mountain hardware 45 degree bag

[little bear]

does anyone or has anyone used the Mountain Hardware Phanton 45 degree sleeping bag? If so how did you like it, was it warm enough while hiking sections of the AT? If not a good bag can you give recomendations for a good summer bag. I sleep middle of the board as far a warm/cold. Im 6 feet tall and 240 pounds so I would want the long one.
any suggestion would help.

thanks
little bear

[DGrav]

does anyone or has anyone used the Mountain Hardware Phanton 45 degree sleeping bag? If so how did you like it, was it warm enough while hiking sections of the AT? If not a good bag can you give recomendations for a good summer bag. I sleep middle of the board as far a warm/cold. Im 6 feet tall and 240 pounds so I would want the long one.
any suggestion would help.

thanks
little bear

I have had my Phantom 45 (Long) for about three years now. Great bag.

I have used it while sleeping in a tent down into the mid 30s and been warmer that in My Mountain Hardware First Dimension which is a 3lb 30 degree synthetic bag.

The Phantom 45 packs up real small and is very light weight. It easily fits in side my 1st Dimension as a range extender (I used it this way once down into the low 20s)

I have recently switched to using a hammock instead of a tent so now the Phantom fills the roll of a top quilt

Great bag over all!

[dloome]

I've got the Phantom 32, friggin AWESOME bag, probably my favorite piece of gear, Mountain Hardwear makes a great product.

I hiked with someone who had the 45. It's warmer than the rating, he had it through the Whites on some chilly nights with no problems. IMO I'd get the 32. It's only 4 oz. heavier, breathable and light enough for summer use, as well as a solid 3 season bag.

I've found that one reason MH bags are so warm for the weight is that they fit pretty trim, if you're a bigger fella, I'd make sure to get inside one before buying.

[JJB]

I also have the the 32 phantom. Very nice sleeping bag without shelling out the huge dough. As a summer bag though it would be wicked warm. I'm also looking for a dead of summer bag that's light and I wouldn't feel to bad about sticking very funky summer hiking but in it. I'm kind of going for a syn fill though. There are a couple that are 1.5 lbs or less. 40'-45' range. And care/keeping it dry would be much easier. My 2 cents. Peace.

[Smile]

Great summer bag, but had trouble with two different bags, both coming undone at the seams around the footbag after a few weeks of use - it may have just been a 'bad batch', but we were told NOT to wash them in a top loader. They were fixed and returned by MH for the price of shipping, so that was very cool ;-)

[dloome]

For a nice summer bag that's cheap and you can beat the crap out of, check the Lafuma Extreme 600 synthetic 45 bag. The temp rating is slightly optimistic, but at $50 who cares? Amazingly well constructed for the price, best bang for the buck out there in my opinion.

[Ridge]

Regardless of the manufacturer I would say that any 45 deg bag is not going to be warm enough for a complete thru. I use the NF Cats Meow 15 deg bag and find that it is just about right for all conditions. I've even seen some early spring nights that I could have stood a little warmer. Just remember, a sleeping bag is your MOST important piece of gear for safety and comfort.

[bigcranky]

I have a Phantom 32 (regular length) for sale, and I wanted to post the link to my post in the For Sale forum, but I can't find the post anywhere. Did I miss something where they cleaned out old stuff, or reorganized that forum? Hmm, no matter, I'll repost it -- I don't want to hijack this thread. But if it were me, I would use the 32 over the 45. The extra few ounces make it a much more versatile bag, and in the summer you can just drape it over you as a quilt.