Was in Colorado for a project. Nearest hotel 60 miles away. National Forest 10 miles away. Had already been in Oregon camping in a State Park for a few days in another project.

Had my "Fall Setup" that was no problem down to 40 degrees in Oregon. Temps in CO were much colder down to 18 degrees with some wind two of the nights. My setup still worked great! Had a bail-out to a truck within 100 feet of camp sites just in case.

Setup:

Trail Lair with windshield.

2QZQ UQP with 2 Costco Throws integrated and layered as underquilt into the 2QZQ. I came up with this as a 3 season setup after a lot of experience with a home-made Gemini Underquilt. One CDQ has seams ripped vertically and one horizontal so the down overlaps the seams better.

Topquilt: home made Costco 2 layer (I can add a third layer for winter). A Jacks R Better fleece Quilt Liner/Summer Blanket.

Thoughts:

The windshield and UQP make a big difference in keeping out the cold. The SLD windshield works great for me with really no condensation issues. Wore a warm base layer and on the coldest nights had a flannel shirt and flannel PJ pants on.

The problem with my setup is weight and bulk. Everything fits in ULA 65 Liter Epic along with cook kit and water and a few other odds and ends.

But would be heavy for any kind of real hiking. I would like to do more hiking, but I think that I really like to be comfortable and that I may be more if a "base camper" - especially in Fall or Spring.

I think in Summer I could pare out weight and bulk for a better hiking setup.