A problem and a half solved...

Well, my latest order from Thru-Hiker arrived over the weekend, and I knocked out one of my gear issues from the tune-up trip.  I just completed a full size quilt (M50/Apex) to replace my elephant's foot as that wasn't quite up to snuff.  I oversized this one so that I could put my sleeping pad inside it just in case I needed the extra warmth (54" shoulder, 50" foot box).  A little hot here to give you a number, but in an emergency I guess the quilt is safe to the mid thirties, comfy in the mid forties, cold sleepers and ladies add 10 degrees to those numbers.

I 'll have to test it out this week, but so far so good.  Even with the pad in there I have plenty of room for squirming- with the open foot box I'll be able to hang my feet out on warm nights so this should be a much more versatile system.  It's got a shoelace style system for a full lace up on very chilly nights, but I won't need it anytime soon.

  Final Tally- 11 3/8 ounces, up from 8 1/4 on my elephants foot, but I should be able to leave the Cap 4 top home now as that was mainly a sleeping piece.  So a 63 gram increase for the quilt, and a 222gram loss on the Cap 4 leaves me with a nice 159 gram (5.6ounce) savings AND a big sleepy time upgrade!  Since I sewed it in all black, with black thread- it even looks relatively professional.

A half problem solved- I also had a chance to make a better prototype skirt, which I will be heading for a run to test out shortly.  Also made from M50 it fits nice, has two pockets and comes in at a rather mind blowing 21grams, even if I add a few "refinements" it should still come in at an ounce.  It's even a relatively tasteful length if I do say so myself.  If this little number works out that will be another sweet swap- 119g shorts for 21g skirt is a nice 3.4 ounce savings.  When sweat soaked, I'm saving at least triple that. 

That's ultra-light at it's best; increased comfort, increased versatility, and a nine ounce savings to boot.