Lightweight winter Sleep/shelter system?

spoolup said:
Yup, the annex can accept a stove pipe up to around 3" if not a little bigger the pipe will just be angled towards the rear a bit more than usual. The Tigoat stoves will work just fine. Recommend a stove pipe length of about 48" since that is what Kifaru cuts the small and para stove pipes to if ordered with the paratipi, supertarp, and paratarp. Tigoat is actually local (Ogden Ut, about 15 minutes) to me and the guy is nice to deal with.
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I like the Ti-goat people as well. +1 On what spoolup said about the rollup stove's pipe working with a Kifaru jack. The only difference of opinion is with pipe length. A 4-foot pipe is the shortest length which I will use. A 5-foot pipe will draft better though might be an issue given the angle of the annex. I prefer a box stove for cooking and durability but the rollup is the most UL type known to me that is practical.
 
Man, this is a difficult decision. I've been thinking today...I may just get the zero degree bag and a shelter from Mountain Laurel Designs. Man do they make lightweight stuff!
Ultimately that works the best price-wise and weight-wise. Money is tight, I'm selling a lot of old gear to finance this.
 
kfgk14 said:
Man, this is a difficult decision. I've been thinking today...I may just get the zero degree bag and a shelter from Mountain Laurel Designs. Man do they make lightweight stuff!
Ultimately that works the best price-wise and weight-wise. Money is tight, I'm selling a lot of old gear to finance this.
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Ron Bell is a great guy. I purchased gear from him back in his Ebay days. Here is a DIY project I am working on for a friend.

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Maybe try to roll your own? I have also done my share of tarp/bivy/groundpad/sleeping bag combo camps and those worked out well.
 
Explanation on the stove there? looks like two of the bins that the lunch ladies scooped slops out of in high school?
Looks functional though.
How do you stop the sparks from lighting off the tent? and the smoke from asphyxiating you?
 
Yup those are two trays but you can also use a kitchen SS container for a stove body. Spark arrester screens plus damper will stop the majority of the floaters. If you combine that with the right knowledge of fuel (Maple good Eastern pine and Hemlock not so much) sparks aren't an issue. I will put a Ti-goat stove jack for the pipe. Some people have modified other pyramid type shelters like the Hex or Megamid etc etc with a stove jack as well.
 
for sheer weight, you aren't going to beat a lightweight pyramid and a warm down bag; for comfort on the other hand- a little stove in a smaller shelter allows you to sit around in your skivies at below zero :D

if it's on your back- option 1 makes the most sense imo, if it's in a pulk than option 2 looks might tempting :)
 
I've yet to acquire a good sled for winter hiking, when I do, stove possibilities open up.
 
Mtwarden, thanks for all the great info. I'm looking into a Kifaru zero degree MOB, or a Kifaru zero degree slick bag. For shelter, probably a Mountain Laurel of some description.
 
kfgk14 said:
How much does that package weigh?
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Honestly I don't know as never put everything on a scale. Guessing sub 5 lbs but could be wrong. On a side note I see you're from my neck of the woods. I would keep out of the White birch during an ice storm. Come to think of it I try to stay away from them if possible when setting up camp. Sometimes in winter it can be hard to tell if they are punky and more so at night. I also think they shed branches more than some other trees when under stress but this is just based on a few crazy nights. It can fall to sub zero in winter easy but honestly 34F and rain is more deadly in my view. Pay the same attention to your clothing options as shelter. Insulation from the ground is right up there with shelter and bag. Look for a good ground pad.
 
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Woods Walker said:
Honestly I don't know as never put everything on a scale. Guessing sub 5 lbs but could be wrong. On a side note I see you're from my neck of the woods. I would keep out of the White birch during an ice storm. Come to think of it I try to stay away from them if possible when setting up camp. Sometimes in winter it can be hard to tell if they are punky and more so at night. I also think they shed branches more than some other trees when under stress but this is just based on a few crazy nights. It can fall to sub zero in winter easy but honestly 34F and rain is more deadly in my view. Pay the same attention to your clothing options as shelter. Insulation from the ground is right up there with shelter and bag. Look for a good ground pad.
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Why avoid the white birch? The "freeze and explode" thing they do?
Yeah. I've experienced that. In my yard of course, but still. The cat was so freaked out when the splinters hit the siding.
 
All this talk of winter camping is bumming me out. The last time I tried winter camping where it was cold was Yellowstone NP in late May. Almost June. I couldn't take it! It snowed at night and I woke up in the morning with temps in the twenties. Maybe the teens. I could barely get myself out of my sleeping bag in the morning. My friend awoke earlier and had the fire going and was going to make breakfast. We left fast! We put out the fire threw everything into the car except the tent. I left the tent for another day. I found a Great Western not to far outside the park that had a heated pool and spa. To keep in the spirit of camping, I practiced "hotel bush craft" at night by working on essential skills:

Heating left overs using the heating element of a coffee pot
Finding a good restaurant (they food in that town tasted like roadkill)
Finding a good spa treatment as that one night in the cold nearly killed me

And yes I retrieved my tent the next day :o

In the winter, camp where it's warm or get a new hobby. Just my two cents. :D
 
Don't assume that all sleeping bag manufacturers use the same temperature rating system, or that all people sleep equally comfortably at -5* in the same -5* bag. If light weight is of paramount concern, add Montbell to the list of bags to consider, their "UL Super-Stretch Down Hugger" bags are very light for their temperature ratings. That said, they tend to run a bit short which more or less means that everyone is a "long".
 
Just a thought but you can pick up a military sleep system pretty cheap on ebay. It's a 3 bag system for all seasons. I have slept commfy with no cover or fire in -10. Now in the winter i just bring my rain fly, ground pad, and 3 bag system and I have yet to be cold.

Just search military sleep system on ebay.
 
^^^ However his thread title is "lightweight" and the MSS is anything but that. But for the money they are good bags, I own 2 sets that are left in the cabin JIC.
 
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