What's your sleep system and start date?

[overthinker]

April 1st-ish. Sleeping in a Dreamhammock Thunderbird 11 footer, under a 12 foot HG cuben tarp with door flaps. Insulation is a HG 20* Burrow, with an Underquilts.com Foyle that has about 10 ounces of 850 fill. I'll also have a Mountain Hardwear Nitrous jacket, some sort of midweight thermals, and my other clothes with me. I've also got an Exped Synmat waiting in the wings in case I decide I want that for specific sections - the Whites, in particular.

One thing I've done recently to combat cold head syndrome while quilt sleeping is adding a fleece hood to my overall clothing system. I've taken to wearing this instead of a warm hat even, unless it is really cold and both are required.

If the weather is really piss cold, I might pick up a Nalgene at Walasi-Yi to have a hot water bottle to sleep with. I'm hoping that sleeping in all my clothes with all that down will keep me warm enough, though - and there's always crunches and push-ups to give me a boost when needed.

[hazmat]

Leaving Mar 17th (B-day/St. Patricks day) will be using Sierra Designs backcountry bed rated for 15F on top of Thermarest ProLite pad. Plan on changing over to a lighter 40F bag in VA probably.

[10-K]

Dogwood, I just purchased a TT Notch. It does pitch all the way to the ground if need be for windy/wet weather. But considering the weather concerns, it seems that I might be better off starting nearer the 1st of April, unless I sell my quilt and buy a warmer bag/quilt.

Even better, the first week of May. You'd still have 5+ months to finish.

Seriously - I'm not sure why May isn't when most people start if that's an option - I've never been able to figure that out. You can carry a lighter pack sans a bunch of winter gear which means you can go farther with less effort, you'd miss the majority of the days-on-end rain that usually happens in April, and you have more daylight from the start. And get to New England *after* the mud dries a bit.

[Sanna]

I'm leaving end of Feb.... Knowing I will have many cold nights on the trail, I did several test nights outside in the snow and 20 degree weather this past winter working the kinks of my sleep system out... But this is the combo that has worked best for me:
Fly Creek UL1 Tent
Sea to Summit Talus II Down Sleeping Bag (it's rated for 15 degrees)
Big Agnes Q-Core SL Sleeping Pad (R-Value of 4.5)
Sea to Summit Thermolite Reactor Extreme Sleeping Bag Liner
Goosefeet Gear Down Socks
I sleep in Patagonia Capilene 3 Tops and bottoms, then add a beanie that goes over my ears for extra warmth.

Best bet..... Go spend some cold nights this winter testing different combos of gear to find what works best for you!


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[Astro]

Even better, the first week of May. You'd still have 5+ months to finish.

Seriously - I'm not sure why May isn't when most people start if that's an option - I've never been able to figure that out. You can carry a lighter pack sans a bunch of winter gear which means you can go farther with less effort, you'd miss the majority of the days-on-end rain that usually happens in April, and you have more daylight from the start. And get to New England *after* the mud dries a bit.

10-K,
When does the New England mud dry out?

[jjozgrunt]

I'll be starting 13th Mar - ZPacks 20F Quilt with a full zip so if I need to I can use it like a sleeping bag with a silk liner. Exped Syn UL7 and a ZPacks Heximid Solo+ with screen and floor. I have no experience with snow as where I live, if it gets down to 7C/45F in the depths of winter it's the coming of a new ice age. I'm doing the Aussie Alpine Track this Nov just for some experience and to check out my system.

[KillerKarma]

Starting mid-late March. Just got my tent and sleeping bag yesterday. I went with the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2 (which I saved $100 on, woo hoo!) and a Marmot Sunset 30. I nearly bought a sleeping pad but decided to wait since there are two REI garage sales coming up near me.

[SteelCut]

Hammock w/ Western Mountaineering Summerlite (32*) with a Jacks-R-Better Greylock 3 under quilt (20-25*). I'm considering switching out the Summerlite with the ZPacks 30* bag.

Originally planned a SOBO but career situation is looking like a mid-to-late April NOBO might be better timing and that is what I'm now planning for.

[kayak karl]

10-K,
When does the New England mud dry out?

i think it just freezes

[rocketsocks]

10-K,
When does the New England mud dry out?

i think it just freezes

I like Bill Bryson's thoughts on Winter in Vermont.


...9 months of Winter and 3 months of poor sledding.

[krawler]

I am starting March 15th, I am going with the North Face Mica tent, Intermediate cold weather military bag (-10), Military sleeping pad, base layer under armour cold gear. I have tried hammocks on several occasions, lots more places to set them up, but I like keeping my a** on the ground. Best of luck to you all on your hike, hope to see and meet some of you.

[Speakeasy TN]

Hennessy Deep Jungle with 25 degree Arrowhead Equipment Top and Underquilts. I'd like to start March 17 again but weather dependent since I live so close to Amicalola. I'm not against going to April Fool's bash in Franklin and then starting.

[Del Q]

READ BELOW

My 4 cents. I could never see depending on a tarp only, with the super light weight tents available, bug free, enclosed, to me tarps are not a viable option. Would rather carry the extra X ounces

As for warmth, I question how many layers I should sleep in. Use a 25 degree Mont Bell bag, to me they are all misleading............no way this bag alone with no clothes would keep me warm in 25 degree weather. What I wear if really cold, the driest socks I have, long underwear, 2 layers up top, balaclava, gloves. I have a Western Mountaineering liner.............tried it on top of me vs in it and it seemed to work well.

AN INTERESTING OPTION

A NOBO hiker I ran into last spring went with a 30 degree, light bag AND down socks, down pants and an ultralight down jacket, gloves, hat, etc.

Weight wise it made sense, said that he has never been cold, plan was to ship this stuff home from VA when the weather changed.

[pattiwp]

Starting around March 23 with my SO. Still futzing with gear. Currently we have an REI Quarterdome 2 which is awesome. I have an Exped Basic Synmat 7.5 with an R value of 4.0 (at 1 lb 9 oz considering swapping for something a little lighter) and a Big Agnes Lithia Springs 15* down bag. I had a Kelty Womens Ignite 20 but it wasn't warm enough or quite long enough. Even though the rating is 20*, the comfort rating for women is only 28* and I was cold in PA in June so switched to the warmer Lithia Springs. I LOVE that bag, only it's heavy with something like 30 oz of down (3 lb) so I'm still looking. Tried the Mountain Hardwear Phantasia (both the 15* and the 0* but they had flimsy #3 YKK zippers and weren't wide enough through the hips. Also tried the Feathered Friends Petrel 10, which had a awesome body but the hood was crappy and to collar too wide and I couldn't keep out drafts down my back (side sleeper). My partner currently has a Big Agnes Air Core mat, which is very comfortable but has little R value. He likes it though. His current bag is the Big Agnes Bellyache Mountain 15 which he thinks he'll be happy with. We have not taken these current bags out for a spin yet. I also have a thermarest sol which I plan to cut in half to use for sit-upons and extra warmth under the torso when its really cold. We got that advice from some thru-hikers we met this summer.

I would still like to try some WM and Mont Bell bags before I settle on the final sleep systems. They're both lighter but I'm having some issue with the WM not offering women-cut bags (ie wider through the hips) in a size for taller women. Any input or suggestions would be appreciated. I sleep COLD!

[overthinker]

AN INTERESTING OPTION

A NOBO hiker I ran into last spring went with a 30 degree, light bag AND down socks, down pants and an ultralight down jacket, gloves, hat, etc.

Weight wise it made sense, said that he has never been cold, plan was to ship this stuff home from VA when the weather changed.

That would make sense weight wise, except that I can't imagine he ever wore them except for sleeping. Instead of carrying a bunch of extra down clothes, he could have just had a slightly heavier bag (15* or 20*) and maybe a puffy jacket, then swapped bags in VA. If there was some crazy reason that you needed down clothing to walk in, the multi-use approach would be a great way to save some weight, but I doubt that's the case here.

[denefi]

Start date - Late April to May 1

Tent - Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2

Pad - ThermaRest Z Lite Sol (why I chose this)

Sleeping Bag - Enlightened Equipment Revelation 20 degree quilt (with lightweight down hood)

I think I'll end up getting a lightweight pillow as well, at least to start with

[jred321]

Just ordered my pad last week so I think I'm set with my sleep system now. I'll be starting mid-March/early April.
Bag - Big Agnes Bellyache Mountain SL. Probably switching to a less insulated bag at some point when it warms up.
Pad - Thermarest Neoair XLite Regular. Ordered last week from Campmor for $126 shipped (lists at $140, a simple search will find a 10% off any item coupon code). Not exactly cheap, but nowhere near the $160 that makes it more than I would spend.