I finally have money for quality gear. Help me figure out what clothes I need for colder weather

I'm a cold sleeper too, so here's what I recommend:

– Midweight wool or synthetic long undies instead of cotton… they are much warmer!
– If your feet still get cold, try out some down booties. I have some old Sierra Designs ones that weigh less than 3oz and keep my feet toasty when worn in combination with a clean pair of wool socks.
– If your feet are still cold, fill a Nalgene or Platypus bottle with hot water, wrap it in a sock & put it in the bottom of your bag.
– Finally, a down bag/quilt instead of synthetic. The difference between my 20 degree synthetic bag and my 22 degree down bag is astonishing!

I usually don't need to wear it inside my bag… but a down jacket is great to have when sitting around at camp. Same goes for a warm hat and a fleece neck gaiter. I like to know I have options for extra warmth if it suddenly turns chilly.

Hope this helps!

You don't have a down or synthetic jacket/vest. I like a vest but many people like arms also. That will give you the best warmth for the weight.

Wear that inside your quilt and you should be warm enough, but that might be pushing it. You could experiment with that and see how cold you could go.

I think the fewer of all those mid layers the better – not much warmth for the weight.

You do need something to give sun and insect protection that's as light as possible, and that will provide a little warmth if it's cold.

I don't go into the North half of Washington much, or past the Oregon border into Idaho much, but August should be pretty warm. Above 40 F?

I don't think you'll need long johns at those temps, although if you need them for warmth while sleeping, you can find polypropylene or polyester at decent prices. You could probably find this used at a surplus store for really cheap. I even found a new pair which was polyester on the inside and merino on the outside at a decent price. As long as they stay dry, the cotton ones will work too though.

What do you use for insulation underneath while sleeping? What is the R-value? If you sleep on your back, consider putting some spare clothing under your knees, as having your legs unnaturally straight in a mummy bag can reduce circulation to your feet, making them cold. Also, try to sleep on a very slight slope with your feet downhill. You don't want so much of a slope that you're sliding at night though. Stretch and massage your feet before going to bed. Wear a hat to bed, and maybe even a jacket. This is because if the rest of your body is a little on the warm side, some of this heat will make its way down to the feet.

You might want to experiment with using trail runners instead of boots.

Thanks for the comments. Can anyone recommend a favorite down (or synthetic) jacket or vest?

Also looking for a good lightweight rain/wind resistant shell. Any recommendations? The REI jacket is nice and does keep me fairly warm, but it's relatively heavy and not very water-resistant at all. I'm actually not averse to using a trash-bag-based poncho if that's functional, but can anyone tell me if there are reasons I'd regret doing that in a big rainfall?

In long johns, what material would be favored? Wool? REI has some silk ones – would those be any good?

As for bottom insulation, I normally sleep in a hammock. In Washington I plan to take it along, but in Montana I'll be sharing a tent with someone else. I have the Ozark Trail mat from Walmart, which has found favor among hammockers for being 24 inches wide, but for Montana I'll probably take a narrower mat I got from EMS. I haven't really used either of these on the ground, but in the hammock, I haven't had problems with them giving me cold butt syndrome – it's mostly my toes that feel the cold unless things are really nippy.

"Can anyone recommend a favorite down (or synthetic) jacket or vest?"

I make my own

Lots of threads and articles about this

2.5 ounce Apex for summer. Or a light down one

This is how I do it…
I always have "camp clothes" that is a first layer that is only used at camp so it does not get wet (from sweat) nor dirty for at least 6 days or so.
That is for me the way to be warm : be clean ad dry (this is why I always recommend a wash (at least a wipe down) at camp.
Night socks need to be loose otherwise any compression will make your feet cold.
I always have some spare bread bags or thin plastic bags that sometime I put over my feet at night to give me a quick boost but I take them off as soon as I start to feel some sweating.
Silk pants will be lighter and will help in keeping the sleeping bag clean. Merino is heavier but will be warmer.
I would opt for the Merino because you can always open up the sb if too warm.
Try to go to sleep with some good food in your stomach , clean and not cold.
(to keep warm your body needs fuel, that is food…)
If you are cool/cold before going to bed , walk or skip about to warm up. (don't sweat…)
Hat and gloves come also very handy for a temperature boost in bed.
Franco
BTW, for a great (in specs at least…) vest look at Black Rock
http://www.blackrockgear.com/vest.html
I use a Western Mountaineering Flash jacket but the Black Rock stuff has more down for the same weight.

I found a Montbell ExLight jacket on backcountrygear.com for about 90 bucks shipped, so I went for it.

In the Beartooth trip, I'm assuming I want to cook in my daytime clothes, then switch to my night clothes and hang the daytime ones – so should I bring a spare pair of pants? Or is that overkill?

I sure like my Western Mountaineering down coat. Expensive, but light and warm. I put on on my sleeping at night if I start to get cold.