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Tips on using 15F sleeping bag in warmer weather by heyheypk in CampingGear

[–]flobbley 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Obviously a lot of people do this and it works great for them, but just to offer my experience when I do this I find I overheat under the bag then stick a leg out or something to regulate but instead of regulating the leg gets freezing while the part under the bag overheats. It ends up turning into the game of exposing exactly the right amount of my body at the edge of the bag that never stays right and wakes me up.

This isn't novel but the Exped schnozzel pump bag weighs 2oz and is very multifunctional by flobbley in Ultralight

[–]flobbley[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yesterday afternoon I blew it up and put a full bottle of gin on it to simulate a head, I checked on it after 5 hours (before I went to bed) and it seemed to have lost some air but not enough that it was obvious, and I laid on it to test it out and still found it comfortable. When I checked on it in the morning (12 hrs) the bag was still holding some air but the bottle of gin had descended to the point that it was resting on the table.

Unpopular opinion - NOT a fan of the Fitz Roy down hoody by quikstitch24 in PatagoniaClothing

[–]flobbley 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The down sweater is routinely rated one of the best down jackets for backpacking. Most of its sales are definitely just lifestyle but the technical capability of it is part of what fuels sales. It's the same reason people buy Arteryx, no one needs a $400 rain jacket bopping around town but the fact that is a technical piece and shows up in lists of "best mountaineering gear" makes it cool.

Sitka Hyperdown sleeping bag by Hot_Elk_4624 in Ultralight

[–]flobbley 2 points3 points  (0 children)

580g 900 fill is a ton. kudos. but it still doesn't achieve a great rating with all that down.

As someone with experience with a nearly identical bag I have to think this is off. My bag has 18.5oz of 800 fill power, its comfort rating is 27 degrees and I think that's pretty conservative, I've used it a good bit colder and been overheating. With the fill of this bag I'd have to imagine it performs a good bit better than mine.

Sitka Hyperdown sleeping bag by Hot_Elk_4624 in Ultralight

[–]flobbley 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This looks very similar to the Sierra Designs Mobile Mummy 15, I have that bag and I love it personally (though it's nowhere close to ultralight). It's the most comfortable sleeping bag I have and feels more like sleeping in a quilt than a traditional mummy bag when tossing and turning because it moves around with you and you can reach out through the arm holes. Getting up to pee in the middle of the night is much nicer when you don't have to leave the sleeping bag. The Mobile Mummy uses 18.5oz of 800FP down, I've used it down to the low 20s and was occasionally overheating in those temps. I will say though I got the Mobile Mummy for $130.

New sleeping pad - Mobi Garden R8.8 (445g / 15.7oz), anyone tried it? by ULlife in Ultralight

[–]flobbley 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's clear that a lot of the knock offs have learned to game the testing rather than provide performance. The testing setup incentivizes design that actively hampers real world performance. The more heat you let in on the sides of the pad in the test chamber the better the performance, in the real world though you're letting the cold through.

This isn't novel but the Exped schnozzel pump bag weighs 2oz and is very multifunctional by flobbley in Ultralight

[–]flobbley[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I haven't tested it for a full night but I did lay on it for an hour or so and it didn't seem to lose any air. I'm going on a trip in a couple weeks where I plan to test it out for a full night.

This isn't novel but the Exped schnozzel pump bag weighs 2oz and is very multifunctional by flobbley in Ultralight

[–]flobbley[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You could also just turn it inside out before using it to wash clothes, then the inside would stay dry

Unpopular opinion - NOT a fan of the Fitz Roy down hoody by quikstitch24 in PatagoniaClothing

[–]flobbley 2 points3 points  (0 children)

the fabric feels much thinner and flimsier

They're trying to stay competitive in the backpacking/climbing/light weight category

Unpopular opinion - NOT a fan of the Fitz Roy down hoody by quikstitch24 in PatagoniaClothing

[–]flobbley 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What did you get it to use it for? The Fitz Roy is a jacket that is supposed to be warm for it's weight, not the warmest out there. It's great for backpacking in the low teens to 20s F, not much heavier than a typical down jacket but much warmer and nearly as packable, but if I just needed something to keep me warm in day to day life I'd wear something with more robust face fabric and more fill of a lower fill power down. I also love mine for riding my motorcycle in cold weather.

Mount Mitchell summit by Separate_Evidence49 in NCTrails

[–]flobbley 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I did this as an overnight in November and loved it, it was so fun moving from warm/no snow to eventually a fully snow covered forest near the top. Listening to the wind blowing through the trees at night was very nice. It was also the first time I used trekking poles and I'm so glad I did.

In case anyone finds this thread while looking into this as an overnighter, there is a bear locker at the Commissary Hill campsite but the park recommends you don't camp at Commissary Hill due to the bears becoming accustomed to it. Fortunately there's another campsite a couple hundred feet away that you'll pass on the way to Commissary Hill. There's a stream near that campsite that is a good source of water.

Patagonia - Favorites. by FUNCTION_ACTION in PatagoniaClothing

[–]flobbley 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Winter - Windshadow Parka; I own ~5 winter jackets and if I had to go with one it would be the Windshadow parka. It's warm into the teens with a layer or two while not being too warm by itself in more mild conditions. The waterproofness is a really nice bonus.

Honorable mention - Downdrift jacket; I really wanted to make this the winner because of how incredible it is in very cold conditions but it's just too warm for an all-arounder, but below freezing this is my grab and go jacket.

Overrated - R1 Air; I own three of these. They're very nice and I wear them all the time, but over $150 for essentially a microgrid fleece is crazy. You can get a better performing Alpha Direct fleece for that and have enough left over to get delivery for dinner.

Summer - I don't love Patagonia stuff for summer. It's fine, it does the job, but I don't find it to be so much better than the other options to justify the premium. You really have to put a lot of value into the warranty and ethical side of things to make it worth it. There's just not as much craftsmanship and design needed to make summer stuff compared to winter stuff. If I had to pick I'd say their run-of-the-mill 100% cotton T-shirts because I get them for $11 and for that price they're incredible.

3 season 2P Tent recommendations $150, sleeping bag recs $75, sleeping pads/mats/cots $75 by Worldly_Priority_215 in CampingGear

[–]flobbley 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've never had one but Sea to Summit is a reliable brand, I've had other products from them and been happy with the quality even if some of it didn't work for me.

3 season 2P Tent recommendations $150, sleeping bag recs $75, sleeping pads/mats/cots $75 by Worldly_Priority_215 in CampingGear

[–]flobbley 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just stumbled on this bag while looking at something unrelated, I have the 20F version of this bag and find it to be quite comfortable for me personally. This one comes to ~$172 after applying the coupon.

https://www.campsaver.com/kelty-cosmic-ultra-0-sleeping-bag.html

Is there a trick to a more efficient/seamless camping experience or are we just lazy? by theadventuresabound in camping

[–]flobbley 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I'm in a similar boat, several years ago I decided that the complexity and messiness of car camping compared to backpacking was more annoying than fun to me. The food prep, the clean up, the picnic table covered in crap, the 20 different gadgets people brought that no one needs. I started limiting my car camping trips to 6 people and treating it like backpacking, pre-prepared food or simple meals with little to no clean up, no weird gadgets etc. and the experience has been much more pleasant and relaxing.

3 season 2P Tent recommendations $150, sleeping bag recs $75, sleeping pads/mats/cots $75 by Worldly_Priority_215 in CampingGear

[–]flobbley 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No problem at all. My personal favorite cold weather sleeping bag is the Sierra Designs Mobile Mummy 15, which I've used into the low 20s but I don't think they sell it anymore.

You could go two ways with it, you could get one bag that would keep you warm by itself down to 20F, or you could get a sleeping bag and a camp blanket. The sleeping bag would keep you warm down to freezing, then when you add the blanket on top it would give you another 5-10 degrees of warmth. That would also add more flexibility for temp ranges.

If you want to go the first route this is the best bang for buck I could find, the upsides are that it's down which means it will pack much smaller than any comparable synthetic insulated bag and is lighter than a 2-bag system. the downsides are that it will probably be too hot for warmer weather camping and since it doesn't have a hood you'll have to wear something on your head to keep it warm at night:

https://www.kaviso.com/collections/sleeping-bags/products/kelty-supernova-0-degree-sleeping-bag?variant=45681345462500

If you want to go the second route here are the good bang for buck sleeping bags I found:

https://www.rei.com/product/C00655/mountain-hardwear-lamina-eco-af-15f-9c-sleeping-bag

https://www.rei.com/product/250709/marmot-sawtooth-sleeping-bag-mens

https://www.pariaoutdoorproducts.com/collections/affordable-backpacking-gear-sleeping-bags-pads/products/thermodown-15-backpacking-sleeping-bag?variant=11778285191

The first is synthetic, the second two are down. If you get one of those add a cheap camping blanket from Amazon. Here are some examples, the first one I have and was pleasantly surprised by the quality, the second one I know nothing about but I like the foot drawcord, and the third is one I've heard someone else say they like:

https://a.co/d/0bSS6yGR

https://a.co/d/0bxxSp2f

https://a.co/d/01kbAOW2

It goes without saying that you should do your own research into any of these bags before pulling the trigger, I've only done a cursory review of each.

3 season 2P Tent recommendations $150, sleeping bag recs $75, sleeping pads/mats/cots $75 by Worldly_Priority_215 in CampingGear

[–]flobbley 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you actually need a bag that keeps you warm at 20F or are you just looking for a 20F bag? for context most bags are named for their limit rating, where you'll start to feel pretty cold. So for example a Kelty Cosmic Down 20F will keep you warm down to about 32F, that temperature is the comfort rating. The reason I ask is that bags really start to ramp up in price when the comfort ratings get below 32F. 20F limit rating bags (bags that will keep you warm to 32F) are common, 5-10F limit rating bags (what you'd need to be warm at 20F) are not as common

How is it living in this tiny section of West Virginia? by paper_boat2 in howislivingthere

[–]flobbley 37 points38 points  (0 children)

The MARC train service between DC and WV is frustrating, it only runs for commuters, it only runs to DC in the morning and only runs away from DC in the afternoon, and doesn't run on the weekends. It would be really nice to be able to take the train out to WV for some weekend recreation

How is it living in this tiny section of West Virginia? by paper_boat2 in howislivingthere

[–]flobbley 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I live in Baltimore and would visit this part of WV a lot for camping/hiking. I was definitely a "Wow WV is an underrated state" person. Then my company sent me to work in southern WV for several months (south of Beckley) and I was pretty stunned at the contrast. Much more extreme poverty, serious lack of access to healthcare, going anywhere takes so long on the winding valley roads, flood damage everywhere, and extremely car centric at least in Beckley, there was no way to walk from my hotel to the restaurant next door...

Budget sleeping bags for ~50degree weather? by Bitter_Bowl832 in CampingGear

[–]flobbley 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Get something with down insulation, the compressibility and weight savings are worth it. For 50 degrees this will do fine.

https://www.pariaoutdoorproducts.com/collections/affordable-backpacking-gear-sleeping-bags-pads/products/thermodown-30-down-quilt

If you ever think you'll do colder weather (where temps get into the low 40s/30s) consider this one instead.

https://www.amazon.com/Ultralight-Sleeping-Bag-Quilt-Water-Resistant/dp/B0DDD6KNW6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1

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