[Philmont]: sleeping bags

Jeff,

You are right, everyone sleeps differently AND that will affect whether a certain rated bag will be right
for an individual at Philmont in July. Several other factors will affect how well any sleeping bag keeps
you warm.

The trek you select or are placed on has an affect. This affects the elevation at which you sleep and
whether you have a nice soft meadow and pine needles or rock to sleep on (rock/bare ground at high
elevation is COLD).

Another factor is the sleeping pad you select. You loose heat through the surface you are sleeping on,
or looking at it the other way, you are cooled by the surface you are sleeping on. Insulation on the
ground is important. The amount of that insulation will affect whether your bag will keep you warm or
not.

The tent you choose will also affect how warm your bag will keep you. Using one of the those new
ultralight (and ultra airy) tents will trap less heat.

Lastly, I took a 35 0F rated bag to Philmont in late June through early July in 2004. I sleep warm and
used a good insulation pad and my tent could be closed off to keep out the wind and conserve SOME
heat. I was cold at camps above 9500 ft elevation with the temperatures hovering + or - 5 0F around
freezing. These camps had no ground cover and the tents were placed directly on soil/rock. I ended
up using a silk sleeping bag liner (4.5 oz) I had brought for this purpose and it worked great. The total
weight added up to less than the weight of a reasonably priced (<$150) 200F bag. Socks on the feet
and a long sleeve top also help to conserve core temperature while you are sleeping. I live in southern
Florida and can't justify having several sleeping bags to cover all the places I try to backpack. So I
chose one at 35 0F rating and then add layers if I am going someplace cold or unzip the feet and sides
if its a warm. A 200F bag will likely keep you plenty warm as long as you have some insulation for the
ground when there is no ground cover.

Good luck and have fun at Philmont. Remember to let the kids lead as much as humanly possible.
They will be the better for it. I will be there with a coed crew the last week of June and first couple of
days in July 2006.

Gregg Nuessly
Venture Crew 2125

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Received on Fri Mar 10 09:49:14 2006