Sleeping Bag Recommendations...

[Beck]

...but, seriously, back on topic,

we all know the debatable merits of down/synthetic, but you CAN take down out on multi week winter trips and be just fine if you do it right.

As to bag construction, a bag with a foot opening and armholes with some type of weather resistant shell is the only way to go if you're going to be laying out 300 bills or so for a down bag anyway- check out FF winter wren.

Nunatak will kick one out for you in either down or synth, umm, you can find a Euro company (can't recall the name, Exped?) that makes a sweet looking one, pretty inexpensive, too.

I'm telling you, once you start wearing your sleeping bag while you sort gear and make breakfast, you're in seventh heaven. It's really the only way to go.

[mattp]

I'm with Beck on the feasibilty of down for extended trips. I use down bags for ski trips, carrying only a tarp (no tent or bivvy bag), and I bring my wet clothing in the bag to dry it out every night. I have one bag with a dryloft shell, but I have a lighter one without. Both work perfectly well and, even in wet or stormy weather -- with care -- I can keep my bag dry.

 

I also like cooking while in the sleeping bag. If you use a tarp instead of a tent, the stove can be within arm's reach when you wake up in the morning. (But this is a digression and we've had the tarp v. tent debate more than once before.)

 

And the Svea 123 rocked!

[Crackbolter]

I will try not to sell you on a F.F. bag but...

 

#1, How long have laminates been used in the outdoor industry? 20 years + ? It is time to quit beating the dead horse.

 

Stick with a bag that has encapusulated polyester microfiber or nylon microfiber. The fabric takes much longer to wet out and typically does a great job against condensation and perspiration and such. It is also pointless to use a bivy sack in combination with laminated fabric sleeping bag. Talk about zero breathability. Where does all of your perspiration go? Also, when the fabric on a laminate wets out, it takes either direct sunlight or pretty warm conditions to dry it out. Microfibers and encapsulated fabrics dry out as long as you wipe most of the moisture off of the bag. What is left will dry in no time. I have sent more than one person to Denali with the F.F. Snowgoose -40 bag with the Epic by Nextec fabric and the report was great. No need for a syl bag liner (VBL) and the down stayed lofty the whole time. Speaking of loft, laminates also decrease the loft of the bag because of how stiff the fabric seems to be. Somewhat pointless if you ask me.

 

I always look at sleeping bags like a layering unit. You still need a shell for your sleeping bag just the same as you would for a fleece jacket. Either a tent or bivy bag.

 

As far as the wren bags or Nunatuk's bag, I think they are great for what has been described but they aren't nearly as efficient as a regular mummy bag when it comes to keeping you warm at night. Too many openings mean too many cold spots. Just be sure to bring enough clothes to keep you plenty warm.

 

This is just an opinion but this is what I do for $$$. If you have more questions, e-mail me at customerservice@featheredfrinds.com

 

-T

[mattp]

Crackbolter -

You make a good points about the breathability of the laminates. I believe it is particularly a problem in warmer weather (where there is less temperature differential between inside and outside the shell), so that is why my light weight bag does not have a laminated shell.

 

As a side note: I have never carried a bivvy bag, yet it seems that everybody thinks this is an essential piece of gear. I have put my feet in my pack and pulled a raincoat over my upper body when bivvying in damp weather, and this has kept me damn near as dry as my buddies in their bivvy bags. In the Cascades, I rarely get caught by an unexpected shower anyway, and anytime I have gone out with the intention to camp out there has always been a tent or tarp in somebody's pack -- and often the other guys are carrying bivvy bags as well. What is so great about an extra pound of gear (or two-plus in some cases) that you really wouldn't want to spend a night in if the weather were truly shitty and is completely unnecessary if the weather is fair?

[allthumbs]

I use a 4-pt. Hudson's Bay Trapper blanket and a sweet little klootch I met to keep warm.

[Beck]

and seconding Mattp's comments about the nonnecccesity for a bivy and the lightweight tarp or just the pack/raincoat option works pretty well. Crankbolter is absolutely definitive in the superior performance of the encapsulated or microfiber vs. laminates, and the "wearable" bags are a bit drafty and less efficent compared to classic mummy.

 

Funny to see people with dryloft bags sneaking into their bivy bags for a bluebird starry night out!

[freeclimb9]

a bivy bag will add some degrees of warmth to your bag (like around 10, in my experience).

[mattp]

freeclimb, you may be right (thogh I have heard plenty of people debate this point). But in terms of weight to warmth, this is not a good payoff. For an extra pound of down, you can probably get a bag that is warmer by 25 degrees. Why else do you like the bivvy bag?

[freeclimb9]

"Why else do you like the bivvy bag?"

Well, foremost because I have one. You know, one in the hand being worth two in the bush. Also, it's nice when sleeping in wind and/or wet. Snowcaves and floorless tents become no problem. I've also used it without a sleeping bag to keep bugs off.

With regard to laminates, in the truly cold (-30+), the laminates won't breath enough and you'll get ice forming in the insulation. A vapor barrier is the way to go (Hefty makes some nice disposable ones). I thiink they just add cost without significant benefit.

For the 0 degrees mentioned in the original post, down is far more packable. If you lose the zipper on a bag, you'll get more warmth per weight, too.

Personally, I've got too many bags, but am still jonesing for a half bag. Too bad they cost as much as a full bag. Maybe I'll get lucky at Goodwill and score one to cut down.

[North_by_Northwest]

This is a little below the level of quality most of you are talking about, but I just bought a down bag for this temp range at a great price. It's a SlumberJack Denali Summit II, it's rated to 5 degrees (soft rating probably), weighs 3lbs, and is very compressible. I was a little hesitant of the brandname at first, but I am very happy with it and it was only $127 US, including S&H, from Campmor.com.

If you are looking to save cash and still have a decent bag it's not a bad option.

[STORER]

My friend came up with a good idea for a cheap bivy bag. For those of you that don't know what "house wrap" is, it's a breathable but wind/water resistance "paper like" material used to wrap houses that are being built. You can probably score a piece of house wrap by going to a construction site and asking the contractor for a piece. You probably only need a piece 7' X 4'. Fold the piece in half and staple/bond the bottom and part way up the side. The idea was to make a bivy sack for a couple of bucks, so I know it isn't as good as an Outdoor Research bag for $100+. What do you guys think?

 

Steve

 

[ 10-23-2002, 09:10 PM: Message edited by: STORER ]

[mr.radon]

quote:

---

Stick with a bag that has encapusulated polyester microfiber or nylon microfiber. The fabric takes much longer to wet out and typically does a great job against condensation and perspiration and such. It is also pointless to use a bivy sack in combination with laminated fabric sleeping bag. Talk about zero breathability. Where does all of your perspiration go? Also, when the fabric on a laminate wets out, it takes either direct sunlight or pretty warm conditions to dry it out. Microfibers and encapsulated fabrics dry out as long as you wipe most of the moisture off of the bag. What is left will dry in no time. I have sent more than one person to Denali with the F.F. Snowgoose -40 bag with the Epic by Nextec fabric and the report was great. No need for a syl bag liner (VBL) and the down stayed lofty the whole time. Speaking of loft, laminates also decrease the loft of the bag because of how stiff the fabric seems to be. Somewhat pointless if you ask me.

---

I'm one of the satisfied customers. That bag was damn warm. Brought bivy (wanted to do West Rib alpine style). Spent 18 days on glacier. Would recomend that bag to anyone.

Thanks for the good bag FF. You've got a happy customer.

[allthumbs]

I have a FF down jacket and am more than pleased. If this jacket is an indication of FF quality, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend their gear.

[Crackbolter]

Right On!!!

[Bronco]

quote:

---

Originally posted by STORER:

My friend came up with a good idea for a cheap bivy bag. For those of you that don't know what "house wrap" is, it's a breathable but wind/water resistance "paper like" material used to wrap houses that are being built. You can probably score a piece of house wrap by going to a construction site and asking the contractor for a piece. You probably only need a piece 7' X 4'. Fold the piece in half and staple/bond the bottom and part way up the side. The idea was to make a bivy sack for a couple of bucks, so I know it isn't as good as an Outdoor Research bag for $100+. What do you guys think?

 

Steve

---

I have worked with that stuff in construction and it is bomber. Ask the contractor for a 10' piece of the tape you get with the rolls to seal the seam properly. I'd venture a bet that it would come in at around 1lb too.

 

Seems to me Willstrickland or someone met a guy who made a back pack and bivi sack out of that suff for the Appalachian trail and it worked ok, but, you'd probably be performing major repairs on it after each use. Definetly test it out in your backyard before going up Mt. Rainier with it.

 

Let me know how it goes if you do, I thought about doing the same thing, but wimped out and purchased one at MEC.

[Beck]

Tyvek will work well, but for a cheap ready made alternative, check out Adventure Medical- they offer one for twenty bucks that are durable, have a little nap like Toddtex so they wick/insulate- I 've used one both with and without a sleeping bag when conditions got foul and the work good. Twenty bucks.

 

Or, true dirtbaggers choice- sneaking around a pathology department and scoring one of the body covers off a gurney - they are Goretex!!!

[COL._Von_Spanker]

Oh yeah, my climbing partner is a doctor at stevens hospital up in everett....He'll hook me up.

[COL._Von_Spanker]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Beck:

Tyvek will work well, but for a cheap ready made alternative, check out Adventure Medical- they offer one for twenty bucks that are durable, have a little nap like Toddtex so they wick/insulate- I 've used one both with and without a sleeping bag when conditions got foul and the work good. Twenty bucks.

 

Or, true dirtbaggers choice- sneaking around a pathology department and scoring one of the body covers off a gurney - they are Goretex!!!

---

Hook me up!!!!

[Beck]

got to do your own Dirtbaggin' Col. Von Spank, you should be able to go in and grab one if you gots huevos for that type of thing- I haven't had one of those since my eighties days, sorry, bro- Maybe the good Doctor or some other med type can hook you up!