[pct-l] quilts

[Jeffrey Olson]

I've used a Nunatak Arc Alpinist for five years or so - 100 nights in 
all sorts of conditions.  I don't put the straps under my body.  I put 
them under the full-length blue foam pad I carry.  I sleep directly on 
the pad in lightweight long underwear, with a gossamer gear torso length 
sleeping pad and the thinlight insulation pad under the tent taking the 
place of a ground cloth.  I've never been cold, even at 10 degrees in 
October in the southern Sierra.  Luckily I had a nice balaclava with me. 

I've never had a problem with drafts or such - I just tighten the strap 
so the edges of the quilt are just underneath the pad. 

I've never been wet, including five nights last summer in the Maroon 
Bells where it rained 16 or more hours a day.  The quilt has its own 
garbage bag.  When it's wet, I take the quilt out of its home only when 
I'm ready to go to bed.  I have never "stuffed" it.  It takes the top 
half of my Golite Gust pack.  Many people think I'm carrying lots of 
weight when it's half sleeping bag with five days of food, and 2/3 with 
a days food. 

And of course, to each his or her own way!

Jeff, just Jeff