Late Season Sleeping Bags

[coyote_out]

After Goose-egging my early season archery hunts, I gottaget prepared for late season here in the east cascades, maybe some northeast hunting alos, havent decided yet.  That being said, I need a serious upgrade from my +25 bag right now.  I got cold in it a couple time in september, no way i'm doing that in November.  What do you guys use?  Trying to keep it light so I can pack it in if I decide to. 

[307_BOWS]

I love my marmot Trestles 0. It is a little heavier weighing in at just over 5 lbs which i don't feel is too bad if you aren't willing to spend 200+ on a bag. The quality is great and it costs about $120, probably cheaper if you can find a sale or look around online.

[deerslyr]

tagged

[Fl0und3rz]

Check out the milsurp ECWS.

http://www.unclesamsretailoutlet.com/US-MILITARY-EXTREME-COLD-WEATHER-SLEEP-SYSTEM-p/4029.htm

These are new, but the used are still in great condition, from my experience, and about $20 or so cheaper.

[stickbuck]

Personally, I love the Mountain Trapper by Cabela's. It is a zero degree bag and its less than $100. Best bag I've ever had. Bought em for the whole family because of their warmth and durability. 

[dad98684]

i picked up a military sleep system (ecws) i have only used it once. we will see here soon how good it is.

[7mag.]

Those military sleep system's are great, except, they weigh around 12 lbs. If you are going to pack in, look at Western Mountaineering, Feathered Freinds, Kifaru, Montbell, and Big Agnes. If you want to pack in, in the late season, you have to spend the money, or you will regret it. Light weight, warm bags, are expensive, but can prevent a ruined hunt.

[deerslyr]

Those military sleep system's are great, except, they weigh around 12 lbs. If you are going to pack in, look at Western Mountaineering, Feathered Freinds, Kifaru, Montbell, and Big Agnes. If you want to pack in, in the late season, you have to spend the money, or you will regret it. Light weight, warm bags, are expensive, but can prevent a ruined hunt.

I was going to mention the weight on the military systems. My brother pack one of those bad boys in on our first back pack hunt and regretted it later, although I regretted not having a warmer bag.
I really need to invest in a good bag. Im a really cold sleeper and during archery season my 15* bag was to cold.

[coyote_out]

Ya I am not buying a bag I can't pack in somewhere.  I try not to buy 'truck camping' gear anymore so that i can continually improve my pack-in set up.  right now I have been looking at the Trestles, earlier mentioned, Kelty Cosmic Down 0, and the Marmot Never Summer.  Ideally I want sub 3 pounds, but like everyone else, I am still very price point focused, so probably hoping for 3-4.   Any thoughts on minimum temp ratings for late season hunts? I was thinking 0?

[whacker1]

Ya I am not buying a bag I can't pack in somewhere.  I try not to buy 'truck camping' gear anymore so that i can continually improve my pack-in set up.  right now I have been looking at the Trestles, earlier mentioned, Kelty Cosmic Down 0, and the Marmot Never Summer.  Ideally I want sub 3 pounds, but like everyone else, I am still very price point focused, so probably hoping for 3-4.   Any thoughts on minimum temp ratings for late season hunts? I was thinking 0?

I am looking at buying a higher quality bag as well, and for my most recent hunt, bought a bag liner.  Using the same concept as layering for base layer and hunting clothes.  You use a bag liner, bag, and then even a bivy exterior giving you more range of temperature that the bag is useful for.  I am hoping someone else will speak up on this concept as I know very little and still trying to determine the right combination to give me the most range of temperature, so that I don't need 3-5 bags for all the different season applications, but rather can do it with 1-2 bags.

[boneaddict]

Last late hunt I encountered it hit -20 or something like that.   I had to pucker a bit.   Got my deer and knew I had to cut it up because it would be solid by morning.   Built a big fire and got it done.  Then hunkered in my bag and suit.   I got the best I could buy from Cabelas.   I am sure there are better ones now, but its a good bag.   I sleep many nights under trees in it in November while I am chasing bucks to get them on film.

[fillthefreezer]

i think 7mag hit it right on the head. youre gonna pay, be it in cash or weight...

[7mag.]

I have a Marmot Trestle, and it's ok. For around $100, it' works pretty good, but I will soon be replacing it. Because of that bag, I limit my late season pack trips. For over 4 lbs, I expect to be warmer.

[MLHSN]

Hello all.  I've been lurking here for a while since I'm thinking of taking up hunting and I thought this would be the best place to glean some knowledge.  I do quite a bit of backbacking and remote high-lakes have been my bag so far.  As for sleeping bags, I picked up a GoLite Adrenaline 20 deg.  on sale for $150 and it weighs less then 2 pounds. I love it.  They also have a zero degree bag which I think would be great for late season.  Many brands advertise their ratings about 5-10 degrees colder then most people would like.  The ratings are more like a survival rating then a comfort rating.  The GoLite bags, however, are comfortable down to their actual rating in my opinion. 

I spent some time in the military sleeping cold nights in the military sleep system.  I would HIGHLY suggest not buying one.  The only item good in the system is the gortex bivy bag which I still use on occasion.  One of the issues with the surplus sleep systems is that they have been compressed for a long time.  For instance, I was in an Airborne unit and we remained on 24 hr. recall for a couple months at a time.  This meant my bag had to packed and ready to ship out in 24 hrs.  My sleeping bag was fully compressed for three months straight out of every year which meant that the fill was squished and therefore loft sucked, which gives you all the warmth.   Being compressed like that causes irreparable damage to the bag.  Also, the weight is terrible.  The whole system together is also huge in size which takes up a lot needed pack space.  My Golite bag is about 4" in diameter and 8" long for reference.

Just my 2 cents, your mileage may vary.

[JackOfAllTrades]

Go to REI or quality outdoors store to get advice and fitted for the correct bag series. I did that and found that a North Face Snowshoe zero degree bag would be good for me. Then I was lucky enough to find one barely used on Craigs List for dirt cheap.  So far I have liked it. Remember that no bag will overcome lack of insulating bearier to the ground. I now use an inflatable REI Stratus insulated air mattress and have been happy with the combintion.


-Steve