Originally Posted by
FreeTheWeasel
Greetings BillyBob,
I have used the supershelter down to 36 F (recorded on thermometer) and somewhere around freezing (frost on the ground). Both times, I was wearing thermal underwear, socks, a hat, and I had the sleeping bag hood pulled up tight around my face so that only my nose and mouth stuck out. I did not have any extra insulation underneath. I had only the open cell foam pad and the undercover. In those cases, I was pretty comfortable. Shifting around too much would cause my sleeping bag to act as a bellows, sucking in cold air which was always exciting but it always warmed right back up again.
Last night, however, I was intentionally not dressing warmly. I wanted to put myself in a position where I would be on the margins so that I could see if one would be a better solution than the other. In my unscientific test, the underquilt seemed to be a bit better but I have admit, I had a heavier sleeping bag on top for the second version of the test.
I think I had the supershelter adjusted properly, but sometimes it is hard to tell. The pad is a bit narrow and so there are more opportunities to shift off it. I also think in the two cold weather cases I mentioned above, I was sleeping in a bag which means that I had at the minimum a second layer of nylon between me and the outside, even if I was compressing the down.
The supershelter is not a bad system at all and I'm fortunate to get to try both back to back on the same night at the same temperature. Both have their advantages. The underquilt, at least last night, seemed to be slightly better. I'm always up for more testing though and fall and winter are coming!
FreeTheWeasel
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