Re: [pct-l] Insulation above, insulation below

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

Brick wrote:
>>>That is why an insulating pad is so important. Even if the ground is 
>>>warmer
than the air, one can lose much more heat down into the ground. This, of
course, depends on the thermal conductivity of the ground which depends on
the soil type and moisture content. As "Ray" says, if you can find a bed of
nice insulating pine duff, you don't need a pad. Unfortunatly, there just
aren't that many good pine duff beds between Mexico and Canada. <<<

----------
In the last post, I should have better defined 'insulation.' I wasn't 
suggesting hikers don't require an insulating pad beneath them, but that 
they may not - I do not - benefit from the bag's bottom insulation. If 
anything, the insulating pad becomes more important when one forgoes the 
bottom layer of bag insulation, since otherwise the hiker would be in direct 
contact with the ground. So the pad is far from just an item of comfort; 
it's an integral part of a PCT Handbook type of camping style. The idea 
isn't to seek out duff as an alternative to using a sleeping pad, but as an 
adjunct to the pad, to bolster warmth and comfort. When duff isn't available 
- granted, a fair part of the time in the southern stretches of PCT - the 
pad alone should suffice, as long as the ground isn't overly compacted.

So, working with the landscape, we generally still require a pad, but we no 
longer require the mega-air-mattress.

Not attempting to preach to the converted here. Just clarifying myself, and 
the Handbook's methods.

- Blisterfree





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