Stove or Better Sleeping Bag

[paleraider]

So apparently I am a pretty cold sleeper. During the last hunt I spent many a night unable to sleep as I was very cold. I currently have a Western Mountaneering bag that I used with a thermolite reactor. I also put on all my layers to no avail.

I have a 2 week hunt at the end of December this year and I know it will be much colder then what I encountered. So I am debating should I get a stove or a 0 degree sleeping bag. Overall the stove is 1/2 as much as the sleeping bag, I have yet to determine if I am going with Kifaru's or Seekoutside's stove. Yet the sleeping bag would weigh substantially less. Of course I can always use the stove to keep things warm and cook on. I am somewhat torn. Thoughts?

 

[ianpadron]

So apparently I am a pretty cold sleeper. During the last hunt I spent many a night unable to sleep as I was very cold. I currently have a Western Mountaneering bag that I used with a thermolite reactor. I also put on all my layers to no avail.

I have a 2 week hunt at the end of December this year and I know it will be much colder then what I encountered. So I am debating should I get a stove or a 0 degree sleeping bag. Overall the stove is 1/2 as much as the sleeping bag, I have yet to determine if I am going with Kifaru's or Seekoutside's stove. Yet the sleeping bag would weigh substantially less. Of course I can always use the stove to keep things warm and cook on. I am somewhat torn. Thoughts?

I vote both amigo! It will be cold AF in December and you'll be happy as a clam with a zero degree bag in a 50 degree shelter. Plus you can dry things out as they will inevitably get wet. Being cold sucks, sounds like you learned that. Go with a 0 degree quilt from enlightened equipment, buy a kifaru cylinder stove, and you'll still have money left over. Again...BEING COLD SUCKS. BEING COLD AND WET SUCKS EVEN MORE.

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[mlob1one]

I think you should begin with a good sleep system. I have a stove but they require constant feeding which is not conducive to a solid night's sleep but it does beat freezing your backside off.
I'd take a look at Kifaru and Montbell at 0 or -15 degree bags.
Good luck.

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[oldgoat]

Can't speak for late season hunt, but this year we used our stove regularly and my wife is a cold sleeper, she remarked over and over this year about how she slept better being warm when she went to bed, the bag was warmer already etc because of the stove

 

[rklein]

One thing to not overlook is a pad with a high R-value. I am a cold sleeper as well and found that upgrading to a pad with a high R-value made a bigger difference to me than a lower degree bag. I picked up a thermarest neoair X-therm(not x-lite) and this has an r-value of 5.7. This prevented me from losing a bunch of heat due to the cold ground. The regular size mummy pad weighs 14oz so if weight is a concern its a pretty light pad for that R-value.

 

[2hand]

One thing to not overlook is a pad with a high R-value. I am a cold sleeper as well and found that upgrading to a pad with a high R-value made a bigger difference to me than a lower degree bag. I picked up a thermarest neoair X-therm(not x-lite) and this has an r-value of 5.7. This prevented me from losing a bunch of heat due to the cold ground. The regular size mummy pad weighs 14oz so if weight is a concern its a pretty light pad for that R-value.

This ^^^

Also consider some down booties. I believe EE makes some as well as REI.

 

[cuerro viejo]

Sleeping bag and higher Rvalue pad, burn times on the stoves are limited, especially in the high country where it's tough to find true hardwoods like oak. Stoves are great for drying things out and knocking out quick chill.

 

[ChrisS]

Sleeping bag and higher Rvalue pad, burn times on the stoves are limited, especially in the high country where it's tough to find true hardwoods like oak. Stoves are great for drying things out and knocking out quick chill.

Yep and even with hardwoods, you're going to be filling that thing every 1 - 2.5 hours which makes for a long night and crappy day.

What was the temp rating of your bag and roughly what temps did you experience? I've had a 20F down quilt at 25-30F and it was not much fun. I slept pretty well at 12k this year with the exception of the little hole in the footbox when it was cinched up, I kept waking up with cold heels until I wrapped my feet in my puffy.

 

[Trial153]

I do both but if I had to pick one it would be a kick ass bag.


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[paleraider]

My bag is rated at 30 degrees and I have the NEMO Tensor Insulated Air Pad which is supposed to be good for down to 15F. I have thick wool socks I wear for sleeping, this seemed to be one of the few parts that didn't get cold.

Thanks for all the advice. I will most likely end up with both by this time next year but will start out with the bag first.

 

[Akicita]

On mountaineering trips and back country ski trips when water is plentiful and I don't have my hot tent I seal a hot water bottle in a small dry bag and sleep with it near my core. I sometimes move it to my feet if they start out cold. Whenever I can, I pack in my hot tent and burn a hot stoke just before bedding down and before climbing out of the bag in the morning.

 

[rbljack]

This wont solve your problem, but may be worth mentioning too. I haven't done it yet but we will be trying it this season. I heard or read somewhere that a fed body before bed will assist in a warmer nights sleep too. So we will be drinking some hot chocolate and maybe a granola bar or something like that right before bed to see if it helps.

 

[tyeager2964]

Food can help but liquids can be counter productive as your body needs to heat your bladder to keep it warm as well. I have read that you sleep warmer with an empty bladder. My personal experience is that I can't really tell the differemce but I have always been a fairly warm sleeper.

 

[gobbler1662]

I also do both, high R-value pad is essential, and a good bag paired together. In Eastern Oregon during week two of archery elk season this year we had temps drop to 16 degrees at night. I normally use a 20 degree bag but for that trip I packed my zero degree bag in paired with a exped winterlite pad r-value of over 5 and was toasty warm.

 

[TJ]

One thing to not overlook is a pad with a high R-value. I am a cold sleeper as well and found that upgrading to a pad with a high R-value made a bigger difference to me than a lower degree bag. I picked up a thermarest neoair X-therm(not x-lite) and this has an r-value of 5.7. This prevented me from losing a bunch of heat due to the cold ground. The regular size mummy pad weighs 14oz so if weight is a concern its a pretty light pad for that R-value.

I too agree with this. A decent pad with a higher R-value was one of the best investments I made in my sleep system.