New gear for my wife!

[aroth87]

At the rate I'm going, Becca is going to have nicer gear than me! Today we bought her a shiny new Thermarest pad and ordered a new tent for work outings. We've been using a Eureka tent that's been on extended loan from my dad. Its not a bad tent, its a 3 person backpacking tent, which means its a little crowded with 2 people, a pile of gear, and a dog. It also has one wall that gets a lot of condensation and the vestibule is sloped so that rain can get into the tent when you open it up. So we decided to go play with tents today and ended up ordering a 4 person Marmot tent. Its a radical departure from my normal tarp, its got two vestibules and is large enough that Becca can almost stand up in it. Its way too big to ever take backpacking but it should be a palace when set up next to the car. We're both looking forward to it, and I'm actually a little excited to have a tent that I don't have to crawl in and out of.

Some even more exciting news is that we've been working on a design for a sleeping bag for her. She's been using an old mummy bag of mine but she isn't a fan of the mummy bag style and its not very warm anymore after years of stuffing and misuse. After a review of the commercially available sleeping bags it was clear there weren't any decent rectangular bags that were even remotely affordable. So to the drawing board we went. What we came up with is a semi-rectangular bag with a hood, synthetic insulation on top (enough to be good to 30*) and a thin layer of synthetic insulation on the bottom so if she rolls around there's still a little something there. I'm hoping it will look a little something like this from Western Mountaineering. She's not getting down though, I love my quilt but I'll never work with down again. Even with synthetic insulation and being a rectangular bag, I think I might be able to keep it around 2 lbs. I'm still tweaking the design and figuring out in my head how I'm going to do it but I hope to have it done by the end of the month.

Finally, I got myself a Melanzana Micro Grid Hoodie! I've been looking at it for a while and finally broke down and ordered it. I'll post a more in depth review later if anyone is interested, but after having it for a couple weeks I really, really like it. Its really versatile, warm but breathable, and is made out in Leadville, CO. Check 'em out if you haven't heard of them!

Adam

[Big Jim Mac]

Always nice to get new gear. Head on over to Hammock Forum and you won't want that tent anymore. Lots of DIY stuff there including bags. Check it out here: http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/?

[Debster]

Adam, I would be very interested in your appraisal of the Melanzana MicroGrid Hoody when you have tried it out.

[aroth87]

I'll post a review of the Hoody after I get back from Winona this weekend. I've been using it a lot lately, its been great in the 40*-60* evenings we've been having but I want to see how it does layered in colder temps too. Right now, I'd say if you're considering buying one go for it! I haven't found much to be disappointed with in it.

I'm also making good progress on the sleeping bag. I've got all the materials cut and I'm going to start sewing it together this evening. I ended up cutting it as a full rectangle since Becca likes to sleep on her stomach; I figured she'd appreciate the extra leg room.

Adam

[Debster]

Thanks for the review so far & look forward to hearing how things go in the colder weather. Hope your wife likes the new sleeping bag!

[aroth87]

Well, the sleeping bag is still a work in progress, sewing the zipper is proving to be challenging.

The good news is that the Melanzana hoody passed its cool weather test with flying colors this weekend. It was in the upper 30's yesterday morning and I was comfortable wearing a t-shirt, the hoody, and a light windshell. Its amazing how much warmer you can feel when you block even a slight breeze. I took off the shell when we started doing trail maintenance and didn't take the hoody off until after lunch when it got above 60*. I put the hoody and shell back on after dinner last night around the fire and was plenty warm until I went to bed.

Its cut is loose but not baggy, making it great for layering over a t-shirt or baselayer. The sleeves are long enough to cover my lanky arms and the cuffs are wide enough to allow my watch to pass through. The material is just stretchy enough that when I pull the sleeves up they stay in place well, and I can actually pull them up past my elbows and still not feel constricted. The pocket is large and deep, I can fit my wallet, keys, phone, chapstick, and eye drops in with ease. The material on the back side of the pocket isn't fleece like the rest of the garment but more of a lycra, I don't know the reasoning but it isn't noticeable when you're wearing it. Finally, the hood is just great. I normally wear a light Smartwool beanie in cool weather to keep my ears warm, but the hood on this garment surpasses it in warmth. When you cinch the drawstring around your face it seals out the wind well (as well as plain fleece can) and is cut such that it doesn't block peripheral vision and it moves with your head as you look side to side.

So far I've used it with a shell down to the upper 30's, and by itself (or over a t-shirt) between about 45 and 60. Above 60, its still comfortable with the sleeves pulled up and I've worn it all day at work quite a bit. I would estimate I could use it down to 30 with a light baselayer underneath and a shell on top, though I might need a warmer hat instead of just the hood. Keep in mind that it is a thin fleece shirt and doesn't block much wind although putting up the hood and cinching it down gives you great sense of warmth. Its been a great addition for fall and I look forward to seeing how I can integrate it into a cold weather wardrobe.

I'll try to get some pictures of it up soon too.

Adam

[Debster]

Thanks for the review of the Melanzana hoodie. I have pretty much decided to get one. I especially like what you say about the hood, it is a big difference from a lot of mid layer fleeces I have seen.

I do have one more question though. You say that its cut is loose. Their website says: "Fairly close fit for easy layering and multi-sport versatility. Men's sizes have a longer more roomy fit, while the Women's are contoured to fit close."

I think I would prefer a slightly loose fit, so I am wondering whether to size up or even buy a men's. My question is, did you buy your normal size, or did you size up to get the loose fit?

Thanks again for the great review.

Debbie

[aroth87]

I bought my normal size. I don't have any good pictures of myself in it, but these two pictures shows me wearing it at a couple of events.

I'm not really sure what the best choice for you will be but since Melanzana is a small shop they'd probably be pretty quick to answer an email. I'm sure you'll love yours just as much as I love mine!

Adam

[aroth87]

I finally finished Becca's sleeping bag yesterday. I put off sewing the zipper for a long time because I'd never done one before but it actually turned out pretty well. I'll post specs and pictures later but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out and it doesn't look half bad either. I'm just so glad to be done with it (and so is Becca), its been sitting in pieces in our guest bedroom for months. Now that its finished I'm sure it will be too warm to use it until fall, that's just my luck.

Adam

[aroth87]

Since she won't be using it for hiking (yet ) I wasn't super critical of the weight but didn't want it to get out of hand either. I think I stuck a pretty good balance between weight, price, and warmth. I used 1.9 oz ripstop nylon for the shell and liner, 2.5 oz Climashield Apex on the bottom and in the hood, 5 oz Climashield Apex on top and also put another layer of 2.5 oz Apex in the lower 1.5' of the top over the foot area. I decided, for simplicity's sake, to just make the bag rectangular. I could have saved a few ounces that way but Becca doesn't like how constricting a mummy bag feels either, so I left it untapered. The zipper is a very lightweight #3 coil zipper. Looking back I would have got something a little more substantial but we'll see how it holds up. The zipper runs almost all the way down to the corner so you can open the bag wide and get in easily. I also added an anchored cord lock and fabric sleeve for a draw cord around the hood but overestimated how much extra I had and will have to buy some more to add later.

As I mentioned, the zipper is the part that had me worried but once I figured out the zipper foot on the sewing machine it was a breeze. What I did was separate the two sides of the zipper, pinned them to the black liner fabric (carefully lining them up so they would match again) and sewed it in place. Then I laid the green shell fabric on top, right sides together with the zipper sandwiched in between, and sewed around the whole perimeter of the bag, leaving the foot end open to stuff the insulation in. I chose not to stabilize the insulation because it was a pain to run through the sewing machine and that's the one choice I think could come back to bite me in the project. I'm surprised at how good the zipper looks, there's one little spot where the shell fabric got a little wonky but since I sewed the zipper to the liner first you can hardly tell. And now the specs:

33" wide x 82" long (from the top of the hood)
It packs into an 9" x 18" stuff sack.
And it weighs 2 lbs 4 oz!
According to the calculations I found for synthetic insulation it should be good to 30*F but if it keeps Becca warm down to 40* it will be sufficient. Much colder than that and she's questioning my sanity when I suggest we sleep outside.
Cost of materials was a little over $100.

Teaser pic:


And a few more pictures on Flickr.

Thanks for looking!

Adam

[Debster]

Adam, great job on the sleeping bag! Nice and lightweight too. I agree with your wife about sleeping outside at freezing temps ...

By the way I have a Melanzana Microgrid hoodie on order finally, I have been waiting all winter for them to get my size back in.

[aroth87]

Thanks! We'll be working on the trail at Winona this weekend so she'll get a chance to try out, even if we will be sleeping indoors .

As for the hoody, Becca has been asking for one too plus I've been eyeing the Hard Face Vest. I wore my hoody this morning on my bike ride into work, still love it!

Adam