CWT Sept 17th start

lets_camp

lets_camp

Trail Blazer
Mole said:
Down in damp conditions isnt a big issue? It's a bit overegged that it's hard to look after in damp climates in my experience.

Though I see you are in a tight single skin shelter (I had one once- bit cramped for me), though you have a splash bivi to mitigate...
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I struggle to get over my fear of getting my down wet, and tend to anxious about it outside of conditions that give me ample of opportunity to dry my sleep stuff during the idea. It's more a peace of mind thing. But I suppose the only way to deal with that is by taking down into those environments a more often.

I tend to sleep in a semi fetal position so don't have much issue in the solomid, I'm used to smaller shelters so this is my palace!
 
S

sherpa

Section Hiker
This time of year in Scotland anything is possible - years ago I had one of my many trips to Skye and came back with a deep suntan - 10 glorious sunny days in a row! But I have also had 10 days of unremitting rain!!

I'd take the Apex quilt (I have an As Tucas quilt specifically bought for longer trips when decent weather cannot be relied upon).

If you have a warmer down top, take that in place of the Nunatak as it will be fine under the apex quilt and will give a considerable boost in warmth which should cover any lower temps possible at this time of year.

Have a blast
 
Mole

Mole

Thru Hiker
You should be ok unless it leaks then?

I've had what looked like wetting out and clumping on my Golite quilt - from condensation when I camped in a raincloud on a bog in a Corrie ( needs must- I pushed on further than planned).
I had to pack it and move on. It rained the next 36hrs. When I got it out the next evening, it was a little sad, I fluffed it up and got in, and it was soon ok. Next morning similar. But the next evening was stopped raining and it dried out in use again fine, and was good for the next 10 days of the trip. ( And the next 10 years of use!).

What did you have that's smaller than a Solomid?
 
lets_camp

lets_camp

Trail Blazer
sherpa said:
This time of year in Scotland anything is possible - years ago I had one of my many trips to Skye and came back with a deep suntan - 10 glorious sunny days in a row! But I have also had 10 days of unremitting rain!!

I'd take the Apex quilt (I have an As Tucas quilt specifically bought for longer trips when decent weather cannot be relied upon).

If you have a warmer down top, take that in place of the Nunatak as it will be fine under the apex quilt and will give a considerable boost in warmth which should cover any lower temps possible at this time of year.

Have a blast
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Nice, I'll swap the nunatak with my goosefeetgear puffy, which I've paired with the MLD quilt before, saves a couple of grams too! Thank you!

Mole said:
You should be ok unless it leaks then?

I've had what looked like wetting out and clumping on my Golite quilt - from condensation when I camped in a raincloud on a bog in a Corrie ( needs must- I pushed on further than planned).
I had to pack it and move on. It rained the next 36hrs. When I got it out the next evening, it was a little sad, I fluffed it up and got in, and it was soon ok. Next morning similar. But the next evening was stopped raining and it dried out in use again fine, and was good for the next 10 days of the trip. ( And the next 10 years of use!).

What did you have that's smaller than a Solomid?
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I use a zpacks hexamid a lot in places where the weather is kinder or there is more natural cover. I have a small 9'x4.5' DCF flat tarp as well which I also look for chances to take out.
 
S

sherpa

Section Hiker
As of today, the long range forecast is pretty good so the Astralite would probably be fine.

However, if you have version 1 it may be less suited to typical UK conditions; Andrew Skurka experienced problems with the Astralite in damper climes:

andrewskurka.com

Long-term review: Western Mountaineering AstraLite || Very warm & light

The Astralite and Nanolite are the first quilts from this gold standard brand. How do they perform and compare to cottage offerings?
andrewskurka.com andrewskurka.com
 
lets_camp

lets_camp

Trail Blazer
sherpa said:
As of today, the long range forecast is pretty good so the Astralite would probably be fine.

However, if you have version 1 it may be less suited to typical UK conditions; Andrew Skurka experienced problems with the Astralite in damper climes:

andrewskurka.com

Long-term review: Western Mountaineering AstraLite || Very warm & light

The Astralite and Nanolite are the first quilts from this gold standard brand. How do they perform and compare to cottage offerings?
andrewskurka.com andrewskurka.com
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Hey Sherpa, thank you! Yeah I saw that post by Skurka and it has been in the back of my mind for a while. I might actually shoot WM an email to see what they say about replacing it. I'm almost certain I have the first version. Funnily enough the first proper trip I took my quilt on was a guided hike with Skurka in CO! I hiked his version of the Pfiffner traverse afterwards and while the Astralight was awesome I did feel like it was getting damper than it should.

Out of interest what resource are you using for weather?

I kind of piece together an impression from MWIS, meteoblue's multi model, and the Met Office moutain forecasts. My current read was that the weekend of the 18-19 could be rough but there is a chance the week after might be better.
 
S

sherpa

Section Hiker
I have an As Tucas Sestrals Poncho quilt in Apex 167 for when I anticipate very damp conditions.

I sleep super hot so this is fine for me well past 0c! (At home I have long searched for super lightweight duvets - latest purchase was a woolroom one rated at 2.5-5 tog i.e. lightweight summer use. I can only use it on the coldest of winter nights...!!!).

The problem for me on longer trips is that, in the admittedly unlikely event of a serious failue of a down bag, it may well be a trip ending event, a risk I do not want to take

Hence, I am happy to carry the extra weight/bulk of an apex quilt. I also happen to find the As Tucas Sestrals super comfy and sleep really well under it :)
 
lets_camp

lets_camp

Trail Blazer
sherpa said:
As of today, the long range forecast is pretty good so the Astralite would probably be fine.

However, if you have version 1 it may be less suited to typical UK conditions; Andrew Skurka experienced problems with the Astralite in damper climes:

andrewskurka.com

Long-term review: Western Mountaineering AstraLite || Very warm & light

The Astralite and Nanolite are the first quilts from this gold standard brand. How do they perform and compare to cottage offerings?
andrewskurka.com andrewskurka.com
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Follow up to this, I contacted WM and they are going to reshell my quilt. I have to post it to the states and they have said it'd take ~8 weeks to get the work done and posted back. Which is pretty cool. Going to get the ball rolling on that in June, hoping that the quilt will be ready for September plans.
 
S

sherpa

Section Hiker
lets_camp said:
Follow up to this, I contacted WM and they are going to reshell my quilt. I have to post it to the states and they have said it'd take ~8 weeks to get the work done and posted back. Which is pretty cool. Going to get the ball rolling on that in June, hoping that the quilt will be ready for September plans.
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pretty awesome customer service!
 
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edh

edh

Thru Hiker
lets_camp said:
Follow up to this, I contacted WM and they are going to reshell my quilt. I have to post it to the states and they have said it'd take ~8 weeks to get the work done and posted back. Which is pretty cool. Going to get the ball rolling on that in June, hoping that the quilt will be ready for September plans.
Click to expand...

I've been using the new version on trips - and quite like it, which came as a surprise as a bit of a quilt doubter.....
 
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