My Girlfriend hates my sleeping bag...

This is not really the subject matter which this forum is intended however I told my buddy this story while backpacking this weekend and he agreed it needed to be shared, and I always take the opportunity to laugh at other peoples blunders, so I only feel it is right to put myself out there to be laughed at, so here it is, and it is long...
So this all started before Christmas when I decided I wanted a nice sleeping bag (I had one of the old army extreme cold bags purchased at a flea market, great for camping terrible for backpacking the thing weighed 10lbs or so). So as always to ensure I got the bag I told my brother what I wanted. We have been scamming this game for years and anyone with a sibling I'm sure knows what I mean, I tell him what I want, he tells me what he wants, we make sure mom and dad get it for us. Flawless, they feel like they got us something original without us having to tell them, and we get exactly what we want. However, apparently there were too many choices for either of my parents to make any kind of decision and I was left out in the cold on Christmas morning (pun intended). After a week of complaining and slumming around the house depressed about not having a new sleeping bag to crawl into I did what any 23 year old college student would do when they wanted something, I put on the man pants and promptly called my grandmother. I talk to my grandma at least twice a week so the small talk was minimal, and I decided to try and drop the hit rather than just ask. Well she didnt pick up on it and again I was left in the cold. Down to my last resort I returned to school and decided to kick off the semester by exercising my only remaining option, I picked up double shifts, worked late on week nights, and actually got a second job (all as a waiter/bartender). And this is where I probably should have actually started my story but here is the end of it. So a few weeks of working my tail off and I finally get my new bag (nothing great but I am just getting into this whole backpacking thing). So it had turned an unseasonable terribly cold in Alabama (yes it got down to about 25) so I decided to open the windows in my room turn on two fans and sleep (in my bed) in my brand new sleeping bag. My girlfriend hated this and began complaining feverishly, she even tried to sneak one of the windows closed. Then she tried to tell me I was "stupid" to which I replied I was only testing my gear and wanted to make sure it would truly keep me warm. She insisted that I was stupid, and I am young and made the mistake of switching from defense to offense, so I told her it was in fact her who was stupid. I had informed her I would be opening the windows long before she came over, and in fact she was the idiot who came over wearing flip flops shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt. Perhaps she should have taken the time to better prepare herself to sleep in below freezing temperatures. This resulted in a swift kick in the side and a strong shove, which when wrapped in a mummy bag can be devastating. I ended up on the floor with a nice shiner (thanks to the night stand)and my fall was broken by the fact I never do laundry. Luckily my pain brought immediate forgiveness, I decided I would wait to try out my bag, the windows were closed, and all was forgotten. However she still threaten to burn my sleeping bag if I ever pull it out i the bedroom again...

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By any chance are you closely related to Bill S?

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To be 23 again...you get an A+ for effort. You got pain for the fall and sympathy from the girlfriend. Good trade-off: she could be whipping you forever over your experiment. I did something similar but without a girl friend.During a brutal winter night in the Boston area I opened up my bedroom windows to test out a bag rated to -10. In the middle of the night, my roommate got out of his room and made some bombastic remarks about my plan. Good thing we had been friends since 4th grade. We still are.

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...Girlfriend hates your sleeping bag?...simple solution...get a new one! : )

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f_klock, would that be a new sleeping bag... or a new girlfriend?

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Hmmmm....

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Yep.

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Diplomatic response, f_klock. Running for office anytime soon?

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with the current economic trends the sleeping bag will definitely be more cost effective...

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I just have to ask this. Why did you not try your new bag outdoors?

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I did...later...this was just the first day I got it....

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Quote:

Diplomatic response, f_klock. Running for office anytime soon?

At this time I have absolutely NO intentions of running for political office unless my current situation changes.

After that, I MAY consider it if requested by an interested party. If that party is willing to make considerable contributions to my campaign YES, I would be honored to represent them by running as the peoples candidate. My affiliations with a particular party are open. :0?!!

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After reading this, I don't feel like such a schmuck. I tried my sleeping pad and bag on the living room floor under the window at minus 20 C. Even feels like camping!

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The testing seems quite logical, however, going on the offensive with a girlfriend (or wife) is never a good idea.....
Gear/technique testing around the house can be fun, though!
I can still recall the mixed look of horror and delight when my parents caught me putting an aid route up the chimney of their home (a couple bolts and some mortar chipping for bat-hooks) .. even made a two bolt anchor so I could try out the porta-ledge I'd made from a camp-cot and some nylon webbing .. I ended up not repeating the route as I had to chop the bolts, repair the holes and re-point the bricks where I'd chipped mortar ... didn't get to spend the night in the PAL either (that came later, on a real cliff). I was probably 15 years old at the time ....

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Unless, of course, the wife/girlfriend is also a gear freak... and tests her own gear in "odd" places. ;)

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Thats a great story,sounds similar to the tricks I pulled when I was younger.Now I live in an old farmhouse in the frozen north,I do not need to open the windows to get it that cold in here. When the dogs water dish freezes on the floor in the kitchen I know its time to get the down bag out...and thats with 2 woodstoves cranking.

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