I need a serious sleeping bag

[Superdoo]

Montbell is made in Canada. High quality stuff too! They might be worth a look.

 

[*zap*]

If you do not have a wiggys get one for when weight does not matter..save wear & tear on the high $ down bag.

 

[T28w]

I got a sequoia this year for first rifle in Colorado. Brother had my old sawtooth 15 marmot and was cold with basically all his hunting layers on. Both have therm pads. I couldn’t zip up but half to 3/4 way or I’d be too hot with just base layers on. Don’t know the temps but right under 10,000 feet it was cold the first night or two. I also don’t consider myself a warm sleeper by any stretch. Also the roominess of that bag is unreal coming from a mummy style. The only down side is it doesn’t pack down as small as but I can live with that.

 

[BRTreedogs]

You should also consider what conditions your going to bed in.
Wet/cold is a hard start for the body.
Consider a warming fire to get dry if needed.
Tea/coco other hot drink.

I've also started adding coconut oil to my dinner meal. But any kind of fat that will stay in your system will help.
I get the trader Joe's packets on Amazon, but will probably look for olive oil next go round.

Stocking hat and a thick pair of sock too.

I'm a real weeny when it come to packing weight so id consider adding some kind of down blanket that way I can leave it behind if I didn't think I'd need it.

A lightweight bivy may help as well.

 

[hunter1181]

I sleep cold and I use a WM Antelope in the fall and a WM Lynx in the winter. I have been happy with both.

 

[Wrench]

Where are you located? I have a badger and ultimate thule you can try out... they have both proven that they are no joke. I spent the night at -13* in my thule sleeping on a tarp with zero cover....my badger has been at 15* plenty of times....and there's Z E R O chance you sleep colder than me. I freeze in the summer.

 

[WeiserBucks]

SW Idaho

 

[Kevin_t]

I know that The Badger and Kodiak get alot of love around here, but after freezing my ass off in a very well regarded zero degree bag I'm hesitant to spend $700 on a similar rating. It's not a budget concern, I'll spend whatever it takes to be warm.

I think the Badger is the best all around shoulder season bag. I sleep under a badger or kodiak most of the year , as a quilt in my house. The Badger, if you add a Nalgene bottle of hot water can get a temp boost by about 30 degrees for 3 hours. I find it's 15 rating is pretty accurate, and comfortable.

 

[Blandry]

You guys are scaring me with the slick bag hate. I Finally bought one and haven’t used it much

tossing in my $0.02. Consider switching up your pad as well. I am a huge fan of an inflator on top of a solid foam pad For comfort in all conditions. I mix and match a matty mcmatt face, z rest and ridge rest with one of 3 inflators depending on temps, weight and bulk. My warmest combo is a ridgerest with an insulated thermarest inflator on top. I just find that cold ground or snow sucks the heat out of me fast.

last point is try putting a Nalgene of boiling water (original nalgene top and in a gallon ziplock) in your bag at bedtime. It is a great way to warm up And stay warm.

I guess I gave my slick bag less credit than it deserves. If I'd ever needed to crawl into a shelter soaking wet and spent climbing into something as tough as the slickbag would have been great. They say the 'rhinoskin' or whatever material the shell is made of is so tough you can climb in with your boots on. I never had to do that and would never try that with the SG Chilkoot that replaced it. I've already had to patch a few tiny holes in the shell due to zipper snags... it's so lightweight. The slick bag was more 'military grade' tough I guess but def not as warm and I needed something warmer, especially in the foot box area where the slick bag had no extra insulation.

 

[Carrot Farmer]

I called FF yesterday to inquire about one of their bags that I really liked, their response was "Due to supply chain, demand, ect. we don't know when we'll make that bag again, likely not any time soon". WM bags are available right now from a few different vendors.

I know you’re talking sleeping bags, but it might be worth contacting Brian at El Coyote. Yes, they make quilts, but he made me a XX-wide/long custom quilt(15*,900 fill) for less than $500….I’m definitely a
Convert.

But my point being, if he’ll make a custom quilt, why not a bag? Good luck


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[turley]

Feathered Friends and Western Mountaineering are incredible bags. I don't think one is better than the other (I've used both brands) and it becomes personal preference at this quality level.
If going Western Mountaineering look at Hermits Hut. They include down overfill for free. This doesn't necessarily increase the temperature rating much but prevents down shifting especially if you're a side sleeper.

I personally use quilts now for anything 20F and above and went with El Coyote and have been incredibly happy with them (great design, attention to detail, quality of construction, very quick turn around, and exceptional customer service).

 

[Blandry]

At 3:40 he details how you can't decompress the foot box in the SG chilkoot.. this is prob why my feet don't get as cold in this bag.. differential cut is key.. i've had a lot of cold spots in bags over the years and this one has none

 

[WeiserBucks]

At 3:40 he details how you can't decompress the foot box in the SG chilkoot.. this is prob why my feet don't get as cold in this bag

Not interested in a Cambodian sleeping bag. I'll be buying a Western Mountaineering or Feathered Friends USA bag.

 

[Blandry]

yeah I get that for sure.. bring textile back to the US.. will that happen under this regime? No If I recall we had a president that was trying to buck that system and got thrown under a bus a thousand times.

In the meantime we can utilize good engineering from american companies.

 

[AKDoc]

Another endorsement for WM...the absolute best quality sleeping bag I've ever owned (and I've owned a bunch), and they're made in the USA, which is a preference of mine as well. Just figure out which model you suspect will fit your needs, and bite the bullet on price. I have the MF shell, which I've also found to work well for moisture management and breathability.

Just as an example for you...I'm a warm sleeper, so I have a WM Badger MF, which has served me well up here on early fall 10-day pack-raft floats, as well as late fall 14-day remote drop hunts for moose...temps pushing towards the teens a few nights...always comfortable in just my base-layers when sleeping.

You already know this, but just to endorse...you gotta have a good R-rated pad when using a down bag in colder temps or it will be a very cold nite no matter what temperature rating the bag carries!

Side-thought...have you ever tried an insert with your bag? I have an Thermalite Reactor Extreme with me on the aforementioned trips (just in case). It's in my "Alamo bag" that I take along with me on remote trips, but I've never needed nor used it (knock on wood!).

 

[WeiserBucks]

Well, I just called dibs on a 10 degree FF bag in the classifieds. If I freeze my ass off again, I'll simply place the blame on everyone in this thread instead of being an adult and taking responsibility myself!

Thanks for all the input.

 

[BuckeyeRifleman]

Western mountaineering. The Kodiak is a furnace of a zero degree bag.

WM Kodiak and don’t turn back. I’ve had it below it’s temp rating and stayed warm as long as I had a full belly and a good insulated ground pad.

 

[Mike Islander]

There's got to be a bag that'll keep me warm with reasonable layers on vs body warmers and a heated vest. There's no way I'm backpacking that kind of gear. I haven't done the hot nalgene yet but I'm going to, I plan to buy a bag asap and test it this Jan/Feb and get my sleep system dialed in for spring bear/next fall before I freeze my ass off AGAIN and have to sell gear and spend more money AGAIN.

Any Western Mountaineering bag rated for temps you expect will keep you warm. Alpaca socks will keep you even warmer. Get a pad rated for your temps.

 

[Cspraggins]

I have a WM Bristlecone, and unless I was hunting polar bears or emperor penguins in the dead of winter, I don't think I could get cold in that damn thing.

 

[Scoot]

My guess is that you'll be happy with the FF bag. I have a Badger and I love it. I'm comfortable to about 20 in it. Been in colder temps and get a little cool, but still fine. I have a Slick 20 too. I like the bag, but it's temp rating isn't very accurate for me (unlike the Badger, that is pretty darn close). Slicks' ratings are pretty well known to be very generous, so I'm not surprised to hear what you said about your bag. My 20 is comfortable almost to freezing, give or take.

You could also get a bag liner for your FF. I have a Reactor and it bumps my comfortable temp by about 10 degrees. It's small and pretty light, so it might be a good option for you. It also keeps your bag nice and clean.

If the FF bag doesn't work out for you I'd get a liner or I'd sell it and get a WM 0 bag. Good luck!