Originally Posted by
Refreshing
I am gonna be honest with you, I almost always ride with goggles below 10°F but I left them behind because they can get cumbersome with my glasses. 5 miles in I regretted the decision and after that I kind of got used to it until the pain started on day two.
thanks for all of the tips! It makes me wonder if modern equipment isn't always the best solution. I might add that I lived in Minnesota for quite some time myself and my personal record is also near -40°F when a friend and I camped in the cascade valley on top of the frozen river. But that was much easier because we expected it, had proper stoves, and proper insulation.
Are you getting in on the north shore hammock craze??? I feel like all of the campers I know from Minnesota/Wisco have converted to hammocks now.
Yeah, if you are wearing glasses, some goggles are not really designed well for them. Below freezing I wear goggles. I got some safety glasses a couple months ago that so far I think will work well in the upper 30s and 40s, they have a partial seal around the edges of the lenses, but small vent holes. And 50s and above, wrap around glasses or sunglasses.
Some modern equipment is great, but things like stoves the more modern is often lighter but otherwise does not offer that much of an advantage. I busted a pair of wooden snowshoes in the boundary waters, the modern metal frames likely would not have broken the way that the wooden pair busted. Modern tents are much lighter than ones from even a few decades ago. I backpacked the Grand Canyon about five years ago, I used a 1970s vintage backpack although I own newer ones. Overall I think that it is mixed, some new stuff is great and some is not much of an improvement. During the polar vortex that we had a few weeks ago, I was wearing a down parka that I bought in the 1970s, it was perfect for the weather. I am sure you can buy a modern one that is as good, but it would cost a fortune.
I just read this a couple days ago, very good read on dressing for cold weather.
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/2...g-polar-vortex
I think a hammock is a nice thing to lie in during an afternoon if you want to relax, maybe with a beer in hand. But sleeping in them, no. Tried it once decades ago. It was a hot evening, too hot to go into a sleeping bag but the bugs were thick so too buggy outside the sleeping bag. And I like to move around a bit, a hammock is not designed for that very well. I have met people that use them, but none of my friends use them for sleeping in.