Good light sleeping bag for summer.

[Earl Grey]

I <3 the marmot sawtooth I have but being a 15 degree bag is overkill for thruhiking this summer. I was thinking of getting a synthetic bag actually because of rain concerns and early morning dew etc. 40 degrees would be adequate but above all it has to be light. Anyone have suggestions for such a bag? Could I just use a liner and forget all that mess?

[Pokey2006]

NO! Don't use just a liner, unless you sleep really, really hot. Some people do, and that's great.

But I made that mistake, and froze my butt off through most of the mid-Atlantic states until I smartened up and got my winter bag back. It was my ONE regret of my trip. Even in the middle of summer, when you're sweating your butt off during the day, temps can drop pretty low at night.

I say invest in two really good bags -- one for winter, one for summer. Quality sleeping bags are expensive, but are also probably the best investment you can make when preparing a thru hike.

[fonsie]

I have a EMS 35* velocity....It's about a pound and can compress into a nalgene bottle( great for them rainny days)....It's the ugly green on they sell.

[Pokey2006]

I see the EMS bag is on sale...Nice price, but it's still an "overbag," so I'm a little leery. I've been looking at the REI Flash. For a women's regular, it's just a hair over a pound. Ya, the advantages to being a short girl!

Shop around, do the homework, and just about anyone can find exactly the right bag for them. Check out all the major chains -- EMS, REI, etc. -- because there are a lot of deals there.

[hammock engineer]

If you can do any sewing, here is a link to directions on how I turned a sportsmansguide sleeping bag into a quilt. Final weight 15 oz, cost $35 shipped, and about a 50 degree rating.

http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=383

[Moose2001]

Kelty Lightyear 45 degree. Down, has a hood, warm if you hit a cold night, otherwise you can use it like a quilt. Weighs just over a pound, if I recall correctly.

[Pokey2006]

No, looks like it weighs more like two pounds, judging from a quick perusal of websites, though I could be missing something. Kelty in general spells good, quality gear, but on the heavy side. If you're looking for something durable that doesn't break the bank, Kelty's your brand. It's not the way to go if you're looking for a lightweight summer bag, though.

[Pokey2006]

Man, does the price rock, though...

[Marta]

I carried a WM 20 degree bag all summer. If it was warm at night, I used it as a quilt over me. At elevation, nightime temps can be low, even in the summer. I'm also a very cold sleeper.

[rafe]

Mountain Hardwear Phantom 45 or 32. Nice and light. Not too expensive.

[TOW]

I <3 the marmot sawtooth I have but being a 15 degree bag is overkill for thruhiking this summer. I was thinking of getting a synthetic bag actually because of rain concerns and early morning dew etc. 40 degrees would be adequate but above all it has to be light. Anyone have suggestions for such a bag? Could I just use a liner and forget all that mess?
A 40 degree synthetic Kelty sleeping bag is pretty good in almost any weather system, that is for the south..................

[Jim Adams]

I bought a Chinnock 50* last year at Trail Days. I use it as a quilt every nite at work so it gets used a minimum of 4 nights a week. I used it several times last summer and in the mountains at 55*, I slept with it over me, being too hot to zip up. It is synthetic, has no hood, no draft tube and is rectangular not mummy but it has never left me cold down to 45* with polypro sleepwear. It stuffs smaller than my micro fleece shirt or my Marmot Precip jacket and weighs less than a pound. PRICE $22 at Trail Days! BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK THAT I'VE EVER SPENT!

geek

[saimyoji]

Mountain Hardwear Phantom 45 or 32. Nice and light. Not too expensive.


I'm partial to Mountain Hardwear bags too. X-Country 40* keeps me warm down around 30* if layered right. Got mine for 65.00 on sale. I think its discontinued, so you may find it cheaper.

[Pacific Tortuga]

Check out the Big Agnes 'Lost Dog' 50 degree $109.00 1.6 lbs.

[Miner]

I have a Marmot Atom (down) 40F bag that I use for summer. It weighs a pound and can compress down to a large coffee cup (if desired, but I wouldn't recommend doing so often). I add a silk liner on the beginning and end of summer to add some warmth if needed. I've successfully used it down to about 30F with silkweight thermals and the silk liner. I don't think I'd push it much past that though.

I bought it becaues a 15F bag is just too hot for 90% of the camping I do and that was all I had. I have since also bought a 30F bag for Spring and Fall use and use the 15F for winter only.

The 40F rating has worked well for me in the summer, but I don't normally use it where it is 70+ at night since most of my summer trips are in the mountains (I try to avoid the heat). When the temperature is warm enough, I use it more like a blanket. If that is too warm, then I just sleep in clothes on top of it.

[dloome]

I'd also check out some of the Lafuma bags. I have the Extreme 600 which I sort of use as my "garbage" bag on fast/wet/dirty hikes. It's super cheap, (about $60) weighs 1 lb 4 oz, packs up to about football size. Synthetic, and actually not too far off from it's 45 degree rating. Really solid piece of gear for the price.

[saimyoji]

I'm partial to Mountain Hardwear bags too. X-Country 40* keeps me warm down around 30* if layered right. Got mine for 65.00 on sale. I think its discontinued, so you may find it cheaper.


Sorry...It weighs 1lb4oz. PolarGuard 3D

[copythat]

Kelty Lightyear 45 degree. Down, has a hood, warm if you hit a cold night, otherwise you can use it like a quilt. Weighs just over a pound, if I recall correctly.


got one. 1lb 12oz on their website, hair under 1/13 on my scale. but i wouldn't want to have to rely on it under 50*. for that i'd use my mountainsmith wisp 30. 23 ounces. unfortunately, they don't make bags anymore.

[Egads]

Blackmath,

I respect your desire for synthetic but don't rule out down. Down can be protected from water with drysacks or pack liners. I have both synthetic & down bags. I leave my synthetic bag in the closet and carry the down.

Many thrus have carried down.


Take a look at these quilts.

JRB Shenandoah, 15 oz, down, 40 deg

Nunatak, Arc A.T. 3/4 length, 8 oz, down, 40 deg

Nunatak, Arc Edge, 12 oz, down, 40 deg


Take a look at these bags

Mountain Laurel Designs, Devotion Bag, 11 oz, down, 45 deg

Western Mountaineering, Mitylite, 26 oz, down, 40 deg

Feathered Friends, Vireo, 17 oz, down, 45 deg

Montbell, UL Super Stretch #5, 19 oz, down, 43 deg

Montbell, UL Super Stretch #7, 17 oz, down, 50 deg


Too Many Choices:cool:

[Weldman]

As stated above , if you sew why not make your own. If you want Thru-Hiker sells Primaloft or Climashield and Ripstop to make your own quilt.

http://www.thru-hiker.com

[OntheRoad]

This is an excerpt taken from Andrew Skurka's website.(The guy who walked the sea-to-sea route from Atlantic Canada to the pacific ocean, over 7000 miles in 12 months)

"

Forget about sleeping bag ratings for a second. Instead, think about everything you carry with you in order to stay warm. This includes, but is not limited to: your clothing (including your rain jacket, gloves, hat, extra socks, etc.), sleeping bag, sleeping pad, shelter, and (maybe) bivy sack. If you think about it this way, you notice that already you are carrying lots of "insulation" besides your sleeping bag.
So, then, it is not necessary to bring a sleeping bag with a temperature rating that matches perfectly the nighttime low you expect to encounter. Instead, the combination of all of your insulting gear needs to match that nighttime low. This is why I take just my 40-degree GoLite Feather-lite bag even when I expect temperatures to be almost zero degrees. Between the bag, my clothing, my sleeping pad, my shelter, and my bivy sack I am able to stay comfortable. I prefer most of my insulation to be in the form of clothing, which I can wear while hiking. If most of my insulation is provided by my other equipment, I'll be cold in the morning, at night, and during rest breaks -- or, alternatively, I could take more clothing, but then I'd be carrying more "insulation" than I really need to. There is a trade-off with using clothing as insulation: for the amount of materials used, it insulates a smaller volume of your body compared to a sleeping bag. (Consider: the amount of material used to make insulated pants versus the amount of material used to make the bottom half of your sleeping bag). "

[Grinder]

At the risk of being seen as a cheap philistine, you might look at the following:

Sportsman Guide's Guide Gear ultralight 50 deg bag.
21 oz synthetic. packs to 11 x 5".
$25,on sale from time to time for $19.95.

Sometimes the cost does matter.

Tom

[FanaticFringer]

At the risk of being seen as a cheap philistine, you might look at the following:

Sportsman Guide's Guide Gear ultralight 50 deg bag.
21 oz synthetic. packs to 11 x 5".
$25,on sale from time to time for $19.95.

Sometimes the cost does matter.

Tom

I've got 2 and they are awesome bags for the price/weight.

[rswanson]

I've got 2 and they are awesome bags for the price/weight.
Wow that's crazy for the price! Are those weights accurate? I don't trust the weight listed on the website....

[FanaticFringer]

Wow that's crazy for the price! Are those weights accurate? I don't trust the weight listed on the website....

That weight is for the mummy bag. Not the rectangular bag. Yes it is an acurate weight.

[FanaticFringer]

I cut off the zippers on both mine. I use them in warmer weather in my hammock as a top quilt.

[hammock engineer]

That is the one that I modified. Someone posted the mummy bag as 21 oz. The rectangler one weighted in at 28 oz on my scale. I think it cost me $35 dollars shipped.

[rswanson]

Fanatic, are those weights including the stuff sack? Anyone have info on how the mummy fits? Also, what's the fabric feel like against the skin? Clammy?

[hammock engineer]

The material felt fine to me. Kind of like cheap thick nylon. I think the weights are without the compression sack it comes with. My weight of 28 oz is the rect without compression sack.

[FanaticFringer]

The material felt fine to me. Kind of like cheap thick nylon. I think the weights are without the compression sack it comes with. My weight of 28 oz is the rect without compression sack.

What he said.