Best, lightest sleeping bag for back packing?

[onewhohasfun]

Great thread. I would love to see a Backpacking/camping forum on here. Keep all these posts in a easy to find place.

Tents, bags, stoves, backpacks, etc.

[Dan Adair]

You mean we don't just post it all in the GD and sort it out for hours on end??

That's one of the gripes of mine on Tradgang, albeit a small one  

[razorsharptokill]

Think I'm going with the Marmot Helium and a thermarest prolite pad.

[fisherick]

You can't go wrong with the Marmot Helium.

[jhg]

Marmot. But my bag is pre-china.

 They know what they are doing. Or at least they did.

[razorsharptokill]

I got my bag in yesterday. It is so comfy! No chance to test it out yet but I love how lightweight it is. The stuff sack is smaller than a loaf of bread!

[Shane C]

I actually just got a marmot helium membrane in. Weighs 2#3Oz on my scale, so it's really not that much heavier and it's waterproof. For a pad I went with the new Therm-a-Rest NeoAir All-Season Sleeping Pad. I splurged and got the large. Carry weight according to my scale is 1#11oz . Total carry weight for my sleep system is under 4#. I would recommend looking at that pad. Where's your elk hunt going to be?

[Gummi Bear]

Congrats on the new bag.  The Marmot is really well made and should last for years.

This may be a lot of redundant information, but here goes anyway:

Do yourself a favor, and pick up a fleece liner to carry along on your trip.  It will add a significant bit of warmth to your bag if you should need it, or you can use it as a light blanket if you take an afternoon nap or it's unseasonably warm at night.

Also invest in a waterproof stuff sack.  A wet sleeping bag can take days to dry, and getting rained on hard, or falling in a river on the hike in can ruin a trip.


Before bed:  Change your socks and underwear.  Put on clean dry ones.

The moisture and body oils in your undergarments will be more difficult for your body to heat, and can make an otherwise cozy evening downright miserable.  If it's really cold, wear your beanie to bed.

Wool is your friend, and there are a lot of really good synthetics out these days as well.


For a mat, a lot of good ones were mentioned here.  I've used the same Therm-A-Rest since 88.  It's been all over the western US with me, most of that while backpacking (I averaged 50 nights a year from my early teens until my mid 20's when I got married).  

For a failproof mat, that doesn't require holding any air, and is lighter than any of the air filled ones, look at a closed cell foam mat.  They're much less expensive, but highly effective.  They do take up a bit more space, and aren't quite as plush but they will absolutely keep you warm.

For your water: invest in a wide mouth Nalgene bottle with a screw on lid.  At night, turn it upside down and keep it next to you.  Water freezes from the top down, and if you are wanting a drink, you don't want to have to chisel it to get a sip.  The #1 thing making folks sick at altitude is directly related to dehydration.  


Enjoy your trip, sir!

[Kevin Hansen]

Reviving this old thread as I am in the market for a new sleeping bag. Based on the short life span of my current synthetic bag I'm retracting my opinion from several years ago. Planning to go with a down bag this time around for reasons of both weight and longevity. What's out there for down bags that has a fairly generous cut? Thanks.

[kevsuperg]

Glad you brought this back up. I am getting into backpack hunting here in idaho and have been researching bags n pads.
 Settled for the outdoor vitals summit 0* down  bag and nemo tensor sleep pad.   Both had good reviews.
 I have a seek outside tipi coming too.
 I'll post up my thoughts when everything's here .
 

[Kevin Hansen]

Glad you brought this back up. I am getting into backpack hunting here in idaho and have been researching bags n pads.
 Settled for the outdoor vitals summit 0* down  bag and nemo tensor sleep pad.   Both had good reviews.
 I have a seen outside tipi coming too.
 I'll post up my thoughts when everything's here .

Looking forward to your review.

[old_goat2]

My son and I have Big Agnes Lost Rangers rated to +15. They may be light, but they're certainly not warm. The weight savings comes from not insulating the bottom of the bag. The inflatable pad is the insulation beneath you. Theoretically, it sounds like a viable concept. Realistically, it's a shivering disappointment.

I've used these and stayed quite warm sleeping on the ground with their q-core insulated mattress

[Alvey]

 Gummi bear has some solid Advice here,Common sense,simple and straight forward. Seems we over complicate thing sometime🤔

[GCook]

I have a Kelty down bag rated to 19 degrees comfort temperature.    I slept severa nights I it in the mid twenties and was comfortable. Even warm to the point of zipping it down a few inches.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

[Cootling]

Check out ultralight backpacking forums.

I have a Feathered Friends Flicker 20 degree wide/long quilt and Thermarest NeoAir Xtherm pad.  Top notch construction with 900+ down, 28 ounces, accurate temp rating, closes up like a bag in cold weather. 

[skookuminak]

I'm sure this will come up if you check out the ultralight backpacking world but consider a quilt style sleeping system instead of a sleeping bag. they are a lot lighter and I find them more comfortable and more versatile as long it's not getting into the teens (F). Good options I've found are Enlightened Equipment and Thermarest but there are many others.  I have spent 100's of nights backpack bowhunting, doing extended winter ski traverses, multi-day whitewater kayak trips and all kinds of other stuff, mostly in Alaska, but also in many part of the world and pretty much always take quilt unless I'm expecting true below freezing temps. (in the latter case I take a Western Mountaineering mummy bag which I find  superior to anything I've owned from Marmot or Mountain Hardwear and others including their most high end bags).

just like bows and all kinds of other gear, sleeping systems take practice and skill to work effectively. spend a bunch of nights doing trips in the winter, spring and summer and learn how your shelter and sleep system works. over time you learn how to minimize the weight and maximize the function. my sleep system involves not just the pad, bag/quilt, and shelter (almost always a super light floorless mid) but also my base layers, puffy and all of my other clothing can and does routinely become part of it. for example, a light breathable synthetic puffy jacket nicely complements a down quilt.

also, the whole "down is useless when it's wet" argument is a little inaccurate in my opinion and experience. it's true that it loses thermal efficiency more than synthetics when wet and it's important to learn good moisture management techniques (for all sleeping bags) but I've spent a lot of nights in wet down sleeping bags and quilts (sometimes quite wet) and have done just fine. to me the weight/warmth advantage far outweighs the moisture issue and I spend the majority of my time hunting in very wet environments. again, using a good sleeping system is a skill learned just like any other wilderness travel skills. if possible put in the time doing other activities if you can before hunting season. there's nothing like a week long trip or two any time of year in terrible weather to dial in the system. (seek out bad weather if you really want to figure stuff out!) best of luck and happy hunting!

[Kevin Hansen]

Cootling, thanks for weighing in. Feathered Friends is one of the companies I'm looking most closely at.

[Kevin Hansen]

I'm sure this will come up if you check out the ultralight backpacking world but consider a quilt style sleeping system instead of a sleeping bag. they are a lot lighter and I find them more comfortable and more versatile as long it's not getting into the teens (F). Good options I've found are Enlightened Equipment and Thermarest but there are many others.  I have spent 100's of nights backpack bowhunting, doing extended winter ski traverses, multi-day whitewater kayak trips and all kinds of other stuff, mostly in Alaska, but also in many part of the world and pretty much always take quilt unless I'm expecting true below freezing temps. (in the latter case I take a Western Mountaineering mummy bag which I find  superior to anything I've owned from Marmot or Mountain Hardwear and others including their most high end bags).

just like bows and all kinds of other gear, sleeping systems take practice and skill to work effectively. spend a bunch of nights doing trips in the winter, spring and summer and learn how your shelter and sleep system works. over time you learn how to minimize the weight and maximize the function. my sleep system involves not just the pad, bag/quilt, and shelter (almost always a super light floorless mid) but also my base layers, puffy and all of my other clothing can and does routinely become part of it. for example, a light breathable synthetic puffy jacket nicely complements a down quilt.

also, the whole "down is useless when it's wet" argument is a little inaccurate in my opinion and experience. it's true that it loses thermal efficiency more than synthetics when wet and it's important to learn good moisture management techniques (for all sleeping bags) but I've spent a lot of nights in wet down sleeping bags and quilts (sometimes quite wet) and have done just fine. to me the weight/warmth advantage far outweighs the moisture issue and I spend the majority of my time hunting in very wet environments. again, using a good sleeping system is a skill learned just like any other wilderness travel skills. if possible put in the time doing other activities if you can before hunting season. there's nothing like a week long trip or two any time of year in terrible weather to dial in the system. (seek out bad weather if you really want to figure stuff out!) best of luck and happy hunting!

Appreciate your thoughts skookuminak. I'm looking very closely at quilts. Probably around half the nights I spend out temps dip into the 20's and teens with maybe 10% of nights dropping to single digits. The really cold stuff (November deer season) is usually in a trailer and the rest in a tent. In my mind I'm beginning to think I could make a 0 degree quilt work for this??? Your opinion?
Curious what Western Mountaineering bag you use. I'm looking closely at the Badger.
Thanks.

[kevsuperg]

Making my think I should have gotten a quilt....

[skookuminak]

I have used a 0 degree quilt in sub zero temps and it was okay but I personally think quilts start having diminishing returns much below 20f. That said, they have a wider temp range than comparable sleeping bags and it’s easy to use a warm quilt (like that 0) in warmer temps by loosely draping  it over me. A pad with a high R-value (at least 5, higher the better) can help a lot as do base layers. I’ve spent many nights wearing all of my clothes under the quilt which I always feel is an efficient use of pack weight but might not be comfortable for all. It really goes back to spending some time familiarizing yourself to the gear in tough conditions. Winter/spring  trips like ski traverses are great for sussing stuff out in my experience.

Re: western mountaineering. I personally avoid any kind of windstopper or other laminant on the shell because of moisture management concerns  but I have friends who like the WS bags. For winter or late fall trips where I know I’ll encounter cold temps the whole trip I take an Antelope (5F rated) . For true AK subzero winter trips I’ve used much warmer bags but we honestly don’t get that cold of temps anymore very often except in the AK range and midwinter arctic so the antelope is more than adequate for most of what I do. It’s also easy to lay a quilt over the bag for really cold conditions.