My wife bought this insulation layer jacket to go along with the rain shell posted below.
Details
So far she’s only worn it a few times. I’ll return with an update.
Update: She wears it every day and so far so good. Keeps her warm, not too delicate, perfect body-hugging fit.
So my wife just bought this. It’s rained every day since. So far so good. I know a few days doesn’t make a solid review, but we’ll see after a few downpours.
Basic technical data:
It fits nicely over her Mountain Hardwear StretchDown DS jack.
Sugar Pine Point Campground is a sure thing. Roads to the campsite are paved, almost nobody there, right by the lake, etc.
For those who want something cheaper and more versatile than a Warn winch on your truck and are willing to sacrifice sweat to get it, you may want to look at this. I haven’t had to use it yet, but it’s far stronger and heavier than the cheap “two ton” $50 winches I see on Amazon.
It only weighs 25 pounds and can supposedly pull 12k. We’ll see when I first use it.
Visited here the weekend of January 19. I highly recommend it for winter car camping, especially if you have kids.
I tried several campsites and all were either officially closed or snowed in. Sugar Pine Point is right on Lake Tahoe and was reasonably plowed, right up to where I could park the truck. Furthermore, it had metal boxes for storing food, picnic tables, fire pits, and was just a short walk to the lake.
We had easily over a foot of snow everywhere, temperature in the morning was 25 degrees and it climbed to 33. About as good as you can get if you want snow.
By far the best budget buy I found for a down bag was the REI Co-op Magma 10. Haven’t used it yet, but will report back.
Report: sleeping bag was comfortable at 25 degrees. Plenty of space, weighs next to nothing, packs down very small too.
Update: Next trip at 25 degrees, I froze. Horrible. I returned the bag.
So I’ve discovered there’s a decent sized community of doing ultralight on the cheap. Links will be stored here.
Just to be clear, I’m not affiliated with any product or company. I make no money here, serve no sponsored links, etc.
I have a few old jackets that were water-proof/resistant in their prime. Currently researching the best products to make them as functional as possible so I can avoid simply donating them away.
Sport Wash Laundry Detergent
… populate …
Gear Aid ReviveX Durable Water Repellent For Outerwear
… populate …
Project Hemingway 