Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting need a new sleeping bag

Anyone have a suggestion for a good light-weight easy to pack sleeping bag? I was looking at some of the Sea to Summit bags that I stumbled upon while looking at their compression bags and they seem pretty legit. What should I look for as far as temp rating? I'm hoping I get my tag for first rifle season but may also wind up doing a 4th season cow. Would a 15 work or should I go to 0? As a side note, I tend to move around a lot when I sleep due to old injuries from a bad car accident so I'm not sure if a mummy style would work for me or not. The one I have now is just so worn and its a cheaper one I used for summer camping anyhow.

Since you are a bit of a restless sleeper, I'd recommend a Big Agnes bag. They have a sleeve on the bottom for the pad, therefore you can't roll off it. I have one and like it a lot. My next will be from them as well. Also, their Classic series is more of a semi-mummy. I find it roomy enough and I'm quite fat. If you keep an eye out on their specials page you can often score one for quite a bit less than retail.

I'd go for at least a 0 degree bag and probably a colder rating. I have spent a week shivering in the mountains and will never do that again. To be fair, most of my problems resulted from inadequate pad insulation, so don't overlook that aspect of your sleep system.

Western Mountaineering is a great choice in bags and the Exped Downmat is a fantastic pad if the weight isn't problematic. I also like the Stephenson Warmlite sleeiping bag system (haven't used one yet, though).

In cold weather, you pad is at least as important as your bag. If you use a cot, that is also important. Get a bag equal to at least the coldest weather you anticipate, and a good pad that is thick and comfortable enough to be able to sleep on without feeling the ground below it, but dense enough so it won't draw your body heat away from the bag.
Lots of good bags out there these days and some of the best ones really aren't all that expensive any more. My favorite bag these days is a 0 degree bag I bought a few years ago. Keeps me toasty warm and comfortable and only cost me around $30 or so. Even better since I got a good slumberjack cot and a good pad from Cabela's.

Bob

Go with the 0 bag. Are you going to backpack with it. If car camping you can save a lot of money by not wanting to shave Ozs. I have a moutain hardware bag and I love it. I backpack with it. http://www.mountainhardwear.com/Lamina%E2%84%A2-0-%28Regular%29/OU8500,default,pd.html

Western Mountaineering makes among the finest bags available and I say this from having owned and used most of the top makes over 49 years of backpack camping, here in BC. This, entails stints of 3 months alone in the most remote wilderness areas of this province using the same bag every day.

One important issue for you and why I sold my WM Alpenlite is that they tend to be "narrow" for the given specs. Yet, they have the Bristlecone model and this would be ideal for your uses.

The other very fine bags I now use are a "large" Valandre Shocking Blue and a superd Integral Designs XPD II Overfill made here in Canada, probably the most nicely made bag of about 20 that I have owned....but, it cost many $$$$$.

The Valandre is 3 lbs, will keep me warm below "0" and I have very big chest/shoulders and am like Pointer, not as lean as I would like to be, but, WTF can ya do!

I have much the same injury-sleep issues as you do and the Valandre is THE most comfy bag I have ever slept in and will last a lifetime if properly cared for.

HTH, get an Exped Deluxe 9 Large, a pad so luxurious it should be a sin and get an EVA pad from "Prolite" to go under it.

Warm isn't necessarily expensive. Warm and light is, though.

Big Agnes! Not cheap but light, and compress down into a nice neat bundle. The pad system is great as well. They have over-sized bags too if you need a little more room and can compromise on weight a little.

If I had to have only one bag, it would be a 20-25 bag. But I have a 0 and a 20 degree and probably haven't used the 0 in about 6-7 years, the 20 does the trick the majority of the time and I have sweated in the 0 some nights.

I like the "semi-rectangular" bags instead of the mummy. And you might give this one a look:
http://www.trailspace.com/gear/mountain-hardwear/flip-2540/

Semi-rectangular and thicker one one side so you flip it when it is colder

That said, if you will be camping at high altitude and there may be snow, go for the 0.

I'd say go 20 degree and add an over bag if necessary. I really like my Western Mountaineering sycamore semi-rectangular bag. Add on the hill people gear mountain serape when the temperature requires it.

take a look at Sierra Trading Post, lots of bags to choose from. prices are great, look for the tall or XL bags. I like to buy a cheap flannel liner to add to my nylon bag that adds warmth and not feel the cold nylon bag when I first get in. once you purchase from Sierra you will get emails for add'l 35-70% off. they are good to deal with if you have to do a returns.

Love my Montbell stretch bag......

Western Mountaineering...absolutely love my Badger with overfill. GREAT bag and very lightweight!

I think its really hard to guess what temperature rating is appropriate for you when manufacturers ratings vary so much. In general most people would rate Western Mountaineering as always true to there temperature ratings. I own three of thier bags. Love them, awesome construction, just great bags in general. It's always good to compare any other bag to their "standard". For example take the fill weight of any bag and multiply that by its loft. So say a 10 oz fill of 550 down gets you a volume of 5500. But an 8 oz fill of 850 down gets you a volume of 6800. So in that case given a similar size bag, less is more. If you do the math and any competitors bag doesn't match WM, most likely its not good to its temperature rating. I am a normally "warm" person during the day. When I sleep I freeze. Give me a WM bag rated to 10 deg in 30 deg weather on a Neo Air Xtherm (perhaps the warmest light mat you can buy) and I am perfect. So bottom line, know yourself, and compare any bag scientifically to a WM bag before you believe their ratings, there are no magic formulas for sleeping bags. I also like my Mont Bell bag, but its a fair bit back in quality compared to a WM bag. I have never used a Big Agnes bag, but own one of their tents, and think for a Chinese tent, its pretty cool. Hope that helps.

I like the concept of the big agnes system, but also have old injuries that cause me to reposition frequently. I don't think that a pad fixed in the bag will work for me.

I like the military center zip design, and want one like it for my purposes.

I'm looking towards a Wiggy's custom sized bag...

IME, the integration of the pad + bag works best for folks that move around alot. Keeps you on the pad the whole night. Just get the bag big enough that you move around IN the bag and don't try to move the bag with you. That was a main selling point for me and one that's worked out well for the past decade.

not tested myself yet but i ve heard very good comments on it and ill use it very soon for camping up there in two weeks.

mountain hardwear extralamina long 0f/-17c

I agree with Pointer, the air mattress/pad stays with the sleeping bag. I have one and it is the insulated pad. I have a 15 degree bag and used it in the mountains of Alaska last year. That pad will keep you off the ground with no problem

More than 2 cents. Plenty of decades learnng.

There are already several good pieces of advice here. Being a rather cold sleeper, I go with a warmer bag and if the conditions are warm, I just leave it unzipped and use it like a blanket. Down is the warmest, but depending on how you will use it � if it will be getting wet � a synthetic fill may be advised. But sticking with down, I say go with a colder-rated bag for mountain use. And there are times that you might want a second, perhaps lighter, bag for really warm conditions and to stuff inside the heavy bag for extra insulation. 20 below comes to mind for that condition. A scond bag really helps in frigid conditions (or if someone forgot one). You can easily get that temperature on a November hunt in the Northern Rockies.

Another way to keep warmer is to wear a down jacket inside your bag. I find in cold conditions that doing that keeps my shoulders and neck a lot warmer, and because your shoulders and your head are where your greatest heat loss is, that is a big help. It is also a help for one who is a restless sleeper who needs to change position � nylon on nylon slips easily, and you still have your upper body covered in down warmth. Not to be overlooked is a knit watch cap, hood, or some other head covering to keep your head warm. I never use the mummy bag as intended, preferring to have ears out (bear country), and actually I seldom zip a bag all the way up, preferring to sleep on the open zipper and to tuck the zipper edges under me. Gives more room, and you are not trapped inside a bad zipper if there is an emergency.

Another very important point is the pad beneath you. Sleeping on cold ground sucks heat quickly, and any puffy fill will compact and give you little insulation from the ground. Closed-cell foam or a thermarest type pad is best directly on the ground if backpacking. When using a thermarest, which is slick nylon, I use a strip of rug pad to stick my bag and pad together so I don�t slide off. Consider a full length pad so your feet aren�t cold all night (or at least stick a jacket or sweater under them). A 3 to 4 inch thick foam pad in a car-camp is very good. Put that on a cot to get you up out of the coldest air near the ground, and you can get refreshing sleep and be ready to go in the morning. 3 inch thick is a minimum for not feeling all the hard stuff under you, 4 inch is probably better if you tend to aches and pains.

One thing not mentioned so far, but important, is to make sure your bag has a chance to dry out before bed time. It is amazing how much moisture you put out while sleeping. In the cold this condenses and sometimes freezes on the bottom of your bag, in it and even under your pad if it is open-cell. Hit the sack in dry clothing, too. If you need to dry something out, stick it in with you but don�t wear it.

Brands? Heck my stuff is so old I can�t give advice on that. But good down lasts for decades if cared for.

I got an Alps Mountaineering sleeping bag from Amazon for a Colorado elk hunt last October. It was a Desert Pine 0 degree and it cost about $80 delivered. I went with it because Alps makes sleeping bags in wide, I am really broad in the shoulders. I absolutely loved the bag and I spent a week in it. I also had an Alps sleeping pad that I got from Sierra Trading Post. I had the bag, sleeping pad and a cot from Cabela's, slept as good as being in my bed. Alps does make some light weight bags that are more money, but I don't think they would disappoint. The other way to stay warm is a bag liner, usually a micro fleece, that do add a some insulation. I have had a North Face bag for years that I love, but I can barely get my shoulders in it.