View Full Version : Sleeping Bag Combo
I want to go with changing out between 2 sleeping bags for a more comfortable set up. The cold bag will be a WM bag and the warmer bag will be a Mont-bell. I will not be using a quilt (although I plan on making my own quilt sometime in the future.)
I don't mind having a little too much cause I can always vent, but I cannot do much if I don't have enough. As far as sleeping warm or cold, I would say that I am a pretty average sleeper whereas some days I will just be cool all day and some days I may be warm all day.
Since I will be dropping a large amount of cash on my cold weather bag I want to get something I can use for a large range of cold weather temps. I don' want to have 10 different bags that are all 5* apart from each other. I would like 1 good cold weather bag (which is why I am going with the WM) and 1 bag that will work in cooler weather but is easily able to adapt to warmer weather.
Mountain Wildman
04-18-2010, 16:12
I have not used either of the bags you mentioned but I would go with the 5 and 40, In the cold months you want as warm as possible and as you stated you could always unzip which is what I have done as well. In the hot months here in the Northeast the temps could easily hit 80 to 90 degrees here in New Hampshire and in Connecticut could easily hit 100 degrees if it's a hot summer as it has been for the last few years.
Mountain Wildman, thanks for your input. I had thought about this. What I would wonder here is would the WM bag be too warm for say the high 20's to low 30's whereas the MB may not be warm enough? I will have a Jag Bag silk liner that I will be using with both of these, and I could still have my clothes if needed, and maybe this would help the 40* bag to get me to the low 30's......
Mountain Wildman
04-18-2010, 16:37
From all that I have read, Most gear makers over rate their bags, If that is the case with WM as well then the 5 may actually be 15 or 20. But either way, since there may not be a "perfect" couple of bags, I would rather have a bag in the winter that is too warm, Easy enough to unzip and regulate your temperature that way. I have never winter camped so I have to experiment with bags also, I Bought the Feathered Friends Winter Wren which is a 25 degree bag but it has a foot area with a draw cord so it can be opened and even pulled up and worn like a jacket almost, It has a zipper on each side to open and put your arms through for wearing, If the 25 degree rating is not accurate I can wear additional insulation like my Marmmot Zeus Down Jacket and increase it's warmth that way, In all honesty, If I purchase another bag for either colder or warmer weather I plan to go with a WM bag so I am with you on that choice!!
I have a low end NF bag now. It is rated to 20*. I have slept in this bag at temps right at the single digits, however, I was inside a tent with my wife, using a ccf pad with a 1.5" self inflator pad, used a liner inside the bag, and had an R1 and some heavy weight long bottom pants and some wool socks on, and I was on the edge of comfy and slightly cool. I don't believe that I would have to go near those extremes to make the WM bag work to it's rating. From what I have heard of anyone that has a WM and commented on it, the WM are pretty much what they say they are. I really have no doubt that the Antelope is really a 5* bag. However, I will be getting the 3 oz of overfill with it too. I figure if I am going to drop $500 on a bag I'll get what I can in it! Same with the Versalite, I will get the overfill if I decide to go with it.
skinewmexico
04-18-2010, 17:00
You needed a "none of the above". WM bags are rated conservatively. The bag you need will also vary depending on your gender. But my 30 degree WM goes easily to 25. You get more than you pay for with WM. And make your quilt before you decide to buy a warmer weather bag.
1st of March is much different than the 31st here in GA. Either way, you will not need to go below a 10* bag, and can get by with a 20*; particularly if it's a WM. Either one would be too much bag for GA the past few weeks.
The summer bag is your choice, 6 oz & $50 difference. Primarily depends on when/where you switch & if you sleep cold or warm.
skinewmexico
04-18-2010, 17:24
No comparison at all between a NF bag and a WM bag.
Skinewmexico, see that's the kind of statements that I hear about WM, and I have no worries what so ever.
Also, like I said I want to use this bag as my winter bag is why I want to get one as low as 5* and since I would have it I could carry it at the beginning of my hike. It would make for a nice ending for a long cold day to snuggle up inside my nice warm bag that I don't have to try and hide from drafts coming in the bag. Also, I can always vent if I need to, but if it's not enough......
Sorry if my comment on the NF bag seemed like I was comparing them, I did not mean them as a comparison, rather kind of an insight on how I sleep in colder weather.
As far as the difference between the # 3 and 5 MB bags, there is a 4 oz difference in fill and almost as much in total weight. Of course the lightest weight sounds nice, but how well will a 40* bag do whenever the temps can drop easily below that suddenly?
ChrisFol
04-18-2010, 19:28
I have a three bag system for Colorado. I have a Feathered Friend Swift which is a +20 degree bag that is an excellent general use, three-season bag. I then use a Feathered Friend Elder (-10) for winter and during the summer I have MH Phantom +32 for summer (higher elevation can still get below 40 in the summer).
If I was going for a two bag system, then I would have a good +20 degree bag and a good winter bag rated to your expected temps. For the summer, just take the 20 degree bag, fully unzipped it and use it like a quilt-- or get a third bag; a cheap summer synthetic bag such as the Ultralamina 32/45-- both are sub 2lb, <$150 bags.
If I was going to go for a 3 system bag for the here in the SE it would be really similar to yours, but I wouldn't need it to go so low. I would go with the WM Kodiak MF 0* bag, then a good 20* bag and then at least a 40* bag, probably a 50*.
However, I feel like the 2 bag system would be plenty good for around here, which would be the 5* and the 30*. I can always use a fleece blanket for the summer, or even maybe a silk liner on the really hot days/nights.
I would have liked to gone with the MB SS # 2 but they stopped making them, and I thought that the # 2 was one of their more liked bag. It seems like everyone that had a MB bag was more than likely going to have the #2. Oh well.
None of the above.
I would carry the two bags which I now own: a Golite Feather-lite (supposedly good to 40 degrees but I've used it around my hammock by itself into the upper 20s) and a Montbell ULAP down thermal sheets (they call it "sheets", I would call it "sheet"). It's good to 45-50 on its own, and with the Golite I've used it (them) in my hammock down to 5 degrees on a windy night in a hammock "tent" with a hot water bottle. I'm sure I could sleep in colder weather since I've bought my WM down pants.
skinewmexico
04-19-2010, 00:06
Feathered Friends makes some fine gear, according to the latest test on bags at BPL.
So, I am now thinking that I am going to get a Marmot Helium to use as my "3-season bag" and still looking for something between 30 - 45 for the warmer weather bag. This way I can still get either the WM Kodiak MF or the Antelope MF as my winter bag. However I will just take the Helium for the beginning of my hike, and then swap out to the warmer weather bag. I also have a fine silk Jag Bag liner that I will have with me.