Complimenting a sleeping bag with extra insulation
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Chris C. wrote: There are tons of way to squeeze more warmth out of a bag, all of which are great if you want to save ounces on a climb. (Infact, I personally only have 10F and 30F bags.) None of which are anywhere nearly as comfortable as just having a warmer sleeping bag. THIS!! the easiest way to add warmth in a weight efficient way is a warmer sleeping bag. Sure liners and extra layers add warmth. Liners run anywhere from 6-12 ounces and in my experience add some warmth but not near as much as 6 more ounces of down... Clothing can be argued as weight effective if you're using it anyway. I agree with Chris on this one. A cold night or two is manageable but after you start getting worn down and calorie deprived it becomes miserable pretty quick. I stopped using liners realizing they aren't very warm for the added weight. Car camping to keep your bag clean sure. But I'd be skeptical of anyone that showed up with a liner on a climb. 1 month trip of being filthy? Sure, maybe they have their place. |
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greggrylls wrote: True, but I still like my liner because it serves other purposes than just to put in my sleeping bag. It also makes a nice blanket for lounging around camp and I've used on few occasions when a camper decided to go hiking or climbing without adequate clothing and got cold up in the mountains. As for the layers, I really prefer sleeping in at least some layers even if not to save weight or $ on a warmer sleeping bag. They make it much easier for me to get out of my bag and start the day when it's a frigid cold morning. Before I started sleeping in layers, it would usually take me an extra 5-15 min to get out and start packing up. |
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It's 20+ days. One night of bad sleep is fine. 2-3 days is doable. 20 days? Do you really want to suffer for 20 days? or would you rather enjoy the trip? |
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Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I think I'm slowly coming around to the idea of taking my Feathered Friends Snowbunting (0F) sleeping bags instead of the ZPacks bags. They're a 700g (25oz) heavier than the ZPacks bags so I'm going to have to claw back some weight somewhere. Also they're not small when packed down, so I'm now really worried about not being able to fit everything in my little Arc Blast pack. I'm going to have to do some tests. |
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Wearing all you're layers will help but can make for limited space in the bag. One other solution would be to buy a 40 degree down quilt to put over the top of you're bag to add insolation on the colder nights. |
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OK so I have a spreadsheet of the approximate altitude of our camp site each night. Assuming this site is accurate for the average minimum overnight temperatures in Kathmandu (1400m), and the temperature decreases 9.8C per 1000m, then this is a best guess at the temperatures we'll be seeing at camp. Red is when we're expecting to be camping, blue we're expecting to be sleeping in a tea-house: Seems a fair bit colder than I was expecting... Do you think this method of estimating is reasonable? This site lists the temperatures in Pokhara (at 900m) at about 4C higher than Kathmandu, which makes perfect sense (9.8C per 1000m). |
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David Brophy wrote: OK so I have a spreadsheet of the approximate altitude of our camp site each night. Assuming this site is accurate for the average minimum overnight temperatures in Kathmandu (1400m), and the temperature decreases 9.8C per 1000m, then this is a best guess at the temperatures we'll be seeing at camp. Red is when we're expecting to be camping, blue we're expecting to be sleeping in a tea-house: I think typically 9.8C/km (the dry adiabatic lapse rate) is too steep. This what the temperature gradient would be if the air in Kathmandu moved to a different elevation without any additional heating, and without any water condensation. If we apply that rate from Kathmandu to the summit of Everest, then a low of 15C in Kathmandu in may would correspond to a low of -58C on Everest, whereas I think something like -30C is more reasonable. I don't know what a more appropriate value would be for that region at that time, but I would expect extrapolating in that way from Kathmandu to give you too cold a temperature. |
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Wow, it's turned into rocket science! Research it all you want, but the only way to know about yourself (since we all sleep different) is to get out there. Now, get out there! Best of luck. |
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I sleep warmer than most. I’ll use a sleeping down to a bit lower than its rating, like 20F in a 30F bag, but I am counting on wearing socks, long johns, even my janky hiking pants, my lightweight puffy, and a long sleeve base layer. I’ve unexpectedly gone even lower, but it sucked. |
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Nalgene water bottles should not be used in sub freezing conditions. The lids crack & then you have no container for water. & if you have packed enough you know better than putting water in you bag. Sooner or later the container is going to open up & being wet in freezing temps sucks. |
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It's never been cold enough to freeze within my sleeping bag. In fact it's usually quite warm still in the morning. |
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to put them in your bag you need to get them there. |
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I think your plan is solid. Layers are where its at for versatility. A bag rated to cold temps is a Huge sack in your pack. |
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Someone else mentioned quilts. I know lots of people who have had luck with those. |
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Stiles wrote:I bivied at 17k' on Denali in a 15F down bag, silk liner, BD Winter bivy sack, Thermarest NeoAir pad. Layers, hot water bottle, beanie. Slept great. Well...there's something you don't hear every day. |
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I've leaned pretty heavily on using a fat puffy on top of me, but inside the sleeping bag. Better than wearing it, and it helps my skinny, zero thermal mass keister fill out the bag. Even with everything battened down, the air gaps made things a losing battle. |