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Post by bradmacmt on Jan 18, 2021 17:17:39 GMT -8
I had the WM Antelope, but mine was GWS. I didn’t like the GWS and sold it. It was a warranty replacement from WM for a Goretex shelled bag that started failing (real Goretex, not GWS - no CO’s offer actual Goretex shelled bags anymore).Based on your description of sleeping cold, I don’t think you could go wrong with the Antelope as a Versalite alternative. It’s a great bag, with just a bit more on the lower end than the Versalite, but with WM’s fantastic MF fabric that is more versatile temp-wise than the Extremelite fabric found on the Versalite. Aside, I’ve slept in single digits with my Versalite, but with down booties and long underwear.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Jan 18, 2021 17:25:49 GMT -8
I actually like the GWS but it has its specific uses. I do agree the MF version is the mote general use version. While I’ve both I tend to use the GWS the most (it’s the far older of the two), though that’s specific to my camping preferences I’d agree. bradmacmt what about the GWS put you off?
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Post by bradmacmt on Jan 18, 2021 17:30:47 GMT -8
I found it limited the temp range of the bag. I’d only do GWS in a bag to be used in single digits and much colder, or in a hot tent where condensation is an issue.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Jan 18, 2021 17:36:41 GMT -8
Interesting. I’ve not found that to be the case but that’s absolutely why they offer more than one model bag in various shell choices. It really is a clothing-like choice.
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TrailElder
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Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed
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Post by TrailElder on Jan 18, 2021 20:59:09 GMT -8
This is great. I feel like I've got a panel of experts on this case! trinity On the pads -- I hear you. Might try the xtherm at some point, but I really think this pad ought to do it, with reinforcements, as you say, for truly cold nights. I'm rarely facing the 20s, just would like to be confident I could endure a truly below freezing night with wind chill. A better bag is the next step. Then I would look at the pad again if necessary. High Sierra Fan My diet and hydration are excellent, but you raise an important point, I know. Thanks! I take in plenty of high-quality calories, and I am very good about hydrating. When I stumble on either, I feel it.
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TrailElder
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Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed
Posts: 507
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Post by TrailElder on Jan 18, 2021 21:01:29 GMT -8
(I do have some minor issues that affect my circulation in my extremities. My hands in particular get cold easily.)
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TrailElder
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Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed
Posts: 507
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Post by TrailElder on Jan 18, 2021 21:07:49 GMT -8
BTW, I corresponded with HermitsHut today and they said the supply and demand side both are getting hammered by COVID. Can't keep bags in stock. Doesn't sound like the turn-around will be too terrible, though. Seems like they are used to really getting stuff out quickly, and it's taking up to a few weeks to get restocked and shipped. He's selling out the same week he gets inventory in.
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TrailElder
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Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed
Posts: 507
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Post by TrailElder on Jan 18, 2021 21:18:10 GMT -8
By way of thanks and goodnight to the bag panel, check out this extreme meditation on mountains and streams from Annie Dillard's Pulitzer Prize winning "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek." (recommended by trinity) "You can heave your spirit into a mountain and the mountain will keep it, folded, and not throw it back as some creeks will." ... "Theirs [the creeks'] is the mystery of the continuous creation and all that providence implies: the uncertainty of vision, the horror of the fixed, the dissolution of the present, the intricacy of beauty, the pressure of fecundity, the elusiveness of the free, and the flawed nature of perfection." Wow. The mystery of continuous creation. The flawed nature of perfection. I will never look at a creek the same way again!
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Post by johntpenca on Jan 18, 2021 21:26:30 GMT -8
I've ordered from Hermit's Hut a few times. In my experience, they are a good, honest outfit.
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Jan 18, 2021 21:33:56 GMT -8
Down booties can make a big difference in real cold. My feet are usually the first part of me to notice the chill. My other main problem doesn't crop until closer to winter temps, and that's breathing cold air. I've mentioned before that cold enough air nearly always makes me (in my sleep) start breathing warm air from inside the bag rather than directly from freezing air. That's not the best for either internal condensation or oxygen content. For me, that usually starts happening in the low 20s.
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Post by johntpenca on Jan 18, 2021 21:58:20 GMT -8
My hands in particular get cold easily. Many years ago on a backcountry ski trip my hands got minor frostbite. Ever since then my fingers get painfully cold easily. Down booties can make a big difference in real cold As well, once on a winter hike my feet got submerged in a bad creek crossing. We then hiked four miles in wet snow to our campsite. I had no other footwear than my trail runners and my feet never warmed up, even after I was in the bag. In the morning the shoes were frozen. To my friends consternation, I insisted we bail rather than going for the summit of Mt San Gorgonio. From then on always carry booties on winter trips.
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Jan 18, 2021 22:51:21 GMT -8
My hands in particular get cold easily.) I often wear gloves at night. In more moderate temps, they frequently come off before morning. I almost always wear a balaclava and that never comes off.
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Jan 18, 2021 22:57:55 GMT -8
In the morning the shoes were frozen. I've had wet boots freeze solid overnight (along with most of my water) after being drenched in an all-day storm that turned into a six-inch snowfall. Getting my feet into them the next morning was painful and exasperating. It's almost beyond understanding that four hours later, I laid down on the rocks in the blazing sun with my shirt unbuttoned and took off my boots to dry. The weirdness of weather never ceases to amaze.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Jan 18, 2021 23:41:15 GMT -8
I’ll turn a waterproof stuff sack inside out and use that to hold my footwear when I anticipate a hard freeze. They go at the bottom of my sleeping bag. Or as a pillow.
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texasbb
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Post by texasbb on Jan 19, 2021 7:17:58 GMT -8
I often wear gloves at night. Ditto. And I'm thinking about adding booties to my cold kit, just as soon as I rationalize the cost long enough for it not to hurt anymore.
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