[at-l] need sleeping bag advice

[datto_atl@yahoo.com (Datto)]

> combo?  Please let me know 
> what you use for cold/warm months.

I tried several setups during my Year 2000 northbound
thru-hike.

The first was a Feathered Friends Hummingbird Dryloft
20* bag at about 2lbs in the stuff sack ($316 on
special, delivered). It was great.

The second setup was initially just a silk liner alone
(Design Salt Silk Liner $60 - went through two of them
on my thru-hike and Design Salt replaced as necessary)
but wow did it get cold even in July during 2000! At
Delaware water gap I switched from only a silk liner
to a fleece bag at 2 lbs also ($20). That was fine
right up until Salisbury CT when it got down into the
upper 30's on the mountain tops during August. I froze
for three nights (even wearing all the clothes I was
carrying). 

In Salisbury CT I picked up my Feathered Friends
Hummingbird at the Post Office (thanks again Karen)
and I don't think I was ever so enamoured with a piece
of gear in all my life. 

In Maine I had 18" of snow dumped on me in a blizzard
and the temps remained between 20* and 24* most of the
time for that 3 days in October. I used a Space Brand
Mylar sleeping bag ($10) as a bag liner inside my
Feather Friends Hummingbird during that cold spell and
that combination was fantastic. 

If you have a tent that is silnylon and are thinking
about getting a down sleeping bag, you might think
about getting a sleeping bag that has a Dryloft type
exterior on the bag to protect the down from getting
condensation on it from being inside your tent.

Also, don't forget about using a pack cover -- amazing
how many people started a thru-hike last year without
initially carrying any kind of a pack cover. Wow did
their stuff get soaked. Big run on them at Neel's Gap
and NOC. I used a garbage bag as a pack cover but
changed to a silnylon at Mountain Moma's just north of
the Smoky Mountains (thanks Cin).

Also, inside your pack you may want to at least put a
garbage bag inside your tent stuff sack (to keep the
water from the previous nights rainstorm from seeping
into the inside of your pack). 

The same holds true for your sleeping bag stuff sack
-- a garbage bag liner inside your sleeping bag stuff
sack. Or, you could just use an Outdoor Research
Hydroseal stuff sack (heavier by a few ounces but is
waterproof in a storm (not submersable). I used a
trash bag liner inside my sleeping bag stuff sack on
my thru-hike but have since switched to an OR
Hydroseal stuff sack.

Hope this helps.

Datto


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