2.5 lb shelter/sleep system,30F-110F, office wear

without a fire, sleep ok, 20F get thru the night, by exercising or by using the 1/4 lb UCO candle-lantern (beeswax only) includes 1 lb, 50 yds of 2" mesh 6 ft wide gillnet-hammock, the lead line replaced with paracord. I can always tie rocks to the paracord if I need for the net to feed me. We all know that a mylar bag causes horrific levels of condensation, within an hour or so of getting into the bag. I found a way to stop that and to also stop the clamminess and the loss to conduction to the ground. What I use is a 1/4 lb, $20 SOL 2 person Emergency bivvy, and inside of it, I use half of a wally's 12x8 ft absorbent painter's drop cloth (1/2 lb(, made into a 3x8 ft bag. I put full length zippers into all 4 of my bags. The other two bags are also 3x8 ft in size and are 1/4 lb each bugnet bags. If it's cold, I stuff them with dry debris, lay upon one and pull the other one over me, like a blanket. I can wear all of the bags like a poncho, if need be.

Sometimes, I add 2 lbs of "extra" clothing, in the form of a pair of longjohns, 2 oz of wool/blend socks, one spare pair of polyethylene socks (other than what I wear) and a set of Russian winter foot wraps, a large beanie, a neck gaiter, leather gloves and glove liners. This buys me another 10F degrees of warmth. The dropcloth bag has an 18" wide "window" around the zipper, made of clear PEVA shower curtain, so that I can convert my shelter/bag into a Korchanski supershelter, using the radiant heat of a fire or the sun. Naturally,you can also use a discrete Dakota fire pit to heat water or rocks and take them into the sleeping gear with you, which is good for about another 10F degrees, for 2-3 hours. The greenhouse effect is worth 40F degrees diff between dawn and noon, if he sun is bright. That lets me sleep from 11 am to 5pm, using a sedative, sleep mask and ear plugs. Naturally, the bugnet bag offers complete enclosure as I walk and the 2 of them zip together, enclosing me and my hammock. Since all of the bags can be laid out flat, the SOL bivvy can be a rain/sun tarp over the hammock, or my bugnet bag full of debris. If the weather hasn't been consistently, all day below freezing for at least a week, the debris bags have to be smoked-out well before using them, or you'll get bitten by fleas, lice, ticks, spiders, even centipedes on occasion.

Nice but- Why not go with a camping hammock and a down bag?

"Debris' isn't-always available (above timberline, for instance) or necessarily dry. For the same weight, and much more utility, I go with a fairly cheap, but light, down bag, weighing just a bit over two pounds. You can get just about any weight and warmth rating, if you spend enough - and it will be money well spent.

Keep your body well insulated from the ground, and eat well before retiring - that makes a significant difference. And stay out of the wind.

Light weight bivvys are now available that are said to resist weather and that also breath well. I always have some sort of emergency bivvy with me.

what will you do to be off of the ground, to keep the rain off of you, feed yourself, keep the bugs off of you, hmm? those are all included in my system. You're going to do all that with just 1/2 lb? :-) So why would you want go above timberline? of course you have to take other stuff when you enter extreme circumstances, but you'd have nothing for the 3 other seasons. All I have to do, in order to handle sub 0F, is add 2 lbs of parka. Cold country is to be avoided, in my book. There's nothing there that justifies the horrors that go with it,for a long-term shtf scenario. Animals hibernating or migrated, plants died-back and covered in snow. Having to melt ice or snow just to get a drink, major slip-fall hazards. When bicycling south for a week would get you where it freezes only at night, and then only for a month, long enough to kill the bugs, but you can either get your plants thru it with a wood heated, plastic sheeting greenhouse, or just preserve enough food to get you thru that month. All 3200 miles of the US has been crossed in 8 days on a bicycle, guys.

what does the hammock do to feed you, keep off the bugs and rain? does it weigh just one lb? :-) Sure, you can lug around 20 lbs worth of such stuff if you like. I created this superlight/versatile system to let me lug around a rifle, ammo, and armor instead.of stuff that I dont really need.

I really have to grin....Some of us actually enjoy snow, ice, and cold ("brisk") weather - climbing, hiking, caving, or whatever. Occasionally circumstances have put me outdoors in truly horrible weather, when most people are inside. In that situation, really suitable equipment is good to have, and I will gladly bear the weight.

I have been a firearms user since early childhood, trained by my father, the US military, and law enforcement. I still occasionally shoot, but over time my preferences have shifted. My experience is that firearms are rarely necessary in the woods. Basic survival and first aid skills are far more important and come into play far more often.

Your gear is close to what many carry as a basic survival rig, something to deal with the unanticipated night out, but not really the best for long term use over the long term

Solo Tarp
Down Quilt
Closed cell foam pad
head net

Some combinations weigh less than 2.5 pounds and are
more pleasant than wet leaves, plastic sheets, and drugs for sleeping

The initial post in this thread rang a bell: I had seen this before somewhere. Sure enough; http://www.wilderness-survival.net/forum...ep-gear-for-BOB

Same proposal. This dude made 30+ posts in two days, got himself banned, and rode off into the sunset. Apparently the same deal here at ETS.

Thank you for this information.


chaosmagnet

Its an interesting idea, likely worth discussing.
But I come up with different answers.