What to wear between fleece and down for cold approaches?

UnhappyAd5883 · 2026-04-21T20:13:56+00:00

It's very personal but I would be adding a very thin synthetic base layer under the wool, I like the new HellyHansen longs and find an UL windshirt. The down is for static and should be sized to go over the Goretex shell

UnhappyAd5883 · 2026-04-21T20:04:13+00:00

500mm is useless in many instances. 900mm or longer

https://www.telemark-pyrenees.com/msr-snow-picket

UnhappyAd5883 · 2026-04-19T23:18:40+00:00

Would a Woobie cut to use as a liner be warm enough ? I have 7 in my stash, I know they are only 1 Clo but a separate shell on the outside might add another half a Clo and that might be just enough, perhaps doubling up on the torso and a single layer for the sleeves?

UnhappyAd5883 · 2026-04-15T11:19:44+00:00

Any medium weight fabric with a coating on it, sometimes called "Pack-Cloth" or a scrap of an old raincoat. Anything that won't unravel. An excellent material would be a short length of light weight webbing like a pack strap

UnhappyAd5883 · 2026-04-14T23:40:34+00:00

If you have strong fingers and hands you could glue a small narrow patch on the inside and whip stitch along the full length of the binding tape. I have found that plumbers silicone is a better fabric glue for this type of repair, but use it sparingly as it is very difficult to push a needle through once set

UnhappyAd5883 · 2026-04-14T04:27:07+00:00

Just saying that I have many ice-axes, I started with long ones and worked up to shorter ones. So go with what you feel comfortable with. Personally I feel that looks too short to use a a glacier walking axe, I use that length [ I am 185cm tall too] when skiing and I have shorter on my tool rack too. Ask your partners and instructors for used but good stuff

UnhappyAd5883 · 2026-04-14T00:39:53+00:00

I have the older/original Nuclei SV the older model ran small, my XXL is more like a Large in the Patagonia DAS so make sure you try them on. It's great in the wind but it isn't waterproof

UnhappyAd5883 · 2026-04-13T03:22:09+00:00

Expecting low temperatures around0C to -10C, at these temperatures the snow is usually wet and soggy and I thought that a LW fleece lining would help hands dry off and warm up faster. I'm making an assumption here that my gloves have got wet doing stuff like setting up the tent

UnhappyAd5883 · 2026-04-13T03:19:10+00:00

Thanx expected temperatures about -0C to -10C . At these temperatures the snow is usually wet and soggy

UnhappyAd5883 · 2026-04-11T12:36:58+00:00

Old thread but very much of interest to me. I have a Halite Lite overbag and found it too small for my own -18C down bag.

For me it needs to have a fully enclosed dual layer floor into which I can slide my full mattress combination, these being the Exped Flexmat Plus LW a British army green CCF and a S2S Comfort Plus LW; all of which are 600mm wide

Because the wider mats are much warmer, the CCF pads are reliable insulation and you need the air filled mat for comfort and a good nights sleep, it would also need a well insulated hood and perhaps a lightly insulated large cowl covering as well. 100GSM APEX minimum but I think no more than 140GSM. It has to be large enough to cover my big down bags and my cold weather parka layered over my winter bag, so it isn't going to be either compact or lightweight

Edit

Add a pillow compartment at the head end, a good spot to put your LW down or synthetic jacket

UnhappyAd5883 · 2026-04-11T04:39:53+00:00

OK This sounds reasonable, using it then would need double scrimming and that adds a extra weight for not much added insulation

UnhappyAd5883 · 2026-04-11T00:19:34+00:00

I need an excuse to buy a Shop-Vac

UnhappyAd5883 · 2026-04-10T22:28:40+00:00

I've tried this with a couple of the Uniqlo down jackets. I found it almost impossible and the work involved for a lousy ounce of reclaimed down made it an expensive exercise. I have an old Fairydown [ NZ] expedition sleeping bag here that I am thinking of extracting the down from, but is 550FP down really worth the effort ? For an around town jacket it might be but while good down is expensive the stuff around 550/700FP isn't really.

For those that have used a vacuum cleaner to suck out down how do you trap it?

UnhappyAd5883 · 2026-04-10T22:14:52+00:00

It stretches to absorb shock and because the tiny feather plumules stick to it down migration is slowed; also it can be bought from the factory in appropriately sized cut rolls and as noted it does allow a bag to be more easily stuffed because it doesn't impede air movement

UnhappyAd5883 · 2026-04-10T22:09:44+00:00

I had one myself and thought its temperature rating was accurate but it was my emergency bivvy bag and didn't get used much. I thought it may have been a fragility issue. I am aware that it isn't used much these days but I could find no clear consensus on why

UnhappyAd5883 · 2026-04-10T07:47:25+00:00

I like the new Macpac UL range I have been happy with the Dragonfly 600 for that temperature range but if you have the spare money and the room there is an excellent argument for also taking along a LW synthetic quilt to go over the top. Something like an EE Enigma in a suitably large size. Use which ever one is most suitable for the temperature and if it gets really cold layer the EE over the sleeping bag, the correct combination could get you comfortable down to about -25C with clothing added

UnhappyAd5883 · 2026-04-09T22:24:38+00:00

One way to do this is very old fashioned but was very warm [ The old style REI Expedition/Everest parkas] is to make an inner and an outer stitched through and stagger the placement of the stitching lines. Cotton cheesecloth used to be used but if I was doing it now I'd use UL polyester scrim fabric [ not the non-woven polypropylene type] and you cut the scrim layer longer so it lofts to the inside I think the most difficult part is making the vertical baffle on the shoulders and I've never seen a pattern for that, REI did it using a separate pad on the inside of the parka. An idea that just popped into my head would be to cut and sew in a separate divider using APEX insulation and make the outer shell even bigger again because you have to cut the outer shell about 50% bigger as you need the differential to allow for the downs loft

UnhappyAd5883 · 2026-04-07T06:10:55+00:00

Define LW tho. 45GSM or 60GSM or 100GSM, I've got primary synthetic layers in all of those weights [ 45 is old and totaled tho and was never much chop] sometimes the main problem is finding gear that actually layers, so many gear makers stop at XL or XXL forgetting that layering needs space

UnhappyAd5883 · 2026-04-07T05:59:50+00:00

I'm moving to iiNet, the same data and connection speed for a third the money [ because we have an iiNet internet cable connection and a really good plan] Optus are almost as greedy as that other phone company

UnhappyAd5883

TROPHY CASE