best/lightest 0 degree down bag for trekk/climbing

[frontrangeclimber]

looking for the lightest/warmest/best deal 0 degree down bag that I can use for trekking/climbing in S. America. Did a cursory look at the mtn. hardware phantom 0 degree. Any suggestions. Also, what are the main components I should look for in getting down bag i.e. fill weight, bag material, etc. Thanks!

[genepires]

feathered friends bags. love them. quality made locally. there has been lots of discusion on this topic that you should check out.

 

first thing you must figure out is what condition do you want to use them for. how warm to you sleep? how much weight do you want to carry? on and on. then go buy a feathered friends bag.

 

mountain hardware seems like NF stuff, heavy and over built.

[BarryAnnArbor]

Western Mountaineering Kodiak SMF. Great bag, and quite warm. 2 pounds, 12 ounces. I've got an overfilled bag that's gone down to about -15 (the beauty of Ann Arbor's winters + wind).

 

Western Mountaineering's factory is in San Jose - it's good to see that at least some folks in the States (WM, Feathered Friends, Nunatak) are still producing great gear.

[mattp]

I once tested my North Face 3 lb bag, sleeping out on the ice on Barton Pond in Ann Arbor. It was good to about -15f also - for a single night with no wet clothing or gear and I was both fully fed and well-rested before lying down. However, on a mountian trip where the down gets a wetter it didn't do quite so well. By the way, Ann Arbor winters suck. And the summers are worse! Have fun at Grand Ledge (wanna climb there with me if I come visit in June?).

 

I don't think you'd go wrong with either WM or FF but consider what it means when you get a "superlight" bag -- the fabric will likely be something to worry about if you just want to sleep outside, and I may be wrong but it is my impression that the super low density down doesn't maintain its loft over an extended trip with moisture and stuffing as might slightly sturdier down. (Anybody want to correctd what may be an aggregious misstatement?).

 

If you are going to use it a LOT and you don't always want to carry the extra pound or two for a bivouac sack (I very frequently sleep out without one and in fact have never once used one), heavy and overbuilt is not necessarily a bad thing.

[Couloir]

There is always the Belay Jacket + Half Bag option. Lightweight, jacket has dual uses and it's relatively warm.

[featheredfriends]

I don't think you'd go wrong with either WM or FF but consider what it means when you get a "superlight" bag -- the fabric will likely be something to worry about if you just want to sleep outside, and I may be wrong but it is my impression that the super low density down doesn't maintain its loft over an extended trip with moisture and stuffing as might slightly sturdier down. (Anybody want to correctd what may be an aggregious misstatement?).

 

Gene and Matt, thanks for the kind words about our bags. Matt makes a good point about the tradeoffs of "super light." Lighter weight fabrics tend to be less durable than heavier ones for a number of reasons. For example, on our own bags and WM's, the lightest weight fabrics require a top-stitch construction to reduce down leakage at the seams, but this in turn reduces durability since the threads are then exposed to abrasion. In our experience, the failure of seams due to abrasion is a long term problem. With the heavier fabrics we use (Epic and eVent) we can tuck-stitch the seams and conceal the thread within the bag to increase longevity. Lighter fabrics are also more prone to tearing and tend to have lower moisture resistance properties than heavier fabrics. If you look at WM's bags, the DryLoft models are heavier than their microfiber counterparts, and the same is true with our eVent fabric being heavier than Epic.

 

All the same, if you think that weight savings trumps all other considerations, then by all means you should buy a super light bag. Just be aware that you will need to take greater care of it and your expectations about durability and performance should match the limitations of the fabric and construction methods.

 

To address Matt's point about down quality/stuffing/durability, I would say that loftier down performs better in the field on extended trips. Having just spent six days in the North Cascades with a couple days/nights of crummy weather and getting some moisture inside the tent, my experience with my Vireo bag was very positive. When finding a small pile of snow on my bag after leaving some tent vents open during a storm, my bag kept me warm in sub-freezing temps and was dry by morning.

 

Higher quality down = more air space inside the bag = better ability to transport moisture through the down = faster drying bag. Body heat alone can dry out a damp bag fairly quickly- faster than a synthetic bag. Throw in a hot water bottle and you'll expel moisture even faster. High quality down will also loft better on an extended trip than lower quality down through repeated stuffing and unstuffing. There is really no motivation to buy a bag with lower quality down fill unless price is a primary consideration.

 

Check out the FF Snowbunting bag in Epic fabric. For a minimal weight increase over a "super light" fabric you gain a considerable increase in durability and moisture protection- great for sleeping in Megamid type shelters or snow caves where you will experience dripping water or showers of frozen condensation.

 

Feathered Friends Snowbunting

[UncleJamsArmy]

I'll just throw my .02 here and say that the Western Mountaineering SDL Antelope is a great bag in that range. Although rated at 5 degrees, WM is notorious for being conservative with their ratings, and I wouldn't have any trouble putting it up against any 0 degree bag for warmth. It's got 800 (or maybe 850 now) fill, a Dryloft shell, continuous baffles, and packs down pretty small. Is it the best bag in this range? I don't know, as I don't have access to many or all bags in that range, but I'm very happy with it.

 

The Dryloft shell adds to the weight, but well worth it for durability and moisture protection. I also have a WM Versalite rated at 20 degrees (an old one) that is two pounds, but has a very light shell material that leaks down like a sieve and is hard to keep dry. I would not trust this bag for more than an overnighter in snow or wet conditions.

[YWESKI]

I have the 5ºF Western Mountaineering Antelope SMF and it is more than enough for what you do. But overall, you can't go wrong with either FF or WM.

[layton]

Check out the Moonstone Lucid 800. I can attest to the fact that is WARM for its rating (whatever that is)