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Post by LowKey on Mar 6, 2016 17:34:37 GMT
Keep the bivvy. I've never tested the 'wool stays warm when wet' thing to any great extent, but 'wet' = uncomfortable, regardless of whether or not you're warm. A decent bivvy keeps you out of the wind and rain (and bugs...), and that's a positive no matter what climate you're resting in. |
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Post by LowKey on Mar 6, 2016 17:42:29 GMT
Keep the bivvy. I've never tested the 'wool stays warm when wet' thing to any great extent, but 'wet' = uncomfortable, regardless of whether or not you're warm. A decent bivvy keeps you out of the wind and rain (and bugs...), and that's a positive no matter what climate you're resting in. I have. But ass naked, wrapped in the classic OD green army wool blanket with a small river running through my tent. Wet, slightly itchy, but I slept like a baby. Keep the bivy, but dump the rest. This isn't a "comfort camping" thread, it's a "Get Home ASAP" thread. Try to minimize the amount of stuff that isn't in your pockets. he less stuff that you're "carrying" vs "wearing" the better off you'll be if/when you need to shag ass. Stripped of any baggage you should be able to sleep rough under a bush and get up the next day ready to haul ass to your loved ones. |
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Post by kutter0311 on Mar 7, 2016 21:32:45 GMT
I have considered losing the bivy and bag, and just "hootching it", but (Especially for a loooong walk) getting rest is going to be critical. A bivy and a really good bag are around 2 1/2 pounds, totally worth it in my book. Sleeping 4 hours warm and dry beats 8 hours cold and wet. Now that I have (kinda) sorted out the food issue, I'm working on paring down the rest of the gear. It's a lot like planning a hike on the AT - you have to go long distances every day, you can PROBABLY resupply along the way, and you can PROBABLY find shelter most nights. Its those other times when shelter and food are nowhere to be found, that makes this thought experiment interesting. I like the rest of your kit. I am guessing the assault pack is mostly empty? Or are you carrying a LOT of Mountain House? What about a FAK? With the huge season to season variance in my AO, my bag stays mostly empty for flexibility. I could fit my combat tent, but if I'm solo, it's more trouble than it's worth. I have a couple MSS bivy bags I leave in vehicles that, even alone, do a solid job. I have found that, if you dress for the weather, you can go from on-the-move to nap time pretty quickly by scooting into your bivy before the heat of the walk gets blown off your body. Keeping a rolling walk-till-sleepy/sleep-till-hungry/eat-and-go cycle gets you enough rest while maximizing your mileage. Totally fucks your sense of what day/week/year, tho.
I do have a couple FAK's lying around, my standardized large and small. One of each would roll with me.
MH/ramen can be used to top off the bag before I leave, I have a few boxes of it. Water is more important, since I might have enough calories to make the trip left over from the Binge of 2003...
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Post by kutter0311 on Mar 7, 2016 21:38:43 GMT
As we talk about this, I'm watching a friend of mine run an ultra marathon... Started at 8am and he's 35+ miles in at 3p. Only 17 hours or 65 miles to go... lol... And what gear is he carrying? LOL. Not to make fun, Ultra's are a completely different species, as far as I can tell. Insane. Near as I can tell, Ultras are more the 'base wolf' that humans used to be before we domesticated ourselves. Our evolution leaned toward running down our prey over great distances.
(not to be confused with Ultra Marines, who start as feral humans before being drastically 'modified.'
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Post by misterdark on Mar 7, 2016 22:07:13 GMT
WH40k FTW
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Post by nxp on Mar 15, 2016 3:50:02 GMT
Of the gear I have that "fell off a truck", I never managed to "find" a mss bivvy to call my own. Bummer. The tailgates on our 5 tons must not have been worth a shit. Stuff was constantly falling off those trucks. Two complete sleep systems, including bivvies and stuff sacks ended up just getting dumped into my lap, and I never got a chance to track down our supply sergeant to get them back in the proper hands. Crazy... 
I'm currently rolling with a woobie (damn loose tailgates...) and an all-purpose polyethylene tarp as shelter, and SOL emergency bivvy to sleep in. Maybe a bit heavy all in all, but homie needs his rest... Yay woobie! What goofball would give theirs back? I think everyone lost their poncho liner at one point or another... Question on your SOL bivy - which version do you have? I have one of the first versions of it, when they were non-breathable sweat bags that just marinated you all night. I was less than impressed for my minimal cash - questionable even for an overnighter, IMO. I like the looks of that REI bivy, but I guarantee you'll need a tarp over it because that DWR will wet out in no time compared to the MSS. That MSS bivy was/is a beast. Kinda wish I still had one, even with all the ultralight shelters out there. |
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Post by dannusmaximus on Mar 17, 2016 3:01:27 GMT
The tailgates on our 5 tons must not have been worth a shit. Stuff was constantly falling off those trucks. Two complete sleep systems, including bivvies and stuff sacks ended up just getting dumped into my lap, and I never got a chance to track down our supply sergeant to get them back in the proper hands. Crazy...
I'm currently rolling with a woobie (damn loose tailgates...) and an all-purpose polyethylene tarp as shelter, and SOL emergency bivvy to sleep in. Maybe a bit heavy all in all, but homie needs his rest... Yay woobie! What goofball would give theirs back? I think everyone lost their poncho liner at one point or another... Question on your SOL bivy - which version do you have? I have one of the first versions of it, when they were non-breathable sweat bags that just marinated you all night. I was less than impressed for my minimal cash - questionable even for an overnighter, IMO. I like the looks of that REI bivy, but I guarantee you'll need a tarp over it because that DWR will wet out in no time compared to the MSS. That MSS bivy was/is a beast. Kinda wish I still had one, even with all the ultralight shelters out there. I've got the '2 person' emergency bivvy, and have never even had it out of the packaging. Not smart, I know. A real man would break that sucka out and spend the night outside in it. I can't imagine it's particularly breathable since it looks to be made of basically thick mylar. Cheap, though, and intended as a true emergency layer if I was stuck outside in extremely cold weather.
Damn. You're going to make me unpack it and try it out now, aren't you... 
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Post by misterdark on Mar 18, 2016 3:02:05 GMT
The original SOL bivy should have been called a sweat lodge. I tried one, once. Yes I was warm as long as I was out of the wind, but I was drenched in less than 2 hours. I use and strongly endorse the SOL space blanket; it probably saved my life one night in a snowstorm in NM.
I have not had a chance to try the breathable bivy they sell nowadays.
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Post by nxp on Mar 19, 2016 2:10:22 GMT
See? Even MrD marinated in it - I'm thinking you should open that pack and give it a whirl at homebase, Danno. If you open it carefully, you should be able to stuff it back into the pouch. Maybe. Don't count on it  The spaceblanket is an entirely different product, IMO, than the bivy. |
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Post by dannusmaximus on Mar 19, 2016 3:44:14 GMT
See? Even MrD marinated in it - I'm thinking you should open that pack and give it a whirl at homebase, Danno. If you open it carefully, you should be able to stuff it back into the pouch. Maybe. Don't count on it The spaceblanket is an entirely different product, IMO, than the bivy.
Well, shit. It's supposed to be in the mid to high 30's here tomorrow, with rain off and on all day. I appreciate a good afternoon nap. If I were a real man, I would take advantage of the crappy weather to attempt my mid-afternoon siesta outside in the back yard. For science.
I'm getting depressed just thinking about it.
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