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Had a thought, please point me to a post where it's already been totally disproven as an option...
I am quite sure I have an emergency camping blanket, super light, plastic with the foil side. What's to stop that kind of thing being made into a custom bivvy, to add the layer of warmth needed without weight?
Light, tiny footprint, water resistant, maybe it's not breathable enough?
Thinking as an additional layer over the sleeping bag, not in lieu of the tent/shelter.Maybe it's an idea for the lower half, to keep extremities warm....
Just thinking aloud
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Isn't that a SOL emergency bivvy you're describing?
Basically like pretending you're a baked potato.
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Mmm yea, that's why I thought it may be an idea just for the lower half, made with some kind of loose stitching on the sides to aid minimum ventilation. Thinking like a groundsheet, with foot pocket, so you benefit a little extra on the lowest, without all the faff on the upper body.
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But you've got to add the sleeping pad to that... not sure about sleeping pad at all really.
Mmm, you're a brave one! You'll lose heat to the ground faster than you lose heat to the air (because air's a good insulator - soil is not). A sleeping bag doesn't provide much insulation against the ground because the down underneath you is compressed by your bodyweight.
I learnt this firsthand on my first few proper hiking trips in my teens - waking up fucking freezing in summer despite being in an old 1200g 3-season down bag - and scurrying to pile up all my spare stuff underneath me.
So unless you're very confident in your ability to find a nice wooden floor rather than a concrete block, or a bit soft pile of pine duff, I'd strongly recommend a pad. Personally I know that I am much warmer with a 450g duvet and a 400g pad than I am with a big 3-season bag on its own.
Blow-up pads are smallest and lightest, self-inflating and foam rolls are pretty big and bulky, foam rolls are usually warmest for their weight but not very comfortable. But here's a trick if you don't need the comfort of an inflatable - 3mm closed-cell foam from a rubber/plastics supplier is significantly less bulky than a standard foam roll, and it's still pretty warm - I have a square of it for a sit pad when hunting.
But really you need to test, test, test, rather than asking questions! Buy stuff secondhand, you can usually recoup your costs if it doesn't work out. I am actually moving back to the UK in a couple of weeks if you want to borrow my Alpkit duvet and an inflatable pad for a few nights.
For what it's worth in the cold house competition, my old uninsulated wooden house was so cold we had ice on the inside of the windows... it was a fucking grim place to live I tell you.
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I have an old 3/4 self-inf Thermarest but it's huge and would take up most of my saddle bag.
But really you need to test, test, test, rather than asking questions!
Yeah, but to do that I need to buy and I don't want to buy buy buy, I want to get the most info first so I get the most likely successful option. I like the 3mm foam option - I'll have a look for some and that can be the first test (well, other than my Thermarest).
Got any suggestions for blow up pads that pack small? Actually, I'm not sure I'd want to use lungs after a day's riding. Maybe I should stick to foam.
Thanks for the loan offer. Where are you based when back here?
You win the cold house comp. Our place was cold but not grim - it gets lots of sun in the lounge with big double glazed windows so kept lots of heat in. The other end of the place is a different story.
Oh, one more question :)
Good forums for finding this kind of stuff second-hand? Prefer like-minded peeps to ebay hassles.
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Okay. I'll buy a pad.
Klymit seem to be the weight weenie choice, though I'm not sure a half-pad or one of their cut-out pads is the right choice. My fat rolls will just fall into the gaps...
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im happy with my http://www.klymit.com/index.php/inertia-x-lite-orange.html
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Good forums for finding this kind of stuff second-hand?
UKHillwalking and UKClimbing forums seem to be pretty active.
My smallest pad is a Big Agnes Iron Mountain but it's not particularly small (maybe 10cm diameter, 20cm long, maybe 500g) since I am not the best sleeper. Didn't edscoble post one the size of a Red Bull can a few pages back? I do remember reading a pretty scathing review of the Klymit cut-out type inflatable...
Not sure where we'll be based, but if you're happy to pay the postage I'll work for me.
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Some of the Klymit pads look ok, not too keen on the cutout ones though:
http://www.klymit.com/index.php/products-1/sleeping-pads/tactical.html
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Lightweight tent recommendations?
Posted by
Don't know anything about those.
I've got a traveller:
http://www.snugpak.com/outdoor/travelpak-traveller
And a chrysalis 4:
http://www.snugpak.com/outdoor/chrysalis-4
The traveller is great because it opens up to form a duvet.. so if you're on a pad (which is the most important part of your sleep system in a tent or bivvi) you can double it up on top of you. You can also wrap it around a hammock, or share it with a friend ;) . Its comfy for me down to about 0, when im layered up in a tent. I don't tend to sleep naked in a tent anyway.
In a bivvi i'd be a little worried about condensation, making it harder to keep warm in cold weather. I wouldn't go below 5 or so and stay out of the wind.
The chrysalis is bulky and heavy, but kept me toasty warm way beyond 0c, even in an exposed bivvi. I'm happy camping anywhere in the U.K at wintertime with that, a thermalite and a down jacket.
I'd say don't worry so much about the rating on the bag.. pay more attention to the other kit; your pad and your layers. A hat can be used as a pillow or to keep you warm, a down jacket can wrap around your feet if they are cold, etc.
And 300g +/- is nothing!