Thinking about Sleeping Bags?

[Northern Dancer]

I guess I lied. "I just ain't gots no moral fibber to stop meself from buying new stuff."

I vaguely remember the first sleeping bag I bought. Not a good experience. So I hope the following article may be of help to those who are thinking of purchasing the same.

The following sheet is designed for a TRADITIONAL SCOUTING ASSOCIATION.

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[Grandpa]

Many years ago I bought a cheaper 15o 650 down bag if there is such a thing as cheaper. I loved that bag. It served me well on literally thousands of bag nights. I never carried a thermometer but I was warm even when ice formed on the tent.

As time wore on I started sleeping colder and colder so I made the plunge and bought a high dollar 900 down bag. I quickly learned 3 things. 1, check the girth size. The competition to make those bags lighter causes some problems. In my case the new bag had a 60 inch girth instead of the 66 inch of my old bag. Being slightly broad in the beam zipping that new bag was a contortionist nightmare. Not willing to let grandma know I had blown $400 on a too small bag I suffered with it. Instead of using the zipper I used that new bag like a blanket. And that was learning experience #2. In a conventional mummy bag your body compresses those feathers into a micro layer. Every time you roll over a bit that compressed insulation let's the cold pour in like sleeping in a snow drift. As a blanket the insulation stays puffed up and you're warm all night.

Lesson number 3, if you notice you're sleeping colder and colder go get your thyroid checked. End of problem. By the way, I let my skinny granddaughter use that high dollar bag and when she brought it back she asked how I ever zipped it up and grandma latched on to that real quick.

 

[Northern Dancer]

Many years ago I bought a cheaper 15o 650 down bag if there is such a thing as cheaper. I loved that bag. It served me well on literally thousands of bag nights. I never carried a thermometer but I was warm even when ice formed on the tent.

As time wore on I started sleeping colder and colder so I made the plunge and bought a high dollar 900 down bag. I quickly learned 3 things. 1, check the girth size. The competition to make those bags lighter causes some problems. In my case the new bag had a 60 inch girth instead of the 66 inch of my old bag. Being slightly broad in the beam zipping that new bag was a contortionist nightmare. Not willing to let grandma know I had blown $400 on a too small bag I suffered with it. Instead of using the zipper I used that new bag like a blanket. And that was learning experience #2. In a conventional mummy bag your body compresses those feathers into a micro layer. Every time you roll over a bit that compressed insulation let's the cold pour in like sleeping in a snow drift. As a blanket the insulation stays puffed up and you're warm all night.

Lesson number 3, if you notice you're sleeping colder and colder go get your thyroid checked. End of problem. By the way, I let my skinny granddaughter use that high dollar bag and when she brought it back she asked how I ever zipped it up and grandma latched on to that real quick.

-----> Hilarious Grandpa - I can visualize the scene and can see you struggling to make it work. I've done that too, to save face, while all the while people know what's going on and snicker at my antics.

 

[ppine]

I love feathers. I have said prayers thanking ducks and geese many times.
I still have 2 down bags I got from REI in about 1969. They are goose and duck down.
I have a Marmot down bags from about 1990.
As kids we had 2 military surplus bags maybe from Korea. There was a light inner down bag and a larger, heavier out bag with a green cotton cover.
The filling in those bags was down and chopped chicken feathers.
I read with amusement people talking about their disappointment when their bag is "only 700 fill pure goose down."

 

[Roybrew]

I've never had a down bag. The closest thing I have to one is the down quilt I made year before last. It's 700 fill and does pretty good around 40+ degrees, preferably the plus temperatures. I can't sleep being confined in a bag. When the wife and I went last fall, we unzipped two bags, used one to cover the mattress, and the other one for a blanket. We used the quilt, I made, on top in case we needed it. If I ever need a light weight winter bag I think I would rather have a down bag.

It sucks to invest in something and then it just doesn't meet expectations.

 

[ppine]

I have loved using down bags since 1960, but around 1994, something really bad happened. I was going over Chilkoot Pass and we had 4 days of rain. Maybe I have told this story before. My down bag got wet. I was afraid to go to sleep at the top of the pass well above tree line. No chance for a fire, and it was blowing sleet. I never want to be that cold again. The date was August 31.

If you live in a wet climate, down may not be the best material for you.

 

[Roybrew]

Eew that could be a bad situation. I've slept in damp or partially wet bags before, but it wasn't freezing temperatures. That sure isn't a comfortable way to sleep.

 

[Northern Dancer]

The reality today is there is such a selection that it challenges us on what we think is the better one. It comes down to choice, even over needs, practicability, and purpose. Here is an example =====>

The North Face The One [5/20/40 - degrees at a cost of approximately $300.00]

Despite a rather bold naming convention, The One sleeping bag really lives up to its marketing. The North Face did an excellent job of creating a highly versatile sleeping bag to meet a variety of sleepers and conditions. At its core, The One sleeping bag is an interchangeable sleep system with adaptable insulating properties.

It’s an ingenious idea: multiple layered sleeping bags that you can swap out depending on the temperature. But it’s a concept that could easily become overly complex and user-unfriendly. However, The North Face design team pulled it off beautifully. The One bag uses both color-coding and small, descriptive symbols to cue users on how to operate it.

Essentially, The One is two separate sleeping bags of different ratings — a 20-degree (orange) bag and a 40-degree (blue) bag — that, when combined, provide warmth down to 5 degrees. These bags connect with zippers, and while two different bags, each with its own set of zippers, could become unwieldy, these too are color-coded and intuitive to use.

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Having reviewed the North Face, my winter bang is one piece, cost me $95.00, and is good for - 25 degrees. That with an insert is more than warm and convenient enough for me.

 

[ppine]

The US Military used the concept of two bags in WWII and Korea. I grew up with those kinds of bags and they were great.

I used to camp in snow but have lost interest in it. I get colder now. We are going out in a week or so at 6,000 feet near home. I plan to bring a really warm pad, and 2 sleeping bags. I will bring a pad for my dog to sleep on.

Don't forget a warm hat for cold sleeping. I use a watch cap mostly but for the serious cold like hunting I like a rabbit fur bomber hat.