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SeaborneClink posted:Edit: My real advice is dump the liner, bring a stove and boil some water before bed. Stick it in your water bottle and tuck it in your crotch or armpit. That's what I do when snow camping. Absolutely this--not only does it radiate warmth through your femoral artery back to your heart, your body keeps it warm throughout the night, so it kind of perpetually feeds itself. I know you said tent, but when cold weather camping down in the single digits or below, I like to double up with my wiggy's mummy bag and undergound quilts down top quilt/underquilt. The absolute best part is waking up the next morning and making coffee and hot breakfast without ever having to leave my bed. Wiggy's bags can be combined with an inner and outer bag to get to -40°. Probably a lot more than you're looking to spend, but maybe it'll point you in the right direction. I have the older version of this sweater and it's by far and away the warmest garment I own, it's like wearing a sleeping bag, just freaking awesome. Plus it's breathable and wicks away water, so it's great for high activity stuff. These Kinco gloves are also the warmest pair of gloves I've ever owned, and this bottom half balaclava is pretty great too. Hope some of that might be helpful! Oh, one last note, this guy has really good hammock camping videos, including this one at -40 up in Minnesota. Might be something useful to you in there too.
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Jan 18, 2016 04:30
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Made it to New Hampshire for my first 4000 footer since last winter. I did Moosilauke via the Glencliff Trail. It was a beautiful day, great views from the summit. That's 39/48 on the NH winter 4000 footer list. I'll get to 41 this winter (The Osceolas), but the last 7 peaks are Washington, Monroe and Jefferson and Zealand and the Bonds. So I'm not sure if I'll get a weather window for the Presidentials, or have the time to get in the long Zealand & Bonds hike. IMG_1137 by EPICAC, on Flickr  IMG_1155 by EPICAC, on Flickr  IMG_1159 by EPICAC, on Flickr
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Jan 18, 2016 04:51
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I don't do a drat thing outdoorsy all winter, but if I had to sleep in the open, in addition to the hot water bottles at crotch and armpits, I'd bury hot rocks in a shallow hole and sleep on it. You're allowed to make a fire, I hope?
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Jan 18, 2016 04:57
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OSU_Matthew posted:Oh, one last note, this guy has really good hammock camping videos, including this one at -40 up in Minnesota. Might be something useful to you in there too. Didn't even need to click the link to know you're talking about Shug.
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Jan 18, 2016 12:58
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I was snowshoeing not far from there in that same cold snap. It hit about -35F on the Gunflint and my windshield washer lines all ruptured on my subaru.  Good liner, food in your belly, and a way to get out of the wind and you'll do fine. You've got the right basis and skills. As long as your current setup isn't a My Little Pony Sleeping Bag rated for "a warm living room."
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Jan 18, 2016 14:09
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goku chewbacca posted:I don't do a drat thing outdoorsy all winter, but if I had to sleep in the open, in addition to the hot water bottles at crotch and armpits, I'd bury hot rocks in a shallow hole and sleep on it. You're allowed to make a fire, I hope? Yes! I think they'd have actual casualties if that weren't the case. I also get to bring one meal for dinner. So I have to pick something that will keep me full for a long time because hunger makes me nauseous and I have thrown up from it in the past. So I'll definitely be thinking hard on that one. I just bought some new snowpants and winter boots that had great reviews so I feel pretty confident. I usually don't even do up my parka above -15C just because of how effective it is. I need to stop worrying so much, I know I will be fine. Maybe just a bit cranky.
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Jan 18, 2016 20:21
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Picnic Princess posted:I just bought some new snowpants and winter boots that had great reviews so I feel pretty confident. I usually don't even do up my parka above -15C just because of how effective it is. I need to stop worrying so much, I know I will be fine. Maybe just a bit cranky. Sounds like you're plenty prepared and know exactly what to expect if you've been out in that weather before. Could you tell us more about the course? It sounds really interesting... What kind of skills are they teaching you to survive out in that kinda cold? I mean, I'd assume they're teaching you something useful, because that's the kind of situation that could easily result in someone's death. I'm assuming it's not hiking 101. That's definitely not something you survive with one of those Wal-Mart "emergency kits" of fishing line, paracord bracelet, sparker, razorblade, and foil blanket E: I recall hearing something about being around a fire doesn't keep you warm because your body can't properly regulate its core temperature or something like that... Is that true? Catatron Prime fucked around with this message at 20:50 on Jan 18, 2016 |
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Jan 18, 2016 20:40
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OSU_Matthew posted:E: I recall hearing something about being around a fire doesn't keep you warm because your body can't properly regulate its core temperature or something like that... Is that true?
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Jan 18, 2016 21:05
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I would sort of believe it only based on how little heat a reasonably sized fire puts off. We have outdoor parties throughout the winter and I usually need to keep a huge fire blazing to keep everyone from migrating indoors. Our fire ring is maybe 30" across and that fucker needs to be full of coals and wood to throw much heat to the benches 4-5' away.
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Jan 18, 2016 21:22
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OSU_Matthew posted:Sounds like you're plenty prepared and know exactly what to expect if you've been out in that weather before. All I can say for sure right now is our textbook is the SAS survival manual and we also got the guide to survival for the British military. The prof also teaches Brit soldiers swift-water rescue here in Kananaskis so she's sharing it with us. Another thing I know is we get marks on how waterproof our survival kits are. Beyond that, still kind of in the dark. I do all my coursework in a week and a half.
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Jan 18, 2016 22:19
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The SAS survival guide is pretty rad. It makes for a good bathroom reader
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Jan 19, 2016 05:53
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Speaking of winter camping, my wife has been inspired to give it a try by Picnic's tale. Which leaves me without a decent tent. All I have is my REI quarterdome. I'm thinking I can use snow and seal/pack up the edge of the rainfly to keep a crosswind out. We've got some quality ground insulation along with good bags, I'm just worried about the tent. I'm not going to buy a $550 MSR 4 season tent just for one night to learn that she doesn't like winter camping. Anyone tried 3 season tent in winter?
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Jan 19, 2016 19:51
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Yooper posted:Speaking of winter camping, my wife has been inspired to give it a try by Picnic's tale. It's perfectly fine. The only issue is if it starts snowing a lot it could collapse the tent - don't go camping with a predicted blizzard and you should be OK
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Jan 19, 2016 19:53
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Vomik posted:It's perfectly fine. The only issue is if it starts snowing a lot it could collapse the tent - don't go camping with a predicted blizzard and you should be OK
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Jan 19, 2016 20:35
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Looking for a down mid-layer in the $100-150 range (either regular price or regularly on sale for that) similar to this: http://www.campsaver.com/ultralight-down-jacket-men-s I don't need to be ultralight, but around 800 fill is what I'd like. The REI Co-op brand would work, but not warm enough.
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Jan 19, 2016 20:48
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Look Sir Droids posted:Looking for a down mid-layer in the $100-150 range (either regular price or regularly on sale for that) similar to this: http://www.campsaver.com/ultralight-down-jacket-men-s I've heard really great things about Mountain Hardwear's Ghost Whisperer 800 fill down mid-layer. It supposedly stuffs into its own pocket down to about the size of a softball, it's ultralight (and a little fragile because of that) and Sierra Trading Post has it for under $150 with coupon code EMY16. There is also a hooded version for $10 more if that's your thing. Ugly colors though.
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Jan 19, 2016 20:55
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Hungryjack posted:I've heard really great things about Mountain Hardwear's Ghost Whisperer 800 fill down mid-layer. It supposedly stuffs into its own pocket down to about the size of a softball, it's ultralight (and a little fragile because of that) and Sierra Trading Post has it for under $150 with coupon code EMY16. There is also a hooded version for $10 more if that's your thing. Ugly colors though. It has a really odd cut if it's the same as last year's model-- narrow chest, tight shoulder, wide waist. I did not like it and returned it. Give it a chance, but definitely try it on first if you can. Since you're using it hiking as a midlayer, the glossy-trash-bag look shouldn't bother you too much and the durability of it shouldn't be too bad
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Jan 19, 2016 21:32
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I love my Uniqlo down jacket, the value is insane.
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Jan 19, 2016 21:37
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People seem to like Mountain hardwear but the two products I have owned from them fell apart so fast I haven't looked at them seriously in like 10 years.
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Jan 19, 2016 22:26
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eSporks posted:I love my Uniqlo down jacket, the value is insane. I have one too and I really love it, but isn't it a little too flimsy for serious cold?
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Jan 19, 2016 23:13
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Pryor on Fire posted:People seem to like Mountain hardwear but the two products I have owned from them fell apart so fast I haven't looked at them seriously in like 10 years. FWIW, I've had two items go bad from them in about 5 years, but they fixed them free of charge and I had them back in my possession within 6 weeks. As far as clearance gear goes, I find they're the best quality brand that also goes on deep discount.
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Jan 19, 2016 23:20
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Look Sir Droids posted:Looking for a down mid-layer in the $100-150 range (either regular price or regularly on sale for that) similar to this: http://www.campsaver.com/ultralight-down-jacket-men-s If you want something you can abuse, you should check out this 20$ down vest from sears. I just bought one a few weeks ago, because for a 20$ impulse buy, why not? And I'm really actually impressed with it. No telling what the fill power is, definitely not 800, but it's a pretty cozy mid layer. Only other real downside is the nylon isn't a tight enough weave to prevent the occasional feather from popping out, but it's definitely good enough for kicking around, especially for twenty freaking bucks. This plus a fleece jacket has been comfortable walking around town in the single digits for me. Speaking of winter wear, I just picked up this canadian sheepskin leather elmer fudd hat and holy crap, I am in heaven! Never had a toastier head in my life, even with my ushanka. Shoebuy has a 25 % off code too (EMLMYSTERY25), so even though it's still a bit spendy, worth every penny if you're in cold weather. Yooper posted:Speaking of winter camping, my wife has been inspired to give it a try by Picnic's tale. 
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Jan 19, 2016 23:40
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Blinkman987 posted:FWIW, I've had two items go bad from them in about 5 years, but they fixed them free of charge and I had them back in my possession within 6 weeks. As far as clearance gear goes, I find they're the best quality brand that also goes on deep discount. If you live in Portland it's worth finding an employee at Columbia Sportswear to befriend so you can get their employee store discount and buy mountain hardwear stuff at 50%+ off
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Jan 20, 2016 00:06
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MMD3 posted:If you live in Portland it's worth finding an employee at Columbia Sportswear to befriend so you can get their employee store discount and buy mountain hardwear stuff at 50%+ off Unfortunately I don't. That does seem amazing, though. I do have a potential line at Patagonia, but I can't seem to get it out of anybody what their employee discount actually is. Anybody know here?
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Jan 20, 2016 00:16
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Yooper posted:All I have is my REI quarterdome. I've used my REI Quarterdome in snow several times. You're fine, use it. You might find that you get a bit of condensation freezing on the meshing... and it may collapse (but can be quickly righted) in heavy falling snow. Other than that, it's perfectly fine. 4 season tents essentially cover those two situation specifically, otherwise, 3 and 4 seasons are the same functionally.
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Jan 20, 2016 01:09
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Heners_UK posted:I've used my REI Quarterdome in snow several times. You're fine, use it. Awesome, thanks everyone. Snow is a pretty distinct possibility. We'll either head up into the Huron Mountains or snowshoe into Chapel Beach on the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. If we wuss out we can rent a Yurt from the Michigan DNR for a weekend. That sounds pretty cool too.
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Jan 20, 2016 01:20
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I did a three day backpacking trip this weekend in Anza Borrego desert state park here in southern California. We went up a palm canyon and over a bunch of ridges, down a pretty gnarly wash. Up dry waterfalls, through all kinds of stabby bushes, and did a few little creek crossings. I only fell in once  With all of the bushwhacking I tore a hole in my Thermarest pad that was strapped to the bottom of my bag - It's a thermarest trail pro large - it's a big thick mo-fo because I like to sleep well when I'm out camping. I've been carrying this 2.6lb pad around with me on every trip, so it felt nice to buy one today that packs to about a quarter of the size and weighs half as much. I ordered the Klymit Static V Lightweight Sleeping Pad, same one that my girlfriend has. I'll probably patch the thermarest and use it as a spare for car camping. Duct tape doesn't seem to work as a patch on one of these things by the way... The other thing that I wanted to address after this trip was my sleeping bag - I have a north face cat's meow bag, and it's pretty awesome. It just takes up the entire bottom third of my pack. I don't know that I care enough to buy a bag that packs smaller, since this is already a pretty good bag and any that would replace it but pack smaller seem like they'd be a lot more expensive. Any better way to deal with a bag like this than just compressing it as much as possible and sticking it down into the bottom of the bag? Maybe a different shaped compression bag would be better. After buying the new sleeping pad everything should fit INSIDE the bag with nothing strapped on the outside! One thing that really stole the show was the little collapsible fire pit we took with us. We took a couple of small 6oz(I think) fire starter logs with us and they burned for around 30 minutes each - one per night. In our group that's just about enough fire to play a card game around before everyone is zonked and ready for bed. Astonishing Wang fucked around with this message at 01:31 on Jan 20, 2016 |
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Jan 20, 2016 01:26
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Only thing I can think of is a compression bag. Do you still have a bit of flex around parts of the sleeping bag once it's in your pack? I tend to stuff all sorts of little things I won't need access to on the trail, like base layer items which squish into the gaps quite well. I can usually fit a light shirt, leggings, and a few pairs of undies around it no problem.
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Jan 20, 2016 03:55
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I like Sea To Summit's e-vent compression stuff sacks. I pack my bag into it, then crunch it down until it's the width of the bottom of my backpack then just drop it in there. Waterproof and easy to deal with.
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Jan 20, 2016 04:23
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I wanted to pick up a flash 18 from REI recently and noticed they just upgraded the design. The only thing I can tell that's changed is there is a single thicker webbing running down the middle and the shoulder straps seem wider. Anyone have some hard evidence on the changes or should I say screw it and get a different pack?
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Jan 20, 2016 08:23
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Astonishing Wang posted:With all of the bushwhacking I tore a hole in my Thermarest pad that was strapped to the bottom of my bag - It's a thermarest trail pro large - it's a big thick mo-fo because I like to sleep well when I'm out camping. I've been carrying this 2.6lb pad around with me on every trip, so it felt nice to buy one today that packs to about a quarter of the size and weighs half as much. I ordered the Klymit Static V Lightweight Sleeping Pad, same one that my girlfriend has. I'll probably patch the thermarest and use it as a spare for car camping. Duct tape doesn't seem to work as a patch on one of these things by the way... If you know where the hole is in your pad its a quick fix. Just get some rubbing alcohol to clean around the hole and then buy some tenacious tape. Cut a circle (less corners to catch and peel) and put it directly over the hole. Then to be extra sure cut an even bigger circle to go over that. If you cant find the leak fill it with as much air as possible and then put it in a tub of water. Make sure the water calms down a bit and then you should see a stream of bubbles come out of it from somewhere. I have a cats meow bag myself that is going strong still 5+ years after I've bought it. I've probably spent close to 200 days in it total. It's a great bang for the buck bag and I'll probably just replace it with another cats meow here in the next year or two. Compression is definitely the way to go here. Did yours come with a compression bag? I can get mine down to about the size of a small basketball. A couple of things that really help cinch it down is to sit on it and pull the compression strap tight at the same time.
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Jan 20, 2016 14:44
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Picnic Princess posted:Only thing I can think of is a compression bag. Do you still have a bit of flex around parts of the sleeping bag once it's in your pack? I tend to stuff all sorts of little things I won't need access to on the trail, like base layer items which squish into the gaps quite well. I can usually fit a light shirt, leggings, and a few pairs of undies around it no problem. Hungryjack posted:I like Sea To Summit's e-vent compression stuff sacks. I pack my bag into it, then crunch it down until it's the width of the bottom of my backpack then just drop it in there. Waterproof and easy to deal with. BaseballPCHiker posted:If you know where the hole is in your pad its a quick fix. Just get some rubbing alcohol to clean around the hole and then buy some tenacious tape. Cut a circle (less corners to catch and peel) and put it directly over the hole. Then to be extra sure cut an even bigger circle to go over that. If you cant find the leak fill it with as much air as possible and then put it in a tub of water. Make sure the water calms down a bit and then you should see a stream of bubbles come out of it from somewhere. It did come with a compression sack, and it probably is good enough for what it does. I always cinch all three straps down as tight as possible while squeezing the bag to my chest - I'll try sitting on it and hope I don't blow any seams  There's a little bit of room around the bag at the bottom of my pack, and I jam whatever I can in there.I do plan on patching the thermarest - it's a great pad. Duct tape didn't seem to hold since the pad deflated after about 20 minutes, but I may have missed a pin-hole somewhere so I'll try looking for bubbles in the swimming pool! Even deflated I think this pad added more comfort than those closed-cell foam pads that the hardcore guys have used since 1970. Here are a few photos from our hike - Spent Sat, Sun, & Mon backpacking, bushwacking, canyon exploring, and ridge hiking through Palm Canyon, up the Middle Fork, to the North Fork, over Palm Mesa Rim, and down into lower Coyote Canyon at the willows. We spent a night in the canyon and a night on the mesa, and enjoyed amazing weather and a lot of great adventures. Here's our rough course - we didn't really do the hike that we set out to do.  Heading off from the Palm Canyon trailhead  I love water in the desert - these beautiful green canyons stand in such contrast to everything else around you   This waterfall was the sketchiest part we came to, only because it was more vertical than sloping forward. Only about 10 ft' tall probably. We actually scouted around behind us a bit before deciding it was worth going over. It ended up not being that bad, and I used a sling to pass packs up after everyone did the climb.  This was right to the left side of the climb  The fire pit was awesome! One of our friends carried this inflatable solar lantern with her and it seemed great. Weighs almost nothing and puts off pretty nice light. She had it clipped to her bag catching the sun all day.  Makes me feel small   One of the reasons we do what we do - awesome sun rises that usually coincide with having to pee really bad.  
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Jan 20, 2016 17:45
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eSporks posted:I love my Uniqlo down jacket, the value is insane. they're nice value for a casual jacket when on sale, but i wouldn't use one for serious hiking, the zippers are seriously horrible and that alone is a good reason not to backpack with one. the down jackets costco had last year (maybe this year too?) were cheaper and better. and for like $10 more, the rei co-op down jackets are much better. personally i picked up a rei revelcloud hoodie for about the same price as a uniqlo down on sale a bit ago. not used to the weaker polyester shell so i already tore and had to return one, but now that i'm aware i can't just run through sticker bushes no fucks given with it, thing's p fantastic. dries out crazy quick for a puffy and 2 hours of heavy rain barely started getting the fill wet. would be cool if they made it with the non-recycled poly fill so it would be a bit warmer for the weight, but they only make the non-hooded one this way 
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Jan 20, 2016 17:49
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While everyone loves squishing their bags down to the size of a basket/soccer/volley/softball, I think it's more practical to compress it down to exactly the width of the bottom of your pack. That way, you don't waste any room and the width of the cylinder is minimized as opposed to a sphere with a ton of wasted space. I know some people say not to even both with compression sacks and just stuff it down to use up the available space and let the rest of your gear squish it down, but when I pack light, there just isn't enough gear weight to smash it down and the bag ends up ballooning my backpack instead. Anyway, this is anecdotal and my opinion.
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Jan 20, 2016 18:02
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I think it depends a bit on what you'll need it for...if you will be wearing the jacket a lot while hiking and wearing a pack over it then you'll need to put in some more thought into how well it's made and how it's cut, etc. If it's mainly a morning/evening around camp thing, that's somewhat less important. During summer hiking I've rarely had to actually use one while hiking even if the temps start out chilly
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Jan 20, 2016 18:04
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I have found that I heat up so much with even minor exertion that I am always shedding layers. My last hike was at like 30-35f and by about two hours in I was down to a medium baseleayer and a thin softshell. I have this fear of being too cold due to years of underdressing for temp and not buying decent gear. I spent a lot of my youth freezing my rear end off standing around at outdoor gigs and cant seem to shake the urge to bring too many layers.
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Jan 20, 2016 18:17
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What is a good way to repackage peanut butter? Every time I try, it leaks oil all over the rest of my food.
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Jan 20, 2016 21:15
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turevidar posted:What is a good way to repackage peanut butter? Every time I try, it leaks oil all over the rest of my food. I bought something like these for playing around with butters and hummus while I was out on trail runs. The idea was to pop the top and squeeze, but I never really played around much with them. I should go do that on a long run some time.
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Jan 20, 2016 21:20
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for straight up repackaging I've always used these cheap tubes you can get at REI or wherever. http://www.rei.com/product/696007/coghlans-squeeze-tubes-package-of-2 Just be careful not to overfill before trying to close them or you get peanut butter everywhere. If I don't need a ton of it I'll just take small packets of it. Like this but they also sell it in peanut butter http://www.rei.com/product/814954/justins-classic-nut-butter-115-oz
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Jan 20, 2016 21:43
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Levitate posted:I think it depends a bit on what you'll need it for...if you will be wearing the jacket a lot while hiking and wearing a pack over it then you'll need to put in some more thought into how well it's made and how it's cut, etc. If it's mainly a morning/evening around camp thing, that's somewhat less important. During summer hiking I've rarely had to actually use one while hiking even if the temps start out chilly if this is a reply to my comment about the uniqlo down jackets being poo poo, i'm saying they're poo poo because they have tiny poo poo zippers that undo themselves while you're wearing the jacket. like, they were so bad i broke 3 different jackets' zippers in the store trying them on
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Jan 20, 2016 22:38
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