Is the capilene ew enough?

imported
#1

Hello!
I have been reading this forum for a while, and I recently decided to hike the AT next year (2003). I’m looking into getting lighter gear, so I’ll probably have lots of questions to come. Here’s my first…I have a capilene midweight shirt, and I’m planning on getting the precip, but what do you all recommend for colder weather? I’m thinking of starting around the beginning of March. I was looking at something like the capilene expedition weight zip-t as I found it on sale at a local outfitter. Will that be enough, or should I expect to get something heavier?

Thanks in advance!!

blazin’ brush

blazinbrush

#2

Long sleeve silk weight pull over, an Ex weight pull over and the Precip. + a Windbloc balaclava…shell Gortex mittens or gloves and you’ll be stylin’. I’m a hot hiker and unless it’s really kicking wind I hike in shorts and a shirt down in the teens. Wear the warm stuff for the camp cool down. It’ll be to hot to walk with a pack in. You learn how to layer, or not and start the morning wearing as little as possible since you get warm fast on the first up hill from the Gap, or Deep Gap or Deep Deep Gap Shelters. Most of us just run out of the shelter in to the rain also in shorts and a light shirt since wearing rain gear will just get you all sweaty anyway. Depends on the wind and temp. 45* ish you don’t need to wear any rain gear or add some wind and sleet and wear just your undies and the Precip stuff for a warm layer. Minimal minimal to stay as dry and sweat free as possible. If your hands get cold just wear the gloves and a t-shirt + hat. Don’t forget the sun scren for fried ears. And put the wet clothes on agai in the morning if it’s more lousy weather. No sense in carrying wet clothes. It sucks to break came cold but it’s nicer than having to stop in twenty minutes and strip down. Can’t convince the wife to do it though. Especially after a cold sore night doing twenties through the Smokys. Try a hundred pushups in your bag before you get up. :>) And get a warm bag since you’ll spend twelve out of every twenty-four in it.

Bushwhack

#3

Pretty much agree with Bushwhack. I used mid-weight polypro for camp or sleeping. Way to hot to hike in. Carried a mid-weight fleece pullover for really cold nights in camp or to warm up during lunch/snacks. Hiked through a blizzard on Max Patch with a long sleeve coolmax shirt/shorts and rain gear. Also agree with Bushwhack on buying a good bag. Don’t scrimp here. Think about if you’re a cold or hot sleeper. If you’re a cold sleeper like me… go a little more conservative. Maybe a 15 degree bag. Long COLD nights are nooooooo fun!!! Brrrr… I STILL get the chills thinking about Blue Mt.!!!

Moose

#4

The nice thing about short training hikes is that you can welcome the weather getting awful. After all, when you get home, you can just throw the stuff in the dryer and curl up on the couch in a blanket. Make sure you TEST YOUR IDEAS!

Linguini

#5

Thanks for all the replies! I normally hike in shorts as well, even in the snow. I’m going to buy the exp. weight very soon. Mostly because it’s on sale. Yeah, I know I certainly won’t hike in it. I just wanted to make sure it would be sufficient around camp during the weeks of cold temps.

So, Moose, you think a 15° bag is conservative for a cold sleeper? I’m not very experienced with temp. ranges on the AT. I was looking at 15° down bags, but I was going to get a liner that I could send home. Maybe I’ll try a 20° instead. It’s hard to test sleeping bags because I can’t afford to buy the whole temp. range. I currently only have a 0° synthetic and an old rectangle bag (prolly 30°).

blazin’ brush

blazinbrush

#6

This is a time-of-year thing. On my sobo thru-hike I stumbled across a 40-degree goose-down liner by Mountain Hardwear and loved it for use in late September and early October.

Try taking your 0-degree bag out on a trial run. Figure out how it fits in or rides in your pack. Or take your rectangle back together with a fleece blanket.

In the summer, the temperature only gets down to 50 degrees overnight in many places.

Look at the design, including loft and size (roominess), and how those things trade off weight. Look at the weight of Go-Lite’s 20-degree bag. Also, your groundpad had some insulating value and factors into the functionality of your bag

Linguini

#7

fter using a 20* most of our trip last year we realized tht the rating has nothing to do with actual comfort. A 20* may be “comfort” rated for that temp but not after ten hours of mushing through a foot of slush near Roan and then have the wind kick up. Ever night you get to enjoy a few hours of moderate shock before dinner kicks in…if you ate a good one and not two packs of Ramen. It always seemed that around camp NO amount dry clothes kept us warm. A down blizzard suit may have but who has one of those?
We carried a 20* bag all the way to Harpers Ferry and it was welcome even on the hot night or two in the spring. You still get chilled even when it’s 80*. And we kept our hats the whole way also. It still rains and it’s way easy to get cold.
Our current replacement bags are Mountain Hardware 0* Universe SL’s. Those things are HOT! Shawn had one in the Smokys and it was toast. The water proof conduit shell lets the steam out but kept the snow and shelter blown rain from getting the down wet. One morning we all had three inches of snow all over us and he was dry. Did get a down liner for our crappy 20* bags but they still sucked. Don’t forget the tent adds 10* of heat and your girlfriend or wife adds even more ;>)

Bushwhack

#8

I would say that the “majority” of us start the trail with a 20 degree bag. Not all 20 degree bags perform equally well. 20 degree bags are great for some… lousy for others. I have a great deal of trouble sleeping in a standard mummy. It ends up wrapped around me. So, I bought a 20 degree tapered bag. Nice and roomy. Perfect I thought. It turned out the be the COLDEST thing I’ve ever slept in. Ended up buying a fleece bag liner… 1.5 pounds. It helped a great deal. So in thinking about what kind of bag to buy, I’d suggest a couple of things. (1) When are you starting? The earlier you start, the colder it’s going to be. If you read this years journals, lots of people talking about single digits with 20 - 30 MPH wind. Brrrrrr. (2) Are you a cold or a warm sleeper? If you’re a cold sleeper look at buying a bag rated at say +10 or +15. If you’re a warm sleeper… maybe a little warmer. (3) Try to check out some feedback from other users of the bag you’re considering. Lots of different sites where you can get feedback from others. What looks like a great bag, may in fact turn out to be a real loser. Better to find out BEFORE you spend the money and end up shivering all night on top of Tray Mt.!! (4) As Bushwack said… get a good hat, good polypro. You’ll most likely be sleeping in them at night.

Moose

#9

Sierra Design +20 w/PolarGuard 3D. Might as well sleep in the snow face first. We started in 0* synthetic bags but at 4+ pounds they were to heavy. With the 20s at Mollies Ridge the out side temp was 15 and the wind howling at 40. The thermometer INSIDE my bag read 42! I tried clothes, no clothes, wife, no wife, hot water bottle, Makers Mark scotch. We got some down lines in Gatlinburg and made it through the worst. Never again. Down for me. And BlazinBrush?, you’ll really have a need to stretch out at night to get the stiffness out like an old hound dog and if your bag is cold you’ll learn a new kind of hell. Great way to pull a hamstring falling out of the shelter. Also put some dry clean thick sox on to keep from touching any cold bag spots and silk weight underware or my clean camp clothes which were nothing more than nylon wind pants and a silk weight Capilene shirt to keep from touching the bag made it almost perfect. A good washing up gets the pores open and will let the air move better too ad help keep the clamminess at a minimum. Hard to do in the snow but a quick shot of hot water all over with a pack towel piece and some dry clothes and you get quite toasty. Some folk just sleep in thier own filth mud and all. Can’t go that low. Being clean is what got us into the best B+B’s and honeymoon suites. We were never forced to stay in a bunk room…which isn’t bad unless you have Raindog’s narsty feet. Smelled like barf, a fourteen year old kid and a ninty year old man with bladder trouble. Nassy stuff!

Bushwhack