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..

Calling what is commonly referred to as WPB shells (waterproof breathable) "Goretex" is like referring to all wide-body planes as "Boeing 747's." The 747 may have been the first, but it's not the only, just as Goretex may have been the first WPB PTFE laminate, but it's not the only player. Calling all WPB shells on sleeping bags "Goretex" is also ironic, since no sleeping bags shells are made with WPB Gore products any longer.

Also, you're confused if you think Pertex is a monolith fabric that does not include WPB fabrics (which you mistakenly refer to as "Goretex"). Pertex makes somewhere around 9 different shell fabrics, 3 of which are WPB laminates like traditional Goretex.

And, of course, the Goretex Co. makes all sorts of fabrics, some of which are WPB, some of which are not. Also, there are a dizzying variety of proprietary and non-proprietary WPB fabrics anymore. That's why they're given the moniker WPB to refer to them as a whole (not "Goretex").

As to WPB shells on sleeping bags, I got my first actual Goretex shelled bag in 1982 (I got my first Goretex Jacket in 1978). It was a Colorado made Marmot Mountaineering bag that I used for ten years. In 1992 I got a Western Mountaineering bag with an actual Goretex WPB shell that I used until 1998.

What I found about Goretex shells, and what Goretex subsequently found, is that a WPB shells can create a slightly "clammy" feeling in the bag, and that in extreme cold may actually fight against the bags "interior climate" by not allowing moisture to exit rapidly enough overnight, allowing it to freeze in the outer layer of down, thus degrading the bags insulation. Of course, the same can happen with any down bag (and I've had it happen) which is why I would always use a VBL liner in a down bag in extreme cold, whether it has a WPB shell or not.

There are many circumstances where a WPB shell on a down bag makes sense for extreme conditions accompanied by wind/dripping water/frost/condensation. I'd just make sure I use a VBL. I personally wouldn't use a WPB shelled bag in conditions above an arbitrary 10*, and to me, they're at their best below zero.

Back to actual WPB Gore sleeping bag shells, Goretex replaced free of charge my Western Mountaineering bag because the Gore laminate started to delaminate in the hood because of hair oils. Gore must have had enough problems, because they stopped warrantying its WPB laminates on down bags sometime in the 90's. That's what they created GWS (Goretex Windstopper) for. GWS is the only Gore product now offered on sleeping bags (to my knowledge). It's not "waterproof" but is highly water resistant. I think it's a great compromise for a truly cold weather bag. Gore replaced my delaminating WM "Dakota" Goretex model with a WM Antelope with a GWS (windstopper) shell. It was a great bag, and I used it until I got a WM Versalite. The GWS, while more breathable than normal Goretex, was still not breathable enough for my liking and limited the bags temp range. GWS also adds a fair bit of weight to a bag.

Only a few bags have actual WPB shells anymore, none of which are Goretex. One is Pertex "Shield", another is a Mountain Hardwear's proprietary fabric called "Dry Q Elite."

So that's the long way of saying calling a Pertex Shield bag or Dry Q Elite bag "Goretex" is a misnomer...

After researching and looking at bags I have a question it's hard to find a 0 degree synthetic bag. But 20 degree are plentiful. I will be using a big Agnes q core pad. If I wear a thermal layer inside bag will a 20 degree bag be sufficient

I lam looking at a mountain hardwear lamina 20 long as I am 6 ft 3

I am also interested in a good used bag if anyone has one for sale

I have a a 0° synthetic bag, 2 actually. All I can say is that if you are buying it for backpacking do yourself a favor and spend the money on a down bag

Side sleeper here as well. I went with a Montbell super spiral design bag (15f - for October in Colorado) a few years back. It "stretches" better than any bag I've seen personally, so makes it more comfortable for me.

REI has it's 20% off sale right now... here's one of the better values out there right now w/ 20% off:

https://www.rei.com/product/110922/...712&gclid=CLD20_r28dICFQGmaQodmoYF4g

Many of the big retailers are doing 20% off right now...

Some screaming bag deals at Moontrail:

http://www.moontrail.com/home.php?cat=493

I have that REI bag - its solid. I must have gotten mine at a steal - $179 new last year.

Bill, I'd never actually laid hands on the REI Magma, so stopped into REI this morning and handled one... impressive to say the least! I'd put it ahead of Marmot's lineup of upper end bags like the Helium... loftier, better finished IMO. It's a lot of bag for its retail price, let alone the sale price, and yours is even better.

do you sleep on the cold side or the warm side?

most EN ratings already include midweight thermals; obviously adding a puffy jacket (and even pants) along w/ booties and a warm hat/balaclava will push the bag further

having said that, if you are going to err, I would err a little on the cautious side on what temp rating to go with

see if there is a snotel site near where you are hunting (and close to the same elevation) and you can get a good idea of what temps to expect

I have a cold weather Gore Windstopper Bag, sort of a semi custom job, ironically made by the same people that made the old marmot bags in Grand Junction. It works very well, but is on the big / heavy side for most stuff. Most of the time, I pack a good solid 20 degree bag. I had been using a Feathered Friends Flickr , but recently got a semi custom Nunatak bag that on it's first outing worked really really well. I'd recommend a good 15 -20 degree bag, and there is nothing wrong with going lower in temp rating. I don't really care for the Marmot Helium, the zipper gets stuck way to often for my liking and the draft collar is non existent. Fix those two items and it would be a great bag. The FF and Nunatak both have center zips that are essentially snag free, which is certainly nice in the middle of the night, if needed and good draft collars.

I camp in the vicinity of 10k' and use a 15*. It works. It's an old Kelty. Past due for an upgrade.

Edit: at that price, I'll have to try the magma. If my CO draw goes as planned I may be on a DIY hunt in late Oct in CO. Could be cold, and I'll want to keep the pack as light as possible.

If you are going to be at high elevations, plan for it to be cold.

I backpack hunted in September in Colorado last year. I was camping at 10,000' and I used a +4F bag (Kelty Cosmic 4). I wasn't cold at around 28-35 degrees but I wasn't super warm either. I get cold easily, though, when I am not moving. If I was going in October, I'd have a sub-zero bag with me.

I have not read the whole thread but you obviously have a decision to make on insulation material. Down is obviously more compressible but the synthetic is warmer when damp. I have a North Face Inferno -20F down bag that I use in subfreezing backpack hunts in the North East and it gets damp and icy from condensation after a couple nights. On longer trips, I deal with the weight of one of my synthetic bags. Moisture is probably less of an issue out west though.

The MH 15° down bags are great - I'd be taking a hard look at the magma and phantom on that moontrail link.

I've started taking a UL quilt with on known cold trips (Montana in November at 8000') - akin to a kifaru woobie but by someone else. That will greatly extend bag range, and it's a good way to keep your boots thawed out overnight...

Big fan of Siera Design, Montbell. I've had 3 REI bags, 45*, 30*, 15*. Froze my ass off in all three. I sleep hot in my SD's and Montbells at same temps. Almost too warm. JME