Quote
ThaFlash_LA
NYE ... winter backpacking ... advice
I went on a little solo trip on winter solstice last year (Dec 22nd I think?) before there was any snow. It was *cold*, and the nights were long. I kept waking myself up because I was shivering and shaking, toes were numb, etc. I started loathing the evenings because of this, which was kind of a bummer. My Marmot Helium "10 degree" bag was really more of a "25-ish" bag. Winter camping advice:
1) For the love of god, bring two sleeping pads. This is rule #1 for winter camping IMHO. A foam pad to go against the snow, and then your normal air mattress or whatever. I also bring a space blanket just in case. I always use all three.
2) Get a sleeping bag that will keep you warm when it's really cold
I guess there's some new-fangled
"EN Standard" by which sleeping bags are rated. I calibrated my real-world experience in my Marmot Helium 10 degree bag, and the "EN comfort rating for women" agreed perfectly -- that it's really only going to keep me comfortable at 25 degrees. Apparently, I sleep like a woman. I think the "EN lower bound for men" was somewhere around 10 or 15 degrees, but trust me, man or woman, you do not want to be in that sleeping bag if it's anything less than 25 degrees. The sad thing is, when I started looking for sleeping bags that were EN comfort rated to 0 or 10 degrees, they started to get bulky and mega-expensive, and fast. Expensive enough (> $400) that I am thinking twice about winter camping in sub-25 weather. Not trying to dissuade you; winter camping in Yosemite is the best! But the nights can be long and brutal if you're not warm enough.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/21/2012 10:24PM by jishaq.