I had replied to this yesterday but my post isn't here so I must have failed to follow-through with my posting before logging off <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

This is absolutely true no matter what topic or discipline you're talking about. Since March I've been studying, learning and practicing a new hobby, and one thing I've learned is that without a solid understanding of the fundamentals, you have no way of knowing whether information given to you by others is good or bad. The world is full of bad information, and those who follow blindly have little or no control over where they end up. Living with conscious deliberation will allow you to replicate your results, or alter your behaviors if necessary. Just muddling through whatever you do may get you where you want to go, but who knows what opportunities you might have missed along the way?

Anyway, a further point I'd like to make is this... we need to stop focusing on hypothermia = death and start focusing on how hypothermia can cause all kinds of negative outcomes, with death only being one option. Many many injuries result from hypothermic decision making. You might not die from those injuries, but they do have a cost. Even if you avoid injury, you almost inevitably have to alter your plans so you can treat the hypothermia, and at the very least you'll have a less enjoyable trip. What is the harm in carrying an extra pound of insulation when going into the more extreme environments?

MNS