Best bag for LD Hiking

[eventidecu]

If you had money enough for one "good" bag what would it be? Something in the 15 degree range ( Marmont or WM) and opt for a cheap summer bag or go for something with full zipper (use as blanket in summer) in the 32 range. Again probly WM or like quality. Will do some extended winter hiking with it maby starting a section / thru-hike in January-ish from Springer.

[Lone Wolf]

Campmor 20 degree down bag.

[Booley]

WM Alpenlite 20. Love it. Under 2 pounds and a good all around bag.

[eventidecu]

It pretty much has to be under 2lbs thats why I'm looking at the WM. Want it closer to 1lb. Do the VBL's really work enough to say.. go out in Jan in the NC/TN area in Jan Feb with a 20 degree bag? AND is a 20 degree bag too hot for most of a thru hike? What do most people take?

[Footslogger]

Is this thread about a specific brand or a bag rating ?

From my personal experience, a 20 degree bag is sufficient for an AT thru.

That said ...I carried the REI Sub Kilo (and still do). Sprayed it with a little Techtron (DWR) and no problems.

'Slogger

[the_iceman]

I am going to carry an REI Sub Kilo 35 around 2 pounds and switch to a bag liner for the summer. If I get cold I will wear my thermals and a bacalava. I camp a lot in the cold.

Bag ratings tend to be total bull. It is what your body can handle and each bag varies a lot. Some people freeze while others roast in the same bag.

[mweinstone]

this is hotel marmot and motel marmot. matthewskis answer to your question. hotel marmot is a -20 col eq 900+ fill and motel marmot is a 15 helium eq 850+ fill . you go to damascus with col and finish with helium.

[fiddlehead]

I prefer my Feathered friends "Hummingbird" (20 deg bag) although i could use a new one soon. (5 thrus done on it plus some extensive overseas action plus i always keep it stuffed in the stuff sack) (it's probably lost 5 to 10 degrees of warmth from all of that )
It's not cheap ($330 back in 95) but has lasted thru a lot of hiking

[hammock engineer]

Check out the MontBell Super Streches. Should be about the same as the WM. I like mine because the baffles strech when you move. I mainly use mine as a quilt though. When I use it as a bag it makes it feel less constricting.

[saimyoji]

Bought on great deals: 15* MountainHardwear 2nd Dimension; 40* MH X-country. Less than $150 for both bags. Of course, the 15* bag weighs a little more than 3 lbs.


Try this: get an acceptable 35-40* bag, add a Thermolite bag liner (SeatoSummit), it allegedly adds 15-20* to your sleeping system, can be used alone as a warm weather bag. They are about $40.

[Maxwell_Allen]

I'm with slogger on the REI 20° sub-kilo. I carried one the whole way in 2005, never felt the need to buy a summer bag, yet was never *really* cold in March. There are lighter 20° bags out now, but if your just getting one bag, the 20° range is where your gonna want to be. When sending home my other winter clothing, I knew I'd still have a warm bag as a safety net in case it got cold again, and it did.

4-cheese

[mweinstone]

i dont think you guys have ever been in a -20 marmot. if you had,... you would understand. its just so dam fluffy and wide and long and super extra warm and toasty and is worth the 4 lbs for a few hundred miles at the start. try it.

[eventidecu]

I have to keep my pack under 30lbs or its no fun, I mean if I go to 32 I'm dyin. At 30 I feel like I'm not carrying anything. It's weird but some reason over 30lbs kills me. I've about settled on the Marmont Hydrogen 20 dedgree at 1lb 5 ounces. Doe's anyone have any experiance with this bag...Good bad or ugly. I will spend up around 300.00 for a bag but can only afford one "good one". But I aint carrying a 4lb bag for sure. LOL..

[the_iceman]

After seeing the comments on the REI Sub-Kilo, I checked my bag and it is +20 not +35. Guess it is a bonus if you believe ratings. It weighs 1 lb 13 oz.

I have never really used bag liners before as liners just as summer bags. The few times I tried them I wound up twisted like a pretzel and freaking out when I woke up because it was cold and my arms were in my bag and I had really become a mummy. It took 5 minutes of fearful thrashing to get untangled.

How can you keep them from twisting up inside?

[maxNcathy]

Check out the WM Versalite 10F @ 2 pounds. That is the bag I would buy if I wanted only one bag. I hate long hours of cold nights!

The Hydrogen is great but is rated for 30F...not too good when temps go to 12F

[maxNcathy]

Has any one had the NF Hightail 15F or North Face Momentum 0F? They have 1/2 zippers I think. They are super soft I know for sure.

[highway]

For all three season I use a feathered Friends Wren. I think it was rated to 35F but I had it overstuffed with 800/850 down so its most likely at 30F. I sleep in my clothes (shorts, shirt, no socks) always and have had no problem keeping warm down to freezing. It has center, quarter zip, arm holes and drawstring foot so I can wear it and even walk around wearing it if & when i want (night pee excursions). In fact it was likely the first to come up with the concept of one wearing one's sleeping bag like an article of clothing, as I recall, long before the present cottage industries caught on and began copying it. It works for me:

http://www.featheredfriends.com/ProductDetails.aspx?productId=82&CatId=1&ProductName=Rock%20Wren

I got in an Epic-like material and Black in color so as to dry it quickly if wet but after all this time I have yet to get it wet. I have had it damp when my feet stuck out beyond a tarp on occasion when it rained at night, but it self dries using it.:sun

[hopefulhiker]

I really liked the versatility of the Nunatak back country blanket. It had velcro to make it into a sort of sleeping bag with a hole at the bottom.. You just put a piece of clothing to stop up the hole. I used a silk liner with it and it worked in almost all the cases. It was rated at 20 degrees but I aslo used an insulated air mattress with it.

[Ender]

Right now my favorite bag is the WM Ultralite. A solid 20* and less than 2 lbs.

[Pacific Tortuga]

I really hope a good bag for a LD hike will be a FF 20 degree Puffin SR, used as a quilt on warmer nights.

[Almost There]

Marmot 15degree Helium...Stays warm to 15, water resistant, with a liner has kept me warm to 15 degrees, and under two pounds. It's like sleeping between two feather pillows!

[eventidecu]

Again thanks guys. You all here are by far the best group of knowledge there is anywhere. I'm looking really at one of the WM but they seem kinda flimsy to me though everyone raves about them. Also I like the Marmont Hydrogen or the Helium. Does anyone have any pro's or con's about them. I don't want to put a bunch of money in a "summer" bag because you can just use a sheet or fleece in summer. Is this a wrong approach? Yes I may wind up doing a thru or hiking most of this year somewhere. I'm planning on a sabatical or other words, "get the hell out of dodge" year.