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[at-l] Some experience/lessons learned (OK, my biased opinions) on: sleeping bags, pads, and "pillows"

Wow, the bag advice has generated a lot of interesting responses.
I've enjoyed reading most of the opinions and thought I'd share my own.

First, a caveat my qualifications are probably far less than many posters
on this subject, but perhaps they can contribute some insight and lessons
learned (often of things NOT to do!).

Bags (and liners):

In 1965 I did a 2 month backpack trip in northwest Alberta (late June
through early August), using a cheap synthetic rectangular bag loaned to
me, and spending a number of nights cold and shivering, dividing my
thoughts between food and warmth.  (We carried in ALL of our food for the
entire 8 weeks in two initial caching trips with 90 pound packs.  None of
our route was on blazed trails, but we structured it as a sort of figure
eight pattern, with the connecting point food cache being the connecting
point (representing about somewhat over half of our food supplies which
we actually rendezvous with twice).  We had hoped to supplement a
starvation diet with fish (we all carried fly rods or light spinning
gear) and a few wild plants.  Mostly we starved. (one day we were so
desperate for food that we caught dozens of small green frogs and fried
them -- eating only the legs.) We encountered lots of rain, muddy and
swollen streams/rivers that usually made catching fish impossible (at
least for us).  We learned from this trip that no matter how fit you are
(and I was VERY fit at that time), adequate food and sleep are the two
most important ingredients to a pleasurable backpacking trip -- though
their absence makes for some great war stories.

Subsequently I've made only a dozen or so 1-2 night backpack trips and
two desert trips of 5 days (in Big Bend National Park one in winter and
one in Spring).  On those trips  I used a moderately priced down mummy
bag (rated at 20 degrees I believe) and was reasonably satisfied with it,
except that I like to turn during the night and generally sleep on my
stomach or side, rather than on my back.  I mostly used  an Army surplus
air mattress (heavy by today's standards, but it never suffered a
puncture on the trail, possibly because I was diligent in sweeping the
area under my tent for twigs, sharp rocks, thorns, etc.).  From this I
developed confidence in down, though most of this experience was not in
rain and certainly not day after day of rain like some accounts of AT
thru-hikers.

About 8  years ago, I gave my down bag to a friend, and did not do any
backpacking for a few years.  (I lived on a sailboat during this time.) 
Then I helped another friend move to Alaska, with little advance notice,
so I went to a sporting goods store in Bozeman, Montana and bought a
Slumberjack Everest-Lite synthetic mummy bag, rated at 0 degrees --
probably about 4.5 pounds.  This bag proved just about right for nights
were the low as 20-40 degrees, but a bit too warm for higher temperatures
(and not very flexible in how you could configure it to accommodate
warmer weather.)   I also slept in it several times in temperatures from
-10 to 10 on a couple of low-budget ski trips and also on a winter trip
to Alaska (where the temp was sub-zero and the chill factor was around
-30) and found it adequate when I was protected from the wind while
wearing medium weight long underwear, mid-weight ski jacket and wool cap.
 But, I never got fully comfortable sleeping because I kept wanting to
turn in it and a close fitting mummy bag doesn't seem conducive to that
style of sleeping.

Recently I've renewed my interest in backpacking, with the thought
possibly of doing a thru hike of the AT, or perhaps the CDT next year. 
So I've begun some 1-2 day backpacking trips in Vermont and New
Hampshire, and plan to thru-hike The Long Trail this summer.  I recently 
bought a North Face Chrysalis (retail price is $210).  This is a
semi-rectangular down filled bag, rated 25-40 degrees.  So far it seems
like just the right bag (for me).  It has a 68" shoulder girth (compared
to only 60" for most mummy bags) which gives room to turn, sleep pretty
much in any position I want, and still stay within the bag.  Also it has
two sets of zippers:  One pair operate along the bag's foot and the first
12" or so of the side.  The other pair operate along the rest of the
length of the side (like most other bags).  This set up allows you to
stick one or both feet/legs out if you start getting a bit too warm. 
There is a drawstring closure at the head of the bag, but no hood type
feature.  I think this bag is likely to work well in temperatures from
just below freezing to 60 degrees since it has many ways to open part or
all of the bag to accommodate warmer weather (over a much larger range
than my previous bags).  Because it uses down, this bag in spite of its
generous physical dimensions, weighs only 3lbs 2 oz (in the Long/Large
size) and easily compresses into a 7" x 14"  stuff sack.  I think it will
also suffice for temps down to 10 degrees (in a tent) if I wear long
underwear, wool watch cap, and polartec pants + jacket.  A further note,
like others have recommended, I've adopted the practice of using the
standard stuff sack in combination with a plastic bag to further ensure
the bag does not get wet from rain.  I'm also thinking of adding a Salt
Design egyptian cotton bag liner to help protect the bag from being
soiled [ by me :>) ] and also to further improve the comfort level over a
wider range of temperatures. 

One way to accommodate an AT thru hike might be to use a silk or
sill/cotton bag liner during early and final portions of the thru-hike
and a plain cotton liner during the middle warm weather portion. This
might allow you to use the same bag throughout the hike (in my case it
would be the Chrysalis).

Pads and mattresses:

After giving up the military air mattress, I began using an inexpensive
blue closed cell (1/2" thick?) 72" long foam pad in combination with a
Therma-Rest Ultra-lite 72 self inflating mattress.  The idea was to have
the comfort of the ThermaRest air cushion (3/4" or so) along with the
underlying thorn protection and additional padding from roots, rocks
provided by the closed cell foam.  It worked great, but at the expense of
considerable bulk and of course a bit of extra weight.  Recently I gave
this stuff up and switched to a 51" (3/4 length) Z-rest closed cell pad. 
It weighs 12 oz (3/4 lb) and is the most comfortable foam pad I've ever
tried.  I now like it for comfort about as well as my previous
ThermaRest/pad combo (partly because I've practice sleeping on it at
home).  It is a wonderful feeling to cut the weight down and still feel
the same level of comfort.  Psychologically I get a real lift using this
simple Z-rest instead of my previous combination.

"Pillows":

As I mentioned earlier, I prefer to sleep on my stomach and sides
(alternating a bit during the course of the night).  Not only does this
seem to demand a much roomier bag than a mummy, it also requires (for me)
one or two pillow-like supports.  I normally use two:  One is a
medium-size nylon stuff sack that contains a gore-tex jacket and two
(soft) neoprene knee braces.  The other is a long nylon stuff sack that
contains a medium weight polar-tec jacket/overshirt.  The combination of
"pillows", along with the Z-rest and Chrysalis semi-rectangular bag,
allows me to feel as comfortable on the trail as at home.  Even if I
don't expect to use the polartec jacket its worth its weight/bulk to
serve as a sleeping pillow, but of course I also rationalize my desire to
have it along by claiming that it is a contingency for wearing in
unexpectedly cold weather.

---terry---

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