Loading…
1
A park ranger in Yosemite told me my 'all-season' sleeping bag was a bad idea for fall, and he was right.
I was up there last October, bragging about my 20-degree bag that I use year-round. He just shook his head and said, 'That rating is for survival, not comfort. You're gonna have a cold, miserable night.' I argued, but it dropped to 28 that night and I was shivering by 2 AM. He explained that the comfort rating is usually 10-15 degrees higher than the survival rating, which I never really thought about. I always just looked at the big number on the tag. Now I'm looking at a proper 10-degree bag for anything below 40. Has anyone else had a similar wake-up call about gear ratings?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
thomas5317mo ago
Learned that the hard way with a cheap rain jacket. Label said waterproof, but I was soaked through in twenty minutes during a light drizzle. Those marketing terms don't mean much.
5
umac717mo ago
Check the tag for a waterproof rating like 5k or 10k mm. That cheap jacket probably had a basic coating that fails fast. Did it feel stiff and plasticky when it was new?
6
michaelross6mo ago
Yeah and the seams are never sealed on those cheap ones. Water just comes right through the stitching no matter what the fabric does.
5