Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting sleeping bag weight

Brad

do you use any Schnees products (since they are right there where you live))?

22, we've just got some pacs we use. That's about it.

What kind of layering is required with that bag? I'm still leery here in the daks with a down bag. Were you schlepping one around here back in the day?

2 pounds is pushing things. I use a 3 + pound reidown bag and 4 pound wiggys to get through hunting season. Even in the heat of the summer I might be at 3500 feet and its 40 at night. During Sept hunting it pushes 0 at times. Also these 2 pound bags cost twice as much so I'll stick with the 3 pound . Options.

I have no trouble packing a 4lb Wiggys Ultra Light on all my hunting trips, backpack or not. I've been using the bag since around 05 and have never been cold in it. My next bag will be the Wiggy's Glacier Hunter which is rated to 15� and weighs in around 2.5-3lbs.

4 lbs or less doesn't bother the wife or I, rather be warm than not.. but will take less weight.

Being we are used to horrible heat all year, it takes a bit more for us to keep warm generally...

I am going 2 and a half pounds, the weight of my WM Antelope.

What is the over all weight u carry in ur pack?

I rarely measure. For a week I'm guessing 40-60 range. I went ultralight for the first couple of years and find myself drifting back to "normal" as I add some creature comforts back in.

Its kind of funny. Not here, but in other conversations, I hear people talking about their other equipment (heavy stuff) and then they wax poetic about their lightweight sleeping bags. They will carry a 9 pound rifle but will have to have a lightweight sleeping bag.

I now have the Kimber Montana Rifle (trying to figure out the lightest scope I can get away with) and will look seriously into a 2 to 2. pound bag.

Must be things a person can do at the campsite to help the light sleeping bag keep you warm.

I'm doing more and more backpacking after many years away. There is a big diff in the amount of bag required to keep you warm at 25 years old vs 50 years old. So far I've learned that a) I need a good night's sleep; b) I really don't want to spend twice as much for a bag that's 30% lighter; c) the extra 20 lbs around my midsection makes attempts to trim ounces in pack weight a little bit laughable.

The magic solution so far has been to limit my range and lower my expectations. And rest a lot. For a bag I use the Intermediate milsurp bag system with a light, medium and bivvy. That way I can often simply leave portions of the bag at home or in the truck.

Biathlon, thank for the note about EE quilts. That's not a bad price, and I like the synthetic one.

As usual, we have talked all over the map of temps and situations. One bag isn�t likely to do it all well. FWIW basis for my comments: I avoid deep cold as much as I can predict, go light and have bailed out early when the weather turned on me. But I have enough gear to confidently make it.

Every scrap of clothing and gear can help get you through a colder night than you anticipated.

Thinking back, I have slept at least 9 nights in a sleeping bag in -40 or colder without heated shelter. One in the open under stars, a few in a partly covered pick-up bed, a couple on a vehicle seat. In all of those I slept warm and comfortably, though one was marginal. Have slept considerably more camping nights between 0 to -30.

Nowadays if there is a horse or vehicle to carry it I take a second sleeping bag to put over the first if it gets really cold.

One thing I never skimp on is my sleeping bag. Weather forecast is at best a 70/30 proposition, but lets forget that part. Whenever you go into the wilderness for any and all recreational purposes always plan for the unexpected.

A few more ounces in a warm enough sleeping bag isn't going to make a difference. Being stuck up in the mountains in bad weather without the proper sleeping bag could make a huge difference.

I often wonder what the Native Americans of yesteryear did without fancy, high buck, sleeping bags.

They used fire, blankets, and shelter.

Indians used dogs to pack stuff around until they started using horses. I forget but I believe it wasn't till 1800's they started relying on horses.

For foot hunters weight is an issue. I just don't see why its such a big deal in a sleeping bag. Plenty of other non-essential places one can cut weight.

Horses beat Lewis & Clark to the plains. The Spaniards turned enough of them loose in the 1600's and they naturally made their way north.

Out of curiosity, what type thermometer do you guys use to record -30 and -40 degree lows while out in the woods?

I didn't say they were not there. I said they didn't start relying on them. At least from a few books I have read on the subject.

I don't measure temps. I match the bag to the location, time of year, and forecasted weather for the time I will be out there.

Ive back-pack hunted for elk in Colorado for decades, temps range from the 80F down to -20F on very rare occasions.
youll find early season archery ,far warmer than third rifle season up at 10,000 plus feet elevation.
now you should obviously consider what you NEED to stay reasonably comfortable under the likely conditions you'll see.
one of the most miserable nights I ever spent was the first night I camped in the California Warner wilderness, temps dropped to -5F
I had a SEARS sleeping bag rated for 10F and even wearing a parka and sweater inside the bag I felt like I was freezing to death,sleeping in the tent.
light weights great, but the object of having a sleeping bag is to allow you to stay at least semi-warm while you sleep.
now having a good insulating pad under the bag helps and having a pull over face mask to restrict heat loss from your head and face helps,but think thru your choices based on the likely conditions and don,t get mesmerized by light weight or low price alone, your life could depend on staying warm and dry.
down in the 600-800 loft range is effective and light weight, but if it gets soaked with water its nearly useless a roomy gortex outer bags helpful.
get a bag thats a bit too heavy or bulky its a P.I.T.A. to carry and pack, but you might prefer that over FREEZING TO DEATH with a soaking wet, useless 2 lb down bag if your forced, to use it because you got soaked , accidentally falling in some creek covered with ice,or caught hiking far from cover in a down pour in mid 30F temps where a good synthetic bag might provide far more warmth.

http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/Sleep%20Gear/Sleeping%20Bags/

http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Backpacking-Sleeping-Bag-Reviews


yeah Im sure Ill get flack over this but I found this bag and pad, and gore tex outer bag a decent choice, yeah, I generally use these only if I,m sure to see sub zero temps and the bag alone over a tarp works fine on most hunts but I keep the other two components in the truck along with a good pack frame and two man tent.

http://www.rei.com/product/828210/the-north-face-inferno-20-sleeping-bag#specsTab

http://www.mpgear.com/item/astroinsulated/Nemo-Equipment-Astro-Insulated-Sleeping-Pad/1.html

http://www.amazon.com/Military-Surplus-Bivy-Sleeping-Cover/dp/B00276IGM4