Let me start by giving some background about myself. I spent 20 years in the Army/National guard (recently retired) and spent ALOT of time sleeping outdooors, usually on the ground or on a cot (standard army cot or ThermaRest LuxuryLite). I was using my issued Modular Sleep System bivy and bags, with a poncho liner. This is the gear I still have. In 20 years, nobody ever explained to me the theory behind a sleeping pad. As a result, I never used one and was ALWAYS cold (or at least chilly) when the temps got much under 50 F. This is with a goretex bivy, my intermediate bag, my patrol (lightweight) bag, poncho liner, mid-weight polartec fleece base layer, and silk-weight polartec base layer...and a fleece hat. The Army says I should've been able to survive down to -30F, but I was butt-cold at +30F.
Fast-forward to the present. I now understand the importance of insulation underneath of me, I've been experimenting in my backyard with a knock-off double hammock, and I'm planning a trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (northern MN, Canadian border) next September where the "average" low is ~40 F. So I'm trying to perfect my sleep system to be comfortable at 40F, and "not miserable" at 30F. So far I've had luck down to 47F just a few days ago with the following:
Hammock, no tarp or bug net (yet)
Bivy cover with patrol bag (probably a 40F rated bag by normal standards)
Poncho liner somewhere in the bag with me, usually wadded up by my feet.
Thermarest RidgeRest (R 2.2) slid underneath me, between the bivy and bag.
silk-weight polartec base layer with wool socks and fleece beanie.
My last night at 47F went well, but I have a feeling I'm at the limit of that exact setup. As the temps cool off this fall I'm going to keep experimenting with this system down to 30F. Right now the only things I have "in reserve" are to add my mid-weight fleece and to give a bit more structure to the poncho liner so as to use it as a light "top quilt" inside of my bag. I also plan on pitching a tarp, but I haven't needed it yet. The goretex bivy is a great wind-break. Two other items I own but that are not good options are my intermediate sleeping bag and a wool blanket that I used in place of the ThermaRest RidgeRest prior to purchasing that piece of gear. Both are WAY to bulky/heavy to be practical for anything but backyard or car-camping.
So I'm looking for ways to get creative and keep comfortable without spending much money (ie. NO $100 DOWN QUILTS). For example, reflectix looks promising, but how much can I expect from that? What about a self-inflating pad with an R value of ~3.5-ish? Other thoughts? I can use a sewing machine, but a DIY Costco quilt is probably not within my skillset.
TIA,
DylanC
Bookmarks