[pct-l] Montbell sleeping bags

[Michael Pinkus]

Hi John,
Thanks for that data! I already have and love a Marmot Atom 40 f bag that I love and it weighs one pound. I might just take your advice and buy the #3 and keep it on standy.....

cheers,
Mike

From: pacificcresttrail2011 at gmail.com
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2010 19:17:06 -0800
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Montbell sleeping bags
To: mikepinkus at hotmail.com
CC: pct-l at backcountry.net

Hey Mike,

I have recently had to re-adjust my sleeping system. 

Take a look at this amazing bit of data:

http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/2010-December/042944.html



Huge props to Paul from  hikethru.com for being willing to lug along his weather monitoring gear every single day to be able to record this kind of stuff.

What I got out of it was that I had overshot with my planned bag. I was going to take my MBSSDH#1 for the winter areas and a GoLite UltraLite 3-Season Quilt (20-f) for the rest.



But as it turns out, if you figure he spent 168 days on the trail and only 12 of those days was sub-freezing, it really does not make much sense to lug around a 30, or zero degree bag. Ditch them, go with a 40-degree bag, save yourself almost a pound of weight in your pack, and wear some extra close for the 10-15 or 20 night it gets below your bag rating.



That said, you should of course, have some much colder weather gear ready to be mailed out to you at a moments notice, if 2011 turns into one of those "ultra cold years". Even if you pay for overnight shipping somewhere along the trail, the weight savings for the hundreds and hundreds of miles that you are not lugging around your MBSSDH#1 will be worth the money.



You can check out how I have progressed through different gear:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0As-hvbUBJ_X_dHJXU3ZDb2VlOElUczlWS3JaUmNtNGc&hl=en&authkey=CLCE2LAO



The list does not have every single thing I will be taking, but it gives me a good enough perspective at this point.

Anyway, yeah, ditch the MBSSDH#3 for all but the coldest areas of the trip (and maybe even them if you choose to carry warmer clothing) and unless it decides to be a vicious year, you should do ok.



That said, if you don't have the money to put out for another bag/quilt, yeah, the MBSSDH#3 could totally work for you for the entire trip. It would just mean an extra pound+ you'd have to carry. If you do not care about that, by all means, go with that bag. One hell of a bag. I love my #1 even though I rarely get to use it. I should probably just sell it or trade it for a Nunatak quilt.



John


On Fri, Dec 31, 2010 at 6:51 PM, Michael Pinkus <mikepinkus at hotmail.com> wrote:




Hi all. Okay, I'm looking at the MontBell Super Spiral Down Hugger #3 bag which is rated to 30 f/ -1 C. Would this bag be suitable for the whole PCT? I will have a set of merino tights and a MontBell down jacket as well, so I can layer as well. I plan on using a Tarptent Sublite Sil as my shelter to complete the sleep system.





I would appreciate your thoughts.



cheers and happy new years to all!



Mike