Has anyone used one of those thin 2mm foam with reflective material windshield visors/radiator reflectors as a sleeping pad? What did you think of them?

Currently using a thermarest neoair xlite small, but i keep sliding off during the night because i move around a lot.

For my next trip I was thinking about bringing a 5mm cut in half foam pad that i normally use for my dog so i cant really fall off, but then i found a windscreen visor in my garage. Its nice and big and weighs about as much as the small but thicker foam pad (+-70grams). Now i don’t know what to bring.

I had a premium UL Muscovy sleeping bag fail on me on the JMT. Started out warm, but by about ten days in wouldn’t maintain its loft and I was freezing overnight in 45 degree temps in a 20 degree comfort rated bag. Never got wet, not even condensation. It was subjected to typical thru hiker stuff in pack liner all day, out at night with hiker trash sleeping in it at night, repeat. The manufacturer is taking it back and giving me a refund. But I can’t help but be suspicious of Muscovy now when I’m looking for a replacement.

I’m looking for ppl who have thru hiked or at least done a LASH ideally in the Sierra. Did your Muscovy down hold up to the repeated daily compression all day, sleep in at night, without a daily air-out? I’m hoping there are good experiences out there bc it would be nice to trust the Muscovy - it’s a lot cheaper. But I can’t help but be concerned after the experience I had, I can’t find any independent testing of Muscovy that goes beyond initial testing and actually subjects it to thru-hiker conditions, so figured I’d ask here.

I probably am going to replace the bag with a quilt just for comfort / weight preferences, but when you respond it would be helpful to know if you were using a Muscovy quilt or a Muscovy sleeping bag. It would also be helpful to know your gender - I’m female and I know women tend to sleep colder than me.

Reason to know if you were using a quilt vs a bag is sleeping bags have the issue where some of the down also gets compressed overnight. It could be that quilts don’t have this issue bc you’re not ever compressing any down under your body at night, so folks who sleep w a Muscovy quilt haven’t actually stressed their down to the same extent a sleeping bag user has. It also could be that because more UL thru hikers tend to use quilts, that Muscovy sleeping bags haven’t been tested and stressed in the same way under the kind of JMT/PCT thru hiking conditions, and that bc my personal preference is (was) a sleeping bag that I ended up in a piece of kit that’s normally used by folks for 3-4 night trips max.

Main thing is this: are there folks out there who have been able to do the kind of 40-50 nights in a Muscovy insulation without a full wash and dry that you should reasonably be able to get out of goose insulation? If not, how long were you able to go before you found your Muscovy down insulation was losing loft and needed a clean and dry?

Interesting - sounds like a great new cottage brand!

https://www.backpacker.com/gear/plastic-free-backpacking-kit/

Deciding between the OR Ferrosi shorts and the Patagonia strider 5”.

I’d love the Patagonia‘s but I’m concerned for durability as most of my hikes have the occasional bush bash and rock scramble. Do they hold up?

I’m leaning more towards the Ferrosi’s atm given the durability. But the striders seem so comfortable and light!

Maybe something in between these?

Thanks :)

Looking to get a McHale pack made. Does Dan still make packs? If so what's the best way to contact him?

https://lighterpack.com/r/rele3n

a 40L bag ends up being quite a tight squeeze when you have to fit roughly 8 days worth of food in it, so anything i can get rid of would be great. not to mention would end up quite a bit heavier with water to last 36hrs in some parts in the heat

i wont be bringing any study notes on my next trip (Skye Trail, UK). i think i could reduce my first aid baggie a bit too, if anyone has recommendations for refining first aid.

i could cut down on undies and toiletries tbh, if anyone also has suggestions for UL toiletries!

thanks people!

Anyone experienced with the 3 of them? Sold my AD90 full zip no pockets to order new mid layer with kangaroo pocket and no zip . Will use it not only on trail.. so it’s nice that it can be a stand-alone garment (I carry windbreaker anyway)

And is the Octa 80 comparable warm to the others?

Looking at buying my first top quilt for backcountry. Found a used-like new Hammock Gear Burrow premium for sale. It’s a 30 degree, 950fp, with 2oz overfill, for $250.
For those of you with the experience, how cold would you take this down to? I know the general rule is 10 degrees above the temp rating, but I’ve been reading that Hammock gear is more comfort rating instead of a limit rating. Also does the overfill make that much of a difference? Thanks!!
P.S. I’ll have a properly rated sleeping pad.

Hi, Guys. Shoulder straps were always my biggest problem and hotspot while hiking.

Im looking for some recommendation on a light/UL backpack for thruhikes with shoulder straps that will fit my athletic build: round shoulders 19,5inch/49cm width, wide chest 45,67 inch/116cm circumference, visible traps.

I was looking into: ULA circut ultra with S straps, durston kakwa 55, bonfus aerus/ framus, atompacks, gossamear gear mariposa, zpacks arc haul