What temp rated bag/quilt?

[crmiller84]

Heading to Colorado next year for my first elk hunt and getting my gear lined out. Planning on a 2nd rifle hunt at the end of Oct. What temps should I expect and what bag rating should I need? I looked at historical data and it seemed that around 11000ft elevation the temp ranged from 60 down to 0, but I don't know what would be normal. Also, to make things more difficult, I still don't know what area of Colorado I'll be in, just know it will be an OTC unit.

Thanks

 

[Rhansen]

Not sure on temps but keep in mind a good R value pad or your bag rating goes out the window. Trust me I learned the hard way....

 

[Dameon]

I recommend a 15-20 degree bag with an insulated pad. Wear merino wool base layers at night when the temp drops and a couple of chemical hand warmers in the bag will help keep you toasty if it gets too cold.


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[michaelc10]

I recommend a 0 degree bag. It can get plenty cold 2nd rifle season, sometimes I double my bag up with a rectangle outer bag and mummy inner. As long as your base camping it's a good option.

 

[SHTF]

As others have said a good pad is super important anything with a 5+ R value. The bag rating is going to be suggestive based on if your a hot or cold sleeper. I can do a 20 degree with thermal underwear but some folks would be cold in that. Only way for you to know is to get a bag and test it out. Sometimes it takes a few to figure out where youll be comfortable. Bivy also is something Id recommend. keeps the bag clean and dry but also boosts the temp rating by 5 or 10 degrees.

 

[fngTony]

Anything goes for that elevation that time year. If not having a heated shelter I would go for something rated closer to zero. A pad with a r-value of 2.8 or more. Can also use your puffy with your bag, and hot water in a nalgene bottle in your bag. Bring a hanfull of the chemical hand warmers, I put a couple in each boot at night. I hate cold boots .

 

[Elkfitness]

For late October in Colorado, I'd use at least a 15 degree bag and maybe 0 or 10. I'd pair it with a high r value pad. I hunt late mid to late October for cow elk every year. I've had 60 degree weather and one year had 3 ft of snow the 3rd week of October at 10K feet. I rode out a blizzard that year (without a heated shelter - last time I did that!) and killed my cow when the weather finally broke. My personal set up is a 15 degree marmot helium membrane (850 down) with a neoair xtherm pad. I love it and use it into late November for mule deer. I've never felt cold in it. I use this in archery as well, because you never know. I'd rather have to unzip my bag than have to put on my full hunting set up on to stay warm (which I have had to do when I was rocking an inferior bag).

 

[dotman]

If getting a quilt just get a 0*, weighs less then most 20* bags and is easy to vent if too warm. But if you need the extra warmth it is well worth it.

 

[camping1601]

Zero bag for sure. .02

 

[crmiller84]

Great info guys.

On the sleeping pad, I was thinking of picking up a thermarest trail scout and a zlite or ridge rest, my thought being that I could cut 1/3rd of the foam pad off and have a glassing pad along with a short torso pad under the trail scout to boost R-value. I know it's a little heavier than a single high R-value pad, but it also seems like cheap insurance in case the inflated pad fails.

On the bag I keep going back and forth. I was thinking about just grabbing a 20deg bag in a wide-long model and using a Kifaru Woobie or Doobie inside of it if necessary. My reasoning is, I want to pick up the woobie anyways, once again for glassing in the cold mornings, and if it can pull double duty then I'm saving some weight. I will have merino base layers and I'm using the Kryptek Kratos II puffy and pants, so I also have that insurance.

I will also have a heated shelter, I just haven't put much faith in night time warmth in it, since the fires don't last that long without tending. But it will allow me to dry out the puffies/woobie each evening before bed.

Good plan, or am I flawed?

 

[Hunt'nFish]

What ever bag you pick... make sure it's big enough that you don't compress the loft and have room to move around.

Personally I'd go with a down 5-0F..... not that many more ounces, huge insurance in comfort. Add base layer, socks, beenie and puffy if needed.
Hunt'nFish

 

[dunner543]

Great info guys.

On the bag I keep going back and forth. I was thinking about just grabbing a 20deg bag in a wide-long model and using a Kifaru Woobie or Doobie inside of it if necessary. My reasoning is, I want to pick up the woobie anyways, once again for glassing in the cold mornings, and if it can pull double duty then I'm saving some weight. I will have merino base layers and I'm using the Kryptek Kratos II puffy and pants, so I also have that insurance.

I will also have a heated shelter, I just haven't put much faith in night time warmth in it, since the fires don't last that long without tending. But it will allow me to dry out the puffies/woobie each evening before bed.

Good plan, or am I flawed?

I think that is a good plan. I used a 10° down bag last year with an xtherm pad and held everything together with a borah lightweight bivy. It was in the 20s at night and I slept like a baby in just my underwear (I'm a warm sleeper anyway). The last night we got about 8 inches of snow that kept pushing the sides of my paratipi down on me a bit and my setup got a little damp. Luckily we were hiking out the next day so I didn't have to sleep in it again because I think it might have been a bit cold since I wouldn't have been able to dry everything out that well even though I had a stove.

I'm planning the same thing as you for this year. I figure a 20° slick bag with a woobie will be a good versatile setup. Not super light but will cover a lot of bases.

 

[5MilesBack]

I use a 0 degree down quilt in Aug and Sept, even wearing my merino base layers and wearing a fleece hat. No way I'd head out in later Oct (especially backpacking in) with anything less than a -20 bag. Seems like over the last 20 years we've had some pretty mild temps in Oct, but I can remember some seasons in the 80's where it was well below zero with a couple feet of snow on the ground. Those will return at some point.

 

[crmiller84]

I use a 0 degree down quilt in Aug and Sept, even wearing my merino base layers and wearing a fleece hat. No way I'd head out in later Oct (especially backpacking in) with anything less than a -20 bag. Seems like over the last 20 years we've had some pretty mild temps in Oct, but I can remember some seasons in the 80's where it was well below zero with a couple feet of snow on the ground. Those will return at some point.

That's a great point. I am typically a warmer sleeper, but once I get cold that goes right out the window. Judging by EE's quilt layering specs and Kifaru's specs on the Doobie, it seems that by layering a Doobie over a 20deg bag/quilt I should be ok down to about -30, so estimating conservitavely I should be able to get to -10 easily with my base layers. Sound about right?

 

[5MilesBack]

Sound about right?

Sure.........until it's just flat wrong.

Some of my fondest memories are of the trying times during hunting seasons of the past, but only because I survived it all. My toes are still sensitive to the cold from repeated freezings in insulated boots. Waking up every morning with my sleeping bag encapsulated in a sheet of ice. Watching the stove burn red hot during the night from the coal in it, and still freezing our rear ends off. Waking up to 4 feet of snow in the middle of Oct 1984, after the Monday night "snow bowl" storm. The foot of snow on top of 2 days straight of rain and the mud slop with all four chained up. That was fun watching all those that were totally unprepared for that mess. The year our thermometer froze stuck at -15. Then the -25 when my cousin shot a small cow at 7:30am and it was frozen solid by noon.

Man, I love archery season these days.

The good news is that I haven't seen anything like the above in Oct since the 80's/early 90's. Although we did get 3 feet of snow the third week of September in 2006.

 

[Jethro]

2nd rifle season in 2009 had a couple mornings around and below 0 degrees at 10,600 ft. I know it was cold enough to freeze water carried in my pack by lunch time. We were in a drop camp with canvas tent and wood stove. I had a 20degree synthetic and wore a few layers to sleep, and slept comfortably. Any shelter less than a heated canvas tent I would get at least a 0 degree and it would be a bag, not a quilt.

 

[Jimbo V]

0


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[Where's Bruce?]

I would use a high R rated pad and a 0* quilt. You can vent a quilt if overly warm but there is no saving you if you are too cold. After humping mountains all day a toasty warm sleep will heal your muscles...a cold sleepless night may finish you. I carry a woobiie just in case. Used it on nights when the temps plunged unexpectedly-saved my bacon.