Winter Quilt Layering

A couple questions:

1) What are the lows you what to sleep in during the winter?
2) What's the minimum temp you are comfortable using the Ghost without any additional insulation?

I have be comfortable down to 10F using a Ghost (.85 fabric) + Thermawrap Vest + Down Baklava, Cloudveil Peak pants, inside a tarptent (breezily.. but not windy). We have also used the Ghost over my daughter's sleeping bag. For a few nights in a row this system has been fine. If it was an extended trip I would be more concerned with moisture accumulation and would want to be wearing a vapor barrier and have a more water resistant shell for the quilt.

I wonder if the Ghost would be wide enough over an adult side summer sleeping bag.

Of course, the ideal would be down on the inside, and the outer insulation being enough to keep dew point beyond the edge of the down quilt.

Hi Christopher,

You can extend the warmth of your system below freezing by as much as about 10 degrees F by using a Vapor Barrier Top and Bottom. Also, as long as you do not need to dry out your clothing as you sleep in your sleeping bag, using the Vapor Barrier Clothing should lessen any down loft loss over an extended period of time due to perspiration.

Rich

I would need to be comfy down to 0. I will be in the Firstlight so wind convection will be less of an issue. I have never been comfortable with the Vapor Barrier.

I have been comfy with the Ghost down to 35 with just the bag and silkweight thermals and a knit cap. I have always been a warm sleeper if I can get enough to eat.

Hi Christopher,

I can understand your discomfort and concern about Vapor Barrier Clothing. But, it is a matter of fine tuning your clothing and becoming accustomed to the amount required for different temperature ranges. You may have experienced that you were wearing too much clothing over the Vapor Clothing while in your sleeping bag.

Stephenson's Warmlite Vapor Barrier Clothing has a lining of Fuzzy Stuff to make the VB Clothing more comfortable. The Fuzzy Stuff makes the clothing more comfortable against the skin and absorbs much of the perspiration.

Here is the link to the Stephenson's information about Vapor Barriers and VB clothing:

http://www.warmlite.com/vb.htm

Rich

much of what warmlite says on his site isn't accurate…take it with a grain of salt.

Matt,

I do not deny that some of the information contained on the Warmlite site about VB is incorrect.

However, it can prove a very valuable tool and option to extend the cold weather performance of your clothing/sleeping system. Some people also rely on VB clothing when working up a sweat. I do not. However, in your sleeping system it is valuable to wear the VB clothing at below freezing as your base layer. This will reduce the moisture transfer into your clothing and sleeping bag (and lessen loft loss) as long as you are not trying to dry out the clothing as you are sleeping. I do avoid using a VB liner however because the clothing worn inside the VB liner will absorb perspiration.

Rich

I’m a believer in VB. I have a pair of silnylon pants and use them year around. In spring and fall I’ll occasionally wear them when I expect it to get colder than my sleeping bag is good for. I just need to make sure I’m don’t overheat during the night. I also find that my silk weight thermal bottoms don’t really feel wet, but they are most as is evident by the immediate cold I feel when I pull them off due to evaporation. On occasion I’ve gotten cold enough that I pull out my silnylon ditty bags and pull them over my feet. At 3oz, the pants make a pretty light wind pant and in really cold conditions I’ll wear them hiking in rain/snow.