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Post by skschrip on Mar 16, 2016 18:11:59 GMT -8
I've definitely boiled rocks and stuck 'em in my sleeping bag. Worked like a charm.
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idahobob
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Post by idahobob on Mar 17, 2016 8:58:45 GMT -8
For spousal comfort I'd make sure the pad is thick enough that hips and shoulders don't bottom out when side sleeping. For that reason I'd pick a big Agnes or neoaire or something as thick as those. She doesn't need ultralight, because you will be carrying some of her gear.
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daveb
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Post by daveb on Mar 21, 2016 7:01:27 GMT -8
A pad that is warm and comfortable -- if she has womanly hips, forget the neoairs and head straight to the Big Agnes Q Core -- four inches of cushy mattress, 15F rated (R value 5) with a weight penalty -- I can't have a hammock, I have this or the Exped Synmat I just learned this myself. Purchased a sea to summit ultralight and tried it out this weekend and could not get comfortable in any position so we spent yesterday in a store that offered the Big Agnes Q Core and it's awesome! I'd advise trying a Q Core before you buy anything.
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jazzmom
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Post by jazzmom on Mar 21, 2016 8:23:50 GMT -8
Purchased a sea to summit ultralight and tried it out this weekend and could not get comfortable in any position so we spent yesterday in a store that offered the Big Agnes Q Core and it's awesome! I'd advise trying a Q Core before you buy anything. Just goes to show you... I didn't like the Q Core at all. Took forever to inflate (my biggest pet-peeve about inflatables) and it just felt lumpy/bumpy to me. I love my Sea to Summit. I'm sure what you're used to sleeping on at home makes a difference. I have a Tempurpedic at home, which is pretty different from conventional mattresses. How much you weigh overall probably makes a difference in how air mats feel, too. She doesn't need ultralight, because you will be carrying some of her gear. I beg your pardon?!?
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zeke
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Post by zeke on Mar 21, 2016 8:29:08 GMT -8
How much you weigh overall probably makes a difference in how air mats feel, too. I weigh 215, and love my Neo Air. I don't inflate it completely, so it isn't rock hard when I sleep on it. If I am in the hammock, I use a Thermarest. On the ground, the Neo Air. Even on the sandy beaches, I prefer the Neo because it packs smaller and fits inside the kayak hatches easier.
As for UL gear statement and him carrying part of her gear, that is when UL is required, IMO. If one person is going to sherpa part of the load, then everything needs to be UL so the weight of the gear doesn't make the sherpa miserable. Been there, done that. Try carrying food and water for 2 on a desert hike with a dry camp. The Jazzmom of earlier times probably knows what I am talking about, and she is half my size.
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Post by neneboricua on Mar 21, 2016 10:05:05 GMT -8
She doesn't need ultralight, because you will be carrying some of her gear. I beg your pardon?!? This is because of my previous comment of me being the designated Pack Mule. I'm trying to make my wife's load as comfortable as possible because she's not used to carrying heavy weight for long distances. She's gym-strong, but not used to backpacking. I'm carrying all of the shared gear and most of the food; willingly playing the Sherpa for now until she becomes more used to it. I'd like her total pack weight to be less than 30 pounds and as close to 20 pounds as possible. As she gets stronger I'll give her more of the shared gear. neneboricua
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jazzmom
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Post by jazzmom on Mar 21, 2016 11:28:44 GMT -8
I'm carrying all of the shared gear and most of the food; willingly playing the Sherpa for now until she becomes more used to it. I'd like her total pack weight to be less than 30 pounds and as close to 20 pounds as possible. As she gets stronger I'll give her more of the shared gear. All the more reason to be very cognizant of weights as she acquires gear. It's not hard to get pack-weights under 30lb for 4-5 day trips, especially if you have the luxury of starting with new gear. My target is stay in the 20-25lb range (and that's solo, with all my gear); the variance being how much water I need to start with.
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amaruq
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Post by amaruq on Mar 21, 2016 12:09:55 GMT -8
I've definitely boiled rocks and stuck 'em in my sleeping bag. Seems like an odd thing to do with a perfectly good stone soup.
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Post by neneboricua on Mar 21, 2016 13:23:27 GMT -8
All the more reason to be very cognizant of weights as she acquires gear. It's not hard to get pack-weights under 30lb for 4-5 day trips, especially if you have the luxury of starting with new gear. My target is stay in the 20-25lb range (and that's solo, with all my gear); the variance being how much water I need to start with. Very much agree. I'd rather give her the ultralight but expensive gear and have her enjoy backpacking, than save extra money but hike alone or have her be miserable the whole time. When it comes to her gear, I'm definitely counting grams The hard part for us where we hike is water. We're in the San Diego area and streams were dry all last year because of the ongoing drought. I'm hoping the sorta wet/coldish winter we've had will make that less of a problem this year.
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almostthere
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Post by almostthere on Mar 21, 2016 20:06:02 GMT -8
Just goes to show you... I didn't like the Q Core at all. Took forever to inflate (my biggest pet-peeve about inflatables) and it just felt lumpy/bumpy to me. I love my Sea to Summit. Sounds like a classic case of overinflation. Mine felt like a waterbed.
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jazzmom
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Post by jazzmom on Mar 22, 2016 3:26:10 GMT -8
Just goes to show you... I didn't like the Q Core at all. Took forever to inflate (my biggest pet-peeve about inflatables) and it just felt lumpy/bumpy to me. I love my Sea to Summit. Sounds like a classic case of overinflation. Mine felt like a waterbed. Yeah, OK... I'm sure the reason I don't like what you like is because I don't know what I'm doing. ;)
Don't like waterbeds either but, who knows, probably doing that wrong, too.
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almostthere
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Post by almostthere on Mar 22, 2016 6:57:32 GMT -8
Sounds like a classic case of overinflation. Mine felt like a waterbed. Yeah, OK... I'm sure the reason I don't like what you like is because I don't know what I'm doing.
Don't like waterbeds either but, who knows, probably doing that wrong, too.
I'm pretty sure you know what I'm doing, but there's not really any way to reconcile the differences in how a pad feels to me -- The Q Core I have is the second of its kind, because it worked great for two years until I loaned it to someone who blew it up like a balloon, rolled around on it all night, complained about how board-like it was, and then complained that it deflated. Whereas for me I had nearly two years of cushy softness to sleep in with it. So Big Agnes replaced it, and then I had more squishy goodness until... I loaned it to someone, and now it leaks too. Leaving me with an Exped Synmat that isn't as comfortable. Perhaps I'm weird. The NeoAir I just replaced (original, bought in 2009 when the NeoAir came out in the rectangular Limon version) never crinkled so far as I could tell, and people complained endlessly about that too.
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