3-Season Bag Thoughts?

[Mr. Sparky]

I am interested in your thoughts about 3-season bags. Specifically, how do you feel about a 30-degree bag in July, in say.... Virginia? Seems like that might be quite uncomfortable, even with a leg hanging out. If soloing in a tiny 1-person tent, there's really not room to throw the top layer off for using a liner as a sheet. Thanks in advance!

[egilbe]

A quilt is perfect for three season use.

[v1k1ng1001]

I carry a 40 degree quilt which serves me well in the warmer summer months and gives me some overhead if it's chilly. I undo the foot box and keep it over my mid section when it's hot.

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[bigcranky]

I thought a 30-F bag would be the perfect three season bag around here, and got a WM Megalite. Great bag, nothing but good things to say about it, but miserable in the summer. Even draped over me as a quilt, too hot. And the Megalite wasn't quite warm enough in the shoulder season, while my winter bag was too warm. Heh.

So I sent the Megalite back to WM and had them add a couple of ounces of down, making it more like a 20-F bag. Then I bought a 45-F quilt from Jacks R Better. Now I have a winter bag, a spring/fall bag, and a summer quilt.

The quilt is great -- well made, light, and perfect for the summer. I've used it hammocking and on the ground, both in the South and up North in the summer.

[blgoode]

In in NC myself and have the same rating system you have bigcranky. 20degree Enlighten Equipment quilt and a 45 degree summer series by WildernessLogic. If below 20 I can use both.

[garlic08]

I'm a recent convert to three season quilt use as well. Mine's an enLightened Equipment Rev30, and it's perhaps the best gear purchase I've ever made. One pro I didn't expect is that I've never had to wash it, since I don't sleep on it. A few minutes of UV from sunshine once in a while and it doesn't get funky. It may not be so good on colder nights for a restless sleeper.

[Pastor Bryon]

+1 to the quilt. I have a an EE 40d quilt. Currently all of my hiking has been in Virginia and the quilt has been great. Weight and warmth have been good and I just bring a liner or extra layer if I think it'll be close on temperature and comfort.

[nsherry61]

I am interested in your thoughts about 3-season bags. Specifically, how do you feel about a 30-degree bag in July, in say.... Virginia? Seems like that might be quite uncomfortable, even with a leg hanging out. If soloing in a tiny 1-person tent, there's really not room to throw the top layer off for using a liner as a sheet. Thanks in advance!
Most people think of 3-seasons as Spring, Summer, Fall, not just July. And, any good 3-season bag will be hot in July and probably a bit cool in the early spring and late fall when you'll want to be wearing extra insulating layers to stay comfortable on the coldest days.

The posts above are all giving great advice for good warm-season solutions and cooler solutions, but not addressing the idea of a single bag/quilt for 3 seasons. And, that is probably the real point here. A bag/quilt carried as a single 3-season tool will be hot in the heat of summer and cold in the colder days of the shoulder seasons. So, if you want a single bag/quilt, you're going to have to suck up and temperature extremes and deal with it. It's really not all that hard. If you can't figure out how to shove you bag off/under you in a 1-person tent, you've got other troubles other than which bag to carry.

Good luck. There is a lot of great advice here to help make time in the back-country more comfortable.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Most people think of 3-seasons as Spring, Summer, Fall, not just July. And, any good 3-season bag will be hot in July and probably a bit cool in the early spring and late fall when you'll want to be wearing extra insulating layers to stay comfortable on the coldest days.

The posts above are all giving great advice for good warm-season solutions and cooler solutions, but not addressing the idea of a single bag/quilt for 3 seasons. And, that is probably the real point here. A bag/quilt carried as a single 3-season tool will be hot in the heat of summer and cold in the colder days of the shoulder seasons. So, if you want a single bag/quilt, you're going to have to suck up and temperature extremes and deal with it. It's really not all that hard. If you can't figure out how to shove you bag off/under you in a 1-person tent, you've got other troubles other than which bag to carry.

Good luck. There is a lot of great advice here to help make time in the back-country more comfortable.It varies a lot by region as well. I more like to think of "three season bags" as really being "two season bags" - something that will work from May through October. In the south, you can stretch the season span a bit further, especially at lower elevations. In the north, and higher elevations, it might be more June through September. But this is coming from someone who is more accustomed to New Hampshire, where we only have two seasons - July, and winter. :D

[cmoulder]

For this purpose I have an EE Prodigy 40 (synthetic, 17.7oz) that works very well even in extremely humid conditions. I know others will disagree, but I have used it in conditions (3 days in a row with a lot of rain at Seneca Creek/Spruce Knob, WV) where a down bag would have been a disaster. There was an incredible amount of misting when raindrops dislodged the condensation in my Duomid. No problem with the Prodigy.

For really warm summer situations, I also have a Revelation 50 (down, 11.3oz) that smooshes down to the size of a medium canteloupe. Really good for SUL-ish overnight quickie trips, and I even used it on a 4-night trip to the Adirondacks in early September. Very handy when warm to open it up and use it in blanket mode. It has DownTek treated down, but I've not yet used it in a situation that would really put it to the test.

[Puddlefish]

It varies a lot by region as well. I more like to think of "three season bags" as really being "two season bags" - something that will work from May through October. In the south, you can stretch the season span a bit further, especially at lower elevations. In the north, and higher elevations, it might be more June through September. But this is coming from someone who is more accustomed to New Hampshire, where we only have two seasons - July, and winter. :D

Pfft, we had a lovely fall last August.

[nsherry61]

Pfft, we had a lovely fall last August.
Now, with global warming, all the glaciers are gone from NH aren't they? ;-)

[Mr. Sparky]

Thank you all for your input. I admit I had not considered the quilt option. I am hoping to avoid upgrading my 30-year old thermorest, which I think I would have to do if I went with a quilt.

[egilbe]

Thank you all for your input. I admit I had not considered the quilt option. I am hoping to avoid upgrading my 30-year old thermorest, which I think I would have to do if I went with a quilt.
Why? You can use a quilt with any pad.

[Mr. Sparky]

Why? You can use a quilt with any pad.
Since I am returning to backpacking after a 25-year hiatus, quilts are new to me. I get the basic concept for quilts, but figured an old thermorest would not be enough for insulating cold spring or fall nights.

[Hosh]

The underside of a sleeping bag is compressed against the pad. The compression eliminates most of the bag's loft and insulating value. If your pad is a low R value, you can get cold with a bag or quilt.

The advantages of a quilt, IMO, is it's versatility over a wide range of temperatures, it's lighter weight at a given temperature rating and it's lower cost. Missing a hood, you'll want to wear a beanie or balaclava in colder temperatures.

[Mr. Sparky]

The underside of a sleeping bag is compressed against the pad. The compression eliminates most of the bag's loft and insulating value. If your pad is a low R value, you can get cold with a bag or quilt.
Yeah, just not sure of the R value of my circa 1985 thermorest. :/

[Gonecampn]

Did a section hike on the BMT starting on JULY 4th. The average highs had been in the low/mid 90's. I considered trading out my Marmot 20 degree down bag for an old fleece coleman bag, basically a liner to save space. I'm really not sure why I didn't? The first night on top of Big Frog Mtn TN I just about froze. It was raining and the wind was terrible. Had it not been for my bag, I think I would have died ;-) It rained for 4 days and nights. One member of our group had to bail out. After that experience, I don't go anywhere with out my down bag, even if I have to sleep on top of it.

[Mr. Sparky]

Thanks for that. I am a Colorado native, so I understand cold and snow in July, but been thinking about the AT.

[daddytwosticks]

Quilts are not for everybody. If you toss and turn, they can be very chilly in colder weather. I only use my lightweigt quilt in the warmer summer months. :)

[colorado_rob]

Thank you all for your input. I admit I had not considered the quilt option. I am hoping to avoid upgrading my 30-year old thermorest, which I think I would have to do if I went with a quilt.I recently "saw the light" with a "quilt" for the second (northern) half of the AT. All the talk on here got me interested, so I checked it out. what I wound up with is a kind of a "hybrid" quilt, which has a closed foot box but an open back, but which has a system to attach the quilt to your air mattress, allowing us tosser/turners/side sleepers to stay warm. What I wound up with is a Katabatic Gear "sleeping bag", reviewed here for the 30 degree "palisade" model, called their editor's choice for best Ultralight "sleeping bag":

http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Ultralight-Sleeping-Bag-Reviews/Katabatic-Gear-Palisade-30

I bought the slightly warmer 22 degree version, the alsek, same bag, just a tad puffier, 3.5 ounces heavier (21 oz vs 17.5 for the palisade). The company is based in Lakewood CO, about 10 minutes from my house, so I was able to do a hands on check out of the bag and chat extensively with the owners, a cool, experienced long distance hiking young couple. These puppies are not cheap, but I really like my Alsek, and have used it down to the mid 20's in comfort, plus in the 60's (nighttime temps) also in comfort, just loosely draped, as already mentioned one big advantage of this "quilt".

(I keep using quotes around "quilt" and "sleeping bag" because this is a kind of a hybrid bag/quilt).

These are actually on sale right now for a couple more days, 10% off.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Ultimately there isn't a lot of difference between sleeping under a quilt vs a sleeping bag when opened up (one with a full zipper). The weights aren't that much different. My WM Caribou is 21 oz and on a warm night I often use it more like a quilt than a sleeping bag. I think it's an advantage to be able to zip it fully on colder nights, but it's all just another of those personal preference things.