This year, my wife and I will be taking our soon-to-be 3 yr old daughter on her first real backpacking experience in the Colorado Rockies. Right now, I'm trying to come up with a sleep system that will keep her comfortable to around 30-40 F.
So far, I'm thinking either either a Z lite Sol or a Ridgerest in a size small (with the silver reflective coating). My daughter is about 37" tall–I could cut down the pad to save weight, if necessary (or better yet, let her grow into it). The thing is, the R-value on these is only about 2.6 or 2.8 (I think the Ridgerest gets the higher R value). My wife and I will have pads with an R value of around 5+, so I'm thinking I'll need to double up on pads for my daughter or add something like a cheap blue foam pad or a 3/8" pad from Gossamer Gear. I'm assuming, anyway, that my daughter would at least need to be as warm as the two of us adults.
With regard to top insulation, I was thinking of the Enlightened Equipment Prodigy(X) quilts. I think the 30 degree version runs around 14 oz.
The final thing would be finding clothing on the cheap that will keep her warm. This past winter, we did some hiking/snowshoeing near Mt. Evans in temps around 10-15 degrees and she was miserably cold. We had bought her thrift store synthetic insulation which didn't do much for her at all. I'm thinking this time around to get her better quality stuff, but I also don't want to pay an arm and leg for something she'll grow out of.
Thoughts?
