Summer sleeping… the options?

[Nick Gatel]

Thank you, Roger. This thread has been enlightening for me.

– Nick

[Ashley Brown]

"By creating a situation where I was a little too warm, I finally convnced my body to get more blood into my feet. We're all built a little different, but try making the rest of your body too warm for a little bit to see if that gets circulation going."

Hi John,

Yep I've tried this one too. The problem is I don't usually carry enough extra clothing to actually make myself hot. A little too warm doesn't do it for me.

But I have very poor circulation. When I go for a swim at the beach here in Sydney (in summer!) I come out with white fingers. It takes a while of sitting in the sun and a bit of massaging them to get the blood flowing through them again.

Clearly the blood vessels in my extremities shut down tight when cold. The fastest way to get them going again is through external warmth. Maybe if I took a *really* warm puffy jacket to make myself overheat in my sleeping bag…

[Jim MacDiarmid]

I have just the opposite problem; I get hot feet. Does this mean I should shave my head, skip dinner, and wear tight spandex to bed? At home, my feet serve as my gf feet warmers.

Nick,

I didn't see the OR PS50 Watch cap on the OR website. I have the OR 50 weight gloves, and a hat of that weight would be just what I'm looking for for summer camping. I have the OR windstopper had, but that's a bit of overkill in summer. I see a Novo Watch cap, but it doesn't say what weight the fleece is. Is that the one you have. Where did you get it?

Thanks,

Jim

[Nick Gatel]

Jim,

I can't remember where I got, but it had to be from someone like REI, Campmor or Backcountry.com.

OR PS50

[Jim MacDiarmid]

Ah ha, their military site. Not being military, I can't contact my GSA rep to purchase it. I bet that Novo Watch cap on their civilian site is essentially the same thing though.

Thanks.

[Thomas Trebisky]

Take a look at the cloudveil site, their hats are the favorite stuff of mine in their lineup. Unfortunately I don't see what I want in their website (and the same is true of the Patagonia site also). I guess the things I want to recommend are in their winter lineups. These days, if things are cold I am wearing a Patagonia R1 hoodie when I am sleeping, and used to favor an R1 balclava.

But this is all drifting away from a discussion of summer sleep modes into a "I sleep cold" discussion. Which is of great interest since I do sleep cold.

I found Nicks comment that he has a warmth discontinuity when things get really cold, I just might have the same phenomenon.

But back on track — who out there has sewn up one of the Ray Way quilts and what do you say about it. Given how cold I sleep, I am tempted to add the extra layer of insulation, but then I am aiming at a "summer solution" (you should be asking "Summer where?".

And now I finally know why people talk about carrying sit pads. This was always a mystery to me, since I just sit on rocks (which are plentiful most places I go), or the ground. But apparently these are useful in places other than Arizona where things are wet for days on end.

[Roger Caffin]

How do you sleep with your hood over your head? Like this:
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Cheers

[Monty Montana]

"But I have very poor circulation. When I go for a swim at the beach here in Sydney (in summer!) I come out with white fingers. It takes a while of sitting in the sun and a bit of massaging them to get the blood flowing through them again."

Hi Ashley. This hypersensitivity to cold sounds similar to the experience of a couple of friends of mine, and their doctor said it was Raynaud's Syndrome. This is a situation in which the small arteries that supply the fingers and toes become very sensitive to cold and suddenly contract; the lack of oxygerated blood causes the digits to become whitish. Now, I'm no doctor, so by no means am I making a diagnosis. But it can be managed, so you might want to check it out.

[Dale Wambaugh]

I opt for a light bag and rely on clothing layers to adjust to the weather. I'd rather have the versatility of the clothing than investing the weight in the bag. A fleece beanie and good socks help the extremities. I use my pack for insulating my feet when using a short pad.

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