[pct-l] Bag/Quilt Warmth

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good morning, John,

For the early-season south and the late-season north, I generally use a bag
at the lower end of the scale – in my case a 15 deg. down bag.   At 32 oz.
it’s heavier than what I could use but, 1) It’s what I have, 2) I like it,
3) I’m old and don’t sleep as warmly as I used to, 4) I sleep under the
stars without any shelter or windbreak -- except when its likely to rain –
and, significantly, 5) I don’t carry much in the way of warm, sit-around
clothes such as long pants or puffy jacket.  When I walk – I’m warm.  When I
stop after a long day I crawl in the bag. That works for me, but some may
argue it’s better to carry a lighter bag and correspondingly more clothes
for the same effect.

There’s a saying among ultra-lite hikers, “On a cold night if you don’t
sleep wearing everything you brought, then you brought too much.”  This is
advice for a hiker who wishes to use a bag/robe in the 30-35 deg. range but
knows that overnight temperatures may occasionally get as low as the mid-20s
F, and frost on the bag in the morning is common, particularly for an
under-the-stars sleeper.  Maybe that’s good advice, but the greatest gain in
overall warmth vs. weight will be had by adding a few ounces of down to the
bag/robe rather than by adding those same ounces in the form of a jacket
which also brings the extra – but unavoidable – weight of the inner/outer
shells plus zippers, snaps, and pockets, etc.  If a person is absolutely,
positively certain they’re going to carry a warm, sit-around jacket and
maybe pants anyway, by all means make them do double-duty by adding warmth
to a lighter sleeping bag/robe.

For those among you that don’t have experience sleeping under a robe I say
try one before you decide.  Robes are potentially the lightest sleeping
arrangement because they eliminate the mostly-useless layers beneath, and
they eliminate the weight of zippers, etc. but they do have some
peculiarities:  Some people can’t/won’t adapt to the free edges.  If they
toss and turn at night things could get drafty, even with a boxed toe.
 Strangely,
and the opposite of claustrophobia, some people like the security of an
enclosed bag much the same as they like the security of an enclosed tent;
relying upon that layer of rip-stop nylon to protect them from, “…goulies
and ghosties and long-legged beasties and things that go bump in the
night…”.
Some people don’t like the feel of sleeping directly on the pad beneath.  My
pads are thin, closed-cell foam and I sleep in my hiking shorts and
shirt.  With
dried sweat and accumulated trail-grunge the result can be an unpleasant
“sticky” feel against the pad.  Yes, I know Momma said always bathe before
bed, and to never sleep in day-clothes, but Momma probably isn’t an
ultra-lite, long-distance hiker.

Those – like me – who sleep without an enclosed tent, should consider ants
before choosing a robe.  On the PCT ants are ubiquitous, but variable.  More
of an irritant than a problem they have a much greater opportunity to crawl
under the edge of a robe than eventually find the top opening of a bag.

So… how does one try a robe before the hike without committing a good chunk
of money to the experiment?  One (semi)good way is to try sleeping on your
pad in your hiking clothes, but under a regular bag -- unzipped, with the
opening on the bottom.  However, most people won’t choose to avoid bathing
for a month just to improve the simulation.

Steel-Eye

-Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

-http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

-http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09


On Fri, Jul 15, 2011 at 8:58 PM, John Abela <abela at johnabela.com> wrote:

> Hello All,
>
> I just wanted to throw out a question and see what everybody feels
> about the issue of what temp bag/quilt you feel you should would use
> on the PCT if you were to (re)hike it in the next year or two.
>
> I realize that some folks sleep warm and some sleep cold, so my
> question is here is specifically what would *you* use?
>
> I also realize that a person could take a 40 degree bag and use it in
> combination with a WM/MB down jacket/pants to get a sub-freezing
> rating, so if you feel that is what you would do, by all means, share
> that as well.
>
> I will admit that, for me, this is perhaps one of the hardest issues I
> face each time I am planning a trip. I am often torn between whether I
> should take my highly beloved MontBell UL SuperSpiral #3 (a 30f bag)
> or my Nunatak Arc Ghost (32f quilt). I really really love my MBULSS
> but at 21 ounces verses 13 ounces for my Arc, its often a hard choice
> for me unless I know for sure its going to get sub freezing, at which
> point the MBULSS goes w/o hesitation.
>
> So, anyway, just wondering "if you were going to hike the PCT next
> year, which temperature bag would you take?"
>
> This is not a "what brand/model bag/quilt would you take"... but
> rather a "what temperature bag/quilt would you take" question - I
> think that is more important than the name on the bag/quilt, eh!
>
> Thanks,
> John
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