Here’s my lightest cold weather kit: (down to at least 10 F.) Note the multi use items
BASE LAYER-> mid or polar weight polyester W/ zip T neck
MID LAYER-> acrylic sweater &/or 100 weight fleece top
OUTER LAYER-> fleece lined nylon cargo pants (Duluth Trading Co.),
down jacket &/or vest, eVent parka if windy or wet/snowy,
down side-zip pants (mainly for camp & sleeping)
HAT(S)->light fleece balaclava (mainly for sleeping) and fleece-lined Peruvian style knit wool hat
SLEEP SYSTEM-> WM Megalite down bag factory overstuffed to 20 F. on a REI FLASH All Season R 5.3 insulated air mattress. (inside Notch Li or Moment DW solo tents)
The down vest or jacket can be easily worn inside the WM Megalite bag B/C of its extra girth as can the down pants.
->The down insulating layers work for day or night. Down vest can be worn under the light down jacket. (It would have to be 0 F. for that to happen!)
->The fleece lined nylon cargo pants are plenty warm down to 0 F. in my experience when worn over the base layer long johns. They lay under my winter air mattress at night for extra torso insulation.
->The eVent parka is zipped over the foot of my sleeping bag to keep possible tent wall frost from melting on the bag’s foot.
-> 3 mm closed cell diver’s socks VBLs go in the foot of my sleeping bag at night to stay warm. Light poly liner socks are changed ur every evening. The VBLs are worn inside GTX Merrill Moab Mid boots with GTX gaiters. No other socks needed and can’t fit anyway.
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