[pct-l] Re: Gear Tradeoff -- Tents versus Sleeping Bags

[Bighummel@aol.com (Bighummel@aol.com)]

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blisterfree writes:

> Under an open tarp,
> condensation will still form on the underside of the fabric, although most
> of this will be the hiker's body moisture escaping. The dew will remain off
> the hiker's bag, and the humidity under there will be significantly less
> than inside a tent. All of this means that the tarp user stands a greater
> chance of sleeping warmer than his tent-bound mates. Although they may heat
> their enclosed air space more efficiently, they may still find themselves
> mired in moisture. It's like breathing into a paper bag: the air in the bag
> is suddenly 98.6 degrees F, but by golly if it isn't 100% humidity in there
> as well.

And, of course, all of this is moot if your sleeping bag insulation happens
to be Polarguard 3D or any of the top of the line synthetics that strive to
provide the insulation and light weight characteristics of down without the
insulation failure under moist or wet conditions.

For my peace of mind under heavy rain or snow, combined with windy conditions
(common) I'll take the small trade off of weight that synthetics give up to
down in order to sleep without worrying about condensation or a tarp or tent
leak robbing me of my warm cocoon.

I'd like to hear of anyone using a down bag and tarp in a week's worth of
straight, incessant rain in the north Cascades (common) that were able to
stay comfortable and warm throughout while picking up camp and hiking
everyday.  I'm sure one of you anal-lite-weight-engineer-types may have
(uncommon) but I'd wager most PCT'ers don't have the patience to withstand
such conditions with such equipment.

IMHO, HYOH.  Please take no offense as no offense is intended (other than the
quip about anal-lite-weight-engineer-types! ;-)

Greg Hummel