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Mark Abplanalp

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Women's Luna Backpack

Today I wanted to introduce you to the High Peak women’s specific line of backpacks, they are ergonomically designed for a women’s body and shape for a more comfortable and better fitting backpack.  High Peak outdoor sports gear started in 1983 in Germany and has become one of the leading brands in the outdoor sports industry in Europe. High Peak uses the highest quality of materials, with innovative design’s that have great practical use and affordability to be offered in one backpack. We will start off with the Luna 55+10 and the Luna 45+10, these bags are both very similar so I will start off with what they have in common first. Both backpacks share the High Peak Vario system, this is a very cool system that allows you to easily adjust both shoulder straps at once, no more trying to get each strap adjusted perfectly with the tedious buckles that always need to be readjusted. The Vario system also combines anatomic back padding for a precise customizable fit, 3D-mesh covered EVA foam hip belt for comfortability, with  quick adjust buckle, pre-shaped high density shouder straps with 3D-mesh and height-adjustable load transfer straps plus chest belt, and pre-shaped bendable aluminum bars for added stability. Both the Luna 55+10 and the Luna 45+10 have 1 top lid pocket, extendable top lid, detachable hood that can be used as a fanny pack, 2 main separate compartments, rain cover, suitable for hydration pack, mobile phone/mp3 electronics pocket, Gel-foam comfort, ice axe/shovel handle holder. The Luna 45+10 adds side pockets, front pocket, and X-rod suspension system for slightly more comfortability and stability. The Luna 65+10 is almost the same backpack as the Luna 55+10, but eliminates the Vario system, adds side pockets, two top lid pockets, and has two compression straps instead of one. In the world of high priced backpacks the 3 are very reasonably priced considering all of the technology built in to them. The Luna 45+10 starts the line up at $87.00, the Luna 55+10 at 109.00, and the Luna 65+10 at 139.99. These backpacks are priced incredibly well and at www.rustydeals.com we offer FREE shipping on all of are online purchases.

Women's Luna Backpack 2

• Strength – The inherent strength of TACTEL® fiber enables the production of fabrics that are 3 times as tough (resilient) as those based on natural fibers.
• Softness – According to fl exural rigidity testing, TACTEL® fiber is at least twice as soft as most other fibers
• Lightweight – Fabrics made with TACTEL® fiber are at least 20% lighter than most other fabrics for the same cover value.
• Easy Care – TACTEL® fiber dries 8 times faster than cotton.
• Breathability – Breathability is one of the most vital properties in a fabric when it comes to comfort. The performance of fabrics made with TACTEL® fiber meets these requirements.

Finally the High Peak – 40 Cascade sleeping bag uses Quallofill, Quallofill has 4 holes inside the fibers shaped like a cross instead of one big one like in Hollofill. It is also treated with a slickening agent so the fibers don’t bind together resulting in better compression, better down like feel and  longer life and slightly lighter weight. This makes the High Peak Cascade – 40 a super performer at any price, and considering you get all this at $135.00,  it makes this sleeping bag a killer deal! 

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The Body and Clothing

1. Head - because the head has a very high surface to volume ratio and the head is heavily vascularized, you can lose a great deal of heat (up to 70%) from the head. Therefore, hats are essential in winter camping. The adage – if your toes are cold, put on a hat – is true. A balaclava is particularly effective and versatile. A facemask may be required if there are high wind conditions due to the susceptibility of the face to frostbite.

2. Hands – mittens are warmer that gloves because you don’t contend with the curvature problem described above. Also the fingers tend to keep each other warm, rather than being isolated as in gloves. It is useful to have an inner mitten with an outer shell to give you layering capabilities. Also “idiot strings” are important to keep you from losing mittens in the snow. However, gloves are always essential as well in winter because of the need for dexterity in various operations.

3. Feet – finding the right footgear depends a great deal on the activity you are involved in as well as temperature and environment. The two general modes of travel are skiing or snowshoeing (in areas with only a few inches of snow you can hike in just boots).

1. Cross-country skiing - you need a boot that has some ankle support due to the extra weight of a backpack. Also you may need a ski overboot to give you additional insulation over the ski boots.
2. Snowshoeing/Hiking - regular backpacking boots are not sufficient. They simply do not provide the necessary dead air space. The options for boots include:

• Insulated Boots - such as Sorels or “Mickey Mouse” boots. These are rubber or leather and rubber boots that use a layer of wool felt to provide dead air space. The Mouse boots can be Army surplus or modern copies (avoid the copies since they are often poorly made). With the true Army boots, the black boots are rated to -20 degrees and the white ones to -40 degrees. The one drawback with Sorels is that the wool felt liner is exposed. Breaking through a frozen stream may soak the liner which will be difficult to dry. They can be used with snowshoes, crampons and skis (with special bindings).
• Plastic Mountaineering Boots - plastic shell mountaineering boots use inner boots made with wool felt or a closed cell foam insulation. These can be very warm and easily used with ski bindings, crampons, and snowshoes. Depending on the inner boot, you may need insulated overboots to add enough insulation to keep your feet warm.
• Mukluks - one piece moccasins which reach to the knee. They are used with felt liners and wool socks. The Mukluk itself serves as a high gaiter. They are flexible and breathable. They work with snowshoe bindings and can be used on cross-country skis with special bindings (Berwin Bindings) and with hinged crampons (not for technical ice). They are extremely comfortable, but since they are not waterproof they are best used in dry cold winter settings where water and rain are not a problem (e.g. stream crossings, possibility of rain, etc.)
• Heavy leather mountaineering boots with an insulated overboot – this can be effective but the system still is not very thermally efficient and may lead to frostbite of the feet (not recommended).

1. Socks - one of the best systems for keeping feet warm is using multiple layers. Start with a thin polypropylene liner sock next to the skin to wick moisture away followed by 1 – 2 pairs of wool or wool/nylon blend socks. Make sure the outer socks are big enough that they can fit comfortably over the inner layers. If they are too tight, they will constrict circulation and increase the chances of frostbite. Keeping your feet dry is essential to keeping your feet warm you may need to change your socks during the day. Foot powder with aluminum hydroxide can help. High altitude mountaineers will put antiperspirant on their feet for a week before the trip. The active ingredient, aluminum hydroxide will keep your feet from sweating for up to a month. (Some medical research has suggested a link between aluminum and Alzheimer’s Disease but small exposure [as of the original writing of this article] does not appear to be a problem).
2. High Gaiters – are essential for winter activity. They keep snow from getting into your boots and keep your socks and pants legs free from snow.
3. Insulated Booties - these are booties insulated with a synthetic fill that typically have a foam sole to insulate you from the ground. They are very nice to have to wear in your sleeping bag at night.
4. Camp Overboots – are shells with an insulated bottom. These can be worn over insulated booties for traipsing around in camp. Also for those middle of the night visits to the woods.

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Clothing Materials

Some of the different types of materials for winter clothing and insulation are discussed below.

1. Wool - derives its insulating quality from the elastic, three-dimensional wavy crimp in the fiber that traps air between fibers. Depending on the texture and thickness of the fabric, as much as 60-80% of wool cloth can be air. Wool can absorb a fair amount of moisture without imparting a damp feeling because the water “disappears” into the fiber spaces. Even with water in the fabric wool still retains dead air space and will still insulate you. The disadvantage to wool is that it can absorb so much water (maximum absorption can be as much as 1/3 third the garment weight) making wet wool clothing very heavy. Wool releases moisture slowly, with minimum chilling effect. Wool can be woven in very tight weaves that are quite wind resistant. An advantage to wool is that it is relatively inexpensive (if purchased at surplus stores). However, it can be itchy against the skin and some people are allergic to it.

2. Pile or Fleece fabrics - is a synthetic material often made of a plastic (polyester, polyolefin, polypropylene, etc.). This material has a similar insulative capacity as wool. Its advantages are that it holds less water (than wool) and dries more quickly. Pile is manufactured in a variety of different weights (thicknesses) offering different amounts of loft and insulation. This allows for numerous layering possibilities. The disadvantage of pile is that it has very poor wind resistance and hence a wind shell on top is almost always required. Versions of pile are available that have a middle windproof layer.

3. Polypropylene and other Hydrophobic fabrics - polypropylene is a synthetic, plastic fiber which offers dead air space and a fiber which cannot absorb water. The fiber is hydrophobic so it moves the water vapor away from the source (the body). Polypropylene layers are extremely effective worn directly against the skin as a way of keeping the skin from being wet and reducing evaporative heat loss. As the water moves away from the body it will evaporate, but each additional millimeter of distance between your skin and the point of evaporation decreases the amount of body heat lost in the evaporative process. Some fabrics rely on the chemical nature of the fiber to be hydrophobic. Others fabrics use a molecular coating the achieve the same end.

4. Vapor Barrier Systems – another way to stay warm in the winter is through vapor barriers. The body is always losing water through the skin even when we are not active. This loss is known as insensible perspiration and occurs unless the air humidity is 70%. This insensible perspiration goes on at the rate of nearly half a quart every 24 hours. Since it takes 580 calories per gram to turn liquid water into water vapor, heat is continually lost through insensible perspiration as well as through sweat from any activity. A vapor barrier is a clothing item which is impervious to water thereby serving as a barrier to the transportation of water vapor. When worn near the skin it keeps water vapor near the skin. Eventually the humidity level rises to the point where the body senses a high humidity level and shuts off insensible perspiration. This prevents evaporative heat loss and slows dehydration.

Vapor barriers should not be used directly against the skin because any evaporation of moisture directly at the skin surface leads to heat loss. Wearing polypropylene or some other hydrophobic layer between the skin and the vapor barrier allows the moisture to be transported away from direct skin contact. There is no doubt that vapor barrier systems are effective for some people in some conditions. The issues you must consider before using a vapor barrier are activity level, amount you naturally sweat, and “moisture comfort.” If you are not active, such as when using a vapor barrier liner at night in a sleeping bag, the system will work well. A vapor barrier sleeping bag liner will typically permit you to sleep comfortably in temperatures 10 – 15 degrees colder than in the bag alone. However, some people find that they are not comfortable with the level of moisture in the bag and fell clammy. If this interferes with sleeping it may be a problem, better to have a better insulated sleeping bag. Vapor barrier liners for sleeping bags also help in another way. In cold conditions, the moisture from your body escapes upward through the bag, when reaching the cold outside of the bag it condenses into liquid or event frost. Over a number of days this moisture level in your bag increases. If you can’t dry out the bag it will slowly get heavier and heavier as it holds more water. With a down bag, this moisture can actually soak the feathers and cause the bag to loose significant amounts of loft (dead air space), thereby reducing it’s effectiveness.

When you are active, like snowshoeing, and you are wearing a vapor barrier such as a vapor barrier sock, you must carefully monitor how you sweat. If you are someone who sweats a lot with activity, your foot and polypropylene liner sock may be totally soaked before the body shuts down sweating. Having this liquid water next to the skin is going to lead to increased heat loss. If you don’t sweat much, your body may shut down perspiration at the foot before it gets actually wet. This is when the vapor barrier system is working. The important point is that heat loss comes from water changing state from a liquid to a gas. Liquid water next to the skin leads to significant heat loss. Water vapor next to the skin does not. You must experiment to determine if vapor barrier systems will work for you.

5. Polarguard, Hollofil, Quallofil and others - these are synthetic fibers which are primarily used in sleeping bags and heavy outer garments like parkas. The fibers are fairly efficient at providing dead air space (though not nearly as efficient as down). Their advantages are that they do not absorb water and dry fairly quickly. Polarguard is made in large sheets. Hollofil is a fiber similar to Polarguard but hollow. This increases the dead air space and makes the fiber more thermally efficient. Quallofil took Hollofil one step further by creating four “holes” running through the fiber.

6. ”Superthin” fibers – Primaloft, Microloft, Thinsulate and others - the principal behind these synthetic fibers is that by making the fiber thinner you can increase the amount of dead air space. For example, take an enclosed space 5 inches wide and place 2 dividers into that space, each 1 inch thick. You have an effective air layer of 3 inches. If you take the same 5 inch space and divide it with 4 dividers, each 1/4 inch thick you now have an effective air layer of 4 inches. You have gained one inch. Under laboratory conditions a given thickness of Thinsulate is almost twice as warm as the same thickness of down, however, the Thinsulate is 40% heavier. Thinsulate is made in sheets and therefore tends to be used primarily for outer layers, parkas and pants. New materials such as Primaloft and Microloft are superthin fibers that are close to the weight of down for an equivalent fiber volume. They are now being used in parkas and sleeping bags as an alternative to down. They stuff down to a small size and have similar warmth to weight ratios as down without the worries about getting wet.

7. Down – feathers are a very efficient insulator. They provide excellent dead air space for very little weight. The major problem with down (and it can be a major problem) in the winter is that down absorbs water. Once the feathers get wet they tend to clump, and lose dead air space. Using down items in the winter takes special care to prevent them from getting wet. For example, a vapor barrier sleeping bag liner in a down bag will help the bag stay dry. Down is useful in sleeping bags since it tends to conform to the shape of the occupant and prevents convection areas. Down is very compressible, which is an advantage when putting it into your pack but also realize that your body weight compresses the feathers beneath you and you need good insulation (foam pad, etc.) underneath you, more so than with a synthetic bag. Some people are allergic to down. The effectiveness of a down bag is directly related to the quality of the feathers used. Since down is made of individual feathers, sleeping bags are garments must have baffles sewn in to prevent the down from shifting in the bag which would create cold spots.

8. Radiant Barriers - some portion of body heat is lost through radiation. One method of retaining this heat is through use of a reflective barrier such as aluminum. This is the principal used in “Space Blankets” and is also used in some bivy sacks and sleeping bags.

Note: Cotton is basically useless in winter time. It wicks water, but unlike polypropylene, cotton absorbs this moisture and the water occupies the space previously occupied by dead air. This means a loss in dead air space, high evaporative cooling, and a garment that is almost impossible to dry out

The Layering Principle

The key to providing this dead air space is through having a number of layers of clothing. Each layer provides a certain clo value of dead air space. This allows you to add or shed layers to increase or decrease your accumulated dead air space as the temperature changes and/or as your activity level changes. Remember, your body is the heat source, the clothing layers only serve to trap the heat and slow down your heat loss to the cold environment. If you have too much clothing on, you will overheat and start to sweat. You need to find the proper heat balance between the number and types of layers and your activity level.

Example 1: You are snowshoeing up a steep incline with a 50 lb. pack. The air temperature is 10o Fahrenheit and you are dressed in wool pants and a lightweight polypropylene shirt. As soon as you stop for a rest, your heat production slows. If you stop for more than a couple of minutes, you will begin to chill. So you need to have an outer layer handy to put on.

Example 2: You are skiing along the flat. The air temp is 25o Fahrenheit and you are dressing in light polypropylene tops and bottoms, a down vest, and a windshell. You come to a long steep hill and have to push hard to get up and over. You start to sweat as your heat production increase with the increased muscle activity. To prevent overheating, you pull off the vest and stick it in your pack.

Why not just have lots of layers on and sweat? Heat loss from a wet surface can be up to 25 times greater than a dry surface (due to the higher density of water). If you sweat and get soaked, you will lose heat much more quickly through evaporation of the water. Also you are loosing an incredible amount of water through sweating since the air is so dry. Too much water loss leads to dehydration which significantly increases the risk of hypothermia. So you want to control your layers so as to be warm at the activity level you are in but not sweating profusely.

Thus, traveling in the winter is a constant process of adjusting your layers to keep comfortable. This means having a number of layers you can add or subtract and allowing for versatility within layers. Convection may account for the greatest amount of heat loss under most conditions. In order to properly insulate, you need to have an outer layer that is windproof.

Example 3: You are standing on a windblown summit in a wool sweater, the wind will penetrate through the openings in the sweater and quickly carry away the warm layer of air next to the skin.

Another convective factor is the “bellows action” of clothing. As you move a bellows action occurs which tends to pump your accumulated warm air out through openings in your clothing and sucks the cooler air in. In some conditions this action can reduce your body’s personal insulation by 50% or more. Thus, it is important that all layers have effective methods of being “sealed” (i.e. buttons, zippers etc.) Openings in layers allow you to ventilate, to open the “chimney damper” if you are beginning to overheat, without having to actually remove a layer. So opening and closing zippers on a jacket, or armpit zips will allow you to either ventilate if you are getting too hot or seal up if you are getting chilly, all without having to add or take off a layer. With clothes that are too loose, the bellows action pumps warm air out through the openings. You need to have clothes that fit properly but not tightly. Too tight, and the clothes compress and actually reduce dead air space in layers below as well as restricting body movement.

Another general rule is that the efficiency of clothing is proportional to the diameter of the body part it covers. Thus a given thickness of insulation added to your trunk will be more thermally efficient than the same thickness added to your arm or leg. It will also help maintain that body core temperature. This is why vests work well to maintain body heat. There is an optimal thickness of insulation for each body part. Beyond that the added bulk tends to be more of a hindrance in movement than the added insulation is worth.

Have you ever noticed that your hands feel colder after putting on a thin pair of gloves? This is because when insulation is wrapped around a curved surface, the cross-sectional area of the insulation through which the heat may flow is greater as is the surface area from which the heat may be lost. This means that the total insulation efficiency of a given thickness progressively decreases as curvature sharpens over a surface. In addition, small cylinders, such as fingers, show a paradoxical effect. The addition of a thin layer of insulation actually increases heat loss until a thickness of about 1/4 inch is reached. This heat resistance gains as additional thickness is added. However, added thickness beyond 1/4 inch increases warmth very little in proportion to its thickness. This is one reason that thin gloves don’t keep your hands particularly warm.

Tomorrow I will post a blog on the different type’s of clothing material’s.

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