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Backpacker Joe
Blind Hiker



Joined: 16 Dec 2001
Posts: 23956 | TRs | Pics
Location: Cle Elum
Backpacker Joe
Blind Hiker
PostTue Jun 04, 2019 5:54 am 
jasonfromtexas wrote:
I switched to a 20 degree Enlightened Equipment quilt and NeoAir pad. I've been warm enough in the low 30's and feel I'd be ok down to 20 with a layer and hat. The quilt has been good for me as I'm a stomach/side sleeper and can't stand mummy style bags. Never going back to a bag. Only complaint is the noise from the pad. Some earplugs help with the crinkle, but still.
X2 on that set up. I love mine. up.gif

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide." — Abraham Lincoln
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wade63
guitarman



Joined: 21 Jun 2018
Posts: 126 | TRs | Pics
Location: Orcas Island
wade63
guitarman
PostWed Jun 05, 2019 7:23 pm 
Okay, well a week of research and wrangling, I'm going for the enigma 20. I will try to return my bag to REi to recoup most of the cost. It had 700 duck fill, no wonder I was cold at under 2# bag. 25 degrees my cold derriere. I'll try this with the neo uber but may need more insulation. Thanks for the help guys and keep you posted after next weekend trip up the upper baker river valley, 6/14-16. Bought a stock wide, should be here by then.

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Chief Joseph
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Joined: 10 Nov 2007
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Location: Verlot-Priest Lake
Chief Joseph
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PostMon Aug 07, 2023 11:36 am 
I have a sleeping bag issue. Last year I did not use my Marmot helium bag at all and with the high humidity here in Verlot the zipper is stuck solid. I sprayed it with vegetable oil a week or so ago and also a bit of WD-40 and nada, still stuck solid after 3+ applications. Anyone know a trick?

Go placidly amid the noise and waste, and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.
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texasbb
Misplaced Texan



Joined: 30 Mar 2009
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Location: Tri-Cities, WA
texasbb
Misplaced Texan
PostMon Aug 07, 2023 1:41 pm 
Chief Joseph wrote:
I have a sleeping bag issue. Last year I did not use my Marmot helium bag at all and with the high humidity here in Verlot the zipper is stuck solid. I sprayed it with vegetable oil a week or so ago and also a bit of WD-40 and nada, still stuck solid after 3+ applications. Anyone know a trick?
I have two Marmot bags and the zippers on both hang all the time. Literally, they hang multiple times every time I use them. But it's always because of cloth wedging into the zipper, never because of corrosion or anything like that.

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contour5
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Joined: 16 Jul 2003
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contour5
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PostMon Aug 07, 2023 5:18 pm 
The seamstress I took my tent to used an ordinary bar of ivory soap and just rubbed it on the zipper. Had it working in about 10 seconds.Might have poked around with a little screwdriver to bend the truck open slightly and then squeezed it back with a pair of pliers. Seamstress VUDU.

Cyclopath, Chief Joseph
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Cyclopath
Faster than light



Joined: 20 Mar 2012
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Location: Seattle
Cyclopath
Faster than light
PostMon Aug 07, 2023 6:47 pm 
I opted for a draw cord on my quilt instead of a zipper after a very cold night in the North Cascades with a mummy bag that wouldn't close. It's kind of a pain in the ass to use, and zippers are so smooth and easy as long as they're working.

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Eric Hansen
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Eric Hansen
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PostSat Aug 12, 2023 12:15 pm 
+1 on the bar of soap to lube the zipper, and the quality of Western Mountaineering sleeping bags

Off trail rambler
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Chief Joseph
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Joined: 10 Nov 2007
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Location: Verlot-Priest Lake
Chief Joseph
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PostSat Aug 12, 2023 9:05 pm 
Finally tried the soap and at first no way, it was so tight, like welded shut. Then I pulled nearly as hard as I could and it moved just a little. Then it freed up and would go up but not down past the previously stuck part...but more soap and wella, it works all the way up and down. It's a long zipper so would have sucked to be stuck for good. You guys are amazing, so many tricks of the trade.

Go placidly amid the noise and waste, and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.
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nuclear_eggset
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Joined: 02 Jul 2006
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nuclear_eggset
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PostWed Aug 16, 2023 5:23 pm 
I know this is from a while ago, but I switched to a wide sleeping pad this year, and - outside of an underquilt and hammock - it's definitely the way to go. And I'm not big - 5'3", 120lb "fits" a 20" pad, but like you, I'd get drafts. The wide pad is definitely the way to go!

Chief Joseph
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contour5
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Joined: 16 Jul 2003
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contour5
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PostThu Sep 21, 2023 12:13 pm 
I’ve found that I prefer an inflatable with short, sideways baffles. I had an REI Magma with long baffles and I was always sliding downhill and waking up mashed up in the bottom end of the tent. (I usually try to sleep with my head slightly uphill) Tried using the silicone dots strategy, but they collected dirt, added weight and then failed completely. When the Magma blew up ( I mighta left it inflated on a hot day, whoops); and it turned into a submarine-shaped object, I needed a new pad, so I paid like $275 with tax at REI for a Thermarest Uberlite. Sideways baffles. 12 oz. 25”x77” Best pad ever. I babied it and it lasted three years. Started leaking a few trips ago, so I went to Cascade Design website and spent about 2 minutes setting up a return. Ordered a new one off Amazon for $169. New one blew up on the first trip. I sat down on it, 10 miles from the road, of course, and it went •POP• and a small protrusion appeared at the top of the pad. A small pillow object formed over the next several nights, as all 8 upper baffles sequentially blew wide open. Super lucky that it failed in this particular way- I just stopped using my 3 oz. Klymit inflatable pillow after the second night…not optimum, but the pad got me through the trip. Cascade Designs offers a repair service on these pads that can cost up to $50. But they didn’t charge me anything. Or fix the pad. They just sent me a brand new one with an inflator bag, a patch kit and a stuff sack. With a new warranty! Hell Yeah! Cascade Designs is AWESOME! Not sure if I should return the new one directly ( like the first one) or figure out how to return it via Amazon. So many options now that I’m no longer using a 14 year old computer…

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contour5
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contour5
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PostThu Sep 21, 2023 1:45 pm 
Also, I just got a new Therm-a-Rest Vesper Down Quilt 20. It replaces an REI Magma quilt that split wide open at the bottom of the slot. The Magma was nice while it lasted, but it lost a considerable amount of down fill over the course of subsequent repair/fail disasters. The Vesper Quilt was $269 on Amazon. 18.75 oz. Super high quality shell. Not enough down. Probably good down to about 35 degrees with long underwear and down jacket/sweater. I’d like to make it warmer… I have a Western Mountaineering Versatile bag that I use when it’s actually cold out, but I’m really interested in the weight savings that a quilt can provide. The Versatile is a long, about 2.2 lbs. Dilemma: I want to empty out the slightly stinky REI Magma quilt and add the down to the new Thermarest Vesper quilt. Who is the best technician for this job? Anybody had this sort of work done lately?

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