Hi guys,
I'm looking for some expert advice here. On a camping trip this weekend, I'll be facing a couple 20* nights. I am a cold sleeper, and I only have a 20* (supposedly) bag.
Bottom insulation will be a Thermarest Trail Pro and a Z-Lite.
What else can I do? I have a poncho liner, and I heard that it would work well as an overcover. I also have several fleece jackets and a car sun-shade thing.
Be like Bob
The car sun shade will definitley help, and they make good sit mats too.
Wearing all your clothes to bed will go a long way too.
I think your problem will be cold shoulders-if you dont go the underquilt route, I'd buy another cheap car sunshade and use one on each side of the mats to keep your shoulders warm.
Hope this helps.
It depends on if you are camping near the car or backpacking. If you're near the car, I'd use the 20° bag with the poncho liner on top. Then I would use the pads you mentioned and buy a cheap blue foam pad and cut it to use as "T" for your shoulders. If you have time, you could make a Segmented Pad Extender (SPE)to hold the whole contraption together quite nicely.Originally Posted by JCINMA
Would you recommend just draped over the bag or used as an overcover?
Be like Bob
There's really not a big difference between the two. You're basically just trying to add trapped heat to what you already have.
If you want to "cheat", get some of those hand warmer or foot warmer packs and put one near your femoral artery. It works like a hot water bottle without the hassle, and will make you much warmer. That's a good inexpensive trick to add about 15° to your temperature rating.
It depends on your tolerance of low temps. I've slept down to the high 20F range lots of times, down to the lower end 20-23F once... just 3 season quilts, with a poncho loosely hung to provide wind resistance on the sides of the underquilt.
For ground sleeping the two pads you mention would be good lower than 20F.
What will help you out a lot will be keeping yourself fed and hydrated - stoke the furnace before you go to bed by having a cup of cocoa, a nice treat that gives you some fat/carbs (I use cheese a lot), and walk around a bit (not enough to sweat) before piling in. Wear a nice warm hat and socks. Use the car shade thing under the prolite and put the foam pad across your shoulders as suggested, then add in the hot water bottle or warmer packs, and you'll probably be sweating....
Another thing I've found - a sportsman's blanket. Basically mylar with ripstop backing. It's wide enough that I can slide it in under any sleeping pad and get wind resistance AND warmth up the sides of the hammock, and fold it into any configuration I want. About twelve bucks at a local sport store. One of those, the foam pad and prolite, and you're even warmer.
If I remember correctly, the Clark Ultralite doesn't have a weather shield over the mosquito netting. It would be helpful if you had something to drap over the netting to keep some warmth inside the hammock as well.
I actually won't be using the Clark this weekend. I'll be using a cheap gathered end with a SRL.
Be like Bob
Just my personal preference but I really like the poncho liner as an oovercover. If you use the PL inside the hammock you get the additional 5*-15* of warmth that it provides but unless you keep your head under the covers, you are breathing in dry frigid air all night. I have found that the PL works very to retain some of the humidity you give off allowing you to breathe moist air that is definitely warmer than what you would be breathing in with the PL inside the hammock.
I am asking Santa to bring me a wireless thermometer that reads inside and outside temps just so that I can record the difference in temps for these two scenarios.
Just my dos pesos!
“He doesn't know the meaning of the word fear, but then again he doesn't know the meaning of most words”
- Bobby Bowden
Hmm. I'm asking him for a nice Crowsnest and Burrow!I am asking Santa to bring me a wireless thermometer that reads inside and outside temps just so that I can record the difference in temps for these two scenarios.
Be like Bob
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