Northern California winter nights

What sort of pad do you have?

–Maynard G. Krebs

I will be looking to get a winter pad. Probably just a foam wide ridgrest but am open to insulated inflatables if the budget will allow.

The quilt will be extra wide and very tuckable. I toss and turn a lot at night.

Based on camping and climbing in those conditions in northern California and Alaska, I would get a way warmer pad. I also would not get a ridge rest; it traps snow in the crevices, which melts and gets wet. I either bring a smooth foam pad and pile my pack and everything under it, or do that and then add a warm thermarest, too. If you are just going out for one night then you don't need to sleep well and can just bring whatever. Good luck and have fun! http://cascadeclimbers.com/articles/colin-haley-alpinism-equipment-for-alpinism-in-the-greater-ranges/colin-haley-alpinism-bivy-systems/

I would actually skip the bivy too, and invest that weight in your pad.

Great article, thanks. Also appreciate the tip on the ridgerest. What pad do you suggest if you were buying a new one today? The foam always goes on top of the inflatable? With the right tarp or a mid I can see not needing a bivy. Lots of things to think about. Any other literature or links for furthering my knowledge are greatly appreciated. With no bivy how many nights would you trust having a down sleep system? My normal trips will be 2 nights with a possible 3rd if I can get away for a long weekend.

I have a neoair xtherm, it's a great pad. I use it all year. R value 5.7. Down mats are just so much heavier. For winter I would combine it with a thin foam pad for a little extra R value, puncture resistance, and backup just in case the xtherm fails.

Forgot to mention the xtherm is really expensive, but worth it for me because it's the only inflatable pad I own.

Seeing as how I love my original neo air, the X looks like a perfect solution to me. Thanks for the recommendation. Is a bathtub floored groundsheet worth the extra weight/cost over a piece of plastic?

Hi Jeff, I would also suggest a MUCH warmer pad than just 1 foam pad. In this article, Roger Caffin suggest an R value f around 5 or 6 for winter use, and tha lines up well with my experience. http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/airmat_sotmr_part1_2011#.VgARKlo8KrU If you already have a summer inflatable pad wi decent R value, just add a foam pad. I like to use the large sized pads for this, (25×77") because my inflatable is smaller than that and there is nothing worse than waking up with a wet spot on your sleeping bag because your knee was sticking off the side of your pad, melting the snow! The other, lighter option is a large winter inflatable. This is more expensive and doesn't give you any backup in case of puncture. I also use the foam pad as a sit pad while cooking and during rest breaks, but you could just use a small sit pad sized piece or a backpack for that. If you are using a regular tarp, I would say a bivy is just about essential in combination with a quilt, as it's the only thing keeping wind and drafts off you. If you are using a Mid or a tent then you might want to leave it behind. F you are using a single wall shelter, you probably need to add about 15 degrees to an accurately rated quilt. I would look at the temperatures again. It's not so important what the average is, more what a 'likely' low temp is, say 80% of the time it is warmer than X. A few warm night would swing the average way up, but that doesn't really matter when you are shopping for a sleep system. I would suggest some insulated pants, they really don't add much complexity to your set-up, and allow additional layering options for temperature variations, as well as a comfy option for camp time outside bed. This depends a lot on how cold your legs get and how fast you are in camp.

I second Tjaard's "warm pants" suggestion. They extend a sleeping bag's range and are great around camp, ESPECIALLY in the morning. I have synthetic Thermolite Micro insulated pants that I've used to comfortably extend my 30 F. bag to 15 F. along with a puffy down jacket. But I want some Western Mountaineering down pants to lighten my load a lot. How do I get my wife to give me that for Christmas? I have a Thermarest Trail Pro mattress with an R4 rating and use a 1/8" thick CFC pad (cut from floor underlayment) beneath it. So far good to at least -5 F. I do have a Ridgerest but hate to carry that much extra weight.