Can you gear test in your yard one night before you go backpacking? Car camping no worries, but if you are wondering how low you can go with your gear, gear test in the yard or close by for a night.
Can you gear test in your yard one night before you go backpacking? Car camping no worries, but if you are wondering how low you can go with your gear, gear test in the yard or close by for a night.
Exercise, eat right, die anyway -- Country Roads bumper sticker
Fall seven times, standup eight. -- Japanese Proverb
I second what FF said ... you can always put on more clothes. Have an exciting time and wear a hat when you sleep. Hot water bottle too if you are in doubt....
Shug
Whooooo Buddy)))) All Secure in Sector Seven
I'll throw out a third for FF's comments. You have more than enough insulation there; you'll probably get hot. Good luck and have a blast!
Trust nobody!
Just got home from a night out in the woods. It got chillier than I had hoped. It dipped down below freezing. Needless to say I wasn't quite warm enough at times. My sleeping bag is a half zip so I put my feet in and laid the top half over me like a quilt. It may have been a bit warmer had I zipped it up and cinched it down in mummy mode instead but the underquilt wrapped around really well so I doubt it would have helped all that much. I wore a stocking cap and neck gaitor and two layers of 100 weight REI fleece tops and a 100 weight pair of REI fleece bottoms. My set up consisted of the BB double layer hammock, Yeti 3 season UQ, half of a $5 Walmart pad for the foot end, DriDucks poncho and MacCat Deluxe tarp. I didn't have any specific cold spots just overall not as warm as I would have liked. Next thing on my shopping list will be a warmer down bag or a down top quilt. The temps are going to be getting warmer now so I'll put that purchase off until fall. All in all it was a good experience though. I may experiment with putting the pack or stuff sack with clothes under my legs next time. My legs got a little sleepy when I turned slightly and kind of laid on my side. I am more of a side sleeper. When I sleep on my back for some reason I tend to snore a bit which wakes me up frequently but on my side I don't snore at all...kinda weird. The other thing that didn't help were the pesky raccoons in my camp all night. They kept waking me up. I'm excited to get back out and try it all again.
Glad to hear your first night out went well!Originally Posted by pizza
I'll be doing my first hang sometime this coming week/weekend when my new Clark NA arrives. I don't have quite the gear you do yet but the temps also aren't quite as low in my neck of the woods this time of year. Anyways good to hear all went well
Pizza,
Your set up looks terrific. Where did you end up going?
Seems you should have been plenty warm in your gear .... what is the bag rating?
You had fun though and are on your way to refinement and that is a right good thing.
Also, did you eat well before bed and stoke the inner furnace?
All secure ,
Shug
Whooooo Buddy)))) All Secure in Sector Seven
Shug, I went out to Lake Maria State Park. I had debated going there or to Wild River but I went out to WR last weekend for a day hike so I thought I'd try something different.
The bag I used is rated to +30F...it's this one http://www.trailspace.com/gear/slumb.../pursuit-+30f/. I also had my Sea To Summit Thermolite Reactor bag liner too which adds a few extra degrees of warmth. While I was a bit cold I wasn't shivering cold. That was the coldest temp I've camped in so far.
As far as eating goes I had a Mountain House Noodles and Chicken meal at around 6pm and didn't turn in until around 9pm or so. Maybe I should have made some hot cocoa before turning in? I did make some in the morning along with my Brown Sugar Pop Tarts though.
In my experience so far, a mummy bag will definitely be warmer- sometimes dramatically so- by using in mummy mode. Especially if you are pushing the limit of the mummy bags temp rating. I have more than once gone from a little cold to toasty warm just by making that change in the middle of the night and getting inside the bag and hood and zipping up. Two things: a mummy bags temp rating is often dependent on a large warmth boost you get from the hoods insulation and/or neck collar which also works to prevent any draft and
2: a mummy bag used as a quilt may not always tuck around the shoulders as well as a dedicated semi-rectangular quilt which is designed to be used in quilt mode from the get go. ( On the plus side, I have been able to use my bags hood ( EDIT: even when using the bag as a QUILT) with great results when I get on my side-- then I can just pull the hood over my head more or less and that can make a huge dif compared to just my hat or jacket hood)
Of course, it will probably be more comfortable in all other ways when used as a quilt, so I almost always do. And if you have a separate hood to use, that will help a lot, without you having to be zipped up in the bag or if using a dedicated quilt. I speak from personal experience on that. A separate hood may enable to use your mummy bag as a quilt with more success when approaching the temp rating, though you may still have some potential draft problems at the edges or around the shoulders, especially when you change positions---- compared to being sealed in the bag. But the increase in comfort quilt style makes it worth figuring out how to make your bag work, or getting a warm enough quilt and maybe also a hood.
Have fun working it out!
P.S.
3 words: hot water bottle!
Last edited by BillyBob58; 04-12-2009 at 20:52.
How was that chicken meal?It sounds delicious...
I didn't catch this thread before you left, so sorry I couldn't throw in this bit of advice, but it would be a good thing to remember next time. A Nalgene bottle filled with hot water, wrapped in some extra clothing to keep from burning yourself, is VERY nice for adding a good bit of heat overnight. Since you were able to eat a mountain house meal, I assume you had a way to heat water.
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