I'd be interested to know where you read that? As far as I know, blanket coats like capotes were still immensely popular in colder climates at this time, especially throughout Canada. Other alternatives were available towards the end of your chosen period, but wool was still the best thing available. They may have been a little more tailored than in earlier periods, but wool coats were basically the same thing as the capote and its variants. I know i read somewhere that they were especially popular with the Montreal snowshoe club and other prominent outdoor sports types. They are still sold and worn in so many places today. When you think about it, they weigh less than a blanket and provide warmth where it matters. Once you get to the colder temperatures basically everyone recommends two blankets. In my experience your blanket coat can act as that second blanket with a little saving in weight.
Kephart, Miller, and just about all the authors I listed in my initial Classic Backpacking post, along with cold weather expeditions: Shackleton, Amundsen, Mallory, etc.
While still using wool, they recommend thin wool layers like shirts and sweaters. They allow for better regulation of heat and offer better insulation for the weight.
For a person traveling on foot a wool coat is problematic. It is too bulky to carry in a pack, which means you end up having to wear it, which results in overheating when moving about.
I'm not familiar with many Canadian authors, so I don't know what they recommend during that time peiod, but in the US and from what I can se, Europe, they were largely out of use by the 1850s when it came to high mobility trips.
Anyway, like I said, I have no way of carrying such a coat in my backpack, and there is no way I can wear one the whole trip, so it wasn't an option for me.
Thanks - we really are spoiled with our fancy sleeping bags, aren't we
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