL adds up! Best of luck!
    "Pips"
    Mountains have a dreamy way
    Of folding up a noisy day
    In quiet covers, cool and gray.

    ---Leigh Buckner Hanes

    Surely, God could have made a better way to sleep.

    Surely, God never did.

  7. #7
    Senior Member renegadepilgrim's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    PDX
    Hammock
    Hennessy Hyperlite
    Tarp
    OES MacCat Deluxe
    Insulation
    HG Incubator 20 UQ
    Posts
    292
    You need to get your pack weight down to at least 35lbs with food and water. I was at 35lbs on my WCT trip and that was too much. That was also before I started hanging, so that was tent weight (BA Copper Spur UL1) with a 40F sleeping bag, if I remember correctly. The WCT is the one place where tent camping is not such a bad idea, especially those awesome spots on the beach... I can't get Google Drive to work so I can't look at your list. What is your itinerary? How many nights are you planning to be out? We did 5 nights and wished we had done 6 nights. Also, you can cut out some food if you plan to eat at Nitinat Narrows and Chez Moniques, just make sure you bring at least $50 to cover those meals plus any snacks you get at Chez Moniques (she has a nice selection of hiker food there). (trust me, totally worth it!)
    Blog: www.renegadepilgrim.com
    Tumblr/Instagram/Twitter: renegadepilgrim

    “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

  8. #8

    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Sunbury, Ohio
    Hammock
    WBBB 1.1 Dbl xlc
    Tarp
    HG cuben
    Insulation
    HG
    Suspension
    Whoopie/Dutch bkls
    Posts
    1,512
    Only trail time with your gear will tell you what you need and can leave behind. I see a lot of room for small refinements in your kit and you will be amazed how quickly the weight falls away.

    Consider the temperature range you're preparing for when you goal set for overall gear weight. It may take more organizational work for your planning but it is valuable to look at your kit in Summer vs Fall/Spring vs Winter configurations separately so you can relate when someone tells you their kit is X lbs for a 20* outing.

    You already know where the low hanging fruit is so stay committed to saving for those upgrades and fiddle with the small stuff in the meantime so you're making progress with your kit.

    Have fun and good luck with your trip planning.

    David

  9. #9
    fishbait's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Jamesburg, NJ
    Hammock
    DIY by Raiffnuke
    Tarp
    Modified WBMJ
    Insulation
    Phoenix/Mamba
    Suspension
    Tree Straps
    Posts
    2,668
    Images
    8
    Walmart sells an Ozark Trails Down Sleeping bag. it's rated to 32 Deg and weighs 23.5 oz. The cost is under $80, so I'm not sure it's in your budget. Instead of throwing the poncho liner over you at night slip it inside your sleeping bag for extra warmth. Especially when you go to ground. The poncho liner will help insulate you from the ground (Boy Scout trick). I picked up a Reflectix like sleeping mat a couple years ago that helps with warmth as well.
    Last edited by fishbait; 11-14-2013 at 08:40.

    "Any night in a hammock, is a good night."

    HF Terms of Service, For Sale Forum Rules, For Trade Forum Rules, Pay it Forward Rules

    My Current Base Pack Weight


    <a href="http://pitapata.com/"><img src="http://pdgf.pitapata.com/TikiPic.php/dV2s2VY.jpg" width="80" height="80" border="0" alt="PitaPata - Personal picture" /><img src="http://pdgf.pitapata.com/dV2sm5.png" width="400" height="80" border="0" alt="PitaPata Dog tickers" /></a>

  10. #10
    Member
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    York, PA
    Hammock
    ENO DN
    Suspension
    Huggers &amp; Whoopies
    Posts
    58
    I'm in the same boat as you right now and trying to work my way through. My best suggestion is to pack everything on your list and go out for a 2-day weekend hike. Pay attention to what you use and what you don't. I always find that I take too much food, too many snacks, too many changes of clothes, etc. My biggest weight reduction was just leaving the things I didn't really need!

    I swapped a few things out and even though they aren't the lightest things I could go with, they are the lighter options that I have right now. For example, I take a surplus poncho and got rid of my rain suit and took the pack cover out. Saved me more space in my pack than it did weight, which also helps. The heaviest thing I carry is my sleeping bag, which in the winter is around 6lbs, but I'm warm enough in there that I don't need extra clothes to sleep in and don't need any other insulation, except for a USGI foam pad. Eventually I'll make the switch to down and lighter weight gear, but my gear has been given great improvements through deals that I've found at thrift stores, ebay, and buying things from members here. Good luck!

  • + New Posts
  • Page 1 of 8 123 ... LastLast

    Similar Threads

    1. Has anyone tried stuffing down when damp?
      By genixia in forum Do-It-Yourself (DIY)
      Replies: 10
      Last Post: 09-18-2012, 21:50
    2. Down & damp weather
      By OneClick in forum Top Insulation
      Replies: 3
      Last Post: 09-17-2012, 22:33
    3. Mist and fog, down getting damp
      By Shewie in forum Weather Protection
      Replies: 22
      Last Post: 04-03-2012, 17:13
    4. Damp bag
      By cataraftgirl in forum Top Insulation
      Replies: 11
      Last Post: 10-01-2010, 16:21
    5. First hung with IX UQ in (damp) England
      By seg1959 in forum Bottom Insulation
      Replies: 7
      Last Post: 06-17-2010, 17:21

    Bookmarks

    Posting Permissions

    • You may not post new threads
    • You may not post replies
    • You may not post attachments
    • You may not edit your posts
    •