Winter sleeping pad?

[tonycc]

I camp a lot in northern Ontario. I've never seen -40 (would love to since then I wouldn't have to do F to C conversions ) Typical nighttime temperature is below 0F, last year we had five nights below -20 F, two of those were below -30 F. Two pads were more than sufficient, I think due to the insulation factor as you suggest. After 8 nights, very little snow was melted under my tent, and that could have just been from compression.

As far as the downmat in the hammock, yeah I know. In the winter, weight is not much an issue (since you are going to be heavy anyways). Bulk is what tends to be the limiting factor. The downmat gives the option of leaving behind the sled and easily getting everything in the pack. There is still the air mattress reliability concern. It would depend on how much risk you want to take, and the consequence of an air mattress failure on whether you want to take a closed cell foam backup. It is not needed as insulation if you have a downmat, possibly even in a hammock down to low temperatures.

For winter camping up north, a close friend has the thermarest prolite 4 as his only pad. Very lightweight and folds very small. He swears by it, but you know how those ultralite nuts can swear they are comfortable even in the most miserable conditions. Someday I'm going to look at how much snow is melted under his pad when he breaks camp.

For my Golite pack I need the foam pad for the suspension support, so the mat will be staying behind for summer lightweight trips. But I tell you, the weekend fling has me infatuated at the moment.

Tony

 

[DougPaul]

I see a lot of talk about how low the temps can go and still be comfortable on the basic two-pad system. If you are sleeping on snow, I don't think you need to worry. I have been comfortable to -5 with that combination, and suspect the snow is actually acting as an insulator at that point. Unless you're on a platform where super cold are can circulate under you, no additional insulation should be necessary... even down to -40. Does anyone have any anecdotal info to support/refute this?

Remember, snow is a good insulator as long as you don't try to heat it above 32F. Sleeping on a platform or in a hammock can be significantly colder due to the cold air circulating underneath. There are hammock insulation systems that use a tubular sleeping bag around the hammock. Since your weight is supported by the hammock, it doesn't compress the part of the sleeping bag below you. You don't need a pad either.

For winter camping up north, a close friend has the thermarest prolite 4 as his only pad. Very lightweight and folds very small. He swears by it, but you know how those ultralite nuts can swear they are comfortable even in the most miserable conditions. Someday I'm going to look at how much snow is melted under his pad when he breaks camp.

Methinks your friend must have a rather high sleeping metabolism...

I've been cool using a -20F bag on a Prolite-4 on a platform on a -5F night with gentle breezes. (My sleeping metabolism is probably a bit low.) For "real winter", I add a 1/2 inch closed cell foam pad.

Doug