Sleeping bag recommendations?

[DXH]

Did a DIY elk hunt a couple of years ago... All my gear was adequate but HEAVY... Which sucks. Needing a sleeping bag recommendations as well.
I'm pretty portly fellow and mummy bags are too confining so those are out..
Weight for me is more of an issue than the $$ when it comes to this

[Biathlonman]

Ditch the bag all together.  I've gone to Enlighten Equipment quilts and couldn't be happier.  With a nice Thermarest inflatable pad I sleep better then I do at home!

[MnFn]

Brad,
Never heard of these,  which model do you have and how low of temp are they good to?

[Scott Barr]

Biathlonman, thanks for posting about Enlighten Equipment. Looks like top flight bags. Never heard of them until now.

[wingnut]

We went to Kifaru bags this past year and could not be happier.  We ordered XL and Xwide and they have plenty of room for even me.  LOL

Mike

[McDave]

I hate being confined in a mummy bag also, so I ditched them years ago.  Instead, I use an elephant's foot (or half bag), such as    this one from Feathered Friends   with a high quality down parka.  I pull the elephant's foot up under my armpits and am usually fine just draping the down parka over my shoulders.  If it gets really cold, I put on the down parka, zip it up over the elephant's foot, and pull the hood over my head.  Either way, I have free use to thrash around with my arms at night, as I am a restless sleeper.  Of course, I also have a good pad underneath, such as a Thermarest.

The down parka is also comfy to wear around camp in the cold evenings and mornings, although usually too heavy to wear when I am active during a hike or a hunt.

I generally backpack or hunt in the mountains 4-6 weeks a year, and this system has worked for me down into the teens.

[V I Archer]

My wife bought me a Mountain Hardware -7 down bag for Christmas last year to use for early season hunts.  Have not tried it yet but it does compress down quite well and seems pretty light. The other one I had considered was Sierra Designs DriDown line.  Whichever you choose, spend a few bucks on a good sleeping pad.  I went with the NeoAir XTherm, I believe it is under a pound and somewhere around an r-7 rating.

[DXH]

Biathlon man, thanks for the recommendation, will definitely have to check those out

[Biathlonman]

I have a 10 degree enigma in the cheapest down and a 30 degree prodigy.  I've found their temp ratings to be spot on for me and I'm by no means a "hot" sleeper.  I'm 5'10" and right at 200.  I go regular length and wide.  The wide isn't really necessary but I like the added width.  I can easily wrap it around me and tuck it in under my body or if it's just draping I don't get any drafts.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Kelty makes some affordable down bags that pack up small and weigh under 3#. The Cosmis Down is my fave, but its a mummy. They have a wide model.

I second the Thermarest pad. I have a Trail Pro and couldn't be happier, comfort or pack weight wise. I back pack a lot, so my stuff gets double used.

[old_goat2]

I'm more interested in really comfortable versus super light, me and the wife are in our fifties and she doesn't sleep real comfortably on the ground till we got our Big Agnes bags and Q- Core air mattresses that actually slide into a compartment on the bags. There are lighter Big Agnes options than what we bought but I'm not a big fan of down bags sleeping on the ground in a flooorless shelter!

[Jack Skinner]

Dont put weight before correct size. I went for lighter with a med size vs large. The med should have been OK for me according to the manufactor stats but once in the bag I really felt like I was wrapped like a mummy. If on the large size for a med go with the larger size and dont worry about a little extra weight.

I really like the idea of the quilt above because I am a restless sleeper as well and mummy's unless large enough make me uncomforable anymore.

For this season I am thinking the black diamond mega light shelter, with tyvek ground cloth one of those quilts, and my lite inflatable sleeping pad are going to be a good combo.

[Biathlonman]

I'm a horrible sleeper (at night) and have gone through a ton of gear finding what works for me.  Working nights for a living makes sleeping at night wrong for me, plus I'm a side sleeper which compounds the issue with backpacking gear.

My magic bullet is a wide thermarest neoair (all season), enlightened equipment quilt appropriate for the temp, and a thermarest stuff sack pillow.  If weight isn't super critical I add the thermarest fitted sheet for the neoair.  If weather isn't looking horrible I'll run a one person Tarptent and my shelter/sleep system is well under 10 lbs.  Closer to 8 if memory serves me.

[The Night Stalker]

For backcountry hunting, compression vs weight, I went with a western mountaineering 15 degree badger. It has wider shoulders. I also use a neo air pad underneath.

[widow sax]

I am a side sleeper and I hate mummy bags I used a what the manufacture called 0 deg bag and almost froze too death. I was determined not to let that happen again. I needed a light warm bag will I had to get a mummy even if I did not like them. I did a lot of research and found Montbell supper spiral hugger 15 deg bag 2lbs 3oz it has stretch thread. I still do not like mummy bags but I love this bag and I have never spent one cold night inside this bag. I have more of a problem with sleeping pads not being wide enough and I feel like I am always falling off and have a bad time sleeping all night I just tosh and turn. I have not been able to solve this problem and have a light air pad.     Widow

[arrowflinger1]

Do you want down or synthetic? Down compresses great but if gets wet can be nasty! synthetic doesn't compress as well but retains more heat and dries faster if it does get wet. That being said again depending on what youre using it for you can beat Marmots bags they range anywhere from $80-500 but the you can gat a really killer lightweight in a number of models for around $300. I hunt above timberline and hike and scout the backcountry from right after turkey season ends until the end of sepetember so basically evey weather and temp imaginable and have used most all the high quality bags out and marmot has been my go to and will be til the end..... A good bag is one of the most important things in terms of survival and just plain comfort. I have both down and synthetic and personally if you have a good shelter where you don't have to worry about moisture Down is my go to. Packs down to nothing and it weight to heat ratio is awesome! To me as others have my pad is almost important as the bag for comfort.... Big agnes makes some great ones and this has always been one of the things ill sacrifice a couple extra pounds on. Its really nice to climb into a solid tent with a good comfortable pad and a fluffy warm bag after hiking in the last however many hours or after you've been hunting all day.... again good pads start around $100 and go up from there. A good start is Sierra Trading Post bet on their site as they get a lot of overflow from some of the best names out there at literally a fraction of the price. Look at the diferent brands and find some that interest you and then google reviews from the Hardcore back packing sites. I think the Hard core trekkers from around the world that pack for weeks at a time in climates way more severe than anything in north America have it down and I listen and research what they have to say way more than the hunting sites not saying theyre aren't some Hardcore back country hunters on here or other sites there def are but youll get thousands of reviews from people who that's all they do.... Then you can take what they have to say and compare what the backcountry hunters say and make a good solid decision. at the end of the day your shelter meaning tent, sleeping bag/pad can and will save your life if it ever comes to that. Hopefully it never does but Ive had it snow on me every month of the year in Co so you never know.

[DXH]

Thanks for all the replies . Definately will be looking into all of this.  I'm partial to the old military roll pads, I have a therma rest... But like the ole foam myself lol.. But definitely interested in the enlightened quilts

[Archie]

2 years ago I went back to Alaska for a 13-day back country float hunt.  I was so excited to go back to the state I grew up in, and be in familiar surroundings.  

But I took a sleeping bag that I had picked up at a store in the lower 48, that had a -25° rating, and figured I'd be set.  I nearly froze every night, and the coldest it got was about 10° above 0.  It really ruined that hunt for me.   I'd used the bag many times before, but never in cold temps, and usually half-open and unzipped.  When it was over, the first thing I did after flying back to Fairbanks and taking a shower, was go to a real outdoors outfitter and buy a good sleeping bag.  I don't want that to ever happen again.

[Kevin Hansen]

What kind did you buy, Archie?

[Archie]

It's a Mountain Hardware, synthetic down. I think a -20° bag.  I can't give you the actual model, it's not nearby right now.  But I did take the time to make sure it fit well, and was long enough.  The old one fit ok, but not as well as it should have.  I have been real pleased with my Mountain Hardware parka, and this bag seems to be of similar quality.  

On that trip, I had to start using an emergency bivy bag to reinforce that lame bag I had.  Man, was I miserable.