Lightweight sleeping bag, and other gear?

[Jeremiah P]

Looking to get a good lightweight sleeping bag for doing some high elvation bear hunts.
I want one that is good to 0, but light enough to pack into some knarly country. Also looking into a good little stove like a jetboil,msr, or optimus any recomendations. Also let me know of any other must haves for this type of hunt, it will probably only be a few days at a time.
 Thanks

[clindsayrun]

Sleeping bags - If you can afford it buy a Marmott. They are expensive, but weight to warmth ratio is superior.  I own several bags. I now prefer down over synthetic. Warmer, lighter, more packable. And with the advances in fabric they are water resistant. Currently I am carrying a Mountain Hardware 10 degree bag. I also own a North Face Cat's Meow. That is a synthetic 20 degree bag. I like it, but I stay warmer in the 10 degree bag. In my opinion a 0 degree bag is a little extreme. Unless you really expect to be in serious below freezing conditions you won't need it, and it'll be too heavy to carry.  With a 20 degree bag you can always wear extra clothes to bed if it gets that cold.
What ever brand you purchase, get one with the weather resistant fabric.  It's lightweight and will save your down from bunching up.
Stoves - I own both an MSR Pocket Rocket and an Snow Peak Giga power. Your talking just a few ounces here. The snow peak was the first real ultra light isopro stove on the market ten years ago. Both the pocket rocket and giga put out like 10,000 btu, plenty to boil water. My auto igniter on the giga died years ago. The Pocket Rocket is a whole lot cheaper. Buy it, and get a heavy foil or other collapseable wind shield for the stove. You'll thank me later.
Isopro is totally the way to go. Far superior to white gas or alcohol stoves, as far as backpacking in concerned. With advances in blended fuel you won't have to worry about low temps affecting the fuel.

Any other questions on gear I'd be happy to help.

[scoyoc5]

i got alot of great advise and reviews from this site last year  I wound up buying the cabelas ultralight xpg bag and the ultralight 2 man tent and have nothing but great things to say about both.. the bag says 0 degree I'm not so sure about that. i hunted in the high country in mid September and was totally cozy. I'll second the pocket rocket it's a great lightweight stove. don't forget water filtration

[Branden]

Imo 0* is way overkill for Washington. I actually use a 40* through October. CSR is right about down, way better then synthetic. Marmot or western mountaineering is the way to go for your bag.

As for a stove if its only for a weekend get a pocket rocket, if longer trips its better to go with a white gas stove.

And I am going to disagree with scoyoc5 about the water filtration, its a waste of time, energy, money, and space in the pack.

[tonymoe]

don't skimp on the fart sack (sleepin bag). The cats meow is a great bag, I use down bag myself and it is a 20 degree bag and I slept in it in the goat rocks from memorial day weekend on thru to october. for water filtration I have used steri-pen, filter bottle and the potable aqua pills are just right for me (very light). i am a huge fan of the jetboil, of course I only eat dehydrated food for my main staple so I only need to boil water. Make sure you don't forget a sleeping pad. I thought I could do with out one on a certain trip  I tossed and turned on the cold a$$ ground all night.
don't hesitate to ask for any info, I like to share my opinions just as much as I like reading other folks gear on this topic

[ICEMAN]

And I am going to disagree with scoyoc5 about the water filtration, its a waste of time, energy, money, and space in the pack.

Umm... I would not risk losing a week+ of work over a few extra ounces of weight while in the back country. Crypto and other issues in water are truly a risk. Sad state of affairs, but I would not recommend to anyone to diregard quality water filtration or boiling while in the backcountry.

[BrushChimp]

Like others said, don't skimp on the bag. Can't go wrong with a Marmot Helium 15+ degree (31 oz.) or Hydrogen 30+ (25 oz.). Both are award winners and degree rating is a lot closer than most other sleeping bag manufacturers. They pack smaller than almost any sleeping in their degree categories hence the increase in price. You get what you pay for. I own the Helium myself. Used it on a warm 7 day archery elk hunt last fall so it worked plently fine.

Marmot also has the Lithium 0+ (36 oz.) which is going to cost you in weight. You likely don't need a 0 degree bag for Washington in any season. A guy can also wear his base layer while sleeping for increased warmth on cold nights.

After talking to some hikers last summer my view on treating water is mixed. I was always told it was very important and to take no chances. I think that is good advice if you don't know where the water is orignating from. I talked to a thru-hiker (someone who hikes from Mexico to Canada on the PCT) and she said she hadn't treated any water 'cept when she came through the desert-y portions (So. Cal.) because it was standing water. Anything from from high she just drank straight. Me and my buddy decided to do the same due to a faulty water filter and saw no ill effects after 4 days of drinking the water.  I wouldn't recommend it if you are not comfortable with it.

One more vote for the JetBoil. We used one last year and it worked great. You can by pre-packaged dehydrated (Mountain House) meals or dehydrate you own. Boil two cups of water in 3-5 minutes and it's ready to eat in 8-10 min.

[Heavily Armed Hiker]

Anybody heard about Wiggy's sleeping bags?

www.wiggys.com

They are made in Alaska and are pretty popular w/ hunters up there.

[Antlershed]

How does the mountain house food taste? Any of the dehydrated foods to avoid? How will elevation affect stoves that run on butane/propane? I know they tend to go through fuel a little quicker but other than that...?

[clindsayrun]

There was a pretty good post up the other day about water filtration. I didn't really look for it, but it's only a few days down. 

I thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in 2001, from Campo, CA to Manning Park, BC...all 2653 miles of it. We also only filtered our water in Southern CA. Once we started making in North we ditched the filters and drank the water straight. Never got sick. In fact I've never been sick from water. Not to say it can't happen, just be careful about your water sources.

I now carry a steri pen. Light weight and takes care of the crypto and other nasties.

[swanny]

I'll throw in my  on the topic for you too.

Like other's said, if you can afford a Marmot Down bag, get it. They are EN rated, warm, packable, and made with great craftsmanship.

If you aren't able to fork over the money for the Marmot, take a look at REI's new Halo line of bags which are also EN rated. The 10F bag is going to keep you warm in Washington at nearly any elevation you will be hunting at. It is just over 2.5lbs, which isn't bad for a colder weather bag especially for the price.

http://www.rei.com/product/778160

For stoves, the MSR Pocket Rocket is great if you plan to boil water and not cook any meals. Depending on how high you will be and what conditions you plan to encounter you may want to look at white gas also. They will burn better when the temp drops and your fuel wont freeze. The MSR Simmerlite is what I use for colder temps and for when I want to have a real meal on the trail.

I might also suggest looking at the GSI Soloist cook system. It is a great pot that comes with a spork, insulated mug, 1.1 liter pot, carry bag that doubles as a sink, and it all nests together. You can fit canister fuel inside as well.

As far as dehydrated food, I like to stay away from any of the ones with chicken, they just taste like cardboard. The beef stroganoff or chili mac is pretty good from Mt House.

[PacificNWhunter]

I just got a Marmot Bag and it's by far my favorite bag so. I got the Helium, Feathered Friends also makes a very nice and warm light weight bag for about the cost of a high end Marmot.

I use a GSI soloist kit, dehydrated food usually Mountain House and a stove from snow peak.

[BLKBEARKLR]

MSR Whisperlite international stove, in 17 years I have used it every where imagineable, and I have only had to replace it once.

[Cascade_Sherpa]

There's a ton of great info in the posts above. The one thing I was going to add something I learned years ago as a dirt poor college kid who only had one bag for every season.

I got a skookum gore-tex USMC bivy bag from a military buddy.  And depending on what season it was my light summer bag would go inside the bivy on top of my thermarest.  Then all of my dry hunting clothes would get stuffed around me as insulation.  I've spent some comfy nights sleeping in that bivy well below freezing. It works even in a backpacking tent. when you get up in the AM all of your hunting clothes are already warm and ready to go.

There are lots of backpacking manufacturers that make waterproof bivy's a lot lighter than that one I've got, but it was free!  Now that I've got tons of gear I gave that same bivy bag to my little brother, who used it last fall when we climbed Mt. Adams, same way and he was warm in the howling wind at 9400 ft elavation!