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  1. #1
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    Default Ssslllleepppinng baaggg heellppp

    I'm leaving to thru hike the AT in 4 days and am trying to cut weight. The last thing i'm having problems with is my sleeping bag.

    What are some good very light synthetic bags?

    or do you guys think a down bag would be fine for a thru hike? I'm using a Light heart gear tent so i do have double walls.

    any help would be really appreciated

    Thanks so much

    David.

  2. #2
    Registered User Egads's Avatar
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    get down to save space & weight
    The trail was here before we arrived, and it will still be here when we are gone...enjoy it now, and preserve it for others that come after us

  3. #3
    Registered User Pickleodeon's Avatar
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    I started with a 15 degree down bag, then went with a 45 degree synthetic, then went back to down up north. Go for the lightest,smallest packing bag you can afford, and I'd go with a lower degree bag than you'd think you'd need. I went with 15 and was really glad I did, but I started March 15 last year.

  4. #4
    Garlic
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    If you have the money, and the camping experience to keep it dry, go with the down, and get the best one you can afford. Given how many nights a good down bag will last, it's a good place to put your money. I'm still kicking myself for waiting so long to switch from synthetic. I finally realized I'd never, ever let my bag get wet in lots of trips, so it was a no-brainer for me to switch.

    Since you're leaving in mid-April, you have a lower chance of hitting real winter weather up there, so you'll probably be fine with a 20F range. I left in early April and really needed my 15F bag, but if I'd waited two weeks I wouldn't have needed it. If you can find something that weighs two pounds or less, you probably won't regret it. If you're on a budget, lots of hikers like the Campmor 20 down bag--lower quality down and slightly heavier, but good enough and good value.
    "Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning

  5. #5

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    I really like my Mont-Bell Burrow Bag-3 good to 20 degrees, 2 pounds and not much bulkier than a down bag of similer rating.

    However, if your leaving in 4 days, doesn't give you much time to get a new bag! You'll have to spend the big bucks on overnight shipping if you order over the internet, take a drive down to the Campmor store, take whatever EMS has in stock or start with what you got and get a new bag at Mountian Crossings at Neels Gap. I'd probably go with the last option.
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

  6. #6
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    Got to REI or another outfitter and try the prospects on. Being cramped is not worth a few ounces.
    "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss

  7. #7
    Hike smarter, not harder.
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    Campmor down is probably the best value around.
    Con men understand that their job is not to use facts to convince skeptics but to use words to help the gullible to believe what they want to believe - Thomas Sowell

  8. #8
    Registered User njordan2's Avatar
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    Down is great if you are already warm and dry with no chance of getting cold and wet, like a down comforter on your couch while you watch TV on a chilly Saturday morning in January. But if there will be the faintest possibility that you will be wringing the water out of your sleeping bag like a giant dishrag and it is less than 60degrees, you will want synthetic.

    I have done the affor mentioned dishrag thing to my 20deg. Slumber Jack when it was in the 30's, and although it was initially cold, I warmed up and dried out the bag. In fact, it was like a warm little humid sauna. If that had been a down bag, it would have laid on top of me like a heap of cold, wet paper towel and at those temperatures, in those conditions, it could have been curtains.

  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by Feral Bill View Post
    Being cramped is not worth a few ounces.
    Amen to that! As much as I love a tight mummy bag, I get really fidgety when I can't move around. My solution was to get one of the stretchy bags from Montbell, which provides me with not only comfort, but it's also warmer, too.

  10. #10
    Registered User Cool AT Breeze's Avatar
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    If you have any smarts about you, your bag wont get wet, down or otherwise.
    The trail is ever winding and the party moves every night.

  11. #11
    See you at Springer, Winter 09' Chance09's Avatar
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    I highly recommend the golite 20 deg down quilt. It's really lightweight and really warm. It kept me comfortable down to around 20 deg just like it says. The best thing about it was that i didn't need two bags. When it was warmer out I just wouldn't tuck it around me or I would lay it across me. Packs up absolutely tiny and isn't extremely expensive as far as bags go
    AT - Georgia to Maine '09
    PCT - Mexico to Canada '10
    CDT - Canada to Mexico '11


  12. #12
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    Size is more important than degrees. You can always get a cheap blanket or whatever and hack it into size with an axe or razor blade and make a liner as long as it is big enough. IMO you should be able to fit comfortable into your bag with all your cloths on.

  13. #13
    AT 4000+, LT, FHT, ALT Blissful's Avatar
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    Love my Montbell Down hugger, even sheds water







    Hiking Blog
    AT NOBO and SOBO, LT, FHT, ALT
    Shenandoah NP Ridgerunner, Author, Speaker


  14. #14
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    'm just really worried about getting a down bag wet, I'm new to this. So as long as i'm careful bringing down on the trail should be fine????

    let me know if there are any tips to making sure down is safe and dry.

    Thanks again

  15. #15
    Hiker bigcranky's Avatar
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    Use a roll top dry bag stuff sack for your bag. MSR sells a nice one, as does Granite Gear. Make sure it comes with fully taped seams. I would avoid the Sea to Summit version, as in my experience the seams were not watertight and the seam tape came right off.

    Then line your pack with a trash compactor bag, and put the sleeping bag stuff sack and your clothing stuff sack inside. Tightly twist the top of the compactor bag, and roll it down and tuck it so it stays rolled.

    Optional: use a sil-nylon pack cover in addition to the above items. By itself, it won't keep your gear dry, but it will keep the pack mostly dry, along with the contents of any outside pockets. (I use one, since I have a lot of gear in three big mesh pockets on my pack.)
    Ken B
    'Big Cranky'
    Our Long Trail journal

  16. #16

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    The lightest weight synthetic sleeping system, I know, is a synthetic quilt from enLIGHTened Equipment, made by Tim Marshall. I think he is backordered.

    The advice here is good advice.

    Pitch your camp on well-drained ground. Have an adequate groundsheet, slightly smaller than the tent so the rain will not run down the sides of the tent on to the ground sheet, and then, you are sleeping in a puddle.

    Really, skills make up for a lot of problems.

    There are lots of ways to accomplish a comfortable and dry "sleeping system".

    Look around this forum, more, for information about that.

    Keep your sleeping bag in a bag like a Sea to Summit eVAC dry sack, or, do what bigcranky said. Keep it inside the pack until inside the tent, and keep it inside the tent until you have it packed up again inside the bag and inside the pack. If raining, that is.

    Wear lightweight top and bottoms to keep the down bag clean and dry from inside perspiration from you and avoid breathing exhalation moisture inside the sleeping bag.

    Open it up, if too warm. Keep a breathing hole, if it is cold and you have the hood drawn down very closed up.

    The LightHeart tent is a very good tent.

    Pitch it on a well-drained site.

  17. #17

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    If you're interested in the REI Sub-Kilo at around 2 lbs., they are back in stock if you place a phone order. Sorry, I don't have the item # with me at the moment. Yes, it's a down bag and the current price is $139 + shipping.

    Good luck with your hike! Might see you out there.

  18. #18

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    For a sub $100 bag I thought this Coleman bag looked pretty good. Decent pack size and a little over 2.5lbs. I know it is not down but for a synthetic bag it seems to be a pretty good deal.

    http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colem...id=9030&brand=

  19. #19
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    Western Mountaineering has powerful down. I have the Highlite (1 lb) and the much roomier Sycamore MF (2 lb). Take a real hard look at the Sycamore. Versatile...

  20. #20
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    starting in 4 days? hopefully, we won't hit nite temps below the 30s in the Smokies when we get there in early May. I'm taking a Marmot Hydrogen down bag, rated to 30 degrees. With most down bags, you should save about 7-10 oz pack weight between a 20 and 30 degree down bag.

    are you doing the approach trail? maybe see you up there, I'm starting April 20th

    good luck

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