Seeking thoughts and advice

[Huntchic]

In past i always hunted from or slept in a cabin when temps were below 30. Above 30 i used a hammock setup or regular 2 person tent from my backpack. 30 degree bag and Military Iso mat. This year im planning to backpack hunt more from hammock system or 2 person tent. I believe for a mat I'm looking at the EXPED ultra 7 or Ultra 5. for a bag I'm leaning towards Big Agnes Anvil horn 15 degree or 0 degree. Planning to buy this Friday. If i decided right now i would go with the EXPED Ultra 7 pad because it would work in hammock and tent well i believe. Seems to be about $150 difference between the Anvil horn 0 and the 15 both are 650 fill down bags and about 8oz weight difference. Not sure if there would truly be a 15 degree difference or not or worth the $150 price difference either. Realize these aren't to very top of the line names or products but seem like good ones for my needs. Also trying to work with a certain combined total.
should i go with the 15 degree R5 pad and the zero bag or R7 pad and 15 bag? My usage area will be temps down to maybe 15 degrees, below that Ill work from a cabin.

 

[geriggs]

Big Agnes makes good bags but they tend to be pretty liberal with their temp ratings. I don’t think you need anything more than a 5 for the pad. Based on big Agnes temp rating….I’d get the 0 if that’s your only two options. Don’t know what your looking at for bags but stone glacier, Kuiu, and thermarest IMO are more closely rated for the temps they claim. I also think they make better bags. Lots to choose from….just depends on your price range.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Huntchic]

Thanks Geriggs,
Well some of the reason for choosing those are because i can get them from GOV-X at a pretty good discount. I was trying to go with a down bag for the weight savings if they work as good or better than non down. Ive got a good many expenses this year and trying to make the best of my $$. Scope and reloading supplies i can finally find etc. Getting hip replaced in a few days and be out of work couple months also so it all adds up. I honestly thought the Ultra 7 would be better if i need to use it in my hammock but otherwise i agree the ultra 5 should be plenty. could always put my Iso mat under it if felt the need.

 

[Huntchic]

I also saw that they had snugpak bags n thout maybe the elite 5 bag. Not down though and about 3 lbs more weight.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

A couple thoughts on sleep systems in general:
1. RE. pads... you can always open a bag up if you're too hot, but you can't magically conjure up extra R rating when you're cold.
2. when rating down fill bags, always go by the ounce of down. It will take more ounces of 650 fill down to achieve the same warmth as an equal amount of 8-900 fill down. But when comparing identical loft, you can look at the ounces of down. You can also compare manufacturers "ratings" to get an idea of how warm a bag actually will be with the weight of down at a given fill rate.

 

[Huntchic]

I understand the idea of fill. Are you saying that when it comes to pads go with the warmest? Not sure i understand what your saying about the pads , maybe im just having a blonde moment.

 

[Drenalin]

I'd get the warmer pad. As the bag does not have any insulation on the bottom, have you considered just going with a quilt? Most manufacturers, including Big Agnes, are advertising a lower limit temp rating, not a comfort rating. I suspect you'd start getting cold around 30-degrees in the 15-degree version of that bag. I understand the good discount on BA, so if you still want to go that route, I would get the 0-degree version and hope to be warm in the 15-20 degree range, but no lower.

 

[Huntchic]

Thanks Drenalin

I decided I'm defiantly going with the Ultra 7 pad. I do understand that the bottom of the bag will have little insulation. considered going to a synthetic bag in the 0 or colder but really don't like the bulk and couple extra lbs. If Im trying to stay at or under $350ish on a bag what's the recommendation? Im trying to keep number of items, weight and bulk down.

 

[Huntchic]

I can get a
MOUNTAIN HARDWEAR

Bishop Pass 15F/-9C Sleeping Bag for $250 but its still a 15 degree. Would i be better off with a Synthetic bag and hump the extra 3-4 lbs? ​

 

[Drenalin]

I’m no help on bags, strictly a quilt user now.

For 30 ounces and $300, I’d get a Hammock Gear Econ Burrow in 10-degree, with the sewn foot box and pad attachment straps. You’d probably be warm to 20, maybe slightly less.

If I had $380 to spend, I’d get a Katabatic Flex 22. They are conservative on temp ratings; I’ve taken my Flex 30 down to 16 degrees and was fine.

The reality is, you’ll probably ultimately replace your first purchase once you get a feel for what you’re doing and what you like. So I wouldn’t personally be opposed to a budget option; but if you’ve got $350 to spend I don’t think you need to suffer a true budget bag or quilt.

 

[Bearsears]

Dont for a second think that Expeds arent top of the line. Id say they are right at the top and are my favorite pads. I agree with whats been said already about the BA bags. I have a zero degree Blackburn and its never been as warm as the 15degree Stone Glacier I have now. My question is what does the rest of your clothing system look like? If you have a quality puffy layer and maybe puffy pants, and your sleeping bag is sized appropriately, you can get away with a higher temp rated bag.

Also while not popular, if budget is the highest concern, look up Hyke and Byke bags on amazon. My buddy bought one for this year and its actually pretty decent quality. You could get a lighter bag from them than what you are looking at because they are 800 fill vs 650.

 

[Huntchic]

Thanks guys, Well bit Of background here I’ve slept out in -30’s and -40’s a great many times in snow cave, tents of some form and a cave in the rocks. Greenland, Canada , Norway Sierra Nevadas few other places also. Between 10 years in Marines and hunting all my life I’m not totally inexperienced at camping in the cold. So I have over the years used old stuff I had and made it work. I decided this year I’m going to go with new nice modern and lightweight gear. Not getting any younger either. I upgraded my pack and pretty much everything except sleeping gear so far.
I agree getting a good Exped R7 pad wasn’t a budget buy but what I thought best. Almost went with the R5 but settled on the 7. I’m going to go with a down bag but having a hard time with spending $600 - $1000 on a bag honestly.
I saw a few people here recommend the Hyke n Byke bags. Noticed them on Amazon when searching 800 fill down bags. I honestly just passed them by cause I didn’t know anything about them and low price made me nervous.
I definitely plan to upgrade after this year to whatever bag I think is best. Likely a western mountain. I’ll just use whatever bag I get now for if I have a guest that needs something.
Do you think the Hyke n Byke 850 fill bag would be better than the Big Agnes 0 degrees 650 fill ?

 

[Bearsears]

"Do you think the Hyke n Byke 850 fill bag would be better than the Big Agnes 0 degrees 650 fill?" Its going to be lighter for the same amount of warmth as you need less ounces of 800 fill to achieve the same warmth as 650 fill. Does that make sense?

What I would do is try to find comparable bags to the hyke and byke in the same temp rating and fill rating that are known to be rated properly. Then compare how much fill is in those to how much fill is in the hyke and byke. That would tell you if it will work for your needs or not.

I cant say if its good down to the temp ratings as it didnt get that cold yet for my hunting partner to try it. I will say though that for the price I was really impressed with the construction and quality and from what Ive seen they get great reviews. Honestly since they are cheap and on amazon, you could also just order one and see what you think and then return it if you dont like it.

 

[Bearsears]

Here is an imperfect example: The Stone Glacier Chillkoot 15 (my current bag that I love and will probably never replace), has 22.4 oz of 850+ fill down. The 15 degree H&B Eolus has 23.6 oz of 800 fill. It has 1.2oz more of a lower grade fill so its probably pretty close to the same warmth as the SG though maybe not exactly. If you could do this same comparison between other bags using 800 fill that are known to be temp rated properly, it would inform you if the H&Y is rated accurately. I hope this makes sense and helps.

 

[Huntchic]

You make some great points. Well I’m definitely ordering the EXPed mat but Starting to think maybe I need to just use my old 7lb bag for month and then just cry once and get a really good bag n be done. Just hate having to carry extra 4 pounds and huge size.

 

[Huntchic]

Bear sears I understand

 

[Bearsears]

I think Id rather buy twice and cry twice than haul an extra 4 pounds lol

 

[Huntchic]

Lol. Well I’m getting hip replacement in couple days so I’m with ya! That extra 4lbs going to be tough on this old gal for sure.

 

[BassAssassin04]

REI has a few bags at pretty good prices right now in their outlet

 

[BassAssassin04]

I think I heard this on the gear talk podcast, but women's bags are rated comfort rating while men's bags are rated to the limit ratings. So an equally rated women's bags will be warmer than the men's bag. But comparing the amount of fill is probably the best comparison.