Ultra/micro light sleeping bag help

[jeepster]

My buddy and I just got back from a 25 mile hike, and I want to change up my gear...

My stuff is too big and bulky. We took a bus in to one spot here on the big island camped for the night, and got up early and walked all of highway 137 plus some, all in all 25 miles and some change in about 14 hours with a few stops along the way... Slept on a black sand beach, then hopped back on the bus home.


I have a Kelty chinook but it's more of a jeep camping sleeping bag, and I need something light and small, preferably a three season bag for mountain use, with primary usage being in the fall...

What works for you guys?

[Skyvalhunter]

Whats your price range, temp range, etc?

[RadSav]

I hate mummy bags, but had to do it for back country and up north.  I went with a  Sierra Design down bag.  They no longer make the one I have as they improved to a dri-down.  It dropped the weight enough I am still way ahead by putting it into a waterproof compression sack.  A must if carrying a down bag IMO.  I've been pretty impressed with everything I've purchase from Sierra Design.

Hearing great things from guide friends up north about the Kuiu down bags.  I don't know anything about them.  But usually if those guides like them after four solid months living out of a 2 man tent...it's worth taking note.

[Forks]

Mountain Hardwear Ultralamina 15

[kentrek]

Hearing great things from guide friends up north about the Kuiu down bags.  I don't know anything about them.  But usually if those guides like them after four solid months living out of a 2 man tent...it's worth taking note.

Unless a guy spent the 4 months in a bag it would be hard to justify a kuiu

But they do look awesome

[bowhunterty]

Depends on your price range. Had Sierra Design Bags in the past. Good bags. Currently using a Mtn. Hardwear bag. If you can deal with no bottom to the bag basically Bid Agnes. REI are decent for their price as well as Marmot and North Face. Plenty to choose from.

[James]

I run a Zpacks 20 deg bag. Very light weight (about 1.5lbs iirc) and backs down very small. It's down so I have to be very wary of getting it wet and I am not sure I am sold on the hoodless thing yet, but it has done everything they said it would do.

[swanny]

Figure out your budget and the temp that you need and then we can all start throwing out our favorite suggestions. There is no perfect bag for every person, we all require and use different things. Just remember, if you want a year round bag, it really doesn't exist if you plan to snow camp, you will need two separate bags then. It will be WAY to hot when it's August and you are out in the hills.

[7mag.]

I use an Enlightened Equipment 10° quilt. It weighs just over a pound. I'll never go back to a sleeping bag.

[jackelope]

I use an Enlightened Equipment 10° quilt. It weighs just over a pound. I'll never go back to a sleeping bag.

I think I'm about to take that plunge.

[HardCorpsHuntr]

On year two using a Mountain Hardwear spectre 20 degree bag.  I mainly chose this bag for the Dry.Q Elite fabric and Q.Shield down as I like to go without a tent or bivy on extended backcountry hunts.  Small light tarp if rain/snow is forecasted.

I would buy another.

http://www.mountainhardwear.com/spectre-long-OT8518.html?cgid=equipment-sleepingBags-5to20&dwvar_OT8518_variationColor=451#start=18

[jeepster]

Hearing great things from guide friends up north about the Kuiu down bags.  I don't know anything about them.  But usually if those guides like them after four solid months living out of a 2 man tent...it's worth taking note.

Unless a guy spent the 4 months in a bag it would be hard to justify a kuiu

But they do look awesome

Depending what boat I am working on, I actually do sleep in my bag 3 to 8 months a year while working, and another month + of camping....
All in all, my Kelty chinook and I have slept together for... At least 5 years of nights sleeps combined in the 10 years I've owned it.  so my bags do get their money's worth of usage....

With that being said, price does not really matter as I get a minimum of 4 months a year out of a bag between work and play, so what really matters is something that fits in my pack, doesn't kill my back, and is machine washable, yet dries easily if it gets wet, and I think the 15 degree mark is a good range.... A few times my friends and I have done some mid winter hikes and near froze and I know we hit single digits at night but between underarmor thermals and a bird dog in the bag, I was just fine.

If I am going to do serious winter camping, I have a military goose down mountain sleeping bag that goes in a goretex bivy sack and a polar fleece liner goes in the goose down bag, and I think that's good down to -20, but if I am going to be camping in such an extreme climate, I have my alaknak 12x12 with an awesome wood stove and chimney oven to keep me warm...

I am just tired of a super bulky bag taking up the majority of my pack, and at a minimum I think 30 degrees would be as high of a temp range as I'd be willing to go, but the priority is on size...

[huntnnw]

I use an Enlightened Equipment 10° quilt. It weighs just over a pound. I'll never go back to a sleeping bag.

Never heard of them till now this will be my next purchase for my pack

[sirmissalot]

The quilts are amazingly light and affordable

[Wanttohuntmore]

I'm impressed with the Phantom32 from mountain hardwear.  Was going to get the zpack but scored a deal at mh that I couldn't refuse.  I've had it down to freezing and was fine.  Still must be careful as it is down.  I also like my north face snow shoe 0 degree synthetic.  That's my workhorse bag when I expect rain and cold too.

[coachcw]

wiggley sleeping system . they have a main bag and a liner . the liner works great in warmer conditions . put them together and your set in the coldest of cold so really you get three bags in one .

[coachcw]

http://wiggys.com/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=58

[Karl Blanchard]

Big Agnes Bellyache.  Killer bag!  One of the few bags I have used that I think sleeps a bit on the warm side of its rating.  Its down though so if your gonna be using in very wet conditions regularly you may want to stick to synthetics. 

[Magnum_Willys]

Montbel Burrow with spiral stitching is light and comfortable.  zero rated was very warm in the 20's-30's.  15 would work most of the time.

[j_h_nimrod]

As far as your requirement of 15 degree, machine washable, quick drying, etc. you are looking at either a synthetic insulation bag or one of the high end down bags with water resistant she'll and some of the newer quick drying down. I was in the same dilemma for years (guiding and camping in SE AK) and never really found the perfect bag.  I have had Wiggys, Marmot, EMS, Kelty, MH, TNF and probably a few others.  The main problem with synthetic bags is they are bulky and heavier but dry quickly and are warm when wet. Down has a lot of benefits but does not do worth a damn when wet and takes forever to dry.  If money isn't a consideration look at one of the newer high end bags from Kuiu, MH, or Sierra Designs.  There are so many options that it really ends up coming down to what functions are the most important to you and then narrowing it down through research.

Good luck, let us know what you decide on and how it works out for you.