Kinda cold in my bag

[Utah]

Getting out of a nice warm bag because you have to pee sucks!

Also a good reason to not drink beer in camp and get some sophistication with some Irish!

 

It’s the reason I drink whisky straight ... don’t need any nonsense filling me up! Whisk gets straight to the point with no waste and you’ll sleep all night without getting up!

I've no problem pissin in a Gatorade jug inside my bag.     Just sayin   

[MADMAX]

I was waiting to see if anybody was gonna mention the old P bucket

[444Marlin]

I was waiting to see if anybody was gonna mention the old P bucket

Back in my mountaineering days we used to have 2 bottles each:  one for pee and one for drinking.  I only mixed them up once!

[Jpmiller]

I was waiting to see if anybody was gonna mention the old P bucket

The original hot water bottle.

I tried peeing in the bag once but I was so freaked out about spillage I just got up and went outside. It's not a regular enough thing for me to bother learning yet.

[Alchase]

I just throw my boots on and step outside in my underwear. By the time I feel the cold I already done and heading back to the warm bag, besides I would not trust my aim half asleep.

LOL

[HikerHunter]

excellent thread...

My that has been covered, but will reiterate:

My rule of thumb - Take the bags temperature rating to start:

Add 10 degrees to for a true comfort level rating - full baselayer, socks, and hat fully enclosed, draft collar fully closed up.  So a 0 degree bag is a 10 degree bag.

Add 10 degrees if you are a woman (no experience with this as i'm not one - just word of mouth). 

Add 10 degrees if you are a cold sleeper.  Your 0 degree bag is now a 20 degree bag.

That is your baseline to choose your bag rating based on the temperatures you are facing and how much extra weight you want/need to pack in to hit that temperature. 

Now it's a game of weight vs cost vs down vs synthetic, i won't get into that. 

But to get back to the OP's issue - your bag is really not a 0 degree bag, it's not the bag or company's fault.  If you are cold in 10 degrees - you will have to supplement as a sub 10 degree bag is not the most viable on a pack in trip.

My best advice is to get a puffy coat and pant set.  Puffy coat, everyone should have.  Pants are a good thing to have too as they can serve 2 purposes in the field and at night.

#2 is closed cell foam pad that you can fold up relatively small, which can server as a glassing pad too.

I'm not sure the viability of packing in 2 bags, or heavy wool blankets.

But that's the equation - how much weight do you want to sacrifice for a good nights sleep?  Puffy coat and pants are an easy one for me at least.

I think you are right about most of the bags out there, but my western mountaineering rating is spot on. I've heard feathered friends have accurate temp ratings too.

One thing to be careful with when doubling sleeping bags, throwing wool blankets over your bag or even wearing clothes in your bag, if you are compressing your insulation layers, it might make you colder!

[JeffRaines]

excellent thread...

My that has been covered, but will reiterate:

My rule of thumb - Take the bags temperature rating to start:

Add 10 degrees to for a true comfort level rating - full baselayer, socks, and hat fully enclosed, draft collar fully closed up.  So a 0 degree bag is a 10 degree bag.

Add 10 degrees if you are a woman (no experience with this as i'm not one - just word of mouth). 

Add 10 degrees if you are a cold sleeper.  Your 0 degree bag is now a 20 degree bag.

That is your baseline to choose your bag rating based on the temperatures you are facing and how much extra weight you want/need to pack in to hit that temperature. 

Now it's a game of weight vs cost vs down vs synthetic, i won't get into that. 

But to get back to the OP's issue - your bag is really not a 0 degree bag, it's not the bag or company's fault.  If you are cold in 10 degrees - you will have to supplement as a sub 10 degree bag is not the most viable on a pack in trip.

My best advice is to get a puffy coat and pant set.  Puffy coat, everyone should have.  Pants are a good thing to have too as they can serve 2 purposes in the field and at night.

#2 is closed cell foam pad that you can fold up relatively small, which can server as a glassing pad too.

I'm not sure the viability of packing in 2 bags, or heavy wool blankets.

But that's the equation - how much weight do you want to sacrifice for a good nights sleep?  Puffy coat and pants are an easy one for me at least.

I think you are right about most of the bags out there, but my western mountaineering rating is spot on. I've heard feathered friends have accurate temp ratings too.

One thing to be careful with when doubling sleeping bags, throwing wool blankets over your bag or even wearing clothes in your bag, if you are compressing your insulation layers, it might make you colder!

Yep. Budget bags, and even the mid level bags, this rule applies. The higher end bags(feathered friends, western mountaineering come to mind but there are others) the temp rating is pretty true, if not conservative. Most lower end bags rating are very optimistic... the lower the price, the more optimism they used in the rating. Substitute weight for optimism in some cases.

[Jingles]

A lot of good suggestions posted about wool and such and I would like to offer another suggestion for an item to use.
Get yourself a mannie,  ( like the packers use to wrap gear in for packing )if you get the 8 x 8 you can  lay it out opened up lay your sleeping bag down close to one edge and fold the remainder over the top of your sleeping bag. have found it adds about 10 to 15 degrees of warmth also protects you from any moisture if you aren't in a tent.
I think the light weight mannies run about $40.00 a pair and the heavy weight run about $35.00 each I get the heavy weight as they last longer when actually used for packing.

[Threewolves]

Lot of suggestions.

REHJWA, LAMRITH, Rock7, I too am from the strip down school. Also, based on my experience of  seven years in the Army in Alaska. NWTC IQC winter and summer, Unit CWI. Lets just say I have camped out a lot in cold weather.

Most likely you are only going to get 6 hours of sold sleep in extreame cold weather anyway. So, what is a person to do? Start off by eating a little something and drinking something hot before you sack out. If you do get cold in your fart sack, do some PT (circulation) in the bag and go back to sleep.

Now, think about this the longer you get into hunting season the more darkness/down time you have. Early archery you have all kinds of day light, you are running yourself ragged hunting. November rifle elk its get dark at 1705 and you can't shoot till 0640 that is a lot of down time. You wake up a little cold, but there is plenty of time to sleep in, again what do you do? Why, you fire up the jet boil in about 2 minutes you are going to have boiling hot water, you can have hot chocolate, or start your morning coffee a little early. And go back to sleep until its time to get up and go hunt.  I wish I had a jet boil back in the AK days.

Cherry pick the suggestions, use the ones you like best. Remember comfort is everything, never live hard unless you have to.


 

[OltHunter]

I think you are right about most of the bags out there, but my western mountaineering rating is spot on. I've heard feathered friends have accurate temp ratings too.

One thing to be careful with when doubling sleeping bags, throwing wool blankets over your bag or even wearing clothes in your bag, if you are compressing your insulation layers, it might make you colder!

Yep. Budget bags, and even the mid level bags, this rule applies. The higher end bags(feathered friends, western mountaineering come to mind but there are others) the temp rating is pretty true, if not conservative. Most lower end bags rating are very optimistic... the lower the price, the more optimism they used in the rating. Substitute weight for optimism in some cases.

Very true. General rule of thumb.

Big Agnes, Nemo, and Mountain Hardware are definitely in my rule of thumb bags from my experience. These are not knocks on the bags.

Haven't had any experience with WM or FF but good to know.

[madcow41]

Get a woobie (poncho liner). Wrap up in it inside. Get a bivy too