Date: 2022-01-28
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: snow

SLEEP SYSTEMI had originally thought if I were to hike the AT someday I would be starting in Georgia in February and would need some heavy duty cold weather gear. But as I had to decided to hike the AT fairly late in the game - the end of January 2021 - I made the call to do a flip-flop hike kicking off in Virginia in April. This allowed me buy just one set of quilts for my sleeping system, not a cold weather set up and a summer set up. I tried to thread-the-needle on cold protection while still being useable in the hotter months as well in the interest of saving a few shekels. I knew I'd still be dealing with temps around freezing at night, but hopefully would avoid the real frigid stuff. I ended up having roughly a dozen nights that were right around 32 degrees with a few in the mid 20-'s. I sleep on the warm side so I decided to go with a 30 degree under-quilt and a 40 degree top quilt.Most every guide that I read said you can take a quilt or sleeping bag rating and add 10 degrees to it to accurately reflect the lowest temperature you can comfortably sleep in. I opted for a top quilt over a sleeping bag because the quilt is lighter (uses less material and no zippers, at least on mine) and i don't particularly care for the confined "cocoon" feel I get from a sleeping bag. My top quilt did have a zippered foot book to trap a little heat and help keep my legs warmer. For my bottom quilt (never, ever try to sleep in a hammock with out a bottom quilt unless you have a way to use a sleeping pad in your rack without having it slip out from underneath you) I went with a torso length Yeti from Warbonnet. I choose the smaller under quilt to save some weight, save some money, and save a little packing space. The torso length quilt covered my underside from the back of my knees to my neck. If I were going to be facing consistent temps in the teens or twenties, I would have opted for a full length under quilt. As it was, I would usually use my foam sit pad at night, placing it in my hammock underneath my lower legs for a little extra insultation. This worked out well.Additionally, I had a quilt-liner that I bought from Dutchgear for a little more insulation. Though the primary reason I bought the liner was to help keep my quilt from getting funky from being in direct contact with my hiker stank. Whenever I did laundry I would throw the quilt in as well and wash that. I highly recommend using a liner for your quilt or sleeping bag if you are like me and are a tad fastidious when it comes to keeping your gear as clean as possible.  During the coldest nights, I would wear my Merino Wool leggings, my camp shorts, two pairs of socks, a merino wool tee shirt, my mid layer jacket, and a knit cap. I had mu Puffy Jacket in reserve if needed, but never had to wear it at night. Once we got to the warmer months, I would usually just wear shorts and a tee shirt, socks and my knit cap.TOP QUILT:  Warbonnet 950 fill 40 degree w/ stuff sack 16.4oz/464.9g          I paid a little extra to go with the 950 fill in order to save a little weight. This quilt performed extremely well for me and I had no regrets choosing this over some of the more popular manufacturers like Enlightened Equipment.          PROS: lightweight while still performing well, packed easily, footbox zipper kept the quilt from twisting on cold nights, easy to vent/move aside when I got warm          CONS: can leave you exposed if you thrash in your sleepBOTTOM QUILT:  Warbonnet Yeti 30 degree w/ stuff sack  9.9oz/280.7g         Having to use my sit pad for leg insulation was a bit of a hassle - especially when it had become wet during the day, but I'm still happy I went with the torso length as I was able to avoid overheating once the nights became warmer. By getting my hammock, tarp and under quilt all from Warbonnet it meant that everything was designed to work together and I had no issues my my under quilt slipping out of place. Once I had it on the hammock, it was rock solid.          PROS: Lightweight, easy to set up, no tweaking needed, performed well down to 27 degrees, packed small          CONS: torso-length isn't for everybody, some stitching stated to come loose near the endQUILT LINER:   Dutchware quilt liner   2.25oz/63.8g          PROS: loved this piece of kit, easy to use (during the hottest times I used just this and not my top quilt), easy to clean, durable, extra layer of insulation          CONS: aesthetically it looks like a garbage bag BACKPACKWhen it comes to backpacks, I made the decision that smaller and lighter versus larger and heavier was a tradeoff I was willing to make. I knew that I still wanted a frame of some sort and a hip belt (some ultra lighters forgo both and basically carry a sack with two shoulder straps) but I also knew that ounces and pounds matter. I purposefully looked for a pack under 55 liters so I couldn't carry a bunch of gear even if I wanted to. Secondly, though Dyneema was the lightest fabric available I had read that it was prone to abrasions and tears and also kind of noisy so I didn't think the extra few ounces were worth it, given my less than graceful ways.After hiking 2193.1 miles I've come to the conclusion that no pack will hold up for the whole trail without an issue or two cropping up (at least no pack I saw). Four to seven months of continuous use will wear on any piece of gear and even the heavier duty backpacks I saw in use had webbing split, hip belts wear through, shoulder straps come loose and various zipper failures. My Zpacks Arc Air was no exception. Due to a manufacturing issue, the frame on my first pack failed about 100 miles into my hike. The sewn in frame retention pockets were made incorrectly and the vertical frame stays would pop out while hiking. This lead to an unbalanced load and some shoulder pain. Zpacks quickly shipped me out a replacement that I picked up in Front Royal, Va and I used that pack for next 2000 miles. That pack also had a frame pocket failure (this time on the bottom) about 300 miles from the finish, but Zpacks sent me a repair kit and the awesome Lamb's Ear sewed it up for me. Post trail, I sent my pack back to Zpacks and they had it back to me within a fortnight with all issues fixed and even a few minor blemishes repaired that I hadn't even mentioned.  The ROBIC fabric performed very well, it was water resistant, abrasion resistant, didn't stain easily and looked pretty cool! I ended up with a 50 liter pack which proved plenty big enough for me. I added two Zpacks hip belt pouches that both failed due to the elastic retention strap breaking (one at 500 miles, one at 1500 miles), one shoulder strap pouch from Gossamer Gear for my phone, one shoulder strap pouch from an ETSY store for a 1 liter water bottle, and two external mesh side pockets from Zpacks. If I had to do it again I would ditch the hip belt pouches. I was not much of snacker when hiking and in retrospect I would have done just as well with an additional Dyneema pouch I could have kept in my bag for to hold small pieces of gear that ended up in my hip belt pouches.  The top side pockets were a great addition. In one went my toilet kit and glasses (NOT in the same bag) and in the other I kept whatever small gear I needed handy during the day - water filter and the like. The phone pouch worked great (I took a LOT of pictures) and I also attached my Garmin inReach to the pouch with a carabiner. The water bottle holder was also a great addition for me to keep hydration within easy reach.All in all, I was very happy with my Zpacks Arc Air and would buy it again.BACKPACK: Zpacks Arc Air 50l ROBIC medium frame and medium hip belt  20.9oz/592.5g          Zpacks Dyneema hip belt pouches  3.1oz/87.9g          Zpacks mesh top side pockets     .8oz/22.6g          Gossamer Gear shoulder strap phone pouch  1.4oz/39.7g          Water Bottle mesh shoulder strap pouch   .3oz/8.5g          PROS: Lightweight, durable fabric, even load distribution, arc-frame allowed for some airflow on my back, looked cool, shoulder straps and hip belt held up well          CONS: lightweight means not as durable (maybe?), only can carry 30 lbs comfortably, frame prone to failure, hip belt pouches fell apart,