Nomad,

When I was a young man (17-21 yrs) hiking in the wild a simple solar blanket was all I used. I'd build a small fire with a reflecter when possible in the desert for additional warmth and would hike from June all the way up till late September.

I just reached the 40 yr mile stone and my bones won't take the cold like they used to. Creature comfort is now a necessity but I am not ready to stay at the Holliday Inn. No offense to them - I just still preffer the out of doors and looking at the stars.

Your post did take me back to the good ol' days though. Thanks. It is encouraging to hear that you have become nomadic. I believe that is our natural state. Humans should travel.

I have a friend who is working on a web-site forum. You may want to check it out. www.nomadhiker.com

He and his wife live in Colorado now in a 5th wheel. It's an excellent life.

I'll check out your site. Sounds like you are a fellow adventurer.

One more thought. I have a membership to GPAA ($75 a yr). I do some panning once in awhile but I really keep it for the free camping. They own property all over the country and provide you with a book including specific directions. It beats paying for a camp ground and some places have facilities for campers including washer and dryer.

Thanks again.

Peace,
William Hearn
The Sassafrasshaman

The quality production bags these days all seem to have quite a few more features than my 15 year old bag. It's been a good bag, but doesn't have a pillow pocket, for example, or a watch/jewelry pocket in the hood or a draft tube or a draft collar, all of which are nice developments. The one thing I haven't seen, however, and this is just a personal preference (something I would put in a bad if I was doing it myself) is an inside pocket about hip high where I could put my socks. Again, this is just me, but I normally crawl in with socks on and then pull them off sometime later. In the morning they're gone! Ok . . . hiding maybe. I assume they're still in the bag with me, but sometimes they're hard to find and always out of reach. And for sure they're never together. But if I had a little pocket within easy reach to put them in . . . well that would be great. It's the little things, you know.

Good luck with your bag. Hope you do well.

William:

Just to be sure we're clear, I wasn't suggesting a sleeve at the foot of the bag, but along the entire underside of the bag. The insulation crushed by your body weight is wasted, so there's no point to putting insulation in the underside of the bag. That's where a full-length, closed-cell foam pad goes in the Big Agnes (and other) designs.

Bear

Looking forward to seeing this bag. Stay in touch.