It's that time of year, where I spend time contemplating the coming season's trips and assessing the shortcomings of my gear, if any. I think I've hit upon a better solution for my style of hiking and my sleep system, but I have yet to receive, try and assess. This design borrows from the old climber's system of Elephant Foot and Parka, modified for back or fastpacking. I looked at my planned trips this summer and called upon years of using a Rock Wren, Vireo, and quilts.
Blog Post here. Comments welcome.
The one down side I see with this system - is you are dependent on your upper body hiking insulation layers to stay warm at night.
A full size 25-30 degree down mummy sleeping bag is very light weight and adequate for most 3 season PNW outings with just a base layer. The option to add your insultion layers greatly extends your cold weather margin.
In the end it's really a weight vs warmth optimization during both the active day time and inactive sleeping time. Since different people sleep warm or cold, there really isn't a single best setup. You really need to learn through experience what works for you.
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately...” ― Henry David Thoreau
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“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately...” ― Henry David Thoreau
The one down side I see with this system - is you are dependent on your upper body hiking insulation layers to stay warm at night.
I recently switched to sleeping with a down quilt that comes up to my shoulders. This means I sleep with my down parka on. Not a problem for me.
The biggest problem I've had, and it was huge, was when I was two days away from a trail head and the bottom seam of my Big Agnes insulated inflatable pad began failing. Because quilts don't have a back, I was dependent on the pad to insulate me from the frozen ground. By morning I had used up all the patch material that came with my pad. The next night I had to pile extra clothes under my shoulder and hip so I didn't freeze.
Because quilts don't have a back, I was dependent on the pad to insulate me from the frozen ground.
Excellent point, I've been thinking of bagging the NeoAir with this system and taking the ZRest instead. Not as cushy but almost zero setup time and practically immune from malfunction.
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