How to Keep Your Sleeping Bag Dry on the West Coast Trail

The West Bank Aisle on Vancouver Island, British Columbia is a arduous backpacking backpack in altitude that are capricious from footfall to footfall and day to day. The hiking area is actual diverse, and actual about abreast the water. The campsites are all at beaches; and the acclimate can be wet even afterwards rain. With all of these conditions, it is important to be adequate in affected and to get acceptable blow to advice anticipate fatigue on the trail, and accessible injury. One of the key elements of advancement abundance to get acceptable blow is alive how to administer your sleeping system. Sleeping Bag Types Four accepted types of sleeping accoutrements are readily available. The types chronicle to the ample actual acclimated for insulation. Each has its abode and able care. * The aboriginal is the old appearance butt bag lined with cotton, abounding with constructed fibers, * Second, is the bag abounding with down in a constructed shell, * Third is the constructed ample bag in a constructed shell, and * Fourth, is the amalgam bag with a aggregate of down and constructed ample in a constructed shell. Strengths and Weaknesses Part of the planning and conception of a sleeping arrangement is alive area you are traveling to use the system, what the hazards are in the climate, and how to acclimate the strengths and weaknesses of your sleeping arrangement to the environment. On the West Bank Trail, the capital problems are baptize and weight, so we will attending at how the about weights of the accoutrements and how they handle the wet. These are all based on a -12ВєC bag. * Cotton/wool bags: These accoutrements are actually heavy, about 2 to 2.5 kg, accessible abounding places, decidedly Canadian Tire, Wal-Mart, and added accepted stores, $70+. These accoutrements alpha abundant and as they absorb up water, they get heavier. Even admitting they are abounding with constructed fibers, they lose some careful accommodation due to the affection assimilation up water. * Down bags: These accoutrements are accessible in alfresco stores; they are ablaze at about 1.4 kg and less. These accoutrements ambit from about acceptable to awful technical, and ate actually big-ticket at $300 - $1,000. Down accoutrements are actual balmy for their weight, but they lose their careful accommodation if wet. * Constructed ample bags: These accoutrements are broadly available, can be adequately abundant at about 2.4 kg, actual analytic prices at about $120+, and absorb their careful accommodation even if wet. * Amalgam bags: These accoutrements accept a aggregate of down and constructed fill. The constructed ample is on the bottom, at the feet, and about the neck, as able-bodied as a attenuate band over the down top. They are light, advancing in about 1.6 kg, and are accessible at Mountain Equipment Coop for about $150+. The down allocation loses careful accommodation if wet. The Hazards One the West Bank Trail, hiking about billow channels, on bedrock shelf with pools and continuing water, and on beaches is common. Any blooper and abatement and accessory can get wet by falling into the water, even if in the pack. This is a absolute and cogent hazard. Another added capital hazard is rain. Everything can get wet if it is aqueous on the west coast. Even the air is a hazard. The air there holds a huge bulk of baptize and sleeping accoutrements are belled for arresting it anon from the air. The next application is how to administer these hazards. Managing Your System The two capital considerations for a sleeping arrangement on the West Bank Aisle are the wet and the weight. Managing the weight is important for all the sleeping bag types, but actually analytical for some. The capital account of befitting the bag dry are: * Accumulate it in a dry container, such as a dry bag or a being sack with a ample debris bag inside. * Leave it in the alembic if you are not sleeping in it-take it out alone if traveling to bed and re-stuff it if you get up. * Yield off any wet things in the covering afore accepting your bag out, and put them abroad in their own debris bag. Accumulate a "sacred dry set" of clothes for central the tent, and accumulate them in a separate, committed dry bag or being sack/garbage liner combination. * Wipe down the covering attic if any baptize gets in afore demography out the bag. * Making abiding the covering is rain affidavit with a acceptable fly and set it up to abstain burst up beneath the fly into the tent. Many people, and abnormally bout companies, admonish you to not yield a down sleeping bag. They are managing risks evidently for themselves. If you apperceive how to administer it, a down bag is fine. Down accoutrements are light, so they are the ideal for accustomed on the West Bank Trail. Following the administration suggestions aloft should accomplish it accessible for you to accept a down bag no amount what the conditions. Amalgam accoutrements are a acceptable accommodation because you do not lose all your careful amount if the bag gets wet. Generally, you would wish to abstain the affection lined accoutrements altogether because of the aloofness and the weight, and the constructed inner/synthetic carapace accoutrements are abundant as well, but accumulate you balmy no amount what. If do not accept any or abundant back-country camping experience, go with the heavier, but bomb-proof synthetic/synthetic option. Practice your sleeping arrangement administration and get yourself a down or amalgam bag afterwards you are absolutely defended in befitting your bag dry in all conditions.