summer sleeping

[margatt]

I'm planning to ride the Atlantic coast route next summer (June, July, August), from south to north.  My only concern is- do I really need to take a sleeping bag at night; could a light blanket or quilt suffice?  Few if any forums seem to address warm weather camping.  What do the experts here have to say?

[RussSeaton]

My advice may be worthless in this matter.  But...  The Atlantic route is near the ocean.  So you will have cooler temps from the ocean and breezes blowing in from the ocean will be cooler.  The oceans make the coast cooler in the summer and warmer in winter.  The water acts opposite of the land.  It could also rain more than normal along the ocean compared to inland.  And fog and mist from the ocean.  So that will also bring cooler weather.  Temps always go down when it rains.  I have a down sleeping bag rated for about 45 degrees.  It weighs 1 pound.  Same or less than your quilt or blanket.  Ideal for summer camping.  And you can always put on extra clothes/socks at night to sleep.  Carry a balaclava or beanie to use at night.  Its lightweight.

[staehpj1]

I have a down sleeping bag rated for about 45 degrees.  It weighs 1 pound.  Same or less than your quilt or blanket.  Ideal for summer camping.  And you can always put on extra clothes/socks at night to sleep.  Carry a balaclava or beanie to use at night.  Its lightweight.

I have never been on an extended tour where I didn't want to climb in the bag at least some nights.  Even on tours where the heat was the biggest complaint there always seems to be a few chilly or even cold nights.  This may be less true on the Atlantic coast route since it doesn't get very high, but any time you are out for a multi week or multi month tour it seems likely to have a cool night or two.

I too have a warm weather down bag and love it.  At about a pound my bag is quite light for the warmth it offers.  I sleep really warm so I use the same bag even for trips with a few sub freezing nights.  I have done okay down to 18 F with it and some extra clothes.  FWIW my bag is a Mountain Hardwear Phantom 45.  I like that it has a DWR coating.  Mine is an older one so it doesn't have the Q.Shield™ DOWN like the newer version.

[DaveB]

I agree with staehpj1's advice.  Even in the summer it can get quite cold a few nights.  I recall some late June nights on a bike tour in Ohio where it got down into the mid-30's and riders who thought a blanket would be adequate spent a very uncomfortable, sleepless night.

[indyfabz]

My advice may be worthless in this matter.  But...  The Atlantic route is near the ocean.  So you will have cooler temps from the ocean and breezes blowing in from the ocean will be cooler.

Some of it (e.g., the portions through PA, NJ, NY, CT & MA) is nowhere near an ocean.

Agree with the others that a bag might come in handy. I used mine in late August while finishing the Northern Tier, which merges into the Atlantic Coast route around Damarriscotta, ME. New England can have somewhat chilly nights even in August. The two nights I camped before the start of d2r2 in westerns Mass. in mid-August it was chilly enough for a bag. if you trip gets pushed past Labor Day a bag would highly advisable. This past September I rode from Vermont to Philadelphia starting the Saturday after Labor Day and hooked up with the Atlantic Coast in N. Canaan, CT on the second day. Temps dropped in the 40s that night.

During sweltering night in the Midwest I would not get in the bag but rather lay it on top of my mattress. It was nice to have something with some cushion to it.

BTW...Send me a PM if you'd like the skinny on the portion of the Atlantic Coast route north from PA to N. Canaan. I am particularly familiar with the portion between Philly and Port Jervis, NY.

[misterflask]

I like to use a sleeping bag liner to keep the bag from getting gungy and to gain a degree or two warmth on a cold night.  On a really warm night you can use it as a super thin bag.  Not much personal experience with this as this 'sleeping warm' concept is pretty alien to me. 

If you're riding through the Carolina coastal plain in the summer nightime temps can be 85F. 

[walks.in2.trees]

I'm planning to ride the Atlantic coast route next summer (June, July, August), from south to north.  My only concern is- do I really need to take a sleeping bag at night; could a light blanket or quilt suffice?  Few if any forums seem to address warm weather camping.  What do the experts here have to say?

YES.

A 45° rating should suffice, if you want to cut the weight and the pack-bulk, get yourself a down TopQuilt. Synthetic is cheaper, and performs as well, but it takes up a lot more pack space.

If you're ground sleeping with a pad, just a TopQuilt(TQ) should suffice. You can use a sleeping bag instead, but you can save weight by only ordering as much TQ as you need. Conversely, a sleeping bag wraps around your back and the insulation gets compressed to uselessness between your back and the pad... Which translates to a swath of 18"×24”×2" of weight and pack bulk that is entirely useless.

But if hammock camping you'll want a Top and UnderQuilt (and can ditch the pad, though some keep it in case they don't find trees...I have No-Ground Poles, so that's not an issue for me).
I use the summer quilt-set from Wilderness Logics, which they usually offer as a deal as opposed to getting the TQ & UQ separately.
In a hammock during the warmest nights of the summer, I can get away with only the bottom quilt, but I usually keep the top folded up at my feet and snapped around my hammock to keep it there. If I wake up chilly at 3am, I can just pull it up over me.

The best thing to do is plot your route ahead of time, and check the temperature records at each stop... Find the average lows, and go 10° colder. You should base your insulation choice on that.  Optionally, you can go with record lows, but odds are much smaller that you'll experience that. The website Weather Underground has a great tool for seeing weather history... Not the App, although I love that too, the actual website.

Generally, around upstate NY, only August is warm enough that I can sleep without something over me all night, and only 3 months (mid-June through early-September) where the Summer Quilt-set is adequate.

My 0° Quiltset from UndergroundQuilts(UGQ) is fine for the rest of the year, though in deep winter I usually supplement it with a Sea-to-Summit Reactor liner, as well as a warm base layer, and might even layer on my Summer Quilt-set if I think I'll need it.

If I wanted to spend the money, I could get away with lesser ratings for Spring and Autumn, for less weight and pack bulk. But I'm ok with sticking a leg out, or convering only my chest to stay at an optimal temperature.

Links

WL: http://wildernesslogics.com/SUMMER-SERIES-QUILTS_c29.htm
UGQ: http://undergroundquilts.com
Weather Underground: https://wunderground.com/history/


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[paddleboy17]

Most 45F rated sleeping bags just have no insulation in their bottoms.  I really doubt if you will find a blanket that is more compact than 45F rated sleeping bag.  Mine wads up and fits in a 1L cook pot.  I would just carry a good 45F rated sleeping bag (as others have said).