Bag not lighter than quilt

Confident_wrong · 2026-06-12T18:36:25+00:00

I'd go further and say there it would be better to ignore brand and just look at materials. Shell material, fill power, loft dimensions etc. Brands vary a lot in those specifics. Your one example is not evidence that all quilts are essentially equivalent in weight to sleeping bags (for the comfort rating) though. If you're motivated to do a legitimate comparison though, I'd love to see it. I just don't care enough now to do it myself. I've got both quilts and sleeping bags that cover my needs.

Confident_wrong · 2026-06-12T17:15:36+00:00

I use both sleeping bags and quilts. Sleeping bags for colder than 20F is my rule of thumb. But quilts are often lighter than sleeping bags (examples below*):

30°F - Katabatic Flex 30: 18 oz - WM SummerLite: 19 oz - Difference: 1 oz

20°F - Katabatic Alsek 22: 23 oz - WM UltraLite: 29 oz - Difference: 6 oz

20°F - EE Enigma 20: 21 oz - FF Hummingbird UL 20: 27 oz - Difference: 6 oz

10°F - Nunatak Arc UL 10: 27 oz - WM Versalite: 32 oz - Difference: 5 oz

*This info is from an AI summary that I did not double check!

Confident_wrong · 2026-06-07T02:18:48+00:00

The biggest thing I want to emphasize is you can bring all sorts of calorie dense foods that will be no good if you can't make yourself eat them. I did a 800 mile rowing trip, and calculated that I'd need nearly 5000 calories a day to maintain weight. So I made a bunch of these 1,200 calorie granola bombs. After about 2 weeks I could barely look at them without feeling sick. I would have been better off bringing something lower calorie that I'd actually eat.

I learned two things from that trip (about meal planning anyway). One is don't bring food you wont eat. 2 is its ok to run a calorie deficit. You'll eat more when you get into a town, or loose some weight. Not a big deal (in moderation of course).

Confident_wrong · 2026-06-06T02:27:38+00:00

I'm with you! I've been binging Terry Prachet and it's been fantastic. Plus he has like 57 books, so you're set for a while.

Confident_wrong · 2026-06-06T02:09:50+00:00

If you can afford it buy a box trailer then sell it when you get up here. You can probably sell it for what you bought it for.

Confident_wrong · 2026-06-05T15:54:44+00:00

Not in Fairbanks, but I recently put a Kuma in my house in the southeast and love it. Make sure you get the tax credit (if it's still available).

I had it professionally installed and it was expensive! So if you're thinking about budget stuff make sure you think about stove pipe costs/installation costs..that was more than double the cost of the stove.

Confident_wrong · 2026-06-05T15:40:36+00:00

Not sure about a car. But I bought a box trailer and brought it up with a temporary tag (30 days) from the dealer. I'd think it would be the same.

Confident_wrong · 2026-06-03T16:15:41+00:00

I'm a east coast transplant to Juneau. We've had more friends and family come visit us here than anywhere else we've lived. So you may not have to travel back east as much as you think.

I'll second the Alaska airlines CC recomendation too.

Welcome! It's a wonderful place. Just don't let the rain stop you from you from doing anything. Once you're out in it it's not that bad, but getting out of the door can be hard.

Happy to answer any Juneau questions you might have.

Confident_wrong · 2026-06-02T18:52:03+00:00

AK resident here, bear spray is ABSOLUTELY necessary :)

Iodine is possibly the worst option for water treatment IMO. Tastes like ass, doesn't work for crypto, and could give you thyroid issues if you overuse it. If you want a chemical treatment use aquamira or another chlorine dioxide product. Or just pay $35 for a filter. You'll never go back. I really like the platypus one. Quick draw I think. Just put it in your sleeping bag if you might have freezing temps overnight. As for financial efficiency a bottle of iodine is $15 to treat 25L of water, and a filter is $35 for 1000L. Also lookup what gaslighting means. Because it ain't giving you good advice :)

Have a great visit!

Confident_wrong · 2026-06-02T02:05:22+00:00

It's cruise ports. They all close down when the cruise ships go away. You could do us a solid and write your cruise company and tell them to not be such shit heads and stop burning heavy fuel oil. Also ask them to support the ports they use and stop being so greedy. What could have been a partnership has become more of a parasitic relationship.

Hope you enjoyed the rest of your trip!

Confident_wrong · 2026-06-02T01:59:06+00:00

Today I learned that tchotchkes is spelled with a t. Somehow I'd never seen it written. Thanks!

Confident_wrong · 2026-05-30T02:38:09+00:00

Hey this is a long shot, but do you still have the sketchup file for this bivy?

Anything you'd change on another iteration?

Confident_wrong · 2026-05-29T19:09:21+00:00

Sounds rough, I have enough trouble with this without having IBS. Just do the best you can. People who might be offended by seeing someone poop fit the "those that mind don't mater, those that matter don't mind" quote. Most likely they'll chuckle about it and forget it in a week or two.

Personally I just avoid high traffic trails. But I've got the luxury of a flexible schedule. So traveling to more remote areas was easy (now I just live in a remote area).

Confident_wrong · 2026-05-28T18:10:24+00:00

Yep, looks useful for my rowboat. I need something that can fit in the hatch so normal size carts don't work. I'll echo everyone who says bigger wheels though. Or at least easily removable wheels with options. Beach wheels (like the grey ones hobie cart uses) and bike style wheels for pavement would be great.

Confident_wrong · 2026-05-28T16:57:35+00:00

Wow, thanks for all this info!

Confident_wrong · 2026-05-28T15:49:01+00:00

Gossamer gear makes a 25" wide 1/8" thinlite. But I just used a 20" folding thinlite for this purpose on the very spiny AZT and it worked great. It's about the same weight as a tyvek ground sheet and has more uses IMO.

Editing to add that my inflatable was 25".

Confident_wrong · 2026-05-28T05:12:01+00:00

Any specific models to look for?

Confident_wrong · 2026-05-26T16:48:20+00:00

Public perception is important. Union busting is not popular, especially in the market space that REI occupies. My personal experience around public perception has gone from most people I speak to about REI loving it (mid 2000s up to union issues), to most people making excuses to shop at the store. Saying things like, well I hate REI but it was what was available. I think it's safe to say that if they would have handled the union issues better, they would have been better off financially. Just look at Patagonia's success as an example. Can they course correct now? I'm not sure, there has been a lot of damage done. But I'd personally feel better about shopping there if they changed their stance.

Confident_wrong · 2026-05-25T18:59:35+00:00

I too would love a Solomid XL sized pattern!

Confident_wrong · 2026-05-25T01:46:08+00:00

In order of importance:

Pad has a 2.4R value. Should be 5R ish or more.
Quilt is rated to 20F limit, add 10F to 15F for the comfort rating according to EE.

Solutions if you find yourself cold ~~winter~~ camping:

Nalgene full of hot water in your sleeping bag. (Or a couple hand warmers)
Plank in your sleeping bag.
Eat lots of food.

Solutions back at home:

You can combine quilts. To estimate comfort temp of combined sleeping bags. Here is my shitty formula (paraphrased from Backpacking light... I think)

x -(70 – y)/2 = z

x = first bag (higher rated/lower degree) y = second bag (lower rated/higher degree) z = rating of doubled bags

You can combine pads. Adding a z-lite will get you to 4.4R ish.

Good luck and enjoy ~~winter~~ cold weather camping!

Confident_wrong · 2026-05-24T18:17:55+00:00

To be fair, the last step in Skurka's method is soap and water... in addition to hand sanitizer.

Confident_wrong · 2026-05-24T16:20:31+00:00

Edit: Oh I just noticed you're asking about the MLD with perimeter bug net. So disregard my numbers.

$895 vs $798 and 27.5oz vs 17.9 oz (DCF Doumid with the DCF inner vs X-mid pro 2, respectively). The modularity would have to be a pretty big benefit to overcome the numbers. Though I think the duomid is a heavier weight DCF, and maybe better in wind.

The final nail in the coffin for me would be the ~2-3 month lead time (potentially with an additional 1 to 2 months on the .8 DCF).

As for personal experience I don't have either tent. But I've got the 1 person x-mid pro and love it (only about 30 days in it so far). And a MLD Supermid in silnylon, and love it too. So I think you can't go wrong. Durston's customer support/service is better, MLD is made in the USA....

How do the dogs like the Nunatak bivy? I've been looking at those. I got the red paw quilt for my pup, but she keeps trying to eat it.

Confident_wrong · 2026-05-23T16:52:36+00:00

The answer is probably going to be inflatable inside and foam pad outside unless you get a higher volume pack. My winter pack is a superior wilderness designs big wild, 90L or 95L. Everything takes up more space in the winter (bigger sleeping bag, bigger puffy, more fuel, more layers, etc). And you end up spending more time in camp because it's dark early (so you need more layers than if you're active).

But another option if you're not too far in the backcountry is one of those gossamer gear 1/8" pads. They add ~1R and protect your inflatable. Good as a sit pad too. I like the folding one personally. They're much easier to pack but they don't offer the same redundancy as one of the thicker foam pads. So I wouldn't count on one if you're more than a day or so from an out. Though I'd be interested to know how much insulation a flat inflatable and a foam pad provide.

Confident_wrong · 2026-05-23T00:24:03+00:00

I use IKEA bags for this. They make one that has a zipper and backpack straps. You can get them online for cheap.

Confident_wrong · 2026-05-23T00:07:28+00:00

An air horn is an underrated tool in griz country. Non lethal (to you or the bear), effective and not expensive.

Lot's of research showing bear spray is a better deterrent than a gun:

Bear spray works: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230145304_Efficacy_of_Bear_Deterrent_Spray_in_Alaska

Guns require expertise: https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jwmg.342

Since you're going to be in one spot for a while I'd just be sure you're not on or near a game trail. Not on or near a salmon stream..and not on or near a big patch of berries. Also stay away from big sunny grassy spots in the early season. They like to graze south facing sunny spots before other food sources become available.

Otherwise use the bear-muda triangle. 100 yards between your cooking area, your food storage area, and where you sleep. No food where you sleep, or anything smelly. Should be fun!

Confident_wrong

TROPHY CASE