Looking for advice on sleeping bags

[Engine]

Actually there are two questions in the OP. Reread the last two sentences.

I don't read that as a question. It reads to me as a statement of an option the OP would rather avoid if possible.

[swjohnsey]

Will it work? Sure. Can you save some weight? Absolutely. I used a WM Highlite, weighed a pound. How much is carrying a couple of pounds 2,000 miles worth to you?

[Venchka]

All of the "buy quality" stuff is absolutely true, and at the same time can be an impossible purchase. I'm very lucky now to have the money for a good bag, but it wasn't that long ago that I was buying the REI no-name synthetic bag on sale for $80 because even that was a stretch.

I'm beginning to wonder myself after reading the recent post from a person in a Kelty Cosmic 21 at 9 degrees and I had just spent a night in my WM 20 degree Alpinlite at 12 degrees. I doubt that I was much more comfortable.
Frankly, in those conditions, I would have preferred the WM Antelope.
Wayne


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[Venchka]

I have a Northface Cat's Meow 20 degree bag and wonder if it's good enough for my NOBO thru hike. I have done some backpacking but never more than a couple of days at a time. I'm considering down but want to keep the cost down. Any suggestions?

Your questions are unanswerable. We need more information.
When are you starting?
Do you sleep warm or cold?
What clothes will you have to sleep in?
What is the R-value of your sleeping pad, mat, mattress?
What shelter will you use?
The REI Joule is a down bag with similar specs. as the Cat's Meow, approximately a pound lighter and costs about $180. I'm sure there are other bags that might suit you, but the Joule came to mind first. REI gives you a year to decide if you like the bag or not. You can get your money back or an exchange no questions asked within one year. I believe you must be a member for this privilege.
That's all I can think of at the moment.
Good luck and plan ahead in the future. You could have saved 20% on a bag from REI before Christmas.
Wayne


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[SummitSistah]

Thanks so much for the advice/suggestions and information. I really appreciate it! I will spend some more time researching down bags and looking for sales.

[Venchka]

The sleeping bag is only 1 piece of a larger puzzle. All of the pieces have to fit together.
Wayne


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[SummitSistah]

Thanks so much for all the advice/suggestions and information. I really appreciate it. I will spend some more time researching down bags and looking for sales.

[rocketsocks]

I had an older cats meow, that thing was good to well below 32...don't know about the newer ones.

[kevperro]

You will do just fine in a 20 deg. synthetic bag as long as you don't carry the same weight decisions to all your other gear. The North Face bag would be fine for me in that weather (I carried a 30 deg. down bag) but everyone sleeps differently. If you are going to be a long-term hiker a down bag is a good investment. Personally, I would focus on saving more money. Penny pinching your way north is no fun and I prefer to have good equipment. You will spend a lot of time with it so it is an investment well worth getting right. That doesn't mean you need to spend top dollar on every item but choose wisely.

[Water Rat]

I have a Northface Cat's Meow 20 degree bag and wonder if it's good enough for my NOBO thru hike. I have done some backpacking but never more than a couple of days at a time. I'm considering down but want to keep the cost down. Any suggestions?

Many have used the North Face Cat's Meow 20* on their thru-hikes. Yes, it can be done. I have the same bag and used it often until I realized it was just too confining for my needs and I was not comfortable. It's a decent bag, but a bit on the bulky side.

If you sleep cold, you might want to reconsider and find one that allows you to sleep comfortably in lower temps. My bag (bought in 2012) was fine until around 30*, but I found myself uncomfortable below that temp. You might have a different experience with your bag depending on how cold you sleep. Sleep is very important to staying healthy (& healing injuries) in order to complete a thru. This is an area where it pays to make sure you are comfortable.

If you can get it in your backpack with all your stuff, then go for it. It doesn't cost anything to start with that sleeping bag. If you find it doesn't work for you, you can always order another bag from the trail. Make a list of things you like & don't like about this bag and come up with a back-up plan for the "just in case."

[la.lindsey]

Fwiw, I just spent some very, very cold nights on the trail with some thru hikers. I was in a WM 5F or so bag (whatever the green one is) with an X therm pad. The guy next to me had a 0F north face bag he got for $200 and slept on two ridge rests (mine and his).

He was much warmer than me, and probably a couple hundred dollars cheaper. But he's also a much warmer sleeper. Know thyself. I doubt I would have been warm in anything short of a -20F bag.

The only way to know if your sleep setup will work for you is to try it out on cold nights a few times. And no matter what Tipi Walter says, it's ok to go to town if it's too cold.


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[kevperro]

Fwiw, I just spent some very, very cold nights on the trail with some thru hikers. I was in a WM 5F or so bag (whatever the green one is) with an X therm pad. The guy next to me had a 0F north face bag he got for $200 and slept on two ridge rests (mine and his).

He was much warmer than me, and probably a couple hundred dollars cheaper. But he's also a much warmer sleeper. Know thyself. I doubt I would have been warm in anything short of a -20F bag.

The only way to know if your sleep setup will work for you is to try it out on cold nights a few times. And no matter what Tipi Walter says, it's ok to go to town if it's too cold.


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I'd also say that what you are comfortable in changes. Once you have been on the trail for awhile I'm convinced you sleep warmer. You can speculate it is conditioning, circulation or whatever but I'd expect to be able to sleep warmer than you currently do once you have hiked for 5-months. One thing is for sure.... you will be much more comfortable because you work out your system as you go north.

[Venchka]

I'd also say that what you are comfortable in changes. Once you have been on the trail for awhile I'm convinced you sleep warmer. You can speculate it is conditioning, circulation or whatever but I'd expect to be able to sleep warmer than you currently do once you have hiked for 5-months. One thing is for sure.... you will be much more comfortable because you work out your system as you go north.

True. Happens everywhere. Your internal thermostat switches gears after a few days to a week. Believe me, I know after traveling from New Orleans to Brussels to equatorial west Africa. I always froze in Brussels because my body was set to tropical mode.
If possible, test your sleep system over several days.
Good luck.
Wayne


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[K2 Travels]

Check the for sale bags on here and backpackinglight.

I recently added one ; )

[rustmd]

I got wicked lucky & bought a WM bag--alpine lite I think, the red one...was up for sale right here on WB!
.com

[Tinker]

Fwiw, if you have extra room in your sleeping bag, you can wear clothing in it for extra warmth. A draft-free tent and a mattress with a high r-value should be considered part of your sleep system, as they will affect the efficiency of your bag, too. Trying to wear too much clothing in a bag may compress the loft of the bag and actually make it colder. A bag, with everything you intend to wear in it should not be too tight nor too loose (extra space inside requires extra body heat to warm). Consider a female specific bag, if you are going for a new one. The insulation is distributed differently, and the dimensions are designed around the female anatomy.

[Christoph]

This is what I used on my thru attempt and I'll use it again this year. It claims 30-50 degrees so I tried it when it was around 30 degrees, in my tent, in a t-shirt and shorts as a worse case scenario. Kept me pretty warm that night and that was without a sleeping pad of any sort, just on the tent bottom itself. Costs around $30 online, maybe less if you search a little or go to an Army surplus store or something. Has a polyester type insulation and weighs 2.3 pounds. Not bad for 30 bucks if you sleep warm. There's an inner part that goes to it (I don't have that part) but I don't know of any specs on that part. Rolls up nice and tight, about a 6 inches around by a foot long and fluffs right back up fairly easy.

[poolskaterx]

I know that when I switched from my synthetic bag to my down bag I felt the cold when using my "less desirable" sleeping-pad I had at the time and I bumped up to the xtherm with a higher R-value and am toasty warm; not a cheap upgrade considering. Down is lighter and compacts much better with same warmth rating as my synthetic, however the down compressed more under my body weight when sleeping than the synthetic and didn't insulate as well against the ground.

This was just my experience.