Kifaru slick 0 vs 20

[Kane Morishita]

Hi All
Gonna step out and grab a slick bag but unsure of a 0 or a 20 degree.
Typically sleep in a wall tent with stove but want the do it all bag to spike and 4 season
Sleep with no heat. I hunt in British Columbia and temperatures I will use it in will vary
In the freezing mark and below. I can sleep in clothes but don't want to add
cost with a woobie. Typically I'm bedding hot with the stove but cold in the morning.
Input and testimonies would be greatly appreciated. I chose a regular wide and believe
Synthetic fits the BC climate.

Kind regards

 

[Read1t48]

I would recommend a zero degree for a true 4 season system. This is especially true if you are wanting to reduce weight and not pair in 20° bag with a woobie or something similar.

With the center zip, it is certainly easier to cool down if you were in warmer temperatures than to try and warm up if you drop below 20.
The 0° bag will give you the most flexibility.

These bags tend to be more roomy than a lot of others. Some guys find that the regular width is plenty. This is obviously dependent upon ones size and sleeping habits. Minimal dead airspace will be easier to heat up than too much.

I think you will like the synthetic. I have literally climbed into my slick bag completely wet, only to wake up in the morning completely dry. Clothes and all.
On one memorable occasion, it certainly kept me from becoming hyperthermic and may have saved my life during a rough night on the mountain.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

Definitely pick the bag for the coldest temps expected.

 

[michaelc10]

yep get the 0 degree you can always unzip it to regulate the temperature

 

[mrbillbrown]

I ran the 20 and a Woobie when needed and it was a fine set up. Grabbed a 0 and haven’t looked back. It’s more versatile to me than wondering whether or not I need to carry just the 20 or 20 plus Woobie. Actually saved me 1+ pounds by running the 0 instead of the 20 & Woobie route. Much easier to vent a 0 than constantly wonder about mixing and matching for temp control.

 

[Kane Morishita]

Thank you for all your replies.
Gonna do the 0 bag )

 

[AXEL]

These bags are rather bulky and heavy for BC hunting out of a pack and in the more rugged areas of the province. I see them as ideal for military-LEO-survival uses, but, there are better options for hunting, IMHO.

I would seriously consider a Western Mountaineering bag rated about 0*F as a "do it all" rig and use a GOOD pad setup.

Sleeping in clothing often tends to make you colder as your clothes trap the vapour released by your metabolic processes during the night and this can soon become cold, damp and unpleasant. So, a dedicated "sleeping suit" spare sox reserved for bed and a headcover work best when sleeping in BC's cold, damp weather.

 

[HankBC]

I’m in the same condition as you are Kane. I ordered the 20* in regular slick bag. My reasoning is that when the temps drop I can use a liner from sea to summit that adds around 8* or 14* degrees depending on which model. Which weighs 8.7 OZ. Between this, sleeping in my base layers, and running as a hot sleeper in general, I think it should encompass most conditions. One way to find out though!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[AXEL]

What size do you have and what is the total weight of your ring, excluding your pad(s)?

 

[Blockcaver]

I wear my clothes to bed if it is very cold out. Often go to bed damp or wet and wake up dry. This is in BC or the NWT or Alaska. Colorado or AZ is usually so dry it doesn’t count. To each their own on whether to layer up with clothes on a cold night or be chilly. I use a 15*F bag and augment with more clothes as temps dictate.

 

[Kane Morishita]

I have you tubed the 0' and have seen it packed to the size of a basketball.
I like the WM bags but am worried about the width, durability and the bag getting wet.
I understand their are pros and cons to both bags. I just think a synthetic would give me greater
Piece of mind in damp conditions. Size and weight play a factor in this decision but maybe I could eat 1 less meal
to make up the difference
Kind regards,

 

[AXEL]

I wear my clothes to bed if it is very cold out. Often go to bed damp or wet and wake up dry. This is in BC or the NWT or Alaska. Colorado or AZ is usually so dry it doesn’t count. To each their own on whether to layer up with clothes on a cold night or be chilly. I use a 15*F bag and augment with more clothes as temps dictate.

I should be more clear here, my comments were directed to solo backpack camps and various other hunts can be dealt with in various other ways.

I have used my clothing to augment my bag(s) in some circumstances over my now 54 years of wilderness camping, but, this is a poor option given the gear we now have available.

JMHO, but I have stints of 4-6 weeks sleeping in BC conditions including winter solo and have found that wearing clothing in your bag is not the most efficient or comdortable option,

 

[AXEL]

I have you tubed the 0' and have seen it packed to the size of a basketball.
I like the WM bags but am worried about the width, durability and the bag getting wet.
I understand their are pros and cons to both bags. I just think a synthetic would give me greater
Piece of mind in damp conditions. Size and weight play a factor in this decision but maybe I could eat 1 less meal
to make up the difference
Kind regards,

Seriously, the VERY LAST thing you want to do in solo spike camping is to "eat less" and not hydrate yourself fully. In fact, all joking aside, this is crucial to your comfort thus ability to hunt hard and even your survival.

I have used most of the "big name" bags both down and synthetic since early spring, 1964, camped alone in BC wilderness down to a messured-40* and also worked/lived alone in the most remote parts of our province for 3 month solo stints, where air rescue was impossible most of the time due to weather.

I have had a couole of very close calls, professional friends have died in avalanches, lost, frozen and other incidents. I am old, conservartive, cautious and usually go solo into the bush, even at past 71. So, I NEVER compromise on gear and I own four different, rather specialized synthetic bags for certain uses.

That said, WM, along with Valandre, my current choice as "best" down bags, make an array of models that most can find a fit among and their quality is superb. You can also buy a Dryloft shell to cope with ambient moisture and I have used such shells since 1978, they work.

Any single non-compressible item that is the size of a basketball is TOO BIG to pack when solo camping and it a total PITA to pack up in cold weather. I went through this in '77-'78 with a fine synthetic bag from Paul Petzoldt Wilderness Equipment and it was this that motivated me to buy one of the original GT-shelled bags, the superb Marmot Mountain Works -20 model I used hard for 21 years.

So, since a WM DL bag suitable for BC hunting weighs less than 4 lbs and will last a lifetime, I would choose that over any synthetic now on the market. What is your overall physique and experience level if you do not mind my asking?

 

[Kane Morishita]

I'm sorry, it was meant to be humour.
I'm just looking for advice on purchasing an all purpose sleeping bag for a wide variety of possible weather conditions and scenarios.
I would be much easier if I didn't need a wide bag!

Kind regards

Kane

 

[mfllood3800]

I really wanted the Slick 20
But I am leaning hard to the WM bag right now. If they offered one with a sleeve that held a pad- I would be all over it.
I currently use a 30" pad and have yet to find a good, 0-20 bag, that is light weight, that will house my pad.

I am starting to give up on the idea of one set up does all.
Some of my hunt scenarios are as different as night to day.

But like most I want to reduce $$ and get a one system for all scenarios.

I used my 30" pad and a cheap 0 degree bag in Utah winter ( in the teens) and I was fine.

But I had a cylinder stove.
I am looking for a set up that will work w/o the stove.