Originally Posted by
stardognine
Oh, I know you can "get by" with an inexpensive bag. I've done so quite a bit before. And I hope I didn't sound snobbish, that was definitely not my intention. It's more like, once you get a good one, you wish you'd done it sooner. 😁😉
Last time I was up in Seattle, I scored an old REI down bag, at the Ballard Goodwill, for a great price. Someone cut the tag off, at the bottom, so I dunno what model it is, but it has at least 5 pounds of down filling, maybe more. It would probably cost a few hundred, today. 🙂
BTW, it's a dark red, and supports the urban myth, that vintage red sleeping bags are warmer. 😁😉
Yeah, I'd agree that buying a nice bag is a real treat and well worth indulging yourself. I think we may have been thinking of different things when we refer to a "good" sleeping bag. I think there are a wide range of levels of what that might mean to different folks.
My favorite bag is just over a pound (17 ounces) and I have used it for down into the teens in pretty good comfort with some clothing to supplement it. It cost several hundred dollars. It is as warm of a bag as I have felt the need for for touring since I tour either in the warmer seasons or in warmer places in winter. I did ride the Southern tier starting in mid February with it. Also backpacked and toured in shoulder seasons where it got fairly cold at night. So there were many frosty nights and it has been used in the teens a few times. I think that I probably put out heat like a furnace though because i typically wake up comfortable and others around me come out with all their coldest weather clothes on. down jackets, winter hats, and all. They are complaining about how they froze the night before and I slept fine and am comfy in my regular riding clothes a light pile sweater and a windshirt.
I am not sure, but I suspect that they get into their warm bag when it is still warm and get it damp with sweat. Then they get cold when the temp goes down later. I start out with only as much warmth as needed. If it is warm I sleep on top of the bag and progressively pull the bag over me, climb in, zip up, put the hood on, pull the draw cord tight (but breath out the hole). That may or may have nothing to do with the difference, but I take care to not get sweaty in the bag before it gets colder.
I have a colder rated bag, but I never use it unless winter camping.
BTW, your 5 pounds of down figure sounds like a huge amount of down and a lot of bag to carry! A very high end bag like say a Feathered Friends ($1000.49) -40F rated bag that has 900- fil down weighs 4 pounds 2.9 ounces for the regular length. It has 2 lb 10 oz of down. That is for a way colder rated bag than I'd probably ever use even for winter camping. Feathered Friends make a 20F rated bag that has 1 lb 0.8 oz of down the bag weighs1 lb 12.7 oz. and costs $519.
Are you sure your bag has that much down? Is it a rectangular bag? Rated for super cold temps?
Edited to say that the Feathered Friends is a very high end bag and the 900- fil down is real high grade stuff so a lower priced bag with lower fill rated down will have more weight of down for a given rating, but 5# of down is pretty extreme.