I would like to get a sleeping bag for September elk hunting in Colorado. What brand and model would you recommended? Also, what temp rating?
Backpacking or Base Camp?
x2 on what you are looking for? Light for carrying on your back for long distances - Down - hands down! More finicky and take more maintenance but they are light and small.
Base camp or shorter hikes into the camp - Synthetic. Low maintenance and keep your warmish when wet.
Synthetic - look at Wiggy's bags. Great, great bags and a value. I've owned and use many different bags and Wiggy's have been the best by far for me.
A buddy reccomended a High Peak Mt. Rainer to me last year. I carried it through winter and early spring camping/backpacking and have been very impressed. They sell a full line of bags and the price is right. Its a -20 with a breathable waterproof material and all the seams are sealed.
Rob
x2 on Bobby Urban's comment.
For down bags, check out Feathered Friends and Marmot. They aren't cheap but they'll keep you warm. I would highly recommend a good bivy if you are going into the back country as well. And if you are planning on sleeping in it, get used to it at home. A different world and you can spend some uncomfortable nights if you aren't familiar with it.
As for temp ratings, I err on the side of warmer than I need. The last thing I want is to have a chill when I sleep. I have used 15 degree bags in 30 degrees and been cold. Again, I err on the side of warmer. Also look for good draft protection. That makes a world of difference. You can also look at sleeping bag liners which will add some warmth at a cheaper price.
If your backpacking- Big Agnes Lost Ranger with a Insulated air core(IAC) pad is a tuff combo to beat.
Truck/Base camping- pretty much what ever you can afford.
Steve
QuoteOriginally posted by stykbow67:
If your backpacking- Big Agnes Lost Ranger with a Insulated air core(IAC) pad is a tuff combo to beat.
This is my set up, and I slept awesome in Wyoming Mountains this past September.
If you are backpacking like said before down is hard to beat. You should get one for at least 15 deg unless you are a warm sleeper. I have a MontBell 15deg UL super spiral hugger 2 lbs 2 oz carry weight. I love this bag but it is very costly but will last a lifetime with proper care and for me worth every penny. Kelty has a very good priced down bag worth checking out. Widow
I have a Western Mountaineering 15degree badger for packing. I also have a Wiggy's synthetic bag.
Does anyone have experience with the military modular systems
Think of your sleeping bag as a system whether you are backpacking or car camping. You want to have something besides the bag insulate you from the dampness of the ground. That will be a pad or a cot. Temps. in CO. can vary a lot from 90'f to 10'f. I would use a 20' bag as a minimum for a Fall hunt but if you are normally cold at night, go to a 0' bag. You can always open the bag up if you are too warm. Nothing beats down bags if you pack-in and for warmth but if they get wet, they are useless. There is a new water-resistant down being used some companies and it gets good reviews but it is the most expensive. You will want to be sure to get a whole system or you will not be comfortable.
I have a Marmot 0 degree down bag that has served me well on many trips into the mountains. You might look at the Western Mountaineering bags too.
I think the degree rating is like the ratings for rafts or tents. A 4 person raft is really for 2 people comfortably. When they say 20 deg. it means you will survive the night if it gets that cold, just not comfortably.
Big Agnes hands down. I also use the Lost Ranger with the IAC pad. The best ever in my mind.
I am a big fan of the Big Agnes system as well I have a waterproof down Deep Creek, a Lost Ranger, and a Buffalo Park. Sure there are lighter but I really like the pad sleeve as I move around a lot in my sleep. I never wake up NOT on my mattress any more. I used the BAIAC for many years and it is a very comfy pad. I decided to try a Exped downmat and a NeoAir all Season. Can't say either are any more comfortable than the Big Agnes pad even though both are much more expensive.
Another BA vote from me. I've got the Lost Ranger. Love it!
Western Mountaineering or Montbell in bags, don't overlook a good quilt. As has been mentioned don't overlook the pad. Thermarest or Exped for pads. Kelty makes a good down bag on a budget.
I use 30 and 15 deg down marrmont sleeping bags. I have slept well below freezing in both and kept warm enough.
What Biathlonman said. Western Mountaineering makes a great bag that you will use your whole life.
For fall in NW Montana, I use an Exped Downmat. The down part of your bag that you lay on is obviously compressed, and therefor offers no insulation. So your pad is CRITICAL to how well (warm) you sleep.
QuoteOriginally posted by recurvericky:
Does anyone have experience with the military modular systems
Are you asking about the one with bivy sack? I have one and used it many time in the past, light and easy to set up. However, now that i'm getting older I wont use ever again for extended nights. IMO, having a tent is the best way to go especially in a rain then turning into snow storm as it did on me this year. As far as a sleeping bag goes, I like down but prefer synthetic just in case it does get wet. I will agree with others as far as Big Agnes goes, one of my favorites with the IHC sleeping pad.
I spent 7 days in Alaska in early September and used my Cabelas Alaskan Guide Bag. My bag is rated at -20 but I noted in their website they go only have +20, 0, and -40 bags now. You should be okay with the '0' degree bag in Colorado for Sept. hunting. While I spent good $$ on the bag, I didn't scrimp on my pads. I took two pads with me (glad I did that!); a Therm-a-Rest Z pad for the bottom and an Exped DownMat 7. Between the two pads and the Cabelas bag I was warm and quite comfortable. Of course this was a fly-out hunt and though we were limited on total weight I'm not sure I could have carried all of this in if I was doing a backpack hunt. Out of a truck you shouldn't worry much about weight and just buy the best you can. Good luck.
I bought a 0 degree down bag from Beans more than 25 years go. That bag has been with me on every western hunt I've done as well as a few Alaskan hunts and tons of pack-in hunts in northern Wisconsin in November. Getting a little thin/compressed now, but has never failed me.
I helped design the two bag, goretexbivy bag system used by Marines. It is a great bag system for the weight. A great ground pad makes it work
I am amazed to watch people use bags to only partial potential. Take your bag a shake it vigorously to get air between indulators. Of course all of us roll our bags twice- once forward snd once backwards- to get the air out to compress it better, right? That compression stays-shake that bag. All my bags have stocking caps in them. I have a small towel to wrap around my face. Never breathe in the bag, towel prewarms the air. Bring chocolate candy your bedside. If you shiver, eat that tootsie roll to give your body the sugar to burn . take today's sox off and put on tomorrow's. Winters in Norway and Korea teach conservation of warmth and energy. Insulation from the cold ground is a key for long term winter camping/ hunting. All of know a good night 's sleep and balanced meals make the hunt enjoyable
I like my Wiggy's bag for a base camp. All the Alaska Guides swear by em.
Love my Wiggy's bag too. Simply don't think you can beat it for all around...
There are lots of good bags to choose from. For the most part, you get what you pay for. As far as temp ratings. If you want to cover the entire month of Sept I'd go somewhere around 15deg. It's gonna be a little warm in early Sept but will get you through the end of the month. I hunted the last week of season and used a 15 deg Marmot Helium on a Thermarest Neo Air. It was 19 deg one morning and I slept fine....but I sure as hell didn't want to get out of the bag in the morning. :)
I've got a Western Mountaineering Kodiak MF.Their temperature ratings are fairly conservative and the Kodiak is rated 0 and I find it a little too warm for September and earlier,even in the mountains.What it does have going for it that I really like,is,that it's a very full cut mummy.I find the fuller cut much more comfortable than the slimmer bags I used when I was younger.
The one I want to get is the WM Alpinlite which is rated at 20 degrees and weighs only 2 lbs.It is also a fuller cut mummy,almost as full as the Kodiak.I think this will be the perfect bag for me for that September mountain weather.
I use a Big Agnes insulated core pad and have really liked it as well.
Whomever rates the temp on bags needs a swift kick. Zero degrees is really only comfy down to thirty on most bags.
X2 Swift kick for temp rating people The first year I had a 0deg bag and almost froze to death. That is why I did some homework and found Mountbell has close to true ratings and I can say they experience they are good. But the pad you sleep on means a lot I carry a 1/2 inch pad and put it on top of my thermarest ultra light pad I get not cold whatsoever threw my pad nothing sucks your heat away like sleeping on cold air. Widow
I'm generally a cold sleeper so a BA Poimer Hoit with the Two Track pad works good for me.
Base camp, I have a 6lb synthetic bag on top of a coleman twin air mattress. If it gets below 30 then it is best to put a piece of foam or some sort of foam pad between the bag and air mattress.
Do yerself a favor go to the big auction site and search for us army sleep system Nuff said. Best here is for bang for the buck get all 4 pieces two bags carrier and gore text cover you'll be covered from 60 to minus 10
I'll put it this way....
They're calling for 22 degrees in the hills tomorrow for a low.
I'm taking my WM Badger in Microfiber, and Exped Downmat.
My previous real world experience tells me that I'll have to zip it up halfway
+ 1 on the western Mountaineering Badger
One very important lesson myself and a friend learned hunting in Alaska about 8 years ago...
Both of our bags are rated at -15. The first night it probably got to single digits above zero and we both froze our backsides off.
We were both a bit taken back that we were so cold given the bag rating-versus-the actual temperature.
The second night was even colder than the first, but we were both very toasty all night.
The difference? The first night we went to bed about 5 hours after we had eaten our Mountain House. The second night we went to bed about 1 hour after dinner.
I have remembered that ever since, and have spent many nights camping in the cold (Zero and well below) in a nylon tent, and the same bag. I am always nice and warm all night if I eat a good meal (usually Mountain House) shortly before I go to bed.
Just something to consider.
Want a quality bag look at "Western Mountaineering" . Some of the best down bags out there and made in the good old USA.