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gracebowen
06-09-2016, 23:35
Im planning a flip flop from Harper's Ferry to Maine. Return to HF sobo to GA.

At home I like to sleep at 75 degrees. Im cold when I get up.

If I go with a sleeping bag what temp should I get. I plan to start late april to early May.

I havent decided yet. I want to miss mud and black fly season. Or at least miss the majority of black flies. Start year is undetermined.

Im also thinking about designing and testing a quilt system.

Connie
06-10-2016, 00:20
75F?

I suggest a hike somewhere quite warm, no higher altitudes, no cold/rain, and no snow.

gracebowen
06-10-2016, 00:36
Ok so a zero degree bag.

gracebowen
06-10-2016, 01:00
Oh and I'm allergic to down.

moldy
06-10-2016, 07:09
One bag for entire trip.....you need a 20.

gracebowen
06-10-2016, 09:21
Thank you moldy.

lemon b
06-10-2016, 09:47
Good luck with that. Only been above 75 a few here this year. Also in my experience it isn't the bag it is the r value of the pad. Look for something above 4.

Connie
06-10-2016, 09:50
I suggest Utah, Arizona or New Mexico for desert hiking, or Florida.

gracebowen
06-10-2016, 14:06
I can sleep colder. Thats just my normal range at home.

Huli
06-10-2016, 21:30
I sleep at 72 at home. Use a 15 degree cloak year round. Have you considered a quilt or cloak?

Venchka
06-10-2016, 21:42
Oh and I'm allergic to down.

Talk to WhiteBlaze member Just Bill. He might be able to steer you in the direction of a suitable synthetic quilt.
I hope you aren't allergic to wool, silk or fleece also.

Wayne

gracebowen
06-10-2016, 22:26
75F?

I suggest a hike somewhere quite warm, no higher altitudes, no cold/rain, and no snow.
I didn't ask where I should hike.

Datto
06-10-2016, 23:47
Oh and I'm allergic to down.

If you decde to go with a 20*F sleeping bag with man-made fiber used for insulation, then since you're a cold sleeper I would also consder these five items:

1) Make sure you get a man-made fiber sleeping bag with an insulated hood. The insulated hood will make quite a difference in nighttime warmth and the hood will help keep the warmth coming from your body from escaping out the top of your sleeping bag as you roll around at night while sleeping.

2) Since you're looking at starting at Harpers Ferry in late April or early May, I'd also put into your backpack a mylar sleeping bag in case temps get really cold in the first month or the last month when you're coming into Georgia. If the temps get really cold, you can stay on the Trail for a couple of really cold nights by putting the mylar sleeping bag inside your regular sleeping bag, warm up some hot water with your cookpot, put the hot water into your water bottles (such as Gatorade bottles) and then putting the hot water bottles into your mylar sleeping bag. You'll likely be really really warm in under 20 minutes with that setup (this is my Hot Pocket setup). The downside is, the next morning your skin will be wet (but warm) when you wake up and the mylar sleeping bag is too fragile to be used for a sitpad. The mylar sleeping bags that have worked best for me are the ones from Amercan Sciences which weigh about 4oz or so.

3) With your start date, consider bringing along a balaclava in the begining and in the end of your hike in case there are really cold nights.

4) Since you're a cold sleeper and the beginning and end of your hike may have cold weather, a standard Ridgerest type closed-cell foam pad might not provide enough warmth. There is a super-thick Ridgerest you can consider or you could go with a Neoair type inflatable sleeping pad (which will likely be warmer than a standard closed cell foam pad. The downside of the Neoair is that it's more fragile and you may need a seperate sit pad for sitting in the dirt along the Trail when you take a break (I never got used to sitting on just a piece of Tyvek alone).

5) If you can stand the extra weight, you might want to consider a full-length zipper in your man-made insulation sleeping bag. That way, with warm nights you can just unzip the bag completely use the bag as a blanket rather than a mummy.


Datto

Connie
06-10-2016, 23:56
I had the impression from your first post, you did not want to be cold. That's all.

I suppose the desert could be cold at night, so Florida would be a better bet.

No down. Synthetic? More weight and bulk.

Apex synthetic insulation, reputedly, has the least weight for the insulation value, I understand, so I would recommend a sleeping quilt made with Apex for least weight and bulk. Combine that with an XTherm air mattress (the down is sealed inside) or at least a R-5 sleeping pad, for example. This may provide the warmth for where you do hike, at a readonable weight and volume for a suitable backpack.

Quest Outfitters has pattern and materials for custom-made or DIY.

Enlightened Equipment website has length and width and temperature ratings for their synthetic quilts.

The length and width listed at every top quilt website are a help: your height, your weight, restless sleeper, like that. That is how I got started. Then, I chose what I thought would work well with everything else I have for a hike and for where I hike.

gracebowen
06-11-2016, 09:48
If I go with a bag I will get one with a hood. I will also use the hot water bottles and emergency blanket if needed. Yes on a full zipper and a bacalava or two. I will probably also sleep in socks.

I will also look into Apex.
The pad I am considering is reflective on one side but has no r value listed. I will keep looking.

I will try to contact Just Bill.

gracebowen
06-11-2016, 09:53
I forgot something. With the emergency blanket I know you wake up wet because it does not breathe. I wonder how taking a hole punch and putting a few holes in it would work.
Then it could breathe but it probably won't retain as much heat. Would the holes make it rip apart. What about needle holes instead?

Datto
06-11-2016, 11:06
I forgot something. With the emergency blanket I know you wake up wet because it does not breathe. I wonder how taking a hole punch and putting a few holes in it would work.
Then it could breathe but it probably won't retain as much heat. Would the holes make it rip apart. What about needle holes instead?

My experience has been that mylar blankets/sheets of mylar will become useless more quickly if you put holes in it.

When I was doing my prep hikes prior to starting my AT thru-hike, I was usng a mylar blanket type sheet of mylar -- this because it was less expensive. During the winter just prior to starting my AT thru-hike I had discovered the mylar blanket types of mylar sheets just didn'weren't holding up well at all and I was using quite a few of them per month (one at a time). Also, during the winter the mylar blanket types of mylar sheets just didn't add much warmth to my setup because of the increased wind. I went on a search for something more sturdy so I switched to a mylar sleeping bag which was more sturdy and is sealed (so the moisture stays inside the mylar bag and didn't make my sleeping bag wet).

Keep in mind, I'm very hard on hiking gear. Some people are not.


Datto

Secondmouse
06-11-2016, 11:09
I forgot something. With the emergency blanket I know you wake up wet because it does not breathe. I wonder how taking a hole punch and putting a few holes in it would work.
Then it could breathe but it probably won't retain as much heat. Would the holes make it rip apart. What about needle holes instead?

no that's not going to work, just go with a suitable rated bag/quilt. if you sleep cold (you prefer to sleep @ 75*) you'll probably want to shade temp ratings by 15-20*, not the normal 10. as others have said, your bottom insulation is at least as important to this equation if not more.

I'm using an Enlightened Equipment Prodigy Quilt made from Climashield Apex synthetic insulation. it's rated @ 40* and I use it as my summer quilt and I have been skirting the edges of comfort. a little wind, high humidity, being tired/dehydrated and I can easily drop right through the bottom of my comfort limit.

at 40* rating the weight and bulk is still manageable, but these issues with synthetics starts to pop up when you try to make them go much below 20*.

if you prefer a bag over a quilt, one of the best rated synthetics is the Mountain Hardwear Hyperlamina Flame (20*) or Torch (0*). good luck...

Datto
06-11-2016, 11:12
The other great advantage to using a sealed mylar sleeping bag -- you can dry out your regular sleeping bag if it gets wet just by using the Hot Pocket setup I've described above. All the heat from your body gets to the inside face of your regular sleeping bag but none of the moisture gets to your regular sleeping bag. So if the regular sleeping bag is wet, the heat from your body makes the moisture in your regular sleeping bag dissipate more rapidly.


Datto

Datto
06-11-2016, 11:13
Also, you can jetison your mylar sleeping bag to save weight once the temperatures get warm, then later on (say in your southbound Georgia ending) you can get another mylar sleeping bag for the returning cold temps.


Datto

Datto
06-11-2016, 11:22
Another thought -- most of the mylar sleeping bags on the market are very fragile (they're just two of the usual fragile mylar sheets glued together). The mylar sleeping bags that have used from American Sciences (I have usually paid in the neighborhood of $14 each) are much more sturdy.


Datto

Bronk
06-11-2016, 13:26
Most hikers don't even carry a sleeping bag. They sleep communally in the shelters very similar to the way a litter of puppies sleep.

gracebowen
06-11-2016, 14:59
Bronk if you're serious that definitely isnt for me.
I really like the Apex. I saw where a guy made one with the 5 oz and he slept ok at 37 degrees.

So either a little thicker or combined with a light fleece or silk blanket should work.

Abi
06-11-2016, 15:40
Just a curious thought: If you wrap an emergency blanket around your sleeping pad, would you notice any improvement in warmth? Thinking of blocking cold from ground, radiating body heat back up instead of losing into the sleeping pad.

egilbe
06-11-2016, 17:11
Just a curious thought: If you wrap an emergency blanket around your sleeping pad, would you notice any improvement in warmth? Thinking of blocking cold from ground, radiating body heat back up instead of losing into the sleeping pad.

All that condesation is now soaking into the bag. It's the reason tents are ventilated, to allow that moisture to escape that we produce while we sleep. You will wake up cold, with a wet sleeping bag.

egilbe
06-11-2016, 17:14
I didn't ask where I should hike.

If you don't like cold, you aren't going to hike the AT, either. It snowed on MT Washington the other night.

Abi
06-11-2016, 20:26
All that condesation is now soaking into the bag. It's the reason tents are ventilated, to allow that moisture to escape that we produce while we sleep. You will wake up cold, with a wet sleeping bag.

what condensation? wrapping the emergency blanket around just the pad, not the sleeping bag.

Venchka
06-11-2016, 21:09
Mylar, aka vapor barrier liner: Y'all are demented.

gracebowen:
Just how allergic are you to down? Uncomfortable. Near death reaction? Something in between?
Maybe you should consider carefully chosen sections to hike during the warmest months of the year.
A 2 month section in ideal conditions ain't too shabby.
BTW, what's up with the 75 degree A/C setting and saying you sleep cold? Or is that the heat setting?
Either way I couldn't stand your utility bill.
Cheers.

Wayne


Old. Slow. "Smarter than the average bear."

egilbe
06-11-2016, 21:09
what condensation? wrapping the emergency blanket around just the pad, not the sleeping bag.

Ah. I see what your saying. It wouldn't make much of a difference.

gracebowen
06-11-2016, 21:41
Wayne I like to be a little cold while sleeping. I sleep better. During the day the ac is off or set to 80.

As far as how allergic it seems to vary. My last reaction sent me to the ER where I got IV steroids. I also react to certain smells. Mostly chemical. I can either quickly move away or use a nose filter I bought to prevent a serious reaction.

It is very uncomfortable but it works and is tolerable for about an hour. Its new so maybe I will tolerate it better with long term use.

gracebowen
06-11-2016, 21:53
Wayne I like to be a little cold while sleeping. I sleep better. During the day the ac is off or set to 80.

As far as how allergic it seems to vary. My last reaction sent me to the ER where I got IV steroids. I also react to certain smells. Mostly chemical. I can either quickly move away or use a nose filter I bought to prevent a serious reaction.

It is very uncomfortable but it works and is tolerable for about an hour. Its new so maybe I will tolerate it better with long term use.

Connie
06-11-2016, 22:42
I would think, as long as you stay in you comfirtable temperature zone, you may find you like the natural environment involved with hiking. The problem about certain odors, as you say, may be odors found only in an urban environment, or, from consumer products. If so, a hike in a pristine natural environment may be excellent.

Why not start with a good walk in that environment, with an overnight camping experience? This is what we refer to as a gear "shakedown" hike.

Venchka
06-12-2016, 11:24
Thanks for clarifying your problems with down. We don't want you in an ER or worse, needing an ER miles from anywhere.
Best you look for the best available synthetic quilt or bag and wool jammies and hot water bottles as needed. And definitely good ground insulation.
Good luck.

Wayne




Old. Slow. "Smarter than the average bear."

gracebowen
06-12-2016, 12:00
I think im going to make my own with Apex.