View Full Version : Summer Sleeping Bag?
I'm interested in what sleep system people are using during the summers on the AT and how well it works. What rated sleeping bag do you use and how does it work both in the shelters and in a tent during the summer months. I'm looking at 35-40 degree bags for summer camping and i'm not sure if they will be too warm/cold or what at night in the mountains during the summer season (june-july-august-ish). I've only used a 20 degree bag for all my 3 season camping in the past and usually find it too warm most of the time. Would I be able to get away with using a 35 degree bag with a mid april start date along the AT? supplementing with a liner for during the colder times? Would a 35 degree bag be to hot to use in the summer months?
I use a 40° bag with a 15° sleeping bag liner when it's cold and then in July and August when it's hot I just use the liner. Seems to work for me, but then again my wife says I'm like an oven when I sleep. I guess a lot depends upon your body type, when people say it's either too hot or too cold do you agree with them?
I am a definitley a warm sleeper. I like it cold when I sleep at night. I still keep my window ajar at night here in Maine. I think I could def get away with using a 35-40 degree bag with a liner for colder times. Do you think a 40 degree bag is to hot to use in summer even unzipped?
I use a down JRB Nest quilt & a pad in either a hammock or tent.
I tried the 40 in late June with the 1/4 length zipper down and the vent zipper at the bottom open also and sweat my tail off, very uncomfortable. Turn the heat on at your house and try the sleeping bag with youra pad in one of the rooms in the house for a night, that would give you some idea as to comfort. Also not all 40 degree bags are the same.
daddytwosticks
10-18-2008, 13:37
I'm down here along the very southern half of the AT. I own a Western Mountaineering Caribou (35*) and a Frog Sac (45-50*) that I purchased at Mountain Crossings. I'm out during the warmer part of the season, from late April to late October. I don't like to be out when it's below freezing (yes, I'm a whimp!). Both bags serve me well. I tend to sleep average to cold. I always use a Prolite 3 short and a Gossamer Gear thinlite pad. Most all know about the reputation of the Caribou...nice bag. I really like the frog sac in warmer temps...not very light weight - about two pounds - but compresses well, it has a center zip, and is able to be thrown into a conventional washer when it becomes dirty and sweaty (synthetic insulation). Have I told you that I like my Frog Sac? :)
garlic08
10-18-2008, 13:52
I used a Mountain Hardwear Phantom 45 this summer on the AT, from Pearisburg (mid May) to Katahdin (Mid-July). I loved it, it was a great gear buy. My goal was a one-pounder. This weighs 17 oz but listed one more ounce of down fill than some 40* bags I looked at. Decent price at $160. I stayed warm enough on a couple of nights in the high 30s in my tarptent with my thermal shirt on. It was just right for the warm nights if I left it open and used it upside down (less down on the bottom, and I shook the down to the sides). I used six sections of a Z-rest as my pad. I only stayed in two shelters with this bag, tented the rest of the time. I was very happy with this system, on my first Eastern hike.
My partner carried a very old WM 20* (he "derated" it to 30*), at two pounds, and I was generally more comfortable than he was.
Is a high degree sleeping bag even worth getting, like 40 degree montbell, or will I be using mostly just a liner for the summer because a bag would be to hot. Like the sea to summit thermolite reactor for the summer months? Could I use a combination of a montbell 35-40 bag with the reactor liner for the duration of the trip. Would it be wise to even carry the bag during the summer, or just the liner? I'm thinking I could carry both for the entire trip using both or one depending on the conditions. Any thoughts.
Is a high degree sleeping bag even worth getting, like 40 degree montbell, or will I be using mostly just a liner for the summer because a bag would be to hot. Like the sea to summit thermolite reactor for the summer months? Could I use a combination of a montbell 35-40 bag with the reactor liner for the duration of the trip. Would it be wise to even carry the bag during the summer, or just the liner? I'm thinking I could carry both for the entire trip using both or one depending on the conditions. Any thoughts.
Carrying two bags to use one inside the other not only requires that you carry the fill (which is wise because you need it to keep you warm), but also an extra shell and liner - probably at least an extra 1/2 lb.
I'm not familiar with the reactor liner. If it doesn't have a shell (fleece) it might be worth carrying (though fleece is heavy for its thermal efficiency).
Most folks carry one warm bag for cold weather, then switch to a lighter one when the heat comes on.
The best way to get the most of your sleeping bag system is to include the clothing which you are already carrying in it. If you wear all of your dry clothing you can increase the warmth of your sleeping bag quite a bit, and those nighttime forays into the bushes will be warmer as well.
Make sure that your sleeping bag insulation is not compressed by your extra clothes, or it may actually make the system less efficient (make sure you have enough room in the bag).
Raid the closet for an old "flannel" sheet. You know, the winter grade sheets your mom put on your bed as a rugrat. Look for polyester. Or go to Marden's or WalMart. Fleece bag, or heavy polyester sheet. Couple stitches, you have homeade. Test at home. Got a porch?
I have a 35 bag, and over 50 it bites. Can use as quilt.
my recommendation is whatever brand bag you buy get it with full zipper so you can use it as a quilt, as others have said
Blissful
10-19-2008, 09:35
I used the marmot pounder, but brought a liner just in case. Worked great.
River Runner
10-20-2008, 02:08
Nunatak Quilt
taildragger
10-20-2008, 09:03
I use a montbell thermal sheet. Supposedly a 50F bag, I might get to test how low I can go in it this winter. Nota bene, I sleep life a furnace, I've slept in a 10 yr. old 20F syn bag in temps down to single digits and was fine w/o any insulating layers, in fact, I was quite toasty :)
But like others have said, get a full zip, you'll be thankful in the end that you did.