RE: [pct-l] down or synthetic bags?

[Ronald Moak <ronm@fallingwater.com>]

>> Interesting approach. What is the total weight of bag/tarp/ground
cloth/pad?
Also, interesting comment about everything getting wet in the tent. What do
you attribute it to? <<

Tom,

My cold weather weight comes in at 70 oz for bag/tarp/ground cloth/pad -
33/24/4/8 or 4.38 pounds. My warm weather weights are 24/24/4/8 for a net
reduction of 9 oz. to 61 oz. or 3.8 pounds. 

The difference is in the sleeping bags. The sleeping quilt is good for me to
around the mid 30's. For colder weather (including Oregon winters), I use
the Feather Friends Swallow with Nextec shell. It's rated at 20 degrees,
however, I can sleep in colder temp's just fine with it.

As to the question of wet gear in tents, I suppose there are a number of
reasons. 

First - Many people rely on the tent to keep them dry no matter what or
where they set them up. I've seen more than one thru-hiker with or 2000
miles experience wake up in a puddle of water. Why, simply because the seams
were no longer sealed and the tent was placed where it would trap the
runoff. These were people who also used ground cloths. 

Second - In a tent with a double wall construction to keep the inner wall
dry when setting up or taking down the tent. When that material is wet, it
hangs done more making it easier to get other items wet. Not to mention how
much heaver the tent is since that material holds more water than your
standard coated material.

Third - A lot of hikers like to use either pack covers or ponchos to keep
their gear dry. When breaking down camp with a tent, you can't easily pack
everything up under a dry shelter.  In the process of packing and storing
the tent either you're going to get wet or your gear is. The pack cover
helps some, but if your stuff isn't packed in waterproof bags within your
pack, water from the wet tent will eventually migrate around the pack.  

Let me clarify, the reasons gear gets wet has less to do with the shelter
than how you use it. You can get damn wet in a tent if you first assume that
because you've got a tent it's going to somehow save you. Most people get
wet and cold because they are relying on their equipment to think for them.
Neither a tarp nor tent will keep you dry if setup and used incorrectly.

I know we spend a lot of time on this list talking about this vs. that.
(boots vs. tennis shoes, tent vs. tarps, gas vs. alcohol, etc). In reality
whatever success, comfort or other criteria we use to judge the worthiness
of an item,  has little to do with the individual item itself but how we use
it. 

Now I'm willing to grant that most of the traditional backpacking gear
(tents, boots, stoves, etc) makes life simpler for most beginning
backpackers. It is more flexible and forgiving for the novice user. I'm also
aware that most first time thru-hikers reach the end of their journey often
not knowing a great deal more about backpacking than when they started. I'm
also putting myself in that category. 

In future discussion on this list, I will try to explain not only what I use
but why and how I use it. Many people like to throw out gear list to be
picked apart. Those who respond generally simply substitute one item for
another. Personally I find that kind of critique worthless. 

Ron "Fallingwater" Moak
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