gauvins

Layering is a good idea. Personally I'd rather put a cheap blanket *under* a 900-fill down to keep loft to a maximum, hence a quilt.

Frozen water : not trivial. I believe that I'll have to learn to sleep with water bottles.

I have a couple of winters ahead of me to test this

robow

Yes, I've endured those water bottles frozen overnight. Then placed one in my bag down by my feet..... and of course it leaked a little. One other thing to consider, a lot of federal, state and private campgrounds are closed at that time of year or only offer limited services meaning they may have turned most or all water off. Did I mention how much I enjoyed winter touring?

staehpj1

Frozen water bottles can be a scourge of cold weather camping. Heck they can be pretty bad even for just offroad day riding. I know that I once got caught out on a late fall trail ride where it got colder as I got higher and the snow covered the rock cairns that marked the trail forward and back as well as covering my back trail. Also my water bottles froze solid. I got cold and thirsty. The snow was pretty deep for riding. I was on what may or may not be the right track to get to a road that would get me out before nightfall. I was pretty relieved when I spotted a cattle tank that marked the end of a sand road that descended a few thousand feet back into town where it was a balmy 70 something F. It was one of those situations where by the time I realized I should turn back I was past the point where it wasn't clear whether it was better to go forward or back.

djb

gauvins, I haven't camped in winter, so don't really have good suggestions.
What I can suggest is that from these last bunch of years winter commuting, I now have it figured out that clothes to wear for X temps, gloves, layers, footwear etc, so thats my advice. Real life riding in sub 0c temps are the best way to find what pieces of clothing and layering works best for you.

Different people are really different with cold. For instance, I know that Mev is waaaaaay tougher than I am for cold weather riding, so you really do need to figure out what works for you and to have extra stuff in case things get wet or whatever.
I can handle riding in heat pretty well, but am apprehensive about riding in somewhere like high up in the Andes with cold temps, and wanting to be covered for having sufficient clothing items with me.

while I would love to ride in South America, I am very aware of how much more stuff I would have to carry, but as you say, it really depends on how long you would be in X temperatures.

Tourist in MSN

Positive mid teens (F) is not too bad at all, especially if most days it is above freezing. That said, if it is windy, that could be pretty miserable.

Some on this thread spoke highly of wool. I have nothing against wool, other than it is heavy. I like Polartec for a number of things that several decades ago I would have used wool instead. I especially like Polartec beanie style stocking cap that will stay on my head when I am sleeping. The only thing that I own that I would take wool over polartec is some wool mittens that I have, I also have a separate waterproof over mitt that works great with them. That said, most of my socks that I use in my heavy duty hiking boots are fairly thick wool, plus liner socks.

You can buy polartec socks and I have some to wear over heavy wool socks in some oversize boots for winter, but that probably is not necessary on your trip.

If that area gets as little precipitation as cited by Mev, sounds like you will not have any vegetation to cushion you when trying to sleep, and might be a tough place to put in tent stakes. I think you will want a tent that is either self supporting or one that only needs a few large cobbles to guy it out. In ground that is damp (unlikely in your location), getting tent stakes out after it froze can be a hassle, bring spares.

That dry, you are fortunate that you might not need waterproof clothing over your layers, but likely would need good wind protection.

Water bottles that are full, froze but not cracked, you need a large cooking pot, put water in the pot and heat it up, stick the bottles in and wait for the ice to melt. It is a time consuming process. But the problem you might have for water is the large quantity that you might need if you need to carry days of water. In dry air like that, you lose a lot of body moisture just breathing because the air that you intake is so dry. Several years ago I asked my Dr if there is a rule of thumb on how much water you need to intake in a day, he said one ounce per kg of weight. At my weight of 80 kg, that is about 2.4 liters. But in really dry air, I suspect you need to add another 50 percent or maybe 100 percent if exerting yourself. Maybe some on this forum that have camped in deserts (I am thinking Australian outback) could elaborate on this? I always go where water is plentiful at least once a day, so this is a topic I am unfamiliar with as I almost never measure out how much water I drink and cook with. Backpacking, I have carried as much as 4 liters at one time, but that was a different situation. If you had several 2 liter bladders of ice, that could be most inconvenient when you are thirsty, especially if they are too big to put in warm water in your pot.

I assume you have a liquid fuel stove that will burn kerosene, or will have one. I have had to clean some of the carbon solids out of my Optimus Nova, it can be done but it is inconvenient. Not sure about the Primus Omnifuel, that might be another option. I have no experience with MSR in cold weather other than one dismal failure several decades ago. In warmer weather, I usually assume that 65 grams of stove fuel is more than I will need in one day if I am boiling water for morning and cooking in evening. That said, in those cold conditions, I would want to double that to make sure I had enough.

Are you putting the decision of derailleurs vs Rohloff vs Pinion to last decision?

I have had sub-freezing temperatures on several of my bike trips, but if it was above freezing by 10am, managed to get by without any major hassle. I think the biggest surprise was mid April in West Texas near Marfa, my water bottles that I left on my bike overnight were full of ice in the morning, in April.

I will wear bike shoes down into upper 20s (F) with shoe covers, but down into the teens I would be wearing hiking shoes or hiking boots with thick socks. I have worn rain pants in cold weather to keep the wind off my legs on dry days. I probably am the only one on this forum to use suspenders with rain pants, but they keep them up without having to keep tightening up a waist band.

stardognine

I'm not gonna quote you there, too much deleting involved, lol, but I carry suspenders too. 😁 I have some pretty old North Face Gore-Tex pants, that need suspenders to keep them up. Especially if whatever I'm wearing under them, is as slippery as they are. I've been embarrassed twice, by them sliding down, when I was walking my bike. 🙄🤪😁 So yeah, OP might consider a good pair of suspenders, before actually needing them. 😉

But those pants are so nice & warm, & windproof, they're worth the trouble. 👍

Steve B.

I admit I dont know quilts very well, other then being aware they are popular with long distance backpackers going lightweight on the AT, etc..... I am somewhat old school, been camping 50 years and have used assorted mummy or rectangular summer bags. Always used a super warm down or Polarguard mummy winter bag. I have a Nemo Tensor insulated pad, love it, very comfortable but have no idea if you can tie a quilt to it, will have to open it up and look.