High Sierra Topix

fishmonger wrote:for weight weenie reasons I dont' always bring a fleece

When going light I occasionally wear all of clothes. And in that mode there just isn't that much remaining stuff to make a pillow out of. This is why I sometimes end up using my shoes underneath.

If I was one of those guys hiking in the five fingered shoes that wouldn't work either.

I also use my spare t-shirt. It functions much like a pillow case. I stuff in one larger piece of clothing - for years, like Old Ranger, it was a wool sweater. When I decided that something a little lighter might be better (about the same time the sweater developed too many holes to use anymore), I got a warm polartec jacket. So now it's the polartec jacket and I fill in with whatever else is left. It depends on how cold it is that night. On a normal night, I'll add my polartec pants. On those really cold nights, I wear the pants.

I used to just stuff my down jacket into the sleeping bag stuffsack and call it good. These days I find that a little more structure is needed for a good nights sleep. Now I fill my Exped air pillow about 75 % full, wrap my new, lighter down sweater around that and place it all in the sleeping bag stuffsack. This arrangement provides enough structure to support my head and neck along with some cushion from the sweater. For me, the extra 3 ounces for the Exped pillow is worth it.