Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Sleeping bag for backpacking in Colorado October

I am looking for information on sleeping bags you guys use while backpacking in Colorado October elk hunt. I have been looking at 0 degree bags. Slumberjack. North face. Marmot. Big Agnes. Kelty are some I looked at but looking for feedback from people who knows what works well and what doesn't

Mountain Hardwear Ultra Lamina 15 fot me. For nastier Octobers a 0 degree bag might be a better option for sure, but it's been really mild the last few years and I've been happy as a clam in that bag.

Tanner

15* bag is about right.

I use a Western Mountaineering Versalite, 10* bag.

Biggest mistake most people make is buying too much bag (i.e., too warm).

For cool weather backpacking, I use a Western Mountaineering "Antelope" rated at 5°F. It has goose down insulation and weighs about 2#. Mine is the older version w/o Gortex. I think the newer version with Gortex weighs a little more.

Don't forget that your mattress is as important as your sleeping bag. I use a Thermarest "NeoAir", large, rectangular.

I wear a stocking cap to bed and if it gets cold I put on a puffer jacket also.

KC

20* Kifaru here. If chilly, wear my wool base layers to bed. No issues yet.

0* Mtn Hardware Banshee SL here. Last couple years its been too warm, so 15 would probably be OK for you. Of the brands you mention I would stay away from the first and last and lean towards Marmot or NF. REI makes some pretty good house brand bags for the price as well.

Since its backpacking, size is important. Check out the marmot helium. 320 bucks abouts and packs down way small. 15 deg. Heck of a good deal there (800 fill!)

https://www.backcountry.com/marmot-...ZWVwaW5nIEJhZ3M6MToxMjpiY3NDYXQ3MTExMDA5

+1

Works here in northern Utah in October.

Most of the well know brands make a solid bag. It helps if you understand the fabrics and fill types. Some bags have a much better DWR and not all down works as well in damp. How much this is going to matter to you will depend on what conditions you camp in. I have found that for extended camping in the cold where tents often get covered in frozen condensation it gets harder to keep bags dry, they soak up moisture from the tent and absorb it from the sleeper. A 0F bag won't be a 0F bag on day 10. If your sleeping in a heated tent it won't matter near as much. As folks have said the pad under you is important. Lastly look at the sizing/Girth of the bags. Its easy to get drawn to a bag that is warm, but light to find out that the bag is cut quite narrow. For me I would want a bag that is large enough to be comfortable even when wearing all my layers.


Some manufacturers like Western Mountaineering make bags in a variety of widths. If WM is in your budget they make a great bag.

As some have wisely said, a good sleep mat...Down needs to loft in order to work well,
but you crush the bags down thats under you as you sleep....solution: -a down filled inflatable mat.

http://www.exped.com/usa/en/product-category/mats

Re; waterproof Gortex shells, are a double edged sword, they are less breathable than pertex so can more easily
contain/ trap perspiration moisture, reducing the efficiency of down...but even the most breathable shell materials
can’t entirely stop the dampening effect of such internal moisture passing across the surface of down. Capillary
action of water then works further against the down, allowing even the smallest amount of water to flow across
the fine textured face of a down feather quickly.

enter Water resistant down: - current technology allows down to be coated at the nano-molecular level making it
'hydrophobic' , the same principle of how a butterflies wings repels water.

ADDED: Theres no escaping the fact WP laminates slow the removal of anti-thermal efficiency perspiration contained
in a s/bag...but better to have reduced efficiency down, rather than be in situation where without a WP bag, you end
up with soggy totally useless down.

No maker has offered a "waterproof" goretex shell for about 25 years...

Marmot helium works for me. I sure they are all good.

I like that choice. I am a fan of down. You do have to keep it from getting soaked but that's just a matter of experience.

I'd plan on keeping dry long underwear, socks and balaclava to sleep in and a warm mat under me.

+1 on Western Mountaineering if you have the coin. I have found them to be very conservatively rated for temperature. Some manufacturers tend to be a bit optimistic.

For that time of year, a real deal 20 degree should work. Just be sure to have options (insulated jacket, etc.) to boost the rating if necessary.

Me too.

When you think of GTX you normally think of various other competing technology laminates in the same technical performance context.
My words still correctly apply to any pre-existing GTX-WP s/bag...and to the sequential mind -also to any past or present non-GTX
waterproof-breathable-laminate shell construction s/bag...be it Exped, Mountain Hardware, etc

Thanks guys I am going to use a big Agnes q core pad as I am side sleeper. I am planning on staying in bag only coupe nights. Last year the area I was got to 6 degrees a few nights. Why I considered a 0 degree. I plan on taking me a thermal set to sleep in. I am looking at mountain hardwear and western mountaineering bags. I have a ultralight 2 man tent made by Kelty. I be camping at or near 11000 feet

Right now, a 0 degree Kifaru is what Im rocking.

Western mountaineering and feathered friends make some super nice bags as well so give them a look.

I used a Marmot never summer for a looooong time and loved it, I still have it but it mostly gets used around the house and as a cat bed these days.

For the past 6 years I've used a Mountain Hardware Phantom 850 down fill bag. I've hunted in CO at altitudes from 10,000 to over 11,500 ft. in late Oct and early Nov. I've never been too uncomfortable using the bag. It is also easy to ventilate when it get's too warm, which is usually the case when using my SO Tipi and Ti stove.

All of this^^^

Used a WM Antelope GTX bag for years. Problem with it was in the September archey monsoon season when it was humid, just cold enough to rain/sleet/snow all at the same time, is body vapor would eventually "wet out" the down. Plus mine was the first version of GoreTex and even "breathable" shells slow down the transfer of vapor from a sleeping bag. The antelope was a great bag for backcountry skiing during the winter but I switched to a synthetic bag for archery hunting where temps generally don't get much below 25 degrees.

The advent of water resistant down has allegedly changed that according to some friends who work in the outdoor clothing industry. So I bought a KUIU 0 degree Long bag last fall when they were on sale. The bag has just enough girth to fit me well even with my base layer and a light polar fleece jacket on ( I'm 6-1, 195-200lbs). I spent two nights in it elk hunting with my son and it rained--in November at 9400ft no less (stupid global warming) and there was some condensation in the tent. I couldn't detect any dampness in the bag, even when I got home and pulled it out of the stuff sack.

Since then I have spent one night backcountry skiing when the temps outside the tent were 12 degrees in the morning. Of course inside the tent was a lot warmer. Based on those three nights I'm liking the bag.

Casey

Might consider a 20 degree bag too. Sometimes it is hot.

I pack a 20 and can always sleep in merino and Kuiu down if the temp drops.

Think about your pad..