How much does your sleep system weigh???

[Arbutusbucks]

Hey Guys,

I bought a BA Encampment 15 degree bag (synthetic), and a APLS Pad in October. When I bought them I was not a member of this awesome site and now I feel I am much more educated about what I might need to do a successful backcountry hunt. Anyway, the set-up - Total weight is 5.9 pounds. Seems like it's somewhat heavy. I also bought an ALPS Commander which is a 7lb pack. It just seems like a lot of weight for a pack and sleeping, although so far I am happy with the pack. Anyone out there with this set up? Is this indeed too heavy? I am going to try to keep the weight of my pack to under 60lbs...I would really like to be at 55.

I plan on using it with a bivy/tarp combo or possibly a light 3-season tent. Not sure which route I am going with that yet, but you get the idea. I am not saying I will be setting up camp in a different place every night but I would like to be mobile. Any opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jerry

 

[littlebuf]

4# 15oz for my tent/pad/quilt/pillow and stakes. Theres a pretty good thread in the light weight zone that covers a lot of what your asking. Forget the title, it's one of Justins threads

 

[hflier]

Jerry I think that is a bit heavy, but lighter costs money. You can chop a few pounds out of your bag and pad but its not cheap. I would be looking at a bag around 2lbs and a pad at a little under a pound. My personal setup is a Western Mountaineering Apache bag and a Big Agnes Insulated Q Core SL. They together come in around 3lbs. But you can get lighter yet if you don't need such a warm bag.

 

[Slim Jim]

4# 12oz for mine but that's with a down 32* bag. If I had a winter bag it would go up.

 

[5MilesBack]

Mine's a little over 5.5lbs, but at 6'6" I need the extra long and wide bag and pad.......along with the 0 degree bag for those frosty 40 degree nights.

 

[Arbutusbucks]

Thanks guys, like I said, I wish I found this site before I made the purchase. I think I'll be sending the bag and pad back. I think the Commander bag will be okay for me. I spent about $170 on the bag and pad, but I feel like maybe I can get something lighter for September elk huning. Thanks again.

 

[bigeasygator]

My first foray on a high country backpack hunt I had my sleep system around 2lbs. I went with equipment that was as light as possible. I had a Western Mountaineering Highlite (1lb) and a Exped Synmat UL7 pad (1lb). The weight was fantastic...unfortunatly I slept like s*#t!!! I got somewhat cold at times, I would slide off the mat, and being a side and stomach sleeper, the size of the Highlite was too constricting and didn't allow me much comfortable movement. At times it felt like I was awake more than I slept at night. I decided that some changes were in order after that trip. I looked into quilts and the Big Agnes sleep system that integrates with the sleeping bag with the pad and also added a lower temp bag to my set-up. Right now I have a regular size Heart Mountain 30deg bag and a long Blackburn 0 deg bag -- these bags have the integrated pad sleeve and are a kind of a hybrid mummy shape that provides much more room than a traditional mummy bag. For the long Blackburn bag I added a long Big Agnes Q-Core (19 oz) to give some more insulation and loft.

All of this comes at a weight penalty. I've taken my sleep system from 2 lbs to 3-4.25 lbs depending on what bag and pad I take (I still have the Exped but go rid of the Highlite as I can never see myself getting comfortable in that). I haven't taken the equipment to the backcountry yet, but a test run of the Big Agnes system seems like it will solve my problems of slipping off the mat and improve my ability to comfortably sleep on my side and stomach and be able to switch back and forth). All of this was worth the weight to me (based on that first trip, I've learned where I can shed some other weight to make up for it).

All this is a longwinded way to say don't underestimate comfort in the backcountry. Sometimes a few extra pounds is more than worth it, and that's something I've heard a lot of people on this site say. Going light is great, but don't let it be at the cost of you enjoying a trip to the backcountry.

That being said...I'd say you can probably cut the weight some. You can definitely lower the weight of you pad for a relatively small incremental amount of money. The lighterweight bags definitely carry a different price tag. I'd look at the Exped Synmat, Big Agnes Q-Core, and the Therm-a-Rest NeoAirs to lower your pad weight. You can probably get something closer to a pound and your bag is a bit on the heavy side, but you have to ask yourself are you willing to spend another $200-300 to lower the weight of it by about a lb. If so, you can probably get a similarly rated set-up at 3-3.5 lbs.

 

[Arbutusbucks]

Thanks bigeasy, i know that lightweight is usually more expensive, and I fancy myself as being in really good shape so maybe I'll just save the money and suck it up. Id like to at least ditch the pad because it weighs 2.5 and I think I can shave a pound or so there.

 

[drthornton]

I mostly agree with BigEasy but you can go too far the other way as well. I am a big guy and tried mummy bags and skinny pads and was miserable. i went with a long BA Summit Park and a long/wide insulates air core for a NV deer hunt(5lbs 10 ounces). I slept great once I was on top but I felt the extra weight and will not haul that system in again. I have only basecamped since that hunt but if I do backpack in again I will be checking out a quilt.

Another point I would make on weight is to watch your food. Don't spend $1000 to save 2-3 pounds on your sleep system and then over pack food by 5. I learned my lesson there too.

 

[aron]

I'm at 3# 2 oz using a BA Mystic SL and Xtherm pad. Could drop some weight and cheaper going to the xlite pad if wanted or using a quilt.

 

[aron]

http://www.rokslide.com/forums/showthread.php?9622-Sleep-System-Weight

Here is a good thread with a bunch of users sleep system weights and gear

 

[marc]

Tent, bag, and pad are 5lbs 6 oz and that includes all the stakes and poles for a 2 person tent to keep myself and my gear dry.

 

[colonel00]

Perhaps it would be helpful to better define what a "Sleep System" is. Is it just what you sleep in and on or is it your shelter too? Some only list their actual sleeping stuff and since shelters vary and the numbers can be skewed if say you share a two-person shelter and split the weight. If you use trekking poles to pitch your shelter, do you include them in the weight (maybe they are not in the pack but still something you haul in)?

 

[Backpack Hunter]

Depends on what where and when but shelter including stakes etc, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad ranges from 69-83oz....of course that is not considering the stove during the winter months. Stove would add at least another 49oz.

 

[Arbutusbucks]

Thanks for all the replies guys, I knew there would be some good input out there.

 

[MarshLaw303]

One of my Long/Wide 0* Enigmas will set you back 24oz Perhaps the lightest 0* option out there.

-Tim

 

[a3dhunter]

I have the BA Encampment bag and using the IAC, and my bag is a long wide so it's heavier than the OP setup for sure.
That being said, I don't think this bag can be beat for the money. It takes some coin to upgrade to a lighter bag.
Even with that, I've had a weeks worth of stuff around 46-47 lbs packed in my T1 including spotting scope and tripod.

 

[bigeasygator]

Perhaps it would be helpful to better define what a "Sleep System" is. Is it just what you sleep in and on or is it your shelter too? Some only list their actual sleeping stuff and since shelters vary and the numbers can be skewed if say you share a two-person shelter and split the weight. If you use trekking poles to pitch your shelter, do you include them in the weight (maybe they are not in the pack but still something you haul in)?

The original poster limited his sleep system to bag and pad and was quoting those weights fwiw. That's all I quoted as well. Shelter would add another two pounds for me.

 

[colonel00]

Fair enough. I wasn't meaning to call anyone out. Just pointing out the ambiguity of the term "sleep system". At its core, I agree, a bag/quilt and a pad is pretty much it. However, some might include a bivy depending on the situation and shelter. From there, just about everyone has some sort of shelter be it a solo setup or some sort of shared shelter. I was just suggesting that perhaps a little better definition of what a "sleep system" entails would be better for all readers, especially those that come across this thread well into the future and cannot take part in the active discussion.

 

[dotman]

I'm at 3lbs 9oz. 2lbs 9oz for my kifaru 20* base bag and 16oz for my xlite.