I had an invitation to go on a quick kayaking and camping trip this weekend. I took it as an excuse to get back to the store and get more gear. Yesterday I bought my sleeping bag. As I mentioned earlier it was a bit of a challenge because the climb will take me through such a range of temperatures.
There are several issues to consider; Down or synthetic fill, barrel or mummy design, and more. What made it even harder was the fact that I may never camp in sub-zero weather after this. I don't want a bag that's too hot for everyday use if I can avoid it.
I ended up going with an all 'round bag using a barrel design and down fill. The barrel design isn't as warm but I think I'll get the jimmy legs with a mummy bag. I need some space to move. So I compensated with down fill which is warm and incredibly light. The only problem with down is you have to keep it dry. I told the lady helping me that we're almost guaranteed to get rained on. I already plan on buying a waterproof shell for my pack but just to be safe she showed me a waterproof compression bag for my sleeping bag. This serves to compress the sleeping bag to it's smallest possible size and keep it dry at the same time.
I also bought a compressible sleeping mat often referred to as a "Thermarest" (apparently the leading brand). The one I bought was Mountain Equipment Co-op, the house brand for the store of the same name I referred to earlier. Most of my gear is turning out to be this brand. I have to say that it doesn't seem to provide much cushioning. Which takes me to the camping trip...
So we kayaked out to this little island in Indian Arm. I had heard for years that you could paddle out and camp there and I looked forward to enjoying a more isolated experience than "car camping" would afford. Wrong. We arrived to find a troop of boy scouts had taken over the main camping area. Fortunately on further inspection we found some other less groomed spots on the far end of the island. It meant we had to hump all of our gear across the island from where we pulled our kayaks up but at least we had some privacy.
The little trip was fun but I have to say the sleeping mat wasn't much help. The spot we chose had a great view but was riddled with rocks and roots. So lesson learned: Sleeping mats will make a perfectly flat spot more comfortable but won't do much if your spot is lumpy to begin with. As for the sleeping bag, it was a little warm but then again it was quite a warm night. I'm confident it will be a good fit for Kili.
There are several issues to consider; Down or synthetic fill, barrel or mummy design, and more. What made it even harder was the fact that I may never camp in sub-zero weather after this. I don't want a bag that's too hot for everyday use if I can avoid it.
I ended up going with an all 'round bag using a barrel design and down fill. The barrel design isn't as warm but I think I'll get the jimmy legs with a mummy bag. I need some space to move. So I compensated with down fill which is warm and incredibly light. The only problem with down is you have to keep it dry. I told the lady helping me that we're almost guaranteed to get rained on. I already plan on buying a waterproof shell for my pack but just to be safe she showed me a waterproof compression bag for my sleeping bag. This serves to compress the sleeping bag to it's smallest possible size and keep it dry at the same time.
I also bought a compressible sleeping mat often referred to as a "Thermarest" (apparently the leading brand). The one I bought was Mountain Equipment Co-op, the house brand for the store of the same name I referred to earlier. Most of my gear is turning out to be this brand. I have to say that it doesn't seem to provide much cushioning. Which takes me to the camping trip...
So we kayaked out to this little island in Indian Arm. I had heard for years that you could paddle out and camp there and I looked forward to enjoying a more isolated experience than "car camping" would afford. Wrong. We arrived to find a troop of boy scouts had taken over the main camping area. Fortunately on further inspection we found some other less groomed spots on the far end of the island. It meant we had to hump all of our gear across the island from where we pulled our kayaks up but at least we had some privacy.
The little trip was fun but I have to say the sleeping mat wasn't much help. The spot we chose had a great view but was riddled with rocks and roots. So lesson learned: Sleeping mats will make a perfectly flat spot more comfortable but won't do much if your spot is lumpy to begin with. As for the sleeping bag, it was a little warm but then again it was quite a warm night. I'm confident it will be a good fit for Kili.
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