Sleeping bag question

[brianmidmich]

So to start this out, I want everyone to know that I am very new to the world of hot tents and good sleeping bags.
I currently have an Alps Mountaineering 0° mummy bag. I have used it in temps as low as 20° and stayed fairly warm. I was just using a cot with no sleeping pad.
With all that said, what is the go to set up for a proper sleeping system in temps 0-30°? I have a lightweight air mattress but the bag likes to slip off at some point in the night. I also have a fan fold ground pad that I have yet to try. While reading many posts here I ran across something about a sleeping bag liner. Are liners a must with a sleeping bag that is of my bags quality or lack there of? Also is a low profile cot something that should be added or just stick with the Tyvek sheet on the ground?
Thank you all for all your responses thus far. I am learning so much.

 

[Billdoe]

Liner will keep the inside of your bag cleaner. Keep your sweat off the bag and help it last longer.

 

[LongWayAround]

For me, the perfect system is cot/closed-cell foam pad/self-inflating pad/sleeping bag. I'll sleep happily in cold temps without additional heat source.

I would freeze on a cot with no pad. I even use a pad in my hammock, either the closed cell or self-inflating.

My self-inflating pads have a face fabric that is much less slippery than most air pads.

An air pad, by itself, is definitely kind of slippery. Deflate it a little and it's less slippery/more comfortable.

A bag liner is just an addition on warmth and will keep the bag cleaner.

 

[PoniBoy]

I’ve always ran a 15 degree down bag for late season hunts with no issues. You definitely want a quality sleeping pad with a minimum R-Value of 4. Sleeping pad makes all the difference IMO. I’ve never used a liner.

 

[brianmidmich]

I’ve always ran a 15 degree down bag for late season hunts with no issues. You definitely want a quality sleeping pad with a minimum R-Value of 4. Sleeping pad makes all the difference IMO. I’ve never used a liner.

So when you say sleeping pad, you mean like an actual foam pad not an inflatable right?

 

[PoniBoy]

So when you say sleeping pad, you mean like an actual foam pad not an inflatable right?

No, I use an inflatable pad. Right now for late season I’m using the Boundary Deluxe from Big Agnes. Solid pad and keeps me plenty warm off the ground.

 

[cornfedkiller]

So when you say sleeping pad, you mean like an actual foam pad not an inflatable right?

Thermarest x-therm and exped are also popular cold-weather sleeping pads. You want something with decent r-value to keep yourself insulated from the cold ground.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

OP, you could get a Zenbivy sheet for your pad to make it less slippery. I dunno what pad you have but pay attention to the R value like these guys are saying, the higher the R the warmer you'll be.

 

[songster]

+1 to a closed cell foam pad plus a inflatable pad with a high R rating like an X therm. that plus a proper degree bag or quilt will keep you warm. i've taken this set up to 0 degrees and have been warm.

 

[Shaun0915]

Sea to summit ether light xt insulated but always good to have a closed cell under it like a Nemo switch back. I have been just running the sea to summit alone but if it pops and I can’t repair it…..


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[deepandsteep]

Spend the money and get a great bag. Sub 25 degrees I'm pulling out my western mountaineering -40 bag. Any pad below it works just fine. Never get cold. All depends on how cold you sleep. I have a zero degree bag for above 25, much lighter in weight. If close to the trailhead, I'm bringing an insulated pad too. But deep in, just an average pad works fine. Foot print under the pad for me every time.

 

[Speaks]

Good pad matters as much as the bag. Nemo extreme would be my first choice, thermarest my second.

I tend prefer bags in this order. Feathered friends, western mountaineering, zen bivy. But all three are good.

 

[cornfedkiller]

Spend the money and get a great bag. Sub 25 degrees I'm pulling out my western mountaineering -40 bag. Any pad below it works just fine. Never get cold.

There are guys on here with way more expertise in this area than me, but I think the pad makes a huge difference.. you mentioned that any pad below you works just fine, but you are also sleeping in a -40 degree bag in 20 degrees...

 

[northernmadman]

If weight isn’t an issue check out Wiggy’s, they make a bag I have slept in at -45 and it kept me warm. No pad, just in the snow bank. Get a well built insulated pad and it’s comfy warm at that temp. They are heavy and bulky but the warmest thing I have ever used. Go to bed wet and cold and wake up warm and dry.
Get some kindling and other fire starter ready the night before, bring the lighter in the bag with you as making a fire in the morning at -40 sucks, no other way to put it.

 

[nagibson1]

There are guys on here with way more expertise in this area than me, but I think the pad makes a huge difference.. you mentioned that any pad below you works just fine, but you are also sleeping in a -40 degree bag in 20 degrees...

Cornfed, this is because the ratings on the sleeping bags are fairly deceiving. The number that you see for the rating is usually the limit rating - or the rating where you will be cold, but you won't freeze to death. Usually the comfort rating, or the temperature for which you will be warm and comfortable is between 10 and 20° warmer than the rating on the sleeping bag. But, you usually can sleep in temperatures between 20 and 35° warmer than the comfort rating without being too sweaty. We do this all the time when we sleep in 20 or 30° bags in the summer when it is 60°. You usually sleep just fine, even though it's 30° warmer or 40° warmer than your sleeping bag rating. Similarly, a negative 40° bag is often comfortable in 20°, or sometimes even warmer. There is a review on YouTube for the marmot -40 bag from a guy in Canada, and I think he said he sleeps in it up to positive 40°, or maybe it was 50.

I have a couple of the very heavy, camp out of your car, negative 20° sleeping bags, and they sleep fine probably up to at least 50°.

I do sleep cold though.

This year in a November hunt in Idaho, I'll sleep in a marmot 0°, but I'll also have a down woobie rated for 40°, and probably a sleeping bag liner which will add another six or seven degrees of warmth rating. And I'll have a air pad with an r value of 7 or 8.

 

[cornfedkiller]

Cornfed, this is because the ratings on the sleeping bags are fairly deceiving. The number that you see for the rating is usually the limit rating - or the rating where you will be cold, but you won't freeze to death. Usually the comfort rating, or the temperature for which you will be warm and comfortable is between 10 and 20° warmer than the rating on the sleeping bag. But, you usually can sleep in temperatures between 20 and 35° warmer than the comfort rating without being too sweaty. We do this all the time when we sleep in 20 or 30° bags in the summer when it is 60°. You usually sleep just fine, even though it's 30° warmer or 40° warmer than your sleeping bag rating. Similarly, a negative 40° bag is often comfortable in 20°, or sometimes even warmer. There is a review on YouTube for the marmot -40 bag from a guy in Canada, and I think he said he sleeps in it up to positive 40°, or maybe it was 50.

I have a couple of the very heavy, camp out of your car, negative 20° sleeping bags, and they sleep fine probably up to at least 50°.

I do sleep cold though.

This year in a November hunt in Idaho, I'll sleep in a marmot 0°, but I'll also have a down woobie rated for 40°, and probably a sleeping bag liner which will add another six or seven degrees of warmth rating. And I'll have a air pad with an r value of 7 or 8.

That is very true, but its highly dependent on the manufacturer. The poster that I quoted specifically stated that he is using a Western Mountaineering bag, and its pretty well known that their temp ratings are very close to the comfort rating.

 

[elsb0048]

There are guys on here with way more expertise in this area than me, but I think the pad makes a huge difference.. you mentioned that any pad below you works just fine, but you are also sleeping in a -40 degree bag in 20 degrees...

My experience echoes this a bit although I also generally sleep warm and am fairly weight conscious. I have a neo-air xtherm with an r value around 7 and I pair that with a 30deg feathered friends quilt and frequently run it down to 10-20F range. I've considered adding a 0 to -20F range bag at some point but so far it just hasn't been necessary for the temps I see.

I do start wearing a midlayers fleece or similar down around 20-25F and maybe adding my puffy jacket around 10-15F