Ty0604

If this thread has already been covered please link it! I couldn't find anything similar on the search.

My sleeping bag finally bit the dust after 6 years of touring/camping so looking for opinions on a new sleeping bag before my tour this year.

Looking for one around 30*F that packs pretty small.

I do have an underquilt for my hammock so one around 40*F would work as well. I don't get cold very easily.

Weight and price aren't factors really.

The smaller the better. I found a Marmot one that packs pretty small but it's rated for 55*F and not sure with my underquilt that would be warm enough.

gregjones

I thought that I didn't really care if my bag was down or not. I got a Cat's Meow by North Face----synthetic. But it just barely stuffs into a 20l dry bag. In a 20l compression bag it shrinks to about volleyball size. A down bag would be save some space as the specs on most show them to stuff quite smaller.

I would really like to try a down sleeping blanket:
Enlightened Equipment Revelation

prathmann

I second the recommendation for down. Bought a NF Blue Kazoo in the early '70s and it has been used on multiple trips every year since then. Weighs 2 pounds total (one pound of down fill) and fits in a stuff sack 6" in diameter and 12" long. It's rated for temperatures down to 20F, but I've been comfortable sleeping on nights which went down to low single digits. Yes, you do have to keep it dry, but I haven't found that to be a problem on any of my trips over all these years and the only times it has gotten wet has been for periodic cleaning. Loft still measures almost as much as when it was new so I expect to keep using it for many more years.

Haven't looked at specific models available currently since I'm not in the market for a replacement. But I've been very happy with choice of a down-filled bag.

bikemig 

I bought the marmot atom for bike trips. I like it a lot. it's rated to 40 degrees.

Doug64

A marmot 25 F rated bag is in the green compression sack. It actually compresses to about the same size or smaller than our tent in the blue compression sack. It is called a "Pounder Plus and weighs less than 2 lb. Best of all, it is synthetic!

Ty0604

Does it pack to roughly the same size as Doug64's Pounder Plus?

That's exactly what I'm looking for. Doesn't look like they've made the Pounder Plus since 2013 unfortunately. I was looking at a Trestles 30*F bag on their website just now. I wish more companies showed photos of the bag in the sack to see the size.

A few more questions:
It gives you the option of a right zip or left zip? Is it just your dominant hand? Never seen this before.

What's the difference between the "bag temperature" and "EN rating?"

What's "bag loft" mean?

Haven't bought a new bag in awhile obviously!

I really like the 55*F one and wondering if I can get away with it in my underquilt. I know I'll be running into some snow and that's my only concern. Or a 45*F one.

Ty0604

Those look nice. Wonder if anyone here has used a down sleeping blanket?

On a side note, my youngest sister said I should buy the North Face Cat's Meow for no other reason than the name

Must be a good bag! 40 years later and still holding strong. And they're still making it.

I have the North Face website open. Will look further tomorrow.

bwgride

These are typically referred to as top quilts when using hammock speak. The combination of top quilt and underquilt works very well. Top quilt is very convenient compared to sleeping bag in a hammock -- much easier entry and exit, packs smaller, and is lighter. A number of folks have posted about this combination here, but you can find so much more information on hammock forums

https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/forum.php

If you use a hammock, the combination of top quilt and underquilt is very nice. A 30F top quilt can weigh about 16 to 19oz and will pack very small. A few examples

Burrow 40 - Hammock Gear
(request 2oz of down overstuff for 30F)

UGQ 30*F FLIGHTJACKET

Sierra Sniveller

Ultralight Sleeping Bag | Down Quilt | Revelation

Look around hammock forums for ideas.

Even better, have a look at Shug's videos. Entertaining and educational. Here's his Youtube page - so much hammock information that is fun to watch.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC27...zD9YHK1IFwG7qA

Here is one where he shows how he uses a sleeping bag as a top quilt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFWs6UH7C74

Here is one where he discusses top quilt (about minute 3 in video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjL4ric6JZc&ebc

Squeezebox

+1 on enlightened equipment. And do go to Hammock forums. My thought is you need a sleeping system for the lowest temp you might encounter not average temp.

Salamandrine 

I really love my Western Mountaineering Caribou. It packs down to practically nothing compared to a synthetic bag or even a lower grade down bag. They make one with a thinner shell that packs even smaller. Rated 35 but I've used it down to 30 and been fine, albeit with long underwear. Price isn't cheap but you do get what you pay for.

Any of the high grade 800+ down bags will generally pack very small. That's why they are expensive.

Synthetic bags have the advantage of sort of staying warm when they are wet, but they don't pack very small. I'm sure that then newer ones are better than the old ones though. (the Marmot pictured above looks impressively small for synthetic!) The best approach IMO is to not let your bag get wet.

Biketouringhobo

Look at Big Agnes Encampment 15degs
look at Big Agnes Gunn Creek 30degs
both bags have a sleeping pad sleeve
and have use them

tmac100

The OP stated he had a hammock. When I was touring Australia with my "Hennessy Hammock", I used a pad of mylar bubble pad insulation under my sleeping bag. The insulation value of the mylar bubble pad was not to be cast aside - it was good to be warm on the bottom. Also, the bubble pad kept mossies from biting thru - into a bare arm resting on the hammock bottom.

Abu Mahendra

The finest sleeping bags are made by Western Mountaineering and Feathered Friends.

chrislee99777

I bought North Face. Although it is little bit expensive, it is really good for you to have a dry area to sleep. That is the best one which I used.

fietsbob

The smaller the better... I guess you are talking a tight Mummy bag with a Down filling..


REI in Seattle, PDX & Eugene, will offer you a vast assortment and have people to ask about the relative merits of each.

cyccommute 

Although I like, and use, Big Agnes bags, I wouldn't suggest it for a hammock. The Big Agnes bag and pad is a system and is meant to be used that way. The bags have more insulation on the top and none on the bottom. The pad insulates the camper from the ground. I suppose that you could use the pad in a hammock but I suspect that would be problematic.

I second the down route. I avoided using down for many years until finally broke down and bought one. It insulates better with less weight and bulk that a synthetic bag.

fietsbob

If You Missed It,
the underquilt (line 4 of OP) is like a sleeping bag under the hammock, so as to not be compressed
by the body's weight on the bottom of the bag, in the hammock.

there are synthetic fillings trying to be Almost as good as Down ... almost .

Biketouringhobo

I did not see hammock in OP post

Squeezebox

The term underquilt = hammock.

DeadGrandpa

+1. Also, my down Western Mountaineering 35 degree bag (it might be a Caribou) weighs 17 ounces, which saves a pound over similarly rated synthetics. But the zipper is only 3/4 length and I agree it may not be the best choice for a hammock.

Tourist in MSN

I have two 40 degree bags, a synthetic that I use for kayak trips and a down for trips where I will not be spending the whole time on a shoreline. The synthetic is almost double the volume packed.

The down one is a Marmot, but I suspect that Marmot, TNF and all the other top makers are about the same. So, look for a sale price.

bwgride

Before I moved to underquilts, I used Big Agnes bags (Fish Hawk and Moon Hill) in my hammocks. They work very well. I preferred to use closed cell foam rather than inflatable pads in the sleeve when in my hammock. One problem hammock users have with pads is keeping the pad under one's body. The Big Agnes system helped solve that problem in the hammock. For colder weather, I would supplement the system with an extra foam pad that was about 40" wide and 40" long under my torso. Tested down to 18F (hard to test colder than that in south Georgia).

Ty0604

I ended up purchasing a REI Mojave +15*F down mummy bag from the REI in Hillsboro. I was told it was discontinued in 2013 and sold for $125 at the time. It had been returned (unsure when) with slight use. Paid $49.99.

Good deal?

I have two ENOs. A double and single nest with the complete set up. Bug net, rain fly, and Atlas straps. I'm thinking I'll bring the single since it's lighter and plenty for me.

The underquilt I have is an Ember 2 (+50*F) but thinking it'll be fine in combination with the +15*F bag I now own.

I tried using a pad once in a hammock and half way through the night I opened the bug fly and tossed it out. It was awkward. I rarely use the pad when I tent camp now. Even so, the one I own, while not heavy, is bulky.

Tourist in MSN

I can't say if it was a good deal because I am not familiar with that bag. But, a LOT of my stuff was from REI scratch and dent sales, including several tents and air mattresses that I patched.

I got another pair of bike shorts yesterday at a scratch and dent sale (my REI now calls them garage sales) for $15, it was virtually new with one seam slightly off.

revcp 

A few things. First, if a little more expense is not an issue I recommend down over synthetic for comfort as well as weight and compactibility. I know some have concerns about down and moisture, but over three decades of camping, all using down, I've had no issue whatsoever. That's even with thousands of miles canoeing in the rainy north. Now that I am using a hammock exclusively I have no concerns at all. I still use the same Marmot bag, a Nighthawk, purchased in 1983.

I wonder how your bag lasted only six years. The Nighthawk referenced above has seen me through several hundred nights and it is still in excellent condition. Likewise, my winter bag, also a Marmot, is going strong after 70-80 nights of use over the last three decades. In what way has your bag "bitten the dust"?