After punching numbers until my fingers went numb, I came to the conclusion that a warm comforter like a THINSULATE LEVEL 3, plus a hot water bottle tossed into bed 20-minutes before retiring was hard to beat. No matter the manner of heating, once bed is exited at 0300 no pad or blanket is worth ten cents. A premium blanket retains warmth for 20-min, upon re-entering no thermal shock. A big comforter allows me to wrap my head and even my feet stay warm. Thinsulate level 3 is no joke - it's a low forties high thirties "lots of warmth" insulator and I lose not one amp hour in the process. When I am boiling water for the bottle I also make a cup of (caffeine-free) hot chocolate. Bottles available in larger FARMACIAS in Mexico. A heated hot water bottle will turn the bed into an oven. No worries.
Fond memories of Palmale/Lancaster (landscatter). Crazy Otto's at 4PM when the crude oil train rumbled past from Bakersfield. Dishes danced off the tables...
