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Review: Using a Cheap Down Sleeping Bag as a Liner for Extreme Cold Weather Camping

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My quest to find a comfortable sleep system for restless side sleepers who want to go camping in the cold continues.  How's that for a hyper-specific target audience?  I am publishing this post for the dozens (probably?) of others out there like me who are not served by the mass-market reviews of gear because we have unique needs that our sleeping bags must meet that are usually overlooked.  We flop around like a fish out of water.  We spread our arms like outriggers on a Polynesian canoe.  We spread our legs like, um, never mind, that one.  My point is, bags that are critically acclaimed in reviews and ratings, don't work for me. Quilts have been my salvation for most trips.  See my review of the Enlightened Equipment Revelation and Zenbivy Light Bed for details.  However, the comfort of these solutions starts to become problematic as the mercury drops below freezing.  My latest attempt to solve this problem is to get an inexpensive, light...
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Review: Omnicore Multi-Down Mummy -10F Sleeping Bag

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The quest to find my perfect back-country sleep system continues.  I think this is officially part 3 of the series.  The Enlightened Equipment Revelation quilt remains my primary "bag" but I need a supplement for sub-freezing weather.   After striking out with the Zenbivy Light Bed , I went in the opposite direction and got something relatively inexpensive, the Omnicore Designs Multi-down Mummy -10F sleeping bag .  While this bag is a mummy bag, the shape looked roomier than the typical backpacking mummy bag. My Expectations Based on the specs, I had high hopes for this bag.  We'll start with the price.  At $130 it is slotted in between the cheap car-camping bags that weigh 6+ lbs and the expensive name-brand bags.  It achieves some of the cost savings by using a combination of down and synthetic insulation.  The result is a bag with a -10F rating that weighs a little over 4lbs.  While that isn't super light, it is acceptable for a cold...
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Review: ZenBivy LightBed

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This is part 2 of my series on cold weather backpacking sleeping gear.  Part 1 reviewed the Enlightened Equipment Revelation quilt that I have been using for the past six years that I have been happy with but struggles to keep me warm when temperatures drop below freezing.  This week I am relating my impressions of the Zenbivy Light Bed 10 degree sleep system that I recently tried out.   There are plenty of reviews on this Zenbivy bed out there, and I read a bunch of them, but none of them had any info about the performance as it would relate to me as a side sleeper who tosses who rolls over many times a night.  I'm going to rectify that here and now! I have Facebook algorithms to thank for introducing me to ZenBivy.  Ads for their sleep system started showing up in my feed.  Relentlessly.  I checked them out initially and quickly dismissed them due to price.  As I started searching for a better sub-freezing option this Fall, I revisited th...
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Review: Enlightened Equipment Revelation 0 Degree Quilt

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  In an effort to lean into my strengths, I'm starting a short series covering my experiences with assorted backcountry sleeping gear.  I've been putting readers to sleep for more than a year with this blog, so I consider myself well qualified to weigh in on the subject 😜.   For years I struggled to get a good night's sleep when out camping or backpacking.  I can't really pinpoint exactly when it started, but at some point I became a side sleeper and that ruined everything.  Side sleeping is now fully entrenched and I cannot go to sleep on my back no matter how hard I try.  This is a real pain for camping as most sleeping bags are mummy style and designed for sleeping on your back with your legs together and arms at your sides.  There is no room for rolling over or stretching out, both of which I need to sleep well. About 6 years ago as my kids were getting old enough to go camping and backpacking and all of us were ramping up our involvement in ...
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Car Shopping in 2023: The Exciting Conclusion!

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  If you recall my August post on starting a car search, I presented a list of requirements that I wanted my new car to meet.  If you don't recall, go ahead and reread it.  I'll wait.  I had to do that to remember what I wrote as I can't remember what happened yesterday, much less four months ago! As expected, I had to compromise on some of my requirements.  After test driving most of the cars on my list of options, I ended up buying a 2018 Nissan Pathfinder Platinum, shown here after hauling a bunch of scouts up to Vermont for a backpacking trip just hours after I drove it off the lot.   Incidentally, this photo has an easter egg for a future backpacking product review. Now that I have had the car for a month or so, let's check out the score card and see how I did: Good Highway Gas Mileage (7 out of 10) Reliability (7 out of 10) Good towing capacity (10 out of 10) Cargo Capacity  >40 preferred. (10 out of 10) Wireless Android Auto (3 out of 1...
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The Old Car Files: Element Epilogue

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  Alas, in answer to the question in my previous post , this was goodbye for the Element.  Honda had me take my vehicle to a certified dealer for an inspection.  I want to thank Herb Chambers Honda in Westborough, MA for doing the inspection and the service manager for spending time talking with me about recalls and the defects in CRVs all without charge!  That was the most pleasant experience I've ever had at a car dealership, so they get some free advertising in my blog.   After reviewing the info the dealer provided, Honda closed the case with no explanation.  When I called to find out more about why they see fit to have a recall in Canada for this but not one in the US, they would not give me any more info, just kept repeating that my case was closed and couldn't be reopened.  Shame on Honda.  This tarnishes their reputation in my mind.  The Element was the third Honda I've bought.  I won't say it is the last Honda I will buy, b...
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The Old Car Files: Is this Goodbye?

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The days may be numbered on our 2003 Honda Element that we have owned since 2006 when it was just a pup.  This is a picture of my actual car, not a stock photo, on a camping trip in 2007, shortly after we got it.  It's about the only picture I have of the whole car.  Maybe I need to take some more before it is too late.  Rust, the cancer of cars, is ready to send it off the great scrapyard in the sky.  Or maybe a farm upstate if you prefer. You may recall a post from about a year ago where I dealt with an  exhaust hole .  Well, the patch job with the JB Weld Exhaust Wrap has failed and I can smell exhaust gas getting into the cabin again when stopped at lights.  My first thought was to take the easy way out and just quit stopping at lights.  I started doing some research and figured I could put in a cheap catalytic converter and take my original one to a welder to have it fixed properly and then put it back on when the cheap one failed. ...
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Popular posts from this blog

Dolphin S200 Pool Cleaning Robot Drive Motor Repair

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 I've spent the past two weeks doing battle with my pool cleaning robot and want to share what I've learned so others can fix their own if they run into the same problem. My robot is a Maytronics Dolphin S200.  The internals are probably very similar or identical to other models, and I think there are even rebranded versions, so the details below likely apply to a fair amount of the population.  These robots are pretty expensive to buy, but they are, in my opinion, the best way to clean my pool.  My pool is surrounded by pine trees and they are always dropping stuff in the water, so I keep my robot in the pool and it runs daily on its timer with little intervention from me and uses much, much less electricity than my previous pressure-side pool cleaner. Rant on Robot Manufacturer Greed There is a lot of markup on these robots.  The S200 I got for $600 in 2017 (and its equivalents) now sell for more than $1000.  The exact same design.  No new technology...
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A Call to End Discrimination

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  You are probably wondering what I, a white dude living in America, know about discrimination.  Sadly, I know more than I wish I did.  You see, I was born with a particular trait that was destined to make my life in our society more difficult.  I have never tried to hide it and I'm not ashamed of it.  I'm proud of it in many respects, and many people around me already know this, but never, until now, have I publicly announced it.  So, here goes:  I am left-handed. Obviously, the previous paragraph was tongue-in-cheek, and I in no way intend to marginalize the struggles of anyone facing discrimination for factors beyond their control.  Rather, it is the opposite.  I like to use humor to ease the tension serious topics.  This blog post is an attempt at empathy and solidarity on my part.  I'll let the reader draw the parallels between my seemingly minor inconveniences with being left-handed and their own experience with discrimination...
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Car Shopping in 2023

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It's new car buying time in the Wisdumb household.  Well, not "new" new (you've read my financial advice on cars , right?).  And not exactly "buying time".  Rather, it is time for the prep work to figure out what steed to add to our stable when the first Wisdumb young'n reaches driving age next year.  Boy am glad I'm starting early; finding the right car seems more difficult now than it has ever been.  This post is going to explore why I'm having such a hard time finding the perfect car. Is it me? You have likely figured out by now that I am very particular about product features, and my desires often run counter to the mainstream.  I blame the mainstream for that, not me!  Things I want in no particular order: Good Highway Gas Mileage Reliability Good towing capacity (3500lb min, 5000lb preferred) Minimum 35 cu ft usable cargo capacity with 4 passengers.  >40 preferred. Wireless Android Auto Heated and Ventilated Seats Adaptive Cruise Control...
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