Te Araroa specifics

@kreig This is kind of the sleeping bad/bed you've potentially been talking about. http://www.decathlon.co.uk/sleepinbed-hike-0ultralight-id_8208322.html The 'comfort' temperature is 0c. Hope this is helpful.

Honora, the reason I like the idea of a quilt, even more than a sleeping bag, is because I'm a restless sleeper. I've learnt throughout my life to hold onto the top of the blanket/quilt at night, and so it will stay with me while I move around underneath. Funnily enough though, sheets rarely manage to stay in place throughout the night. I'll wake up with the blanket, but no sheet. :) In a sleeping bag, I find I'm constantly 'fighting' the bag, getting tangled up in it. I had a brilliant Army bag once, that was big, roomy, waterproof (for my 20th birthday I slept just in that, on top of a mountain, on the ground without any shelter in a raging storm, and remained toasty as), but it was really big and bulky and heavy. So I think a quilt would be better for me. Maybe the best option is simply a bag that zips all the way out to be a quilt. I remember the el-cheapo bags used to do that. Having some way to attach the mat to a quilt, I'm hoping that I'd slide around on the mat easily, not fighting the quilt like I do a bag, but keeping that warmth in/more regulated. Cheers for the link Bamboo, I'll definitely be looking into that bag!

My thoughts on the overall combination of what I'm taking for the TAT, taking into account the fact that I'm starting out earlier (1st of August) than is generally recommended, is as such: I expect to link up huts where I can a lot of the time. But I am not only prepared for, but 100% expect, to be beat down by some truly heinous weather, be that a massive storm, or a white out etc, reach a point where light is fading and I'm not 100% sure of my navigation, or even just too tired on a given day to have the desire to make it to the hut, and so will need to weather the storm without solid walls. I expect to be held up a few days at a swollen river; basically, I'm expecting to do a lot of tenting in less-than-favourable conditions. Therefore, the gear I want to take, whilst trying to minimise weight, of course, is gear that I can be confident in getting me through these weather events. I don't really believe in a shelter as insulation. Insulation is far easier to regulate with clothing/sleeping systems. To me, the shelter is to keep the infernal bugs out, to keep most of the rain/snow out, and hold up in reasonable winds. Having said that, if I'm in a true blazer, caught in something like a tornado or cyclone, then I probably wouldn't even pitch a tent. I'd look for some kind of natural shelter, even if it's just a depression in the ground, bunker down, and layer up! Over the next 4 months, I'll be testing out a lot of options. And seeing as though I live in Greymouth, it's just a short drive up to Arthur's Pass, where I can test out my systems in heinous winter temperatures and white outs, whilst remaining relatively close to civilisation (and my car). I'm almost as excited about the gearing up and planning as I am about the actual tramping of the TAT itself. :D

Yeah, good idea Pipe. I've currently got a Lenser, but it just chews juice far too quickly. Branch away, my friend, branch away! :D