At 77 I'm too old for backpack hunting anymore but I still like to backpack. I completed the 500 odd miles of the Washington State PCT this past summer. I thought I might like to try winter backpacking but I wanted to do a trial of my sleep system. At home here in Olympia we had a cold spell so I set up the tent and did an overnight trial in the backyard. I had my Thermarest Xtherm (6.8 R value) pad, a EE Enigma down 20 degree quilt with a Cocoon silk liner. I wore a heavy polyester baselayer, Fjallraven Keb pants, merino wool hoody and a down puffy. Also down booties, wool beanie and gloves. At zero C,when I went bed I was toasty. In the morning at minus four C, I was borderline comfortable. So now I know. If the temperature is expected to go much below freezing I will take my heavier down mummy bag rated to zero F. I don't trust the theory about drying wet clothes while you sleep. I'll take dry clothes for sleeping.
68lbs on a winter hunt with 8 days food is very impressive! I agree with your assessment of the down bags in wet weather. I only use down in my puffy layers and they are part of my sleep system. I try not to have them in my bag if I don't need to wear them. I'm ditching the bag for a quilt this year. I use my bag as a quilt anyways so I might as well go that route. Great info as usual. Thanks Jay!
Hey Guys, Just to make sure I'm getting this right for my next trip. If I come back after a big day hunting a tad wet, I would leave my hunting gear on (which I normally do) and put on my puffy hoodie and puffy pants over the top of my hunting gear and jump into my synthetic quilt to dry out for the night? TIA
@tomasfarr3446 that would work as long as your puffy layer is synthetic. If it is down, you are going to trap moisture in your loft. That is fine as long as you have a good dry, sunny day to hang them up to dry themselves out. Down looses too much loft as moisture builds up within it. You could dive straight into your synthetic bag and probably be dry in 4 hours. If i may offer you this tip, put fresh dry socks on first and place your days socks inside your layers while you sleep. Your body will dry them out for the next day. Good luck.
Great shit man, definitely gotta put some theories to the test before you know whats true and whats not! Some good take aways for sure good luck next trip brother!
I made a poor-man's Grakksaw boot drier out of 80mm USB fans that I bought off of Amazon. At $19 for four fans vs. $85 for the Grakksaw unit it was a no brainer for me - I went the extra step and spliced two fans to a single USB plug. I'm only 6 months in with them, but I've been going out of my way to use and abuse them around the house for drying shoes, jackets, chest-waders, etc... and they've held up. The housing that the Grakksaw unit has is nice and definitely would be an upgrade over a standard PC fan, but I could replicate that in short order with a 3D printer if I really wanted to. I dropped one of my Kuiu Yukon Pro gloves into the chuck while waterfowl hunting this fall and ended up with ~1cup of water in them, which I dumped out quickly, but the inside of the glove was soaked. When I got home, I used my homemade set of fans to dry them out and found that it did 'ok', but the fingers took a very long time (12+hours) to dry, so I'd temper any expectations of relying on such a system to completely dry out your gloves in a reasonable timeframe, especially out in the field. Maybe a pair of handwarmers placed inside the glove in front of the fan would help by adding heat, but I've yet to test that method.
That’s kinda what I figured. The hand warmers is an interesting idea. Especially since they depend on fresh air, blowing those fans on them would get them super hot I bet.
That's too bad the sleep system didn't work. I have a -17 down quilt and a BA Farrington that has worked amazing in the late season down to -25C, but thats in Reg 3. I grew up snowboarding in Terrace so I know what that snow is like! On the food side this year I added those bone broth sachets from Costco, 10g protein and 50cal, great bang for your buck.
Joined the Mindful Reviews. Love the content and figured maybe I could share my opinions on the gear I have. I picked up the Revic BLR10s and have access to some EL Ranges 10x42 and NL Pures if anyone is interested in a comparison.
Thank you Jay
Always love a Jay solocast
💪
At 77 I'm too old for backpack hunting anymore but I still like to backpack. I completed the 500 odd miles of the Washington State PCT this past summer. I thought I might like to try winter backpacking but I wanted to do a trial of my sleep system. At home here in Olympia we had a cold spell so I set up the tent and did an overnight trial in the backyard. I had my Thermarest Xtherm (6.8 R value) pad, a EE Enigma down 20 degree quilt with a Cocoon silk liner. I wore a heavy polyester baselayer, Fjallraven Keb pants, merino wool hoody and a down puffy. Also down booties, wool beanie and gloves. At zero C,when I went bed I was toasty. In the morning at minus four C, I was borderline comfortable. So now I know. If the temperature is expected to go much below freezing I will take my heavier down mummy bag rated to zero F. I don't trust the theory about drying wet clothes while you sleep. I'll take dry clothes for sleeping.
I still like your pod and your perspective.
68lbs on a winter hunt with 8 days food is very impressive!
I agree with your assessment of the down bags in wet weather. I only use down in my puffy layers and they are part of my sleep system. I try not to have them in my bag if I don't need to wear them. I'm ditching the bag for a quilt this year. I use my bag as a quilt anyways so I might as well go that route. Great info as usual. Thanks Jay!
I was pretty impressed myself lol. Better than the 93lbs my first year 🤣
Hey Guys,
Just to make sure I'm getting this right for my next trip.
If I come back after a big day hunting a tad wet, I would leave my hunting gear on (which I normally do) and put on my puffy hoodie and puffy pants over the top of my hunting gear and jump into my synthetic quilt to dry out for the night?
TIA
@tomasfarr3446 that would work as long as your puffy layer is synthetic. If it is down, you are going to trap moisture in your loft. That is fine as long as you have a good dry, sunny day to hang them up to dry themselves out. Down looses too much loft as moisture builds up within it. You could dive straight into your synthetic bag and probably be dry in 4 hours. If i may offer you this tip, put fresh dry socks on first and place your days socks inside your layers while you sleep. Your body will dry them out for the next day. Good luck.
@mikerobinson6606
Thanks mate much appreciated
Great shit man, definitely gotta put some theories to the test before you know whats true and whats not! Some good take aways for sure good luck next trip brother!
💪
I made a poor-man's Grakksaw boot drier out of 80mm USB fans that I bought off of Amazon. At $19 for four fans vs. $85 for the Grakksaw unit it was a no brainer for me - I went the extra step and spliced two fans to a single USB plug. I'm only 6 months in with them, but I've been going out of my way to use and abuse them around the house for drying shoes, jackets, chest-waders, etc... and they've held up. The housing that the Grakksaw unit has is nice and definitely would be an upgrade over a standard PC fan, but I could replicate that in short order with a 3D printer if I really wanted to.
I dropped one of my Kuiu Yukon Pro gloves into the chuck while waterfowl hunting this fall and ended up with ~1cup of water in them, which I dumped out quickly, but the inside of the glove was soaked. When I got home, I used my homemade set of fans to dry them out and found that it did 'ok', but the fingers took a very long time (12+hours) to dry, so I'd temper any expectations of relying on such a system to completely dry out your gloves in a reasonable timeframe, especially out in the field.
Maybe a pair of handwarmers placed inside the glove in front of the fan would help by adding heat, but I've yet to test that method.
That’s kinda what I figured. The hand warmers is an interesting idea. Especially since they depend on fresh air, blowing those fans on them would get them super hot I bet.
That was a great listen Jay. What is the ultralight podcast you’re referring to?
Backpacking Light podcast. Specifically episode 71 focused on layering sleeping bags.
That's too bad the sleep system didn't work. I have a -17 down quilt and a BA Farrington that has worked amazing in the late season down to -25C, but thats in Reg 3. I grew up snowboarding in Terrace so I know what that snow is like! On the food side this year I added those bone broth sachets from Costco, 10g protein and 50cal, great bang for your buck.
Someone just sent me a link to those. That looks like a great addition!
Joined the Mindful Reviews. Love the content and figured maybe I could share my opinions on the gear I have. I picked up the Revic BLR10s and have access to some EL Ranges 10x42 and NL Pures if anyone is interested in a comparison.
Appreciate the support and look forward to your input.
Still rocking the garmin?