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  1. #1
    Registered User stupid adage's Avatar
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    Default question about sleeping set up

    Hello all. I'd like saunter southbound soon. I'm at the gear gathering phase, and I was thinking about my sleeping system. I'd like to splurge on this and make sure I'm as comfortable as possible. I'd appreciate all thoughts. Thinking about getting the Xtherm and pairing it with a Enlightened Equipment 20 degree quilt. I'd like to think this would work for me for the entirety of the trip, so I would'nt have to exchange anything out at anytime. In the heat I'd rather not have to strip naked, and in the cold I'd hate to have to skin a bear for it's fur. No, I'd like this set up to be a one time boom-boom. I do sleep rather cold, and I'm a slightly large guy. 6'2, 225 pounds of shiny steel sex appeal. Blazing brown eyes and soft jet black hair, and a - well, sorry, I'm getting carried away. Anyways, what do you folks think about sleeping with that? The Xtherm and the quilt that is, not with me! I mean I hardly know you!

  2. #2
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    I got by with much less on my sobo thru and I'm not even half the man you describe yourself to be.
    "eastern rain is made of skittles and one need only pack an appetite." - mweinstone

  3. #3
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    But you are from Florida, so yeah you should be good.
    "eastern rain is made of skittles and one need only pack an appetite." - mweinstone

  4. #4
    Registered User stupid adage's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Poedog View Post
    I got by with much less on my sobo thru and I'm not even half the man you describe yourself to be.
    Thanks Poedog. What did you use? Also I'm glad you didn't take my poor attempt to be funny too seriously.

  5. #5
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    I started with a 40* quilt and torso length (XS) prolite 3, used my backpack under my legs. Switched to my winter bag before the Smokies.
    "eastern rain is made of skittles and one need only pack an appetite." - mweinstone

  6. #6
    Registered User Walkintom's Avatar
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    You said Southbound soon? You better get something warmer if you mean starting up in Maine this early.

  7. #7
    Registered User stupid adage's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Walkintom View Post
    You said Southbound soon? You better get something warmer if you mean starting up in Maine this early.
    Hey sorry about that. By soon I mean hopefully this summer (mid june or early july) if money allows it.

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    Registered User Walkintom's Avatar
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    When you say 'if money allows it' I cringe.

    Set aside enough cash to get by even if a bunch of stuff goes wrong. Because it probably will. Don't let your hike end because of money problems.

    You may want a little more warmth a few times but you can get a lot of benefit from emergency blankets. Break it out if you're cold. You won't be able to refold it back into that nice tiny form it started in but you can reuse one a couple of times before it gets in bad shape and stops doing you much good. Repurchase as necessary.

  9. #9
    Registered User stupid adage's Avatar
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    Thanks Tom. I agree with you about the money, but I'm also pulled another way by the thought that I'll probably never have as much as I'd like to take. I don't earn too much, and I feel if I wait too long saving up, life will happen and I'll get hung up in something and miss my chance. I'd rather just go with what I can get, and if I fail to finish I won't beat myself up over it. I don't have much to lose right now.
    You have a good point though- stuff probably will go wrong, and I'd like to be as prepared as possible. I will consider your advice.

    And I had forgotten all about emergency blankets. Never used one but that sounds like a great idea. Thanks again.

  10. #10
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    I met a guy my first day in the 100 mile, said he was doing a budget sobo thru. $1 a day was his allowance. He was full on beans, rice, work for stay, etc. He had some heavy old gear, hiked in blue jeans; I felt really bad for the him. Saw him in Hanover, still rockin' the Levis. He started cranking bigger miles, got stronger, saw him in Damascus with the same kit, and then in Hot Springs during some gnarly early winter weather. Kept up his budget the entire time. He finished in November.

    Moral of the story, don't make it about the money, make it about the time. You could spend 10K, or you could spend $200. Just get out there and life will take care of itself.
    "eastern rain is made of skittles and one need only pack an appetite." - mweinstone

  11. #11
    Registered User stupid adage's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Poedog View Post
    I met a guy my first day in the 100 mile, said he was doing a budget sobo thru. $1 a day was his allowance. He was full on beans, rice, work for stay, etc. He had some heavy old gear, hiked in blue jeans; I felt really bad for the him. Saw him in Hanover, still rockin' the Levis. He started cranking bigger miles, got stronger, saw him in Damascus with the same kit, and then in Hot Springs during some gnarly early winter weather. Kept up his budget the entire time. He finished in November.

    Moral of the story, don't make it about the money, make it about the time. You could spend 10K, or you could spend $200. Just get out there and life will take care of itself.
    Thanks Poedog. It's good to hear stories like that. If the resolve is there, nothing is impossible.
    My hats off to that guy. That's inspiring.

    Just thinking back to situations in my life where I thought I was screwed- things always worked out somehow.
    If things don't work out, then I accept my karma.
    "leaving the trunk to search among the twigs, all you get is stupid." - Hanshan

  12. #12
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    Absolutely. I found the article, "Ideas for an Inexpensive Thru Hike" very helpful, and even carried a printout of it with me. For his resupply suggestions, you have to reverse the order and days if you're going SOBO, and several things have changed over the years, but found it invaluable for maximizing my time in the woods and minimizing my time in towns, hence saving money. Here's the article.

    http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/content.php/177

    The rest is just willpower. Wake up everyday and know that you are blessed to even be out there, and just walk. Like you said, things always work out somehow.
    As far as gear is concerned, keep your eyes peeled on WB and Backpackinglight for great deals on lightly used equipment. Carry as light a load as you feel comfortable with. I whittled my gear down, piece by piece, weighing necessity vs want. By the time I was done my baseweight was about 10 lbs. I sent home another pound of stuff after the Whites. The less you carry, the more efficient you can move, and the less pain you will experience.
    "eastern rain is made of skittles and one need only pack an appetite." - mweinstone

  13. #13
    Hiker bigcranky's Avatar
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    The X Therm is a nice pad, my wife uses one and it's pretty warm even in cold weather. I got a regular Neoair last summer for our LT hike and liked it. They do seem to be tougher than they look - no leaks in ~60 nights of use combined in 2014. But it's definitely expensive. A Ridgerest is $35, just as warm, and indestructible, though nowhere near as comfortable. Tradeoffs.... The $140 price difference will buy a couple of weeks of food.

    Those EE quilts look pretty sweet. It'll be mostly overkill at the start of your hike, though you may get some nights in the 40s and maybe even the 30s, then it'll warm up as you get into the mid-Atlantic in late summer. But the nice thing about a quilt is that you can just drape it over part of your feet or torso or whatever in warmer weather. I used a 30F bag for years even in the summer and just opened it up on hot nights and used it like a quilt, or slept on top. No biggie. If you are still hiking in November it might get to the point where it's not enough, but at that point you'll know how to deal with it (wear heavier clothing to bed, drape your down jacket over your torso).

    Have a great hike.
    Ken B
    'Big Cranky'
    Our Long Trail journal

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