Temp rating for winter sleeping bag.

[vipahman]

I'm looking to replace a very old sleeping bag that has lost all it's warmth. Given that I haven't shopped for a winter bag for a looooong time, what temp rating should I look for? Usage would primarily over a 2-3 day weekend, not expedition quality. I already have a WM Highlite 35. If I nest it with another WM bag, say 10, what would my temp rating become. I'd like both cheap and expensive ideas.

[Alligator]

Where will you be using it primarily?

[fiddlehead]

cheap idea: get or make a fleece sleeping bag liner and use the 35 degree bag. Although you should be aware that doubling up bags or adding thick fleece depends on how much room you have in the bag. My bag fits me like a glove so i don't add much clothes or liners. My older bag has extra room in it, the added bulk helps fill it up without compressing the loft. (loft means air spaces in between, a great source of insulation)
So if your bag that doesn't work very good anymore fits tight already, get a new one, if not, try a cheap alternative. (fleece is now $3-4 a yard, 2 yards of material with one or two seams should suffice for a cheap alternative. (or buy one)

[NoKnees]

For a cheap but fairly flexible winter bag I would suggest the campmor 0 degree down bag. Its strong points are:

1) its cheap($140)

2) its a down bag so its not going to deloft much over time

3) It will compact much better than a synthetic bag and warm synthetic bags start to take up quite a bit of pack space

4)I think its a fairly roomy bag, I am 5'8" 190 and I can do substancial layering inside.

5) My experience shows a 0 Degree to be a fairly flexible choice. Most of my group have moved on to warmer bags for the ADK's and Whites but the 0 did serve very well up there for a long time and still does when I think I won't need to carry the extra weight of my marmot CWM. Its a great bag for the High Sierra in the winter. I expect that it would be plenty warm for me if I were to spend time in the SE US in the winter

I have had one for maybe 10 years or so. I have used it for at least a hundred nights out and it has held up well. For me I find its rating to be accurate. If I expected temps to be below -10 I would either sleep in a tent or layer up. As a more extreme example. I had a pretty comfortable night at -37 in the ADK high peaks with the bag and wearing down booties and cabela's down jacket inside a leanto.

I am a medium sleeper, neither warm or cold so your milage may vary.

Its weakness are:
Its not a DWR bag so care is required where mosture is present (or use a bivy sack)

Its not the best quality down so it weighs more than it would if it were from western mountaineering. For camparison the WM Antelope super MF 5 degree bag weighs about a pound less. But then again there is a bit of price difference.

I am a medium sleeper, neither warm or cold so your milage may vary.

NoKnees

[vipahman]

Where will you be using it primarily? Primarily in the north east. Green, White, Blue mountains. Also I'm 5'9" and skinny at 145lbs, so doubling bags is not going to squeeze me tight.

[Alligator]

I am not very familiar with doubling bags. I have used a fleece liner with a 20 bag though. You pay a large weight penalty vs. simply a lower rated bag. This may be the case for 2 bags. Something I would be concerned about is a chest baffle. If your second bag has a rating of lower than 20F, it should have one. Personally, I would go with a 0 to -20 bag in the Whites. Doubling up, maybe a 0 would be a nice system. Then you'd have 35, 0, and -15 - -20??. The last is just a guess though.

Another thought is that you may be reluctant to take the extra bag due to weight issues. You might think, "Oh, I'll be okay with the 0", when you really do need it.

Just some thoughts, remember to play safe. SpiritWind recently posted about 2 bags.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?p=135112#post135112

[peter_pan]

Quilts are a nice way to extend range and avoid compression issues.

But then I'm biased.

Pan

[kncats]

One thing to consider if you're thinking about doubling up sleepings bags to get the temperature rating you want. You're going to have a substantial weight penalty with the extra inner and outer shell material that doesn't contribute much to keeping you warm. Plus zippers, draft collars, hood pull strings, etc. that are all duplicated, It's going to be more expensive and you'll have less total flexibility with your sleep system, but a single bag with the rating you're looking for is going to weigh a lot less than two.

[vipahman]

So if I was going with a single bag, what temp rating should I look at for deep winter (Dec-Feb) weekend hikes in the north-east mountains. Is 0 (zero) good enough or do I need to go lower?

[stiffler]

Now everyone sleeps differently. I was out this weekend in 32 degree weather in my marmut bag. With thermal clothing on and heavy socks. The bag was rated at 35 degrees. Id say that I was just at the point of barely noticing it being cold out. Any part of my shoulders and head that was exposed before I sinched up the mummy draw strings was cool. After drawing the hood closed, all was warm. I've been cold before thru the night, And it sucks really bad. Dont cheap out here, especally in the winter.

[hungryhowie]

I'd be looking at a zero degree bag at the minimum. I've been happy with Marmot's ultralight series bags, having used both the Hydrogen and Helium extensively throughout the past two years. They're the lightest no-frills bags on the market. I'd check out the Lithium for your purposes. Opt for a non-dryloft version if they offer that.

-Howie

[Peaks]

I'm looking to replace a very old sleeping bag that has lost all it's warmth. Given that I haven't shopped for a winter bag for a looooong time, what temp rating should I look for? Usage would primarily over a 2-3 day weekend, not expedition quality. I already have a WM Highlite 35. If I nest it with another WM bag, say 10, what would my temp rating become. I'd like both cheap and expensive ideas.


What temperature rating should you look for? one that's colder than the coolest temperatures you expect to be sleeping in. A 35 degree bag may be fine for summer, but for winter camping you are going to want something lower. I'd suggest a zero degree bag.

What temperature might a nested bag be? I don't know. But you can approximate it by measuring the loft of the nested bags, and then comparing it with the loft of zero degree bags.

[LIhikers]

If I remember right Big Agnes has a series of bags called Over Bags that are designed for nesting. I don't have any experience with their products or even with the idea of nesting sleeping bags for extra warmth.