Monday, October 22, 2012

Exped Sleep System Review

About a year ago I picked up an Exped Shrink Bag since I liked the concept and design.  Later I discovered that it was made to work as a pump with Exped sleeping pads, and they have a pretty solid reputation as well.  So, recently I found an Exped Airmat Basic UL7.5 on sale and pulled the trigger along with an Exped Schnozzel.  I have been very pleased with the performance of the pad as a lightweight summer pad.  To date, I have probably used in a dozen times with the coldest night down around 45 degrees.  The pad is rated down to 55 by Exped due to the lack of any insulation, however I found it comfortable down to around 50 before I began to feel coolness from the ground.  Below is a video review of the setup and I hope somebody may find it useful.


Saturday, October 20, 2012

Another Gear Review - Cross Mountain Bag

This past year has been very busy, and my fishing time has been extremely limited. With the baby girl, crazy busy work load, a new house (with yard), and a rental property to manage my time to fish has been basically non-existant. So, my way of making the most of getting outdoors has been to do some backyard camping in lieu of going to the Smokies. Throughout this time period I have acquired some new gear, and in an effort to assist others who may be looking to make a purchase I have started making video reviews. Below is my latest review of a sleeping bag that I have had for almost a year now and have probably slept in it 30 nights. Overall a decent bag for warm weather camping and it is easy enough to extent its range another 10 degrees by either adding midweight base layers, bag liner, or just adding a lightweight fleece blanket. Something I do when the temps drop is I actually use my sleeping pad with a Therm-A-Rest fitted sheet inside the sleeping bag instead of the pad sleeve. This gives a comfortable and warmer surface to lay on instead of the nylon top and bottom of the Cross Mountain. I hope this review helps anybody who may be looking at this bag.

19" Clinch River Brown