How do I know that I've found a suitable sleeping bag?

rhendrix

WKR
Joined
Aug 6, 2012
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I picked up a Kelty coromell 25 degree down bag in long after spending 5 nights in a mummy bag and sleeping horribly. I thought I'd enjoy the extra room since I am a stomach sleeper, but I'm nervous about using this bag come hunting season for two reasons: 1) the down loft seems to be very thin for a 25 degree bag, I've never owned a down bag before though, so this may be normal, it just doesn't seem near as thick as my old synthetic bag; and 2) it's fairly big with lots of space, which is great because I don't feel claustrophobic, but I'm worried about getting pockets of cold air, if I order the regular I'm afraid I'll have the opposite problem since I'm fairly wide at the shoulders and gut (I'm working on the gut though). It's too warm in SE Texas to try it out for a night outside, so I'm stuck right now questioning my judgement and don't want to learn any hard leassons on the mountain. Any advice or input for all you seasoned mountain hunters on how to tell if I should keep it or return it?

Ron
 
FWIW - I have a 25F REI primaloft bag. I can't stay warm in it below freezing with thermals, fleece, hat, and the hood zipped up. I'm a side sleeper, and I'm not sure if there is less insulation in the bottom, but it feels thinner. This is on a 1.5" REI pad that states an R-value of 3.2. There is some variance in in mfr temp ratings, so be cautious there as some are lower limit. From my research, I'm seeing the suggestion to go 10degree lower than expected low temps if you want to be comfy. Not sure where/when you are hunting, but even the CO archery season can get cold at night, low 20s last year some nights.

I need to upgrade, so I'm looking at 0 and 10 degree down quilts for Sept/Oct hunts. The two guys I hunt with use 0 and below bags and sleep great every night, while I'm worrying about blocking drafts under my tarp, or layering, or having to sleep with a nalgene of boiling water. There will be no doubt I will stay warm if I get a warmer bag.

Your budget will have a lot to do with it too... more $$ will get you a 800+fill down bag which will weigh less for the same insulating power, and compress better. One of those gear pieces where you tend to get what you pay for.

Also, some folks like the thermal liners... might take you a few degrees lower if you're right at the edge.
 
I would get a good 15 degree bag, WM, Marmot or Montbell. I chanced it with a NF Cats Meow and damn near froze to death on a 4 day trip in N Idaho.
 
I would get a good 15 degree bag, WM, Marmot or Montbell. I chanced it with a NF Cats Meow and damn near froze to death on a 4 day trip in N Idaho.

x2 agree with Ryan. Get a quality bag and you will be happy. For down I'd go with the companies Ryan recommended and for synthetic I'd get a Kifaru 0*
 
I have a 0 degree kelty down bag. I sweat my nads of on 30 degree nights. It's pretty fluffy.
 
So the consensus then would be to exchange it for a 15 degree bag at least, correct? Does anyone have suggestions for a rectangular bag in 15 degrees, like I said earlier, I just can't sleep comfortably in a mummy bag.
 
you could check out Big Agnes bags they are what I would consider a hybrid not really rectangle and not really mummy you would need a pad for sure though.
 
So the consensus then would be to exchange it for a 15 degree bag at least, correct? Does anyone have suggestions for a rectangular bag in 15 degrees, like I said earlier, I just can't sleep comfortably in a mummy bag.

Look at Feathered Friends bags---great stuff, well made (in Seattle) and they make really nice semi rectangular bags.

Randy
 
If you are looking for a wide bag look at the Kifaru Slick 20 wide cut. I have a WM Badger its a mummy but its has lots of room for a mummy bag.
 
If you do not care for mummy bags, get yourself a down quilt. You will absolutely thank yourself you did. Go to Enlightened Equipment and get a Revelation X quilt and be happy forever!
 
If you do not care for mummy bags, get yourself a down quilt. You will absolutely thank yourself you did. Go to Enlightened Equipment and get a Revelation X quilt and be happy forever!

I have been contemplating this myself. I have a marmot pinnacle but I like a little more room in the foot area than a mummy bag offers. I am looking at a quilt or BA lone ranger.
 
Althought the WM Badger is a great bag, I found it to be claustrophobic for me. I ended up with a Montbell 15 degree bag and it feels like I am sleeping in my bed because it streches with you and does not feel so restricting.
 
I picked up a Kelty coromell 25 degree down bag in long after spending 5 nights in a mummy bag and sleeping horribly. I thought I'd enjoy the extra room since I am a stomach sleeper, but I'm nervous about using this bag come hunting season for two reasons: 1) the down loft seems to be very thin for a 25 degree bag, I've never owned a down bag before though, so this may be normal, it just doesn't seem near as thick as my old synthetic bag; and 2) it's fairly big with lots of space, which is great because I don't feel claustrophobic, but I'm worried about getting pockets of cold air, if I order the regular I'm afraid I'll have the opposite problem since I'm fairly wide at the shoulders and gut (I'm working on the gut though). It's too warm in SE Texas to try it out for a night outside, so I'm stuck right now questioning my judgement and don't want to learn any hard leassons on the mountain. Any advice or input for all you seasoned mountain hunters on how to tell if I should keep it or return it?

Ron
Where and when do you plan on using it? Do you sleep best when cool or a little warm ? ???????
 
One way to take some of the guess work out of it would be to check the weather history in the spots your planning on hunting.

Go to wunderground.com

Type in the closest city, state your planning to go to

click on the station select bar, a map will come up and you can select one of the weather stations in the mountains.

scroll down a little and click on calendar, this will give you the average highs and lows for every day of the year.

Some things to keep in mind;

cold moist air settles in the basins, it will be colder in the valleys and warmer on the ridges at night most of the time. So if the weather station is on a ridge and your camping in a low spot, it will get 5-10 degrees colder at your camp and vise versa

The low usually happens right before and during sunrise


After you figure out the lowest temperature to expect, then figure out if you are a cold or warm sleeper and go from there.


The short answer; get a 0 deg and be done with it:) Then you can focus on the hunt each day instead of thinking "is my bag going to keep me warm if an early season arctic snow storm comes in". If you want to make up the 6-8 oz between a 15 deg bag and 0 deg bag, take a leak before you start the hike;)
 
If you do not care for mummy bags, get yourself a down quilt. You will absolutely thank yourself you did. Go to Enlightened Equipment and get a Revelation X quilt and be happy forever!

I'm heavily leaning towards this option, I should've just nutted up and spent the extra cash in the first place instead of trying to pinch pennies. I'm sure the coromell is a good back and hammock sleepers swear by it, the more I think about it though the more I realize I'm just trying to nickel and dime and this is one area where I don't wanna do that.
 
Where and when do you plan on using it? Do you sleep best when cool or a little warm ? ???????

Early September in CO or ID, or mid-August in UT, still waiting to find out.

And Rizzy, that's flipping awesome, I'm about to go there right now, thanks!
 
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