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Is my equipment warm enough for autumn/late autumn? Suggested additions..

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  • Is my equipment warm enough for autumn/late autumn? Suggested additions..

    Hey guys,
    first of all, great forum!

    I'm in Japan at the moment and looking to keep my costs down with tenting and hitchhiking. I'll go to Hokkaido in one week.
    This is my pad:
    http://www.cascadedesigns.com/therm-...camper/product
    This is my sleeping bag:
    http://www.exped.com/en/product-cate...rt-400-m-right
    (Limit 0°C (32F)
    And this is my tent: This one's in German, I couldn't find an english site for it, but maybe the shape is important or whatever.
    http://www.rejka.de/zeltuebersicht/t...-ii-light.html

    Soo, I think my sleeping bag should be okay, but the pad only has an r-value of 2.2 so it will probably be too cold around 32-45°F (0-7°C) weather...?
    What's my best option? Will buying a foam pad and putting it under it be enough? Any recommendations on what I could look for? I'm not sure which brands they have here.

    Another question I have is how much I can stretch the sleeping bag limits when I put on clothes? What if it gets slightly below freezing and snows a little, would I be alright?


    Thanks a lot for any answers in advance!

  • #2
    Re: Is my equipment warm enough for autumn/late autumn? Suggested additions..

    BrianCase - Welcome to the Forum! Sorry that your "new" status kept this from appearing right away so this reply is probably too late for your camp trip, but here's my advice. First remember, each of us sleeps comfortably at different temps (some of us sleep "warm" and others of us sleep "cold") so most of this is general advice. Also, sleeping bag ratings are estimates. I do agree with you...your sleeping bag and tent are probably good for the conditions you're expecting. Lay a waterproof ground barrier under your tent...it helps protect the tent floor and keeps it clean.

    Your NeoAir pad is a good pad, but may be a little light on the R factor for the cold (typically somewhere around an R factor of 5 is decent). Adding a closed cell pad under the pad would be another option to boost the insulation factor and help keep cold from the ground from creeping up into you (these types of pads are fairly inexpensive and readily available). I wear polypro pj's in my sleeping bag, along with additional warm wicking clothing. Wearing warm clothes will definitely help. You could add a bag liner inside your sleeping bag which would give you maybe a 5-10 degree "boost" to the bag's rating. Adding a wool blanket under, around and over your sleeping bag could also be an option. There are some other tips and tricks located in other threads here that you could employ (eating before bed, hitting the comfort station prior to bed, exercising before bed, a hot water bottle in the bag, etc.) that will also help.

    Good luck with your trip and please let us know how you fared and anything you did that helped in the cold.
    2020: 7 nights 2019: 5 nights 2018: 20 nights 2017: 19 nights 2016: 20 nights
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    • #3
      Re: Is my equipment warm enough for autumn/late autumn? Suggested additions..

      Brian, camping in Japan is an odd thing. If you camp legally in a campgrounds, it will cost as much as lodging indoors. Stealth camping inJapan is nearly impossible. You can camp in national forests, but they are few and far between.

      A cool and cheap place to stay are minshuku bed and breakfast. Starting back in the 1960s, the Japanese government promoted the idea of minshuku bed and breakfast. It brought tourism revenue to the countryside, provided low cost lodging for post war Japanese workers, and provided lodging opportunities in small Japanese rural towns where none existed.

      The minshuku business was based on people renting space in their homes, but now it includes small hotels. Cheap, clean, friendly, and convenient. Check with the Minshuku association.

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      • #4
        Re: Is my equipment warm enough for autumn/late autumn? Suggested additions..

        One more point, Brian. It is not autumn in Hokkaido now. It is winter. If you live in Japan, you might know this already. Sapporro city on Hokkaido island, for example, is nearly the same latitude as Milwaukee Wisconsin and Munich Germany. Dont take my word for it: read the label on a bottle , of Sapporro Beer!

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        • #5
          Re: Is my equipment warm enough for autumn/late autumn? Suggested additions..

          Hi there,
          I have done a lot of cool (cold) weather camping and what makes you cold is air circulating beneath you or no insulation at all. The cheap air mattress will allow cold from the ground to transfer to your body -- it is the LEAST warm option. The camping cot, with no mattress, will give you the same effect: cold air circulation under your bum. The warmest way to sleep out is with a Closed-Cell foam pad under you -- not the squishy, sponge like open-cell foam, but a pad made of foam that has air bubbles trapped in it that wont circulate cold. A thin layer of closed-cell (like 3/8" to 1/2" ensolite) with a 2" or 3" layer over it of open-cell foam for more comfort, is what experienced wilderness campers and mountaineers use. I once slept out in a tent at almost 40 degrees below zero during an arctic storm in the White Mountains with a 1/2" closed cell pad and dual down and synthetic mummy bag system and was comfortably warm all night.

          And using a large roomy bag will NOT keep you warmer than a mummy shaped bag. You want as little air space around you as possible to stay the warmest. Don't get a rectangular bag unless you are absolutely sure you'll have claustrophobia in a mummy (most people don't) . And do NOT use a waterproof bag. Ever try sleeping in a plastic garbage sack or a rain slicker? You will end up sweating and chilled.

          By the way. one economical source of closed cell pads, if you are put off by the prices in the camping shops, is many of the styles of bare, thin foam yoga practice mats that you can buy at places like www.cjsoutdooractivities.com. To add a little comfort on top of that insulating layer, you can pick up an "egg crate" type open cell foam mattress pad for about the same price -- get a double bed size and cut it in half for two sleeping mats a good size for camping. The biggest drawback is that they will tend to absorb water. Closed cell doesn't absorb water -- another big benefit of using it in camp.

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          • #6
            Re: Is my equipment warm enough for autumn/late autumn? Suggested additions..

            If you're camping or hiking in the rain you bring appropriate clothing (Goretex) or equipment (tarp). The same applies to cold weather. You should have appropriate temperature-rated sleeping bag and mattress/pad.

            If the coldest you'll camp in is 15F, then get an air mattress rated to that temperature. The best selection, and probably the best quality, is from Exped. They're not cheap but you can find them on sale and they'll last a long time.

            http://www.exped.com/usa/en/product-category/mats

            I've got the DownMat 9 and SynMat 9. Both are awesome and you can feel the warmth below you as you are lying down. You'll thank yourself for getting a warm mat.
            Last edited by wiiawiwb; 12-25-2014, 08:18 AM.
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            • #7
              Re: Is my equipment warm enough for autumn/late autumn? Suggested additions..

              I think A65Hoosier has all the bases covered. The thin closed-foam cell will add to your R-value to get your to 5.0 neutral, since your Neo Air is not a hollow-tube type air mattress, but rather it's a low-R-value self-inflating hybrid. I also think a fleece liner will do nicely to bump up your bag's capacity. Remember that your tent cuts the air temp by an average of 10-degrees F, so you should be fine.
              “People have such a love for the truth that when they happen to love something else, they want it to be the truth; and because they do not wish to be proven wrong, they refuse to be shown their mistake. And so, they end up hating the truth for the sake of the object which they have come to love instead of the truth.”
              ―Augustine of Hippo, Fifth Century A.D.

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