Re: [pct-l] Re: pct-l-digest V1 #928

["Brett Tucker" <blisterfree@hotmail.com>]

>>On the matter of sleeping warmly, insulation between ground and bag  much
more valuable than insulation around bag: and sleeping without clothes ( 
near
nude ) allows the body to relax and warm itself. Try it.

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I find that most of the insulation needs to come from above the reposing 
hiker, since this is where it does the most good. Insulation above the body 
traps the body's heat, which rises. Insulation beneath the hiker traps less 
heat, since it doesn't receive as much heat, and since it is more often 
compressed beyond fuctionality by the weight of the hiker. This is the 
concept behind the sleeping quilt - insulation only where it counts, 
granting weight savings.

Insulation from the cold ground is less of a necessity when using a ground 
sheet and foam pad, and when choosing to avoid compacted ground when 
selecting a camp site. Camping on snow is another matter altogether.

The theory of sleeping nude in the bag has a long history, but that deosn't 
make it a good theory. :)  We sleep warm when we have the right amount of 
insulation around us, when that insulation traps a sufficient amount of 
warmth produced by the body. The less insulation, the less warmth. The 
greater, the warmer. So it follows that the hiker who sleeps nude or nearly 
nude must rely almost entirely on the bag for warmth. This just means that 
the bag needs to have a lower temperature rating to handle the conditions 
encountered. And if the temps do drop below a point the bag can handle, the 
solution isn't more nudity - it's more clothing! Clothing works by day, and 
it works by night, too. The upshot is that we can use our clothing 
dynamically at night, to effect a greater range of sleeping comfort with the 
minimum of insulation and associated weight in the bag. As an example, I 
doubt my old, beat up down bag used on the PCT this summer held better than 
a 35 degree rating. But by layering clothing for added warmth, I slept fine 
in temps below that, rare though they were. On really cold nights, the rain 
parka might even get in on the act, since it serves as something of a VBL, 
keeping moisture out of the bag's insulation, maintaining loft.

Going to bed amply clothed,
- Blisterfree




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