Warmth and damp hiking

[RadicalHope]

I've been trying to lighten my load as well without breaking the bank. I started with an insanely bulky 20* generic synthetic sleeping bag that weighs in around 5 lbs. I recently purchased The North Face Cat's Meow (20* synthetic) for $150 and it only weighs 2 lbs 13 oz (women's long). That is a huge bulk/weight savings. (I also bought a TNF Aleutian 3S bag for my daughter for about $90 that weighs about 3 1/2 lbs. Not bad considering the cheap price tag). It seems that there are some fairly cheap options out there that can lighten the load some without the high cost of down or top of the line ultralight synthetics. I agree with others to watch the sale forums for great deals on used gear. If I had been patient enough, I probably could have picked up a used Cat's Meow (or maybe something even better) cheaper on the forum.

Good luck and have fun!

[Nodust]

Golite Jam are just over $100 and about 1.5lbs for the 50liter.

[Lythe]

Problem with poncho liner isn't staying warm when I do have it, but how to stay warm when I don't, as 4lb bag plus 2lb liner is 6lbs. I already am wearing long thermals underneath.

Wanting the superfly because I've gotten very damp on misty nights with the stock tarp, and hoping the fully enclosed setup will at least give me similar mist protection as a tent, not to mention being able to shelter without being inside the hammock if it really pours. I've played around with a silponcho supplementing my stock tarp but found in windy conditions it didn't work very well, single tarp is much better than trying to combine 2. I'll also be going with my wife (who doesn't ground camp at all and will be hanging) so having the Superfly means we'll have a shelter where we can hang out together.

I definitely plan on a few shorter trips to test things as time allows and to train for the WTC.

Canadian walmart is a bit different, so not sure if they will have those sleeping bags here. I'll definitely check out those links, and I've already been browsing the for sale section here

[Nodust]

Wanting the superfly because I've gotten very damp on misty nights with the stock tarp,

So your HH will drop a pound cause you won't need the stock tarp. Your in the right direction. Just acquire new gear wisely and before long you will have a lighter setup.

[VictoriaGuy]

Canadian walmart is a bit different, so not sure if they will have those sleeping bags here. I'll definitely check out those links, and I've already been browsing the for sale section here

The Walmart Canada website didn't have the down bags listed last week. Many of the items discussed here as available in the US aren't on the shelves here at my local WM stores.

Looking for used gear - MEC Gear Swap is another possibility, though (like here) you have to know your prices as some folks want ridiculous $$ (IMO) for old gear. If you keep your eye on the MEC clearance area you can sometimes snag good buys. I got a 0C (true temp rating, BTW, unlike MtnHardwear and some others) MEC Raven down bag for $85 last year. Not super quality (550 duck down) but it is warm.

[VictoriaGuy]

Planning the west coast trail in 10 months, been planning for a while.

Do you have/need a reservation for the WCT trail these days?

Check out the weather probabilities for your trip at a place like:
http://weatherspark.com/averages/281...olumbia-Canada

Not that the % numbers will be much comfort if you run into a spell of bad weather....

IMO, on a multi-day trip it's not the rain/fog/mist that's the problem, it's managing your gear to keep dry stuff dry and wet stuff separated that's the challenge. And getting used to the idea that you can be warm and steamy in the right gear without being perfectly 'dry'...

[dakine]

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

Stacked under your existing pad, the torso pad will add about 10 degrees warmth, costs almost nothing, weighs almost nothing.

[VictoriaGuy]

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.

I know I will sound like the grumpy old guy I am , but.....

A lot of the 'lightweight/ultralight' chatter is just plain silly, IMO. Just because somebody survived a trip carrying no spare/warm clothes, decent shelter, sufficient food etc. does not necessarily make that 'style' the standard we should all strive for. Some of the 'big hikes' are not that remote from towns (sections of the AT which I've hiked) , which changes the 'stakes' a lot. Again, most of the AT sections I hiked were 'back country highways' compared to more remote and rougher trails (like some sections of the WCT?).

Counting everything beyond 'naked and barefoot' as 'load' is a new concept to me as well, though it is all stuff to be moved down the trail. Wearing sneakers instead of boots will not seem like a great idea if you slam your ankle into a rock, blah, blah, blah.... You do have the great advantage of not having to carry extra blubber everywhere you go...(just wait... ).

A 40 lb pack with food and gear for a week-long trip would have been considered 'about right' in the 1970s/80s if splitting communal gear (2-person tent, cookset, stove, fuel, water filtration,first aid/foot care kit, map& compass etc) between hikers . In the more common (in those days) scenario of the guy carrying a heavier pack than the girl, a 50 lb pack would be not unusual, though still a grunt.

Nowadays, lighter gear is available (at a price) so those numbers can be changed a bit.

Your food ration may be a bit light @ 1.7 #/day. If you 'eat a lot' something closer to 2# might be better.

Your list is not that easy to understand, but the only obvious things I'd drop would be the camp shoes, extra flashlight, and possibly the hiking poles unless you have mobility/balance problems. (I know they are popular...).
You can save weight by no-cooking travel, but that is 'a bit much' for most people. Easier to do for short trips, and hot drinks are comforting....

Lots of warmup outings (overnighters, 2-nighters) will tell you what works for you.

[Lythe]

Cleaned up the spreadsheet to make it easier to read, removed all excess info. I think in metric, find it makes it much easier to play with numbers than ounces, stuck a Pound conversion in at the end (that got cut off and put on page 2 prior)

Food weight I can get away with a little less as there are now 2-4 places along the trail where you can buy food, with great recommendations for 2 of them.

Reservations are still needed but I hear that most days it only takes a day or 2 to get onto the standby list unless you are with a bigger group.

Spare flashlight.. well the 2 combined weigh like 3.3oz. I'd save the most weight if I left the headlamp behind, and maybe got a spare for the handheld as you'd want a spare battery at least, I'd then be under 1.5oz. for 2 flashlights combined.

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.

The pan is the lid for the pot, no bowl, and I need the 2nd container to eat out of for my wife.
Windbreaker and rain jacket.. I'd consider it more if I had a lighter rainjacket that was more comfortable and where I didn't worry about killing the gore-tex with the pack straps. My windbreaker feels light and I use it for running, maybe once I break in my gore-tex jacket I'll baby it less. Camp shoes are a must with my hikers and worth the weight, plus recommended for wading on this trail.
Thermal bottoms/tops are pretty light and with the damp you do want something to change into.. extra socks is a definite must, a lot of the gear is straight off of many recommendation lists for this particular hike.

I'll definitely be doing other hikes and can drop a lot of stuff for them, the WTC is just the harshest of them all.

[BillyBob58]

I could not read the gear list, it is blurred for some reason.

What's up with a 4 lb bag that is not warm to well below 20F, much less 45 to 50? My 15 year old 4 lb bag was rated to 5F and has kept me toasty at 10F. What kind of bag do you have? Any descent 4 lb synthetic bag should keep an average person warm well below freezing without a 2 lb poncho liner.

It makes me think maybe your pad is not thick enough, and indeed I see the specs show it only has a 1.4 R value. That is not much, good winter pads would have an R value of 4 - 8. I think my Thermarest Neo All Season is 4.9, for example, and the Neo-air X-Therm is 5.7, Expeds are 5.9 and 8R-values. I suspect a 1.4 R value in a hammock would be good to about 50 or 55. If your back, butt and kidneys are not warm enough, no amount of insulation on top will be enough. You will just sweat on top while freezing on the bottom. Have you been warm enough on the bottom?

Budget is always the problem when trying to go both light and warm and low bulk. What kind of temps are you going to have to deal with? What kind of hammock do you have?

Thicker pads are always the cheapest way to increase bottom warmth, plus they are wind and waterproof. But of course a thicker pad is a heavier pad. Learn about Vapor Barriers, and it will take some study if you don't already understand it. Stephenson's Warmlite has cheap, light VB gear that can add a ton of warmth plus help keep your insulation dry on longer trips.