View Full Version : Is a 40 degree bag adequate at 6000'
Good Morning,
Was wondering if a 40 degree sleeping bag will be warm enough this time of year at elevations of 6000' (Shining Rock, Mt LeConte, Mt Mitchell area, etc.). I have 3 sleeping bags ranging from 2 lbs to 7+ (40' bag=2 lbs, 0' bag=4 lb 8 oz, Military surplus bag from my Army days=7+ lbs). Most of my hiking is in "my backyard" here in the Talladega National Forest where the elevations top out at just over 2000'. Appreciate any input. Thanks.
Strut
Wolf - 23000
06-01-2009, 12:57
It depends on you. It can depend on what are you doing. Are you going to hike up into the night then jump into your sleeping bag while your body is warm or are you going to play around on top, let your body cool down then go to sleep. Do you get cold easy or are you part polar bear? It all is depends on you either way.
Wolf
garlic08
06-01-2009, 13:28
I didn't have any problems over 6,000' on the AT all last June with my MH Phantom 45.
Gray Blazer
06-01-2009, 15:43
Check the weather forecast for, say Erwin, TN or Franklin , NC. It will prolly be about 10 degrees colder at least on the tops of the afore mentioned peaks.
I'm a cold sleeper and I've used 40 bags till late october but I don't bring them out till late June. Any other time I use a 20bag. I would just take the lower range bag just to be safe.
Depends on how cold it is. ;)
I'm doing the Art Loeb>MST>Davidson campground loop next week (about 50miles best I can tell) and I'm a hammock hanger BUT I'm taking a NEST underquilt and NO SNIVELER top quilt anticipating that it may yet be in the 40's in the higher elevations. I've gotten caught out being way too cold in the winter and I don't plan on that happening again, so maybe I'm over packing for the trip, but at 3 lbs 4 oz, its worth the peace of mind.
HikerRanky
06-01-2009, 21:35
At Clingman's Dome, the average June low temp is 49... That being said, I would take my 25 degree bag with me....
Randy
I think you'll be fine. I need to get a 40* bag. I only have a 20* one and it is too warm in the summer time.
stranger
06-01-2009, 22:20
Sleeping bag ratings are a very small indication of whether or not you will be warm, some other factors include:
- gender
- whether or not you wear a insulating hat
- whether or not you are in a tent
- ground insulation
- temperature
- elevation
- wind
- circulation
- time of last meal
You can always vent a bag, but if you are cold you are cold
Phoenixdadeadhead
06-01-2009, 22:56
I'm planning on taking my light bag for my June and part of July hike, and I am hoping mine will be enough. I have poly longjons I use so if it is really cold I will throw them on.
I'm planning on taking my light bag for my June and part of July hike, and I am hoping mine will be enough. I have poly longjons I use so if it is really cold I will throw them on.
Dont know what kind of stove you use and it's not really that important if and when you are cold but boil the water up and put it in a nalgene. I use alchohol stoves so it's a bit of a big deal to boil up water when you realize your going to get cold (I usually sense it soon after going to sleep) but man it'll add some serious warmth to your body. I'd like to add this too about getting warmed up. If you put a nalgene full of hot water in the bottom of your bag for your feet no matter what it wont do the trick IMO. If you stick the tendon that runs along the back of your foot in between your big toe and the next toe and hold it there for about 10 minutes it will warm that foot up and then switch positions with the other foot that's still cold. I learned that trick on accident but it has never failed once, not even in the teens. Hold the nalgene either around your neck or against your stomach.
Phoenixdadeadhead
06-01-2009, 23:20
I use an alcohol stove, and the bag I am taking is my Patrol bag with my Gortex Bivy, together they are listed at 30 degrees, but I was a bit chilly in Shenandoah a few weeks back with my cold bag and bivy which is listed at 10 degrees. I normally use the cold bag, but wanted to save some weight and room this hike so I am using the patrol bag. Prior to this the only time I used the patrol bad was for really cold hikes where I used all 3 pieces (patrol, cold, and bivy)
I use an alcohol stove, and the bag I am taking is my Patrol bag with my Gortex Bivy, together they are listed at 30 degrees, but I was a bit chilly in Shenandoah a few weeks back with my cold bag and bivy which is listed at 10 degrees. I normally use the cold bag, but wanted to save some weight and room this hike so I am using the patrol bag. Prior to this the only time I used the patrol bad was for really cold hikes where I used all 3 pieces (patrol, cold, and bivy)
I think stranger's point is one to look at then. I'm not a drinker at all, but If I were to drink anything with alchohol in it I would be cold from the inside. An idea kind of adjacent to that is that your bodies temp may be affected by other things. I know few people who'd give up drinking around a campfire just to get some sleep but still the same, pay attention to what your doing. Here's an off subject point. People eat and digest food to stay warm. We burn calories and protein to stay warm just like coal provides most of the power out west. Dinosaurs have a lower body temp, so all they eat goes to getting bigger and bigger. That's just an example of how a body temp is variable upon who, what, when, and where.
And I promise you the toe trick solves half of the problems.
Phoenixdadeadhead
06-02-2009, 00:12
I don't drink much either, I drink when i hit the clubs or go to a party, but not a big drinker even then I only have a few captains and coke
Gray Blazer
06-02-2009, 07:21
I know for a fact it went down to exactly 40 degrees last Juneteenth on wesser Bald, NC.
When I section hiked GA, I had a 30 degree bag in early March and was very cold. I bought the best zero degree bag they had at Walesi Yi and wasnever cold again after that. In fact, when I got to VA in early May, I had to sleep on top of the bag or in it unzipped because I was hot at night. I would rather carry some more weight during the day and be comfortable at night.
Wow, thanks for so many replies. Based on what ya'll have said, I think for safety's sake I'll take my warmest bag with me on this next trip and save the lighter bag for the lower elevation hiking. I usually hike alone so I want to avoid any problems and I know it'll be more comfortable.