Wool sleeping bag for desert use

Scott,
"Franco, you misunderstand the point about Mallory"
No, you failed to understand your own comments…
The Mallory example does not work because he used 7 different layers (wool and silk) CLIMBING not sleeping, besides I am convinced that him and Irvine died of exposure.
Again his sleeping bag was made with Eider down, the warmest down you can get. So of course different temps but very different day to night layers too.

At 45f I can, and do ,hike around with just a 190 Merino T, can't stand around camp with just that at 65f and would need to be 75f to sleep with just that.

BTW, those wool mummy shaped army bags are about 3.5 lbs targeted for 45-55f temps if sleeping fully clothed.

What we are trying to tell you is that you can do those temps for half the weight and without using your day clothes with synthetic and even less weight and bulk with down.
And since you also missed understanding the content of your own video link too, that guy just showed how to roll and unroll his new blanked , he did not demonstrate or prove that it works in your or any temp.
Build a lean-to and an all night fire and that blanket will work because that is what those survivalist/bushcrafters do.
(yes the lean-to and fire are small details as in oh BTW….)

Hi Robert,

Yeah, i would imagine that would be fairly durable. Speaking of fleece, i recently contacted (again) OuterBounds which makes the polypro fleece. Asked them if they sell fabric by the yard. They said they don't have any in inventory, and would have to make a minimum roll of 50 to 60 yards at 7.89 a yd. Would love to try the stuff, but not at that price.

Re: synthetic insulation, i personally wouldn't use anything except Apex as a primary. Everything else, just isn't durable enough, and fleece by itself isn't that warm for the weight.

Valerie etc,

Perhaps i'm missing something, but i think Scott DID post this in the myog section, unless it got moved recently to same and was originally somewhere else…???

I know they are crazy expensive, I just wanted to tell you about them as an example of the warmest per weight wool you can find.

"I'll point out that Mallory died using wool on Everest."

When they found Mallory's body, it was discovered he had a broken ankle.

In the Alice the avarage minimum temp in Sept is 41f so I would need more than one blanket right now.
However it is up from the 38f in July…
BTW, I know that on the world map the Alice looks close to Melbourne but it is 1,400 miles away by car so I will give that test trip a miss for now.

Playing with wool is fun. I understand the attraction. I’ve slept out in the open with an army surplus wool/synthetic blend blanket, wore all my clothes and spent the entire night rubbing my feet together trying to stay warm at 40F. Come to think of it I believe I also had one of those synthetic army poncho liners in there as well. I can laugh about it now but it sucked at the time. It also weighs I believe 4 1/2 lbs. Certainly this kind of outdoor blanket is tough and will last a long time. They’re also fun because you can wrap up in it before you go to bed too. But there’s no doubt they have a horrible warmth to weight ratio compared to any kind of modern insulation.

This guy has a nice video where he compares different blankets and gives a realistic comfort rating for each: here

Scott,
keep in mind that nobody here is telling you that it (using a wool blanket/mummy bag at 55f +/-) cannot be done , it just isn't efficient.
The whole point of this forum is to make hiking easier not to prove a point.
That is of course apart from the XUL lunatic fringe .

Scott,

I apologize for forgetting that this was posted in MYOG. I guess with so much discussion of historical practices (not that there's anything wrong with that), I forgot!

But I think you have been quite defensive/insulting, and particularly unfair to my second posting. It contained no "rage" whatsoever; rather it had a flat affect, but expressed a mild frustration with the fact that, although you were ostensibly asking those with desert experience for advice, you did not seem particularly interested in their feedback (which was universally negative to the wool bag idea).

Perhaps you shouldn't criticize others so quickly when your tone has been less than perfect:

"I entitled this thread "Wool Sleeping Bag for Desert Use" and most of the thread is arguing about the pro's and con's of wool on Mount Everest. Hilarious!"

The Pendleton Yakima is the brand of blanket recommended by B.O.S.S.

It's actually 14% cotton, which may seem like sacrilege to some here, but I think it'd be hard to say it doesn't work.

That said, it's not light.

Scott,
I actually think the wool bag would be better for the humid Southeastern-type environment — you're right, nylon is a sweat-fest in those conditions!

And making gear that we want to make, just for fun, is what this is all about…

I like the idea of a super-thin (150 wt) merino sleeping bag (or quilt) liner, but I would never have the courage to work with that fabric (I hate sewing stretchy fabrics, and this would be both delicate/flimsy and stretchy – ugh!).

Finally, you might try eBay to get a gently used Hudson Bay blanket for your project — I'm pretty sure you could get something big enough for your project, and those blankets are really superb.

Looking forward to seeing photos when you've got it done.

Scott

I look forward to seeing the results of your project.

Whether it is successful or not, you will get immense satisfaction from seeing it through.

I used a wool and polyester sleeping bag liner that weighed about 10 ounces for several winter seasons in Joshua Tree. Sort of a luxury/gear saver item, it kept my down bag clean, didn't have the odor synthetics do, and felt great to sleep in when the wind was howling or I went to bed wet.

My dad used the army wool sleeping bags in Korea in the MASH style tents. He said even with 6 of them layered up he slept cold.
When they finally got some of the greasy discarded down bags from the front lines, they finally and gratefully slept warm.

It depends on the thickness of the wool fabric. If it's as thick as a Hudson's Bay-type blanket, then you should probably get a "heavy duty" thread. If it's about as thick as denim (or a men's wool suit fabric) stick with an "all purpose" thread (Coats or Gutterman would be fine).

The stitch length should be set longer (i.e., fewer stitches per inch).

Hope that helps…

Very much agree with Valerie's excellence advice. Would also add, at the very least double stitch, and maybe throw in a zig zag type stitch as well.

Justin's right — I forgot to talk about seam binding! I was too literal…

If possible, cut the wool with pinking shears (if you have them); if not, just make a straight cut, but then, after sewing the main seam, run a line of zigzag stitching between the main seam and the edge of the fabric, and trim the fabric close to the zigzag. This will prevent the fabric from unraveling.

Another choice would be to buy some lightweight, bias cut seam binding "tape" (it's not sticky, it's like a ribbon). Sandwich the cut edge (outside the seam) into the seam binding tape, and sew along the edge of the tape. This method is much neater, and more comfortable if the seams will come into contact with your body (no roughness).