need new UL sleeping bag

[Jagglax]

ok i have had a eureka sliver city 30 degree bag for a few years and now its starting to loose its loft and ability to keep me warm. I have a base pack weight of around 13lbs and a tight budget. Im looking for a new sleeping bag.

these are my goals:
weight less than 30oz and low as possible
good quality that wont fail after a year or two of use
money is tight so i would like to aim for around $250 but if need to i might could swing $350
down or synthetic either is fine as long as its warm and light
between 20-30 degrees

I hammock most of the time so im open to an top quilt but i would prefer a sleeping bag for when i sleep on the ground.
I am completely aware of the pros and cons of the two, so i dont want start a quilt vs sleeping bag comment war.

Thank you and I would be very grateful for your intelligent input on bags that you have used and would recommend.

[bigcranky]

Kelty Cosmic down bag gets very nice reviews for a $100 20F bag (probably more a 30F bag). Not seen one in person.

My own 30F bag is the Western Mountaineering Megalite, which I love, but I think it's closer to the high end of your range if not a little more. Great bag. The width is nice (it's a wide bag), and it's plenty warm down to its rating.

The Marmot down bags are often on sale online. The Hydrogen gets great reviews, not sure if it has a full length zipper for hammock quilt use. It's in your price range.

[Blissful]

Montbell makes good bags

[leaftye]

Zpacks makes sleeping bags now. They are very light, and just within your price range.

[Firefighter503]

I like my Montbell (#1, and #5). Their #3 fits your criteria at 22 oz and 30* rating for $339. I have no experience with the ZPacks bags, but wouldn't hesitate to buy one of those either.

[Stink Bug]

++ on the Montbell bags. I have the Montbell UL Super Spiral Down Hugger #3 (30* bag) and it's a great bag. The DWR treatment is excellent and, with some additional clothing, I've slept comfortably down to 22*.

[Pages]

i just bought a mont-bell #3 ss ul and like ti very much.

- pages

[MuddyWaters]

Feathered friends merlin or osprey.

Go to prolitegear. com, the clearance section. Merlin is $265, Osprey is $280. Merlin is 24 oz, Osprey is about 27. Both have enough down that they should be 25-30f bags, very conservatively rated. For instance, the merlin is narrower than the WM summerlite, but has 3 oz more down, the Osprey has more down than my megalite, which is 28F EN rated.

If you want the new 2012 montbell UL SS #3, prolitegear.com also has the best price on it, at about $295 shipped. It has 1 oz more down than previous years models (11oz now) and EN tested 30F for 23 oz bag , the WM summerlite is about 35F with 9oz down. The Montbell is definitely lower fill quality down though, 800 vs 900+. I have a new montbell and a WM , the WM is much loftier.

[House of Payne]

Western Mountaineering, summerlite would fit the bill

[Jagglax]

Thanks for all of your suggestions and opinions. so far ive narrowed my search to the following:

Montbel UL Super Spiral Down Hugger #3 with 800 fill. $340 at 22oz. its pretty much the max of my price range but i feel it will be worth the quality
Western Mountaineering Summerlite $330 at 19oz. its slightly cheaper and 3 oz lighter. How does it compare to the montbel UL SS #3?
Montbel Super Spiral Down hugger #3 with 650 down. $250 at 31oz. its the cheapest of the lot but it still remain within the weight range.
for an top quilt im considering the jacks-r-better Hudson River top quilt. $250 at 20oz its a good combo of weight and price.

What are your opinions on these four. And which do you think will be the best in the long run? Thanks

[House of Payne]

I'm sticking with it. The summerlite is a great bag for low ounces and it's under your max price your willing to pay.

[q-tip]

WM Alpinlite-33 oz.-I go the overfill gets it to 15d-a bit much at $465-but it is a bag for life. I have three WM's and love them all.

[stranger]

I have a WM Sycamore and Mightylite and love them both...

Remember a bag can only get so light before the only way to make it lighter is to have 'less bag' the lighter the bag the NARROWER it gets, a Summerlight is a great bag but I went with the Mightylite because it's more versatile and roomy (same reason I didn't get a Ultralight)

The Montbell bags stretch, so this may be a nice feature and way to bridget the gap, Justin Lichter uses Montbell bags = enough said!

You cannot go wrong with Montbell, Feathered Friends or Western Mountaineering, you could also add Marmot to that list. But until you crawl into one, you just don't know

[tuswm]

http://www.spadout.com/p/marmot-hydrogen/

24 oz
full sleeping bag
30* and
$240

[DaFireMedic]

I just ordered 2 of them:

http://enlightenedequipment.com/revelationx.html

[Firefighter503]

DaFireMedic,

Please review/let us know how those bags are. Haven't heard much about them.

[leaftye]

@Firefighter503

That company has been around for a while. Actually, until recently the company was one man: Tim Marshall.

I had him make a 0°F cuben fiber quilt for me a couple years ago. I'd buy from him again.

Here's why I'd choose his quilts.

The price is good, and it's great for the Revelation X.

It's custom, so there's less chance you order a hammock quilt that's too narrow for the ground.

His footboxes are closed with a zipper and a shock cord. Some people have worried about that little hole in the footbox, but I haven't felt any cold come from it when temperatures were in the mid teens. I really like that the footbox can be open so that the quilt is totally flat, like a quilt at home. This allows a quilt that'd otherwise be way too warm, to be comfortable when it's quite warm...like at a hostel.

He uses Karo baffles. This allows you to shift down from anywhere in the quilt to anywhere else in the quilt. This really lets you optimize the insulation to your body type and needs. If your legs get cold, shift down to your legs. If it's a particularly cold night, shift down from the side edges to the top, and tuck the empty edges of the quilt under your body.




When you shop around for quilts, look at the width, length, fill power of the down and the weight of the down. I think the last is most important.

[skinewmexico]

Feathered friends merlin or osprey.

Go to prolitegear. com, the clearance section. Merlin is $265, Osprey is $280. Merlin is 24 oz, Osprey is about 27. Both have enough down that they should be 25-30f bags, very conservatively rated. For instance, the merlin is narrower than the WM summerlite, but has 3 oz more down, the Osprey has more down than my megalite, which is 28F EN rated.

That's a smokin' deal on a FF bag. I think when BPL tested bags, it broke their hearts to say FF my be a little nicer than WM. I have a WM Megalite, and it's a wonderful bag. Haven't used it since I got a GoLite Ultra 20 quilt.

I bought a Montbell just to see what all the hoopla was about. Certainly not as lofty as my WM, or as pretty, but people seem to like them. They were too clingy for me, gave me claustro. Know you don't want a quilt, but Tim Marshall does have a stellar rep.

Face it, any down bag over $250 is going to be a quality piece of gear. WM, FF, Enlightened Gear.......all made in the USA, which is what I look for anymore. Buy a WM or FF, get the gold standard in bags, and keep a job here instead of the Pacific Rim somewhere.