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  1. #41
    Registered User jjozgrunt's Avatar
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    06-22-2014
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    Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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    65
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    Ok here is my take. Bare in mind I come from a place where in winter if it gets below about 45F it's bloody freezing. I got a 30F quilt from EE and I bought a size larger and wider quilt in 50F for warmer temps. They fit inside each other and use the double straps for winter. Together they give you 10F and the flexibility of using one or both in the early part. It snowed on 2 of the first 3 days this year, started 12th Mar, it was 95F when I left Australia. I was warm and toasty with both then and on warmer nights I just used the 30F one. together both came in under a kilogram, 2 lbs. Some people don't like quilts, some have never tried them, I move around a lot in my sleep and they have been the answer for me. A good insulated pad is a must for cold weather if you use quilts.
    "He was a wise man who invented beer." Plato

  2. #42

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    If you like to move around, Montbell Super Spiral Down Hugger bags are great. They are VERY stretchy and you can sit cross-legged in them. They aren't cheap and they aren't rated correctly. The 30 degree bag is really an EN 40 degree bag but for most people works as well as most 30 degree bags. Read the fine print. The have an awesome 900 fill power bag at EN 24 that is perfect, weighs about a pound and a half, but costs $550. They are cozy because they HUG YOU and fill in the drafts but STRETCH very wide to sit up and flip around on your side, etc. If you are poorer, Klymit makes a decent substitute 650 fp down bag that weighs 2.75 pounds and is a 20 degree bag, for about $170, and often cheaper than that on Amazon. I prefer these to my Western Mountaineering and my Marmot high end bags because they aren't constricting. Forget the Summerlite bag from WM for much of the AT as it won't be warm enough for a thru-hike without extra liners you'll have to carry probably nearly all of the time, unless you really sleep warm. In addition to the Montbell 800 and 900 Fill Power bags, I also like the Montbell 650 fp bag too and used it for several hundred miles on the AT. It's nice because it's still very very lightweight. The Montbells are notoriously LIGHTWEIGHT. But the 650 FPs, the outside shell is taffeta, that soft brushed fabric usually only found on the inside of SOME bags, rather than slippery, shiny stuff. The higher FP versions of their bags though are made of special ballistic nylon with high tensile strength and aren't that soft taffeta stuff, but I am told are still super super soft. I haven't yet pulled the trigger myself on the 900 fp bag but I am leaning that direction since it's a pound and a half and a 24 degree bag. It's a Backpacker Gear of the Year winner too. And the following year the Klymit 20 degree bag that's also got stretch seams, but sells for only $170, won that title. Look hard at those two brands. Skip the NEMO spoon bags, which give you the same EFFECT - room to move around - with the added weight penalty of at least a half pound, and an inflated price.

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