coldest temp?would a wool blanket work?

[jang]

Hello Whiteblazers,

What is the coldest night one should expect on a thru-hike?

I know a wool blanket is bigger, heavier, and probably less warm, but for some reason I kinda like wool. I'm going to try some experimenting with the one I have before my start date.

Has anyone tried this or seen others using a wool blanket?

[jang]

After reviewing some other threads I'm thinking my wool blanket idea may be quite ridiculous.

Right now I have an old worn out synthetic bag. I notice most of you experienced hikers seem to prefer down.

[hikerboy57]

theres plenty of good info on the site regarding bag choices, but not everyone uses down. Its a lousy insulator when wet. I use down in winter and a synthetic for summer.

[mountain squid]

You could expect temps in the teens and possibly lower. I'm sure Roan High Knob Shelter (highest shelter on the AT and in TN) has many nights below 0F during winter.

Of course, it depends on when you are leaving. I noticed you signed the registry with a late Mar start. You will likely see many nights in the 20s/30s and possibly lower. You never know. Best to be prepared.

I don't know which would be better: an old worn out synthetic bag or a wool blanket?!?

Suggest buying a new one, and yes, I prefer down. Western Mountaineering bags are good, but they are expensive.

See you on the trail,
mt squid


some observations

[Snowleopard]

Wool is what people used to use 100+ years ago. From Horace Kephart, 'Camping and Woodcraft',
for summer, 3 lb wool blanket.
for autumn, 8 lb sleeping bag made of layers of wool blanket with some sort of canvas on the outside.
This assumes that a fire will contribute a lot of the warmth when it's cold, but now there are many places where you can't do that. It takes a LOT of wood to keep you warm on a cold night.

[grayfox]

Yes, wool is old school. But do not discount the warmth of wool. Merino long johns make for warmer sleeping and can supplement your day clothing. Add a wool hat and socks at night.

Warmth in a sleeping system, other than reflective or vapor barriers, is a function of loft. Big puffy down bags are the warmest, they trap your body heat and keep it inside with you. Also, take a small handwarmer or two and put it in a spare sock to keep your bag warmer on those really cold nights.

+1 on Western Mountaineering bags and jackets if you can afford them--consider that they might save you some nights in a hotel, by keeping you out on the trail on some cold nights, and the cost seems better.

Also, you can make a pad cover with one side of light wool and the other of light polyester. Mine is oversized and works as a light bag on warm nights.

[SassyWindsor]

The wool blanket idea could turn into another tv episode of "I shouldn't be alive". Try it your back yard first.

[MichaelnStl]

The argument of synthetic vs down when wet is pretty much a worthless argument, you will be totally freaking cold and miserable in either of them. Down is much lighter, warmer and lasts ALOT longer - but it is WAY more expensive.

Either way, don't take the wool blanket.

[fiddlehead]

Your sleeping bag is your most important piece of gear you have out there.
I can't emphasize that enough.
My opinion anyway.
I once spent a night out in the cold with only day-hiking gear: raingear, food, water bottle.
That night, we huddled by a big fire we made and tried to melt snow in a plastic bottle (didn't work too good) and survived but i have never forgotten it and hopefully it will never happen again.
I have about $200 worth of gear (everything combined, except my sleeping bag) but always carry one of my $400 sleeping bags. ( I have an $800 one but it's only for my Himalayan adventures)
If you like wool so much, make a liner out of one and put it inside your sleeping bag. You'll be much happier that way.

[mikec]

I left Springer on my second section hike in February, 1999 with a 30 degree bag. After 3 cold nights, when I got to Neels Gap, I walked into the outfitter and said "Give me your best sleeping bag". They sold me a Sierra Designs 0 degree long bag for about $350. I used that bag until VA and never had a cold night. Spend some money on a sleeping bag and you'll sleep better at night.

[bulldog49]

Hello Whiteblazers,

What is the coldest night one should expect on a thru-hike?

I know a wool blanket is bigger, heavier, and probably less warm, but for some reason I kinda like wool. I'm going to try some experimenting with the one I have before my start date.

Has anyone tried this or seen others using a wool blanket?

Depends on the time of year.

[jang]

Wool is what people used to use 100+ years ago. From Horace Kephart, 'Camping and Woodcraft',
for summer, 3 lb wool blanket.
for autumn, 8 lb sleeping bag made of layers of wool blanket with some sort of canvas on the outside.
This assumes that a fire will contribute a lot of the warmth when it's cold, but now there are many places where you can't do that. It takes a LOT of wood to keep you warm on a cold night.

Now I'm wondering what Native American Indian's used. I guess some kind of fur perhaps?

[jang]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

[leaftye]

Now I'm wondering what Native American Indian's used. I guess some kind of fur perhaps?

Sure, but some also used puffy insulation like cattails.

[swjohnsey]

Earl Shaffer left early in April and basically had a blanket with an old tent zipper sewn in to my reckoning.

[Wise Old Owl]

Now I'm wondering what Native American Indian's used. I guess some kind of fur perhaps?

It was skins, deer, elk, what ever they could get their hands on.

Here is what you need to know, skins provided warmth because the hair trapped valuable air molecules next to the skin. the heated energized molecules could not be blown away. Poly microfiber provides the same insulation today that hair did, without the properties of cotton. Poly today is called Armor All, Gortex, microfiber, and other names.

[GGS2]

Now I'm wondering what Native American Indian's used. I guess some kind of fur perhaps?

Remember the trail of tears? Most froze on that "hike"

This is a trick question: before or after contact?

Before, the answer would have been mostly animal skins. Up in the north, the gold standard was probably rabbit skin, with the rabbit fur wound around hide thongs and woven into a thick blanket. But the plains indians probably used buffalo robes and other ungulate hides, and way up north, they used seal skins and bear skins, and so forth. Whatever they were hunting and eating, they would probably use the hides for clothing and sleeping skins.

After contact, they switched to woven trade blankets, but combined them with their old systems. Again in the north, they used a combination of blankets, several layers thick, and bough beds with a fire nearby, while camping on treks. But of course they spent most of the winter in lodges of one sort or another. And in the summer, everything was scaled back appropriately.

The trail of tears was a different story altogether. They were already farmers and settled in towns and villages by the time they were forced to migrate. They were collected in the middle of summer, in the clothes they stood up in for the most part, and then marched off during the fall, without any change of clothes. They walked all the way up to the river forks and then down the other side to Oklahoma in the cold weather, in only summer clothes and inadequate shelter. Some were said to lack even adequate footwear. So that was why they suffered and died, apart from the other injustices.

The later Apache transfer to Florida was inhumane for other reasons, again to do with lack of supplies and preparations for different conditions. It seems that people need to be prepared for the conditions they will encounter, but they can adapt to different materials and conditions if given a chance.

[Blissful]

The wool blanket idea could turn into another tv episode of "I shouldn't be alive". Try it your back yard first.

Also try carrying it wet over mountains for a week along with your other gear. You'll ditch it quick.

Invest in two things - a good pack and your sleeping bag.

[Heald]

With a wool blanket just consider two things; How many days will it take you to get to Walasi-Yi, and How much will they charge you to ship it home. Beyond that all you have to consider is how much an actual "sleeping bag" cost over a wool blanket, and by then you probably won't care.

[moytoy]

My first sleeping bag was a WW2 army surplus wool bag with a hood and canvas style over cover. I used it on a hike in GSMNP in 1959. It was early May I believe and I got very cold most nights. I remember it being very ichy too. Wool is good for a lot of things but not as a sleeping cover or bag.