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  1. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by sclittlefield View Post
    Was your back cold, or were you just plain cold? The difference between those two is pretty clear when you're experiencing it. Three layers of IX with 5oz Climashield should be good to really really low temps if the IX is built differentially.
    I was cold, mainly extremeties as that is were blood flow slows to maintain core body heat. My hands were warm, sweaty due to the thick gloves.

    One thing you might consider for your topquilt - don't rebuild it - instead make a cover for it. This way, separated you have two quilts for summer, and together, one for winter.
    Excellent idea. I will definitly leave the current setup intact.


    There can be issues with what I'm about to recommend, but it has worked extremely well for me. I have used a 3oz Climashield top quilt along with a 2-layer IX topquilt shell (IX over the Climashield) into the 20's and was plenty warm. I tend to sleep cold. The IX traps your warmth in the climashield very effectively. But there is a caveat - IX is also somewhat of a vapor barrier, so if it's not extremely cold, or you're a heavy sweater, you can end up with a bit of a soggy climashield bag in the morning. Good news is, synthetics still work when wet, though with slightly diminished effectiveness. The worst I've ever had with this setup is a tiny bit of moisture in the foot end of my climashield quilt, which dried out in 30min hanging over my hammock in the morning. Again - this involves a bit of a vapor barrier, so that must be taken into account when working out your sleep system as it could cause significant dampness for some people.
    I thought Insultex would be best served closest to the skin. Looks like your experience says Insultex is better as a layer above the insulation?


    K

  2. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by KLHinNC View Post
    I thought Insultex would be best served closest to the skin. Looks like your experience says Insultex is better as a layer above the insulation?
    In my experience, yes. Climashield and other similar synthetic insulations are more or less a random pile of polyester (or similar) fibers spun into a sheet to form low density loft. The air pockets warm up from your body heat and the heat transfers to cold slowly. Closed cell foams (CCF) have much higher heat retention, meaning they transfer heat from air pocket to air pocket more slowly, but they are also more bulky. That's where IX comes in - it's a CCF, but is really really thin, such that it acts more like a fabric (as far as drape goes) than a foam pad. Using IX on the outside of Climashield does a really good job of trapping your heat inside the loft of climashield. Your body heats up the air pockets in the climashield, but instead of dissipating quickly into the colder atmosphere above, it is significantly slowed by the Insultex layering.

    Should it work the other way around, IX against skin, Climashield outside? Yes.
    Does it? Yes.
    As well? Not in my experience.

    YMMV

    But again, the caveat being that you have to understand and be able to regulate vapor barrier technology effectively. IX is not a true vapor barrier, but close enough.
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