Winter backpacking gear advice

[NILowe]

I havnt stayed in the frank church in November but have some winter backpacking experience. I can poke some holes in your setup.

-Cimmaron, I would be going with a liner in November. The possibility for real condensation issues increases as temperatures drop. Add a stove and some wind and it’s a recipe for being rained on by condensation all night.

-Sleeping bag. Because of above, I use a Ul bivy during colder months. If really cold temps are expected a vapor barrier in your bag is another option to keep your down from wetting out over the course of the week. Your bag wetting from condensation on an extended sub freezing trip can become an issue quick if you’re not prepared to mitigate it. Personally I’d be considering more bag/ additional top quilt.

-Sleeping pad. In trips where I couldn’t justify sleeping on bare ground I don’t count on an inflatable mattress. Foam pad plus air mattress if I’m expecting sub freezing. Even mild camping with a down bag… your mattress pops your not sleeping. Been there, it sucks. I wouldn’t trust that q core for a second either. You can’t patch a delam on them.

-I’d rethink the jet boil and consider something that will reliably melt snow if required. You will be unable to keep water from freezing if you see single/negative digits. Melting it quickly becomes the only option.

-Water storage/filter. Filter can’t freeze, you’re going to be babysitting it. Personally I’d just use a coffee filter and drops, or melt snow. Flexible water storage dosnt handle freezing well, I’d carry atleast one or two Nalgene bottles as back up. When it’s winter conditions I run solely Nalgene bottles for this reason.

-I’d build and know how to use a serious emergency kit. November in the mountains can quickly go from a hunt to a survival situation. Be prepared to make a lot of fire, be it on your stove or not.

-Good to have, but don’t be reliant on rechargeable batteries if you’re going to see seriously cold temps.

I’ll also agree with a lot of the above. If you havnt spent any time camping in temperatures that don’t go over single digits, now is the time to learn.

I havnt stayed in the frank church in November but have some winter backpacking experience. I can poke some holes in your setup.

-Cimmaron, I would be going with a liner in November. The possibility for real condensation issues increases as temperatures drop. Add a stove and some wind and it’s a recipe for being rained on by condensation all night.

-Sleeping bag. Because of above, I use a Ul bivy during colder months. If really cold temps are expected a vapor barrier in your bag is another option to keep your down from wetting out over the course of the week. Your bag wetting from condensation on an extended sub freezing trip can become an issue quick if you’re not prepared to mitigate it. Personally I’d be considering more bag/ additional top quilt.

-Sleeping pad. In trips where I couldn’t justify sleeping on bare ground I don’t count on an inflatable mattress. Foam pad plus air mattress if I’m expecting sub freezing. Even mild camping with a down bag… your mattress pops your not sleeping. Been there, it sucks. I wouldn’t trust that q core for a second either. You can’t patch a delam on them.

-I’d rethink the jet boil and consider something that will reliably melt snow if required. You will be unable to keep water from freezing if you see single/negative digits. Melting it quickly becomes the only option.

-Water storage/filter. Filter can’t freeze, you’re going to be babysitting it. Personally I’d just use a coffee filter and drops, or melt snow. Flexible water storage dosnt handle freezing well, I’d carry atleast one or two Nalgene bottles as back up. When it’s winter conditions I run solely Nalgene bottles for this reason.

-I’d build and know how to use a serious emergency kit. November in the mountains can quickly go from a hunt to a survival situation. Be prepared to make a lot of fire, be it on your stove or not.

-Good to have, but don’t be reliant on rechargeable batteries if you’re going to see seriously cold temps.

I’ll also agree with a lot of the above. If you havnt spent any time camping in temperatures that don’t go over single digits, now is the time to learn.

Thanks for advice. As far as water and fire im very confident. My glassing pad is a foam mattress that doubles as protection for qcore and I will have a nalgene. Condensation in the tent is something im just gonna have to figure out here with some spring camping.