Lightest Cold Weather Kit

[Eric Blumensaadt]

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.

 

 

[Ryan Jordan]

Love your choice of pants. These are insanely comfortable for moderate activity in very cold temps.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Thanks for the pants thumbs up Ryan. I see them as “insurance” for day or night. Now that I have my own pair I won’t have to borrow them any more.

I will add that my one night this winter in my Tarptent Notch Li worked out well. No snowfall but blowing snow on a windy night never got inside and the tent vented as well as my similar Moment DW, meaning no interior frost except a tiny bit on one “wall” of the floor. Temps were 15 F. at 9,000 ft.  Been a mostly warm winter here in the mountains north of Las Vegas.

That one day & night of winter camping was all my wife allowed due to her worries about being home alone if she got COVID 19 symptoms.  So “Wait ’til next year!”

 

[Bonzo]

I’ve been looking at those pants at Duluth; haven’t decided if they’re worth the expenditure, yet, but I was hoping to pick up an end-of-season deal if they decide to do any.  I need a good pair of light hiking pants, too…but it’s hard to find any with decent pockets.  Good to know that the fleecey pants get a thumbs-up, though.

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