Hi All,

Im in the process of putting together a lighter pack for summer. I live in MPLS and frequent the north shore/BWCAW area.

Can anyone recommend a nice warm LIGHT packable blanket i could use instead of my bulky sleeping bag? Im not exactly sure how cool it gets up there, probibly 50's at night.

Warm is relative to your other gear (among other things).

WTS; I've used an Mountain Laurel Designs XP Quilt (ie, a nice warm packable *quilt*) inside a half zip Equinox eVent bivy. Shelter was a Six Moon Designs Gatewood Cape.Temperatures were in the low thirties, lotsa rain at times, 200 feet from a large river. Slept on dry sand. Minimal wind protection but adequate.

I wore a lightweight pair of pants and a lightweight Mt. Hardwear long sleeve shirt over a set of lightweight (ie; thin) LS tops and bottoms. Two pairs of thin sock liners (patagucci). Thin polypro skull cap. One pair of thin, polypro liner gloves (patagucci again, iirc). No shoes. Warm and dry all night. Too hot when temperatures were above 40 or so. Took off the pants and shirt. Opened the bivy up a bit. Completely comfortable again.

Peace,

Richard.

Genuine US military poncho liner. Light, easily compactible, dries very quickly if it gets wet. We used these on our last two overnights here in Florida during the spring. If we were to get too cold, we'd add our base layers (silk). I've carried one of these for 25 years.
http://cgi.ebay.com/US-Military-ARMY-NAV...8QQcmdZViewItem
This is a good price, although the shipping and handling fee is a little steep. Still good enough that I bought one more myself.

Last summer I experimented with a light fleece blanket covered in a light nylon shell. I was inside a tent as I was with my daughter, which helped, and was wearing a light merino sweater. You don't save any weight but it saves you from carrying a bulky sleeping bag if you don't have a warm weather sleeping bag. You gotta check the climate extremes for that month though, and consider microclimates, like down on a beach on a clear night, or up on a hill clearing. I like the versatility and robustness of a wool or fleece blanket, but only mid summer. I think blankets are competitive down to 50F, quilts down to 40F, and sleeping bags generally take over below 30F. As a rule of thumb I think the shell weight should not exceed the insulation weight. Don't skimp on clothes when experimenting with bags.

Many people use a sleeping bag liner as a summer bag.

I switched to quilts for three season use. Mine is from Jacks R Better - little expensive, but very versatile.

The lows for the BWCA and the North Shore this week are all in the 40's. That's chilly if there is wind or dampness. Early August warms up with an average low in the 50's, which makes a fleece/nylon shell cover workable if you have dry clothes underneath.