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View Full Version : Gear Talk: Sleeping Bag for the A.T, what's yours? What do you recommend?



BenOnAdventures
07-15-2015, 10:19
Good morning fellow adventurers, it's time for another Gear Talk session. This time its about sleeping bags. What's your A.T sleeping bag? What do you recommend? Synthetic vs Down? Feel free to suggest anything else about sleeping bags you think of. Let's talk!!

Gambit McCrae
07-15-2015, 10:31
I have 3 Montbells and 2 western mountaineering down bags, variations in temp ratings from 0 degree to 55.

hikernutcasey
07-15-2015, 10:35
I only do 3 season backpacking so I have 2 bags.

1) 40 degree 600 fill down Marmot for summer

2) 20 degree 800 fill down REI for early spring and fall

Another Kevin
07-15-2015, 11:05
If you're a beginner, your first bag should probably be the 20 degree down bag. There are inexpensive ones that will keep their value: Kelty Cosmic, REI Radiant, and EMS Simmer Down are all models that have been around for a tidy few years. A lot of us started with one or another of these. They'll be a few ounces heavier than more expensive options, but you may decide that rather than going with an expensive bag, you want a cottage-industry quilt, or you really prefer a hammock system with top quilt and under quilt.

The reason I say to start with the 20 degree bag is versatility. You can always unzip it and just pull a corner of it around your shoulders if it's too warm. It's a single bag that's at least usable in three seasons.

A lot of times, you can spot bags like these at thrift stores, garage sales, or Whatzis-name's List. Lots of people get them, use them once or twice, and decide backpacking is not for them. When I was helping to find one for a friend of my daughter's, I even found one with the tags still on it. Somebody bought it with a specific trip in mind, and their travel plans fell through.

I have hundreds of miles on my Radiant. PMags has thousands on his Cosmic. (Hi, Paul!) Sometimes "good enough" is best.

Walkintom
07-15-2015, 11:07
If you're a beginner, your first bag should probably be the 20 degree down bag. There are inexpensive ones that will keep their value: Kelty Cosmic, REI Radiant, and EMS Simmer Down are all models that have been around for a tidy few years. A lot of us started with one or another of these. They'll be a few ounces heavier than more expensive options, but you may decide that rather than going with an expensive bag, you want a cottage-industry quilt, or you really prefer a hammock system with top quilt and under quilt.

The reason I say to start with the 20 degree bag is versatility. You can always unzip it and just pull a corner of it around your shoulders if it's too warm. It's a single bag that's at least usable in three seasons.

A lot of times, you can spot bags like these at thrift stores, garage sales, or Whatzis-name's List. Lots of people get them, use them once or twice, and decide backpacking is not for them. When I was helping to find one for a friend of my daughter's, I even found one with the tags still on it. Somebody bought it with a specific trip in mind, and their travel plans fell through.

I have hundreds of miles on my Radiant. PMags has thousands on his Cosmic. (Hi, Paul!) Sometimes "good enough" is best.

That's just good solid advice.

Berserker
07-15-2015, 12:39
I have a Western Mountaineering Caribou (35F), and that's the bag that gets primarily used. I also have a Western Mountaineering Alpinlite (20F) that I use when it's colder.

My advice is that once you have decided you like hiking and plan to do it regularly get a down bag. All you have to do is make sure to keep it dry in transit (while hiking) and when transferring it into your shelter. If you do that then down is lighter and compresses into a smaller package making it a superior insulating material to synthetics. Also, I'd experiment with the girth of the bag and find where you are comfortable. Both my bags have the same dimensions, and I have used several other bags that are more narrow. I prefer the extra girth to allow me to layer, move around and simply because I don't like feeling like a sardine when I'm sleeping.

squeezebox
07-15-2015, 14:34
There's also the whole conversation about bags vs. quilts.

OCDave
07-15-2015, 14:50
I am close to buying a WM Alpinlite. Do those of you with any of the WM Extremelite series bags have concerns regarding the durability of the fabric? I have been also been considering the Badger in the Microfiber series. It will get used stacked with 20* quilt as a cooler weather/winter weather bag by my Boy Scout son.

OCDave
07-15-2015, 14:58
Sorry, Rather than cross talk this thread I'll start a new one. Please disregard above any respond to new thread: http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/112759-Western-Mountaineering-Extremelite-vs-Microfiber-series-bag?p=1988524#post1988524

12trysomething
07-15-2015, 15:05
HammockGear.com 0F / 20F / 40F - all with 850 down. Best deal for the money IMO.

Starchild
07-15-2015, 16:06
20F is the sweetspot, one bag does all for the AT. I switched to a fleece blanket for the summer heat season.

appompa255
07-18-2015, 00:01
There are also websites where you can rent (try out) different types of gear including sleeping bags or hammocks.